Diving the Bay Islands in Honduras

Roatan & Utila
diving features

Bluebell tunicates

Eagle rays

Cryptic teardrop crab

Wrecks

DESTINATION OVERVIEW
Honduras is the second largest country in Central America, its landmass spanning the bridge that connects the north and south American continents and reaches from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean.

On the Caribbean side are the Bay Islands, which are ringed by reasonable coral reefs. Roatan, Utila and Guanaja are the main dive destinations – each has a distinctive personality although the diving is similar. Roatan is busy with lots of American influence while Utila is more 'local' and a well trodden route for budget travellers. Guanaja is the quietest of the islands and dive operations are limited.

The basic structure of the reefs is of hard corals topped by a layer of soft corals or sea plumes. Fish species range from angels and butterflyfish to diamond head blennies. There are many interesting critters like the tiny cryptic teardrop crab and longsnout seahorses. Rare bluebell tunicates are one of the most colourful sights as hundreds of tiny tunicates cluster together in a display of 'flowers'. There are several accessible wrecks, mostly ships that were sunk to create artificial reefs.

Seasons
Year round
Visibility:
10 – 30 metres
Water temperature:
25 – 28º C.
Deco chambers:
Roatan, Utila

Flights to Miami or Houston then connect with Taca to Roatan
Dive operators and accommodation options Roatan has endless options, Utila less and Guanaja almost none.

PROS AND CONS
As Roatan has an international airport, it's not too difficult to get there, and hops to the other islands are short. All the Bay Islands are good value destinations especially when compared to other regional islands and there is a little bit more of a 'Caribbean' feel, especially on Utila.

SCUBA DIVING
Although the Caribbean doesn't have the quantity of marine species that are found in some areas of the world, there are more species around the Bay Islands than in any other part due to their location and the geography of Central America. Utila is well known for whaleshark spotting and Roatan has seahorses. All the islands have a good wreck or two.

Opinion
We have been to this area several times as it is great value for money and there are some incredible historical sights on the mainland. The diving is always easy going and there are some nice surprises every now and then. On Roatan, we have stayed mostly at CoCo View Resort, which tends to be a bit 'holiday camp' but the shore diving makes it worth ignoring that. On Utila, Utila Lodge is a good mid-range operation in a fun location. On Guanaja, we stayed at the very good Posada del Sol, which has since closed. There are rumours of it re-opening.