Saddle Caye is clearly one of the most attractive islands in Belize. The crescent shape of the island lends itself very well to a resort operation or personal estate with absolute privacy between structures and a unique view from each location. The island is located in the Pelican Range of Cayes only 9 miles east of Riversdale, 10 miles southeast of Sittee River, and 17 miles northeast of Placencia.

Like all of the Pelican range, the water around Saddle Caye is deep and crystal clear with visibility at well over 100 feet. A spectacular reef encircles the island along the entire northern side stretching from east to west. Along the eastern side the reef drops to over 60 feet only a few hundred feet off shore, making shore diving one of its strongest attributes.

There is a large protected lagoon inside that is 70 feet deep but the entrances to the lagoon are very shallow. In some parts it's less than a foot deep. For larger boat access a channel will need to be dredged along the western lagoon entrance.

Saddle Island sits on a solid coral base but is low in elevation. The owner of the island raised the elevation about 5 inches by hand filling it with sand from the sea bottom nearby. This took several months to complete. Many of the pictures were taken while this was being done. Although slow, hand filling is one of the best methods for filling an island. Since it is done so slowly, it allows the Black Mangroves to grow into the new depth and keeps the vegetation alive. The traditional method of mechanical dredging fills so much, so quickly, that it has a tendency to kill the vegetation by smothering the root system of the Mangroves. Since hand filling was used on this island, virtually all vegetation survived the process and is thriving. Before filling, the island was thinned of dense vegetation leaving only the larger trees that provide ample shade but letting the Caribbean breezes flow over the island.