Turneffe Island Resort is located on a private island at the south end of Turneffe Atoll (Google Earth at 17.10.39.23 N and 87.54.00.11 W to find its exact location).

It was originally built by Vic Barothy for the more adventurous anglers and after 37 years, it still offers a fishing adventure but with the amenities and comforts of an upscale fishing/diving lodge. It is about 35 miles from Belize City and takes about an hour and a half to transfer there by boat. Even the trip between the mainland and the island is fun and gives each guest a real sense of understanding where he/she will be fishing or diving.

Belize is easy to get to from the US and comfortable for US citizens because it is an English speaking country. Even if the “English” is sometimes mixed with Creole, Mayan, and/or Spanish, communication is generally very easy. Belize is bordered on the North by Mexico, on the west and down around to the south by Guatemala and on the east by the Caribbean Sea. Not bad neighbors.

Turneffe Island Resort limits the number of fisherman each week to 10, and uses 5 new, swift, Dolphin Super-Skiffs for transportation to expansive, shallow fishing grounds that begin just a stone's throw away from the lodge. Most of the flats are hard-bottomed and gin-clear, protected on the windward side by the second largest barrier reef in the world, surrounded by mangrove-covered cays, and often stretching for as far as the eye can see. With all of the fishing around the resort, fishing is not allowed from the island.

There have been some relatively recent changes that made this great destination even better! The government of Belize for the last 5 seasons has aggressively enforced strict catch-and-release regulations and a ban on native netting of bonefish. The results are staggering! The easily waded flats in the Southern portion of the Turneffe archipelago (where fishing pressure and conservation measures are also monitored and controlled by Turneffe Island Lodge) are now teeming with large bonefish. The average size has nearly doubled over those caught a decade ago.