Roatan Island Dive Sites 16 to 20

16  Mary's Place
Depth 30 to 130 feet with boat access:

Cowfish
Photo by Tony Hovsfall, Native Son Divers

Mary's Place is one of the more spectacular dive spots on the south side of the island.  The site has a steep wall that is bisected in one area.  Hard and soft corals are abundant in this area.  The wall has many fissures where jewfish, yellowtail snapper, silversides, and grouper will be found.  Nurse sharks, large grouper, lobster and crab are seen under the many ledges and along the bottom of the 100 foot wall. 

17  Valley of the Kings
Depth 5 to 130+ feet with boat access:

Diver meets grouper
Photo by Matt Hoover

The shallow depth makes this a favorite with the snorkelers.  The wall and its ledge are marked with many large coral pillar columns.  Azure vase sponge is prominent in this area.  There are many over hangs and they are covered with sponges, white gorgonians, red and pink rope sponges, and a variety of black corals.  Night dives to this area are routinely scheduled.  

18  Forty Foot Point
Depth 40 to 130 feet with boat access:

Trumpetfish
Photo by Tony Hovsfall, Native Son Divers

At a depth of 40 feet there is a vertical wall.   Gray snapper are known to forms schools along with other varieties in this area.   Spadefish, horse-eye jack, yellowtail snapper, and permit can be found schooling near the surface and along the wall.  The area is filled with lobster, crabs, octopuses, and grouper that seem to come alive at night.  The light intensity below forty feet is low and you should consider bringing a light. 

19  Inside and Outside Chimneys
Depth 10 to 120 feet with boat access:

Wall Drop Off
Photo by Chuck Somers

The southern wall is laced with several sand chutes which highlight the reef spider crabs and lettuce corals here.  There is a slight current from the east.  The current brings the plankton that feed the soft corals, vase sponges, tube sponges, and gorgonians.  Two large chimneys  rise from a depth to 60 feet to about 20 from the surface.  There is a large man size orange elephant ear sponge that marks the entrance to the chimneys.  Turtles, blue chromis, and black grouper are common along the edge of the ledge. 

20  Channel Shore
Depth 30 to 120 feet with shore or boat access:

Snapper
Photo by Tony Hovsfall, Native Son Divers

Located between CoCo View and Fantasy Island resorts, you find easy access to a submerged DC-3 which lies in about 30 feet of water and the wreck of the Prince Albert, a 140 island freighter with an intact superstructure.   The DC3 fuselage is intact.  Water quality here can be poor due to land run off or from tidal action.  There are two walls to dive very close to the channel and caution should be observed with the local boat traffic.