Roatán is a popular base for scuba diving and free diving, and plenty of diving centres and diving schools are found on the island. The island is adjacent to the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, one of the largest reefs in the world. The underwater world here is highly biodiverse and divers regularly encounter bottlenose dolphins,sea turtles, Caribbean reef sharks, and even sometimes whale sharks – just to mention a few animals out of the rich flora and fauna that can be experienced here.
Examples of dive types available around Roatan and the nearby island of Ùtila:
- Wall diving
- Wreck diving
- Reef diving
- Shallow reef diving
- Macro diving
- Cave and cavern diving
- Deep diving
- Drift diving
- Macro photography diving
- Shark diving
Examples of dive sites near Roatán
Mary´s Place (Mary´s Crack)
This dive site is renowned for its lush reef with volcanic crevasses, inhabited by an assortment of beautiful corals and sponges. Sting rays and turtles like to hang out where the channels of this dive spot open up to the sea. The deepest drop goes down to below 30 metres under the surface.
Cara a Cara
This is a popular hang-out spot for Caribbean reef sharks, of which some are up to 3 metres in length.
Tavaina´s Wall
A great wall dive where you can expect to see a range of crustaceans, and animals that want to eat them. A lot of octopus live here.
Half Moon Bay Wall
Visit nursery sites in the shallows, which are extremely important for the reproduction of many marine species. Filefish and spotted drums are just two examples. If you move to the deeper part of this sloping reef, there will be large sea fans, sea rods and orange elephant ear sponges growing on the reef.
Hole-in-the-Wall
This is a very special dive site and it is recommended to go with an experienced guide. You will descend down a long tunnel, to reach an exit at circa 33 metres below the surface. Go through the exit to literally emerge through a hole-in-the-wall. During your slow ascent back along the wall, enjoy a maze of canyons and a large cave with natural light.
Bear´s Den
This dive site sports a large cave and a tunnel filled with black corals.
The Wreck of the Odyssey
The Wreck of the Odyssey rests in the sand at 12-33 metres. When this 90 metre long ship sunk in 2002, it became the largest known wreck off Roatán.
The Wreck of the Aguila
This 60 metre long cargo ship was purposefully sunk near the base of a reef wall in 1997, and is now colonized by corals and sponges – just as intended. She rests on her starboard side, and disintegrated into three sections after sustaining damage during Hurricane Mitch. The fact that the ship is broken up makes it easier to explore the interior. Examples of fish species that have taken a liking to this wreck are blue parrotfish, moray eels and groupers.