By Giulissa Hernandez 
Belize’s crystal-clear waters are famous for colorful fish, stingrays, and nurse sharks. Giant reptiles? That part apparently didn’t make it into everyone’s vacation brochure. Some tourists found that out the hard way while admiring the turquoise waters in Caye Caulker.
As they filmed the seemingly calm sea from a dock, the camera picked up something massive gliding just beneath the surface. The viral clip has left first-time visitors questioning everything they thought they knew about swimming in Belize. Locals, however, are chiming in with a surprising confession of their own: plenty of them had no idea the reptiles frequented those waters either.
English backpackers Anya and Callum record their travels around Central America and share it on their TikTok account named @anyacaltravel. While they have traveled through Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico, their most viral clip comes from their adventures in Belize. The clip is less than 10 seconds, but has a whopping 1.2 million views.
The text overlay simply reads: “No one told me about the 15ft crocs in Belize.” Lo and behold, their clip shows exactly that. It seems Anya and Callum are on a dock in Caye Caulker and when filming the light-blue clear waters, a shockingly big crocodile enters the frame. As easily as it pops up, it continues its path ahead.
They weren’t kidding when they said 15-foot-long crocodiles. The video shows that much itself. Anya’s caption? “We’re swimming there not long ago.”
Belize houses two species of crocodiles, the American Crocodile and the Morelet’s Crocodile. While their habitats are mostly lagoons and mangrove swamps, they have been spotted on San Pedro and Caye Caulker beaches. In 2025, a cautious traveler posed a very important discussion in the Facebook group “Belize Vacation Tips & Pics.” The topic was about safety when swimming in Belize’s beaches. Many past tourists shared their experiences, noting that some of the reptiles had been spotted in Secret Beach, San Pedro.
The author of the post shared their deep concern, seeing as they wanted to travel to Belize. This is where Dr. Marisa Tellez then entered the conversation and gave key input as the Executive Director of the Crocodile Research Coalition. She goes on to describe the crocodiles in Belize as “timid” and “shy.” While they are seen in some areas more than others, Tellez says it’s quite rare for them to interact with humans.
According to her experience, “there have been no issues between humans and crocs for the last 2-3years.” As for the rare cases where they have been, she found them to be caused by indirect or direct feeding of the crocodiles. All in all, crocodiles are seen but pose no real threat when left alone.
Even locals share their astonishment. One viewer says, “As a Belizean I didn’t know either damn.” While another similarly says, “Girl nobody told us either wtf.”
Others share their own experiences. “My husband went for a long walk on Cay Caulker and asked one of the locals where the crocs where and they pointed back through the path he’d just come from lol,” states one viewer.
A second viewer shares, “We walked through the jaguar preserve in Belize and half way through the guide tells us they roam free!!! Like sir!!! My angels were working OT that day.”
Thankfully, many offer advice. “Ngl if it’s tropical and surrounded by ocean just automatically assume there’s crocs,” says one viewer. A second one states, “Yup you dont swim at nighttime and yes they are right back there in the mangroves all the time.”
Finally, some people can’t help but crack jokes. “It’s fine. he’s also on vacation,” claims one viewer. Another ruefully jokes, “Being broke has saved me once again.”
Lastly, one viewer asks, “Where is this in Belize? I need to send my ex there.”
Deep Scroll has reached out to Anya via TikTok comment.
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