Sports and leisure activities Turneffe Atoll

Most divers have heard of the Elbow (just 10 minutes from Turneffe Island Lodge), a coral point jutting out into the ocean. This now-famous dive site offers a steep, sloping drop-off covered in tubular sponges and gorgonians, home to schools of snapper (sometimes in their hundreds) and other pelagic creatures. Currents sweep across the drop-off most of the time and generally come from the north. Occasionally, however, they reverse or cease altogether, offering tranquil diving.

This is the site usually chosen by San Pedro dive centers as the first day's immersion on the atoll. Situated at the boundary with the entrance to the inner coral reef, at the very northern end of the atoll, this site allows dives of between 10 and 15 meters, and provides enough dive time to observe the abundant underwater life: angelfish, butterflyfish, moray eels, yellowtail. Enough to whet your appetite for the day's second dive further south on the atoll, where sharks await.

A site rich in wildlife of all kinds: corals, sponges, lobsters and diamond blennie. A fascinating site that will take you up to 36 m in depth.

The Sayonara is a modern wreck. It is a former passenger ship and makes an excellent dive for inexperienced wreck divers. The wreck lies on a bed of coral and sand at a depth of 15 meters, tilted slightly to starboard. Its wooden frame is deteriorating rapidly, so it is not advisable to enter the cabin as the whole structure could break. What's more, it was stripped of all but the shaft and propeller before sinking. Exploring the exterior of the wreck offers a wealth of interesting fauna, easy to photograph.