Roatan has 100's of dive sites, below is a description of a mere 21 of them in Alphabetical order. Ask our team about these and more. Most of these are within 15 minutes from our shop!
A popular cavern dive in Roatan, Bears Den begins with a 120 foot long “chimney chute” swim-through at 50 feet below the surface, leading divers through to an opening that gives way to a honeycombed coral wall. While all skill levels can dive near the reef, this part of the dive is better suited for advanced divers because the chute is particularly narrow and excellent buoyancy control is required. At the top of the wall is the entrance to the Bear’s Den cavern, an enormous and beautiful cavern at 30 feet below, providing plenty of visibility and color. Spotted Drum, small Lettuce Leaf Sea Slugs and other types of nudibranchs can be seen here amongst the rocks at the cavern entrance. Inside, those diving will find a circular room with a sandy floor, crabs, lobsters, and scattered sunbeams shining over schools of Glassy Sweepers. The cavern can comfortably contain about 4 divers at a time. While a dive light is not necessary, coming equipped with one can illuminate some of the darker corners and cavities inside the cave.
Outside there are more swim-throughs, volcanic tunnels and canyons can be found past the mooring, where Gorgonian Soft Corals provide shelter for Neck Crabs and rare seahorses. Divers are recommended to explore Bear’s Den earlier in the day to experience the best angle of the sun in the cavern. Bear’s Den is located to the east of Half Moon Bay, on the northern side of Roatan. Sea whips, sea sponges, black coral, butterfly fish, grouper, snapper, turtles, and barracudas are all often found on this beautiful and versatile dive.
$ 40/tank
Blue Channel is a popular dive for snorkelers and divers, located right off the shore of Roatan’s famous West End. The shallow dive is a channel, starting from just inside the reef and curving out toward the coral ridge–the top of the gently sloping wall ranges from 10 feet below the surface to 45 feet deep.
The channel itself runs parallel to the shore and differs significantly from the reef surrounding it. From the wall, you can follow a swim-through toward the reef to see damselfish, juvenile spotted drumfish, snapper, triggerfish, barracuda, grunts, tangs, goatfish, and juvenile grouper. There is another network of swim-throughs along the south wall, and lively overhangs along the north wall to choose from as well. At the entrance of the channel look for the resident green moray eels and pipefish that have made their homes in the coral, and the fireworms, large feather dusters and lobster that live there as well.
Enormous schools of silversides are known to migrate through the southern wall of the channel during the fall months of August and September, sometimes so thick that visibility is only a few feet. Due to the channel's shallow depth, it is a perfect dive site for all levels of diving, but good buoyancy control is required to prevent scraping the coral. The southern wall of the channel houses some caves to explore, as well.
$ 40/tank
Canyon Reef lives up to its name, providing divers with a medley of ravines, and tunnels to explore in a double-walled environment that resembles a giant canyon. The walls of the reef are peppered with crevices the entire way. Popular for drift diving, its landscape is decorated with towers of pillar coral ranging from 10 feet to 150 feet and is best suited for intermediate to experienced divers.
The face of the wall begins at around 10 feet, slowly descending along its front to around 30-60 feet below, after which it hits the sandy bottom at 120 feet. Near the bottom, the reef takes a gentle slope and houses communities of soft coral stands, eagle rays, and the rare seahorse.
Many of the crevices at the upper part of the reef were formed by trails of running water during a time when this underwater wall was above the surface. Some of the nooks create overhangs, partially and completely covered, creating beautiful and interesting dive inspection sites. The pillar coral here runs perpendicular to Roatan’s shoreline. Snorkeling is popular here as well, and octopi, spotted drum fish, trumpet fish, and banded coral shrimp are often found feeding near the reef.
$ 40/tank
Church Wall is a fantastic wall dive off the coast of Roatan, great for beginner and intermediate diving. Located off the south shore of Oakridge, the sandy bottom of the dive site gently slopes downward toward a reef wall starting at 50 feet and dropping to over 200 feet at its lowest points. Sea fans, sponges, sea wisps and sea rods build a garden of soft coral that waves in the current, lining the floor and the sides of the wall. King crabs and lobsters make their homes in small holes and crevices in the wall, popular for divers to peer into. There are steep cutoffs in the wall that create a tiered effect at 80 feet, 100 feet, and finally 200 feet, well beyond the depths of recreational diving.
Groupers, snappers, eagle rays and the rare nurse shark are spotted here as well as other large pelagic fish known to circulate the area–the colorful marine life and wide wall make this site a great location for underwater photography, especially with a wide-angle lens.
$ 40/tank
One of three main shipwreck dive sites off Roatan’s coast, El Aguila is 75 meters (230 feet) long and broken into three pieces (courtesy of 1998’s Hurricane Mitch) providing plenty of area and many nooks and crannies for divers to explore.
Spanish for ‘the Eagle,’ El Aguila is thought to have originally sunk off the coast of Utila while on course to Haiti from Puerto Cortes, carrying a shipment of concrete. After being underwater for many years, the ship was brought back up to the harbor by Rocky Jones of Utila, only to be dragged back onto the reef again by a storm, after which it was salvaged a second time and intentionally partially submerged to prevent further storm damage.
El Aguila is situated at 110' deep and a short ride away from Sandy Bay. AKR purchased the ship while searching for a new wreck site for divers, as the common wooden-hulled wrecks of the time were starting to deteriorate and disappear. It took the team 5 weeks between purchasing, cleaning, towing, and finally sinking the ship in its current location in 1997.
$ 60
Gibson Bight is a wall dive off the northern shore of Roatan, with a depth range of approximately 90 feet. The mooring is located near a beautiful canyon, which will lead divers directly to the wall when followed. While visibility is not the best in the canyon, there are formations along the sides worth noting. The shallows surrounding the canyon begin at 10 feet for excellent visibility, with coral fingers forming many twisting ravines into the reef toward the ocean. Here, divers will find fire coral, boulder coral, pillar coral, and to the left a famous barrel sponge that is both ancient and enormous.
The wall is nearly vertical in most places, and can drop to over 130 feet in areas. There are canyons dipping through many parts of the wall, and overhangs that create fun and interesting swim-throughs. For those who are interested in bringing flashlights, the swim-throughs and ravines are excellent sites for illuminating.
Spotted Eagle Rays, dog snappers, pufferfish, and balloonfish are often sighted here, so keep your eyes open.
$ 40/tank
Located almost directly off the beach in West End, Half Moon Bay Wall is an easily accessible dive perfect for all diving levels. The reef starts at around 15 feet and continues to the top of a small, beautiful, semicircular wall that drops down to 150 feet and deeper. There are moorings at the wall for Dixie’s and Dive Master’s Choice here as well, due to the size of the reef and the abundance of marine life found in and around it. Flamingo tongues, gorgonians, black coral and orange elephant ear sponges line the sides of the wall, while schools of grouper, Blue Chromis, and Creole Wrasse dart around the sides.
Moray eels, lobsters, and turtles are also known to be frequently found in this area, while a tunnel further up along the reef is arguably the best place on the island to find Eagle Rays. The shallow nature of the top of the wall provides excellent visibility for the vibrant coral outcroppings that meet the white sand, although the plunging depth of the wall also promises more adventure for those who wish to go deeper. Plenty of dive sites around the wall to enjoy, even on just one extended dive.
$ 40/tank
Hole in the Wall is a staple Roatan scuba dive, don’t leave the island without diving here! Located just outside of Mangrove bight and a great dive for diving enthusiasts of all levels, there is something for everyone here. The “Hole in the Wall” opening this site is named for is a sand chute tunnel through a reef wall that begins at 40 feet. Coming out through the other side of the chute, divers will emerge at 100 feet. Beginning divers can enjoy the aquatic scenery surrounding the sand slope and the spectacular wall on the right side of it, while more advanced divers can descend down to just above the impressive abyss which drops thousands of feet below.
Ascending up toward the wall on the right, watch for eagle rays, turtles, Creole Wrasse, and Blue Tang. Once the top of the wall is reached, divers can continue forward to access the shallows where visibility and color vibrancy increases and unique “swiss cheese” rock formations (an apt nickname for this dive site) give way to caverns, swim-throughs, and canyons that house many different species of both native and introduced sea life, including the Spotted Scorpion Fish, King Crab, and Glassy Sweeper. Watch for the Spotted Drum Fish, groupers, File Fish, and the occasional nurse shark. Seasonally, schools of silverside sparkle in the sunbeams as they swim through the shallows and fill one of the caves.
The last canyon in the shallows provides more than just a home to the marine life here: for the adrenaline-seeking diver, there is a cavern at the end of the canyon, containing several dark and dangerous passages to be explored with a guide.
$ 40/tank
Located about half a mile south of the reef on a sloping offshore bank on a crest, the Insidious Reef dive site separates itself from most of the other sites located on the fringing reef that parallels Roatan’s shoreline. Its distance from the main reef makes it a relatively undiscovered dive site on the island, with many dive operators choosing not to make the journey. Splash Inn does provide access to the dive site. The top of the reef starts at about 16 meters deep on a crest, and then plunges down into the Bartlett Trench downwards of 1500 meters. This wall dive is popular for its giant pockets of many different coral varieties: black coral, azure coral, pillar coral, staghorn coral and boulder coral are abundant here in different areas of the reef wall. Due to the depth of the dive, good buoyancy control is required, but the dive itself is not challenging and can be great for intermediate divers.
Sponges, Queen and Ocean triggerfish, filefish, trevallies, barracuda, black durgeons, octopus, creole wrasse, hogfish, tobacco fish, blackcap basslets, groupers, sea turtles, and the occasional shark are plentiful here as well, giving divers an eyeful of biodiverse marine life and its surrounding natural habitat.
$ 40/tank
Keyhole reef is a slot canyon dive ideal for beginner and intermediate level divers. A compelling dive that leads from the reef mooring through the canyon and out the other side into a lagoon, this site offers a variety of underwater topography complete with many overhangs to explore while diving. Since the canyon connects the ocean to the water of the lagoon, a unique opportunity to experience the mixed waters exists, although at times the water mixing can create a “cloudy” visibility, and an eerie feeling. The narrow opening at the top of the reef in the canyon creates a cathedral-like opening, and a ribbon of sunlight for divers to enjoy while swimming upside-down.
For divers who opt into swimming from the inner reef rather than the mooring point, the initial dive starts at 30 feet below, in a bed of turtle grass and gently slopes to depths of 100 feet. At this point, the walls of the canyon on both sides tower overhead, stretching up to the surface. Banded Butterflyfish, Snapper, Small Leaf Hanging Vine, Fan Worms, Green and Spotted Moray Eels, Green Starfish and Star Coral are sprinkled throughout the dive, so keep your eyes open. Also reported here are sightings of the elusive toadfish, which lucky divers will be able to hear and see during the right seasons.
$ 40/tank
Mandy’s Eel Garden is located right off the prestigious West Bay Beach. Not only does the location make it a great option for visitors to Roatan, the shallow depth of the dive provides accessible and easy diving for divers of all levels.
Known for the patches of garden eels located at the sandy patch near the base of the wall, diving in the Eel Garden promises an abundance of all types of beautiful marine life. Watch for larger eels, like the chain moray and green eels, that house themselves in the coral heads. Turtles, peacock flounder, caribbean squid, octopi, scorpion fish, barracuda, eagle rays, sting rays, juvenile drum fish, parrot fish, lobsters, nudibranchs, seahorses and pipefish are all often found in the surrounding corals and sand patches.
The crest of the reef starts at about 20 feet below the surface and descends to the bottom of the wall at about 65 feet. Due to the shallow nature of the reef, the colors of the coral and marine life are still vibrantly beautiful. A swim-through from the sandy bottom to the beginning of the wall makes a picturesque and simple dive ideal for new divers and students.
$ 40/tank
Mary's Place is arguably Roatan's most famous dive site. Mary's Place is located off of the southern shore of Roatan, in an area called Brick Bay. The site's claim to fame is its impressive vertical crevices, formed by volcanic activity. The crevices can reach depths of 120 feet or 36 meters. The site is a plateau, shaped like an elbow, with the shallow end at 30 ft, while the tip of the elbow sits at 60 ft.
The most impressive feature of Mary's Place is its majestic Reef Walls, which form a trench through which you can swim through. Along the walls of Mary's Place, crevices are overhangs filled with beautiful Bushy and Feather Black Coral along with gorgonians that have adapted to this marine environment.You may also find Fire Worms, massive Barrel Sponge, and a few sandy patches.
Due to the distance from our shop there is an extra cost to get there.
$ 97/tank
Located between Sea Quest Shallow and The Bight. The reef at this site begins at approximately 25 feet, drops down a small wall to a plateau with densely packed, thick fingers of patch corals which are covered with giant barrel sponges as well the delicate azure vase sponges. The plateau continues out to the wall, which drops to about 120 feet and is a great location to view sheet corals and icing sponges. Keep your eyes peeled for the oceanic triggerfish along with turtles, trunkfish and filefish at this site, so lots of fish and a good chance of seeing a nurse shark.
It has a defined wall which is a continuation of The Bight. One can see all types of life on this site. Pederson Cleaner Shrimp, Banded Coral Shrimp, Stop light and Redtail Parrotfish. Over the wall the depth goes to over recreation depths. This site makes a great turtle-hunting afternoon dive.
$ 40/tank
Pablo’s Place offers a popular dive site for those who are interested in drift diving in Roatan. Located at the western tip of the island near Flowers Bay, divers will encounter a vertical reef wall starting at about 50 feet below surface and seems to keep descending almost indefinitely. The current flows from east to west and ranges from light to moderate for recreational drift diving. Barracuda, eagle rays, triggerfish, trumpet fish, dog snapper, and yellowtail snapper swim in schools around the wall, and colonies of black coral and big barrel sponges line its sides.
On occasion, green moray eels, nurse sharks, reef sharks, whale sharks, and hammerhead sharks are also spotted here. Our dive instructors suggest going in the early to mid-morning, while the sun is in the best position to illuminate the magnificent wall.
For divers who are certified to hunt Lionfish, this is an excellent place to start. The Roatan Marine Park encourages people to hunt this invasive species, and can provide more information on the topic.
$ 40/tank
Just north of the El Aguila shipwreck dive off Roatan’s coast is a magnificent wall dive called Peter’s Place. Doubling as a great drift dive with a maximum depth of up to 100 feet, the wall face offers plenty of nooks, crevices, and mini canyons for divers to observe over the slanting sand slope.
More crevices to explore line the top of the reef in the shallows, hiding plenty of marine life with excellent visibility. For divers without time restraints, the famous Bear’s Den dive site is also accessible from Peter’s Place–just drift north slightly. Recommended diving level for this dive site is intermediate to advanced.
$ 40/tank
For divers searching for something different, Spooky Channel is an interesting location that links the lagoon to Roatan’s outer reef. Once an ancient waterfall above the surface in the last ice age, this gorge now provides a beautiful underwater canyon for divers to enjoy.
Begin the channel in the shallows of Sandy Bay’s murky lagoon, then continue winding through it until you reach its maximum depth of 95 feet, with some areas within the channel opening to as wide as 50 feet across. The main, cathedral-like chamber at the maximum depth is riddled with starfish and lobsters, and while there isn’t an abundance of fish to be found in the darkness, houndfish can be found occasionally in schools. Above the heads of divers, the walls converge as they near the surface, with the opening at the top being only about 5 feet wide, and creating a ribbon of light high above that stretches along the channel.
Due to the very narrow gap between the walls, there is a very low level of light which enters the deeper parts of the channel, hence the name “Spooky”. The low light levels also create an uncharacteristically shallow habitat for many corals that are typically only found in much deeper parts of the ocean. As you leave the main chamber and back out to higher light levels and greater visibilities, the typical Caribbean marine life of Roatan begins to reappear with parrotfish, angelfish, and groupers. The mouth of the channel leads back to the coral reef, or for more experienced divers, to a tiny swim-through that exits dramatically to the deep vertical wall at 200 feet.
$ 40/tank
One of the four dives sites that comprise The Point–along with Black Rock, West End Wall, and Pablo’s Place–Texas is a fantastic dive site with a maximum depth of 90 feet. The dive site is characterized as flat underwater plains littered with oversized barrel sponges. It is an extremely popular dive for all levels, but recommended specifically for divers with Advanced Open Water certifications.
It is known for being one of the only places in Roatan to find the rare Sargassum Triggerfish, so be on the lookout–lucky divers may be able to find one here. In addition to the Triggerfish, an abundance of sea life is present at this dive site including queen triggerfish, groupers, wrasse, black durgon, atlantic spade fish, angels, hogfish, barracuda, and giant barrel sponges large enough for divers to fit inside of. Aptly named Texas because “everything is huge”. Also a great place for underwater photography: especially with a wide-angle lens.
The current runs from East to West here at around 50 feet, and the location of the site off the southernmost tip of the island makes it a great place for divers to relax and simply drift over the plains. However, along the wall that drops to about 100 feet, the current makes it slightly more difficult to maneuver and exploring toward the top of the wall is exclusively recommended for more advanced divers.
$ 40/tank
110 feet under the surface off Roatan’s shore sits the Odyssey wreck. At 300 feet long, 50 feet wide, and 85 feet tall, this freighter is Roatan’s largest wreck dive, as well as one of the largest in the Caribbean. Intentionally sunk for divers in 2002, this ship is still intact and requires a more advanced skill level than the El Aguila to penetrate, so diving with a wreck diving certification is recommended.
The centersection of the Odyssey has collapsed, but the bow remains tall and upright–providing scenic views of the surrounding reef wall, a nearby sand patch, and the rest of the ship. Holes for divers have been cut into the sides of the ship, but to explore inside an underwater flashlight is required. Schools of large grouper, barracuda, tuna, and sharks have often been seen surrounding the wreck by divers. It is impossible to explore the entire wreck in its multi-level enormity in a single dive.
The Odyssey was donated by the Hydes of Hybur Limited after a devastating fire damaged the freighter during a rebuilding. The ship was cleaned, prepared, and finally sank after government approval with help from several dive operators and volunteers around the island. 50 truckloads of debris later, the ship was made safe for divers by welding incredibly heavy hatch covers to the ship’s frame, strengthening it to deter future collapse.
$ 60
Turtle Crossing is located off the shore between West End and West Bay, near coral channels that lead to a wall dropping off at 120 feet. There are two sandy plateaus here at 20 feet and 45 feet surrounded by coral structures where divers can find an abundance of marine life, making diving deeper relatively unnecessary to enjoy the many turtles, eels, and lobsters that live near and in the coral.
Large schools of Sergeant Majors and Brazilian Chubs circulate the area, as well as flounders, coral branded shrimp, jawfish, crabs, and nudibranchs.
Great visibility and easy access make this dive site a perfect place for beginners and students, and the area beyond the wall that plunges to 150 feet provides a site for more experienced divers to locate reef-dwelling creatures at deeper depths.
$ 40/tank
One of the most popular dive sites off Roatan’s coast, the West End Wall is beautiful wall dive which promises divers spectacular views of an enormous underwater wall and an abundance of marine life inhabiting it.
Great for snorkeling as well, the crest of the reef is knit with plenty of stony coral and gorgonians (sea fans), which cut down the face of the wall. 90 feet below is the base of the wall, also lined with coral outcroppings, which levels out into a sandy bottom continuing to slope downward.
Southern stingrays and Spotted Eagle Rays are often seen by divers here, where the base of the wall provides a perfect environment for their hunting grounds.
$ 40/tank
Located off the coast of Sandy Bay, this dive site is named White Hole for the circular patch of white sand that greets you at the start of your dive at 35 feet. Also a popular site for night diving, the maximum dive depth reaches over 120 feet beyond the wall, which you can find past the beautiful coral heads which surround the initial sand patch.
Shrimp, anemone, lobster and encrusting sponges thrive here as typical in coral patches, and if you are going for a wall dive be sure to watch for the large schools of fish that emerge from the deep blue.
The reef of the wall forms a plateau at around 60 feet, then drops down to the max depth of about 120 feet.
$ 40/tank