If you’re coming to Roatan, you simply must get into the water and do some SCUBA diving. SCUBA (Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) has been the main reason most tourists visit Roatan for decades. With the growth of mainstream tourism to the island, more divers have been able to convince their families and friends to join them for a vacation in paradise.
If you’ve never been diving before, Roatan is the ideal location to learn. Calm waters inside the reef allow for pool-like conditions as you learn the basics, and the incredible visibility and array of marine life make for some of the absolute best training dives you could do anywhere in the world.
If you’re an experienced diver, you’ll find that the diversity around Roatan will amaze and entertain you dive after dive. There’s a reason that many of the expat instructors stayed in Roatan – they came to dive and fell in love with the reef. You can spend years diving all of the sites here and still see something new every single time. Here are our top five picks for must-do dive sites around Roatan.
Hole in the Wall: For the advanced diver, Hole in the Wall is located just outside of Mangrove Bight along the northwestern shore of Roatan. With a maximum depth of 130’ this dive offers incredible swim-thrus and even a cave system boasting thousands of silversides dancing in the streaming light from above. Hole in the Wall is often called Swiss Cheese as well, which will make perfect sense as you descend into the depths and find much to explore.
Seaquest Deep: A constant favorite among local Divemasters and Instructors, Seaquest Deep offers variety of depth and marine life. Located between West End and West Bay, Seaquest is convenient for most dive shops along this stretch of the island. Big schools of fish, expansive coral growth, and the regular big sighting like eagle rays and nurse sharks make Seaquest Deep a perfect site for every level diver.
Mary’s Place: Located on the south side of Roatan, Mary’s Place is often named one of the top dive sites in the world. There are two cracks that will highlight some intriguing coral growth along the walls while flourishing marine life joins you for a jaunt through the reef. There are fewer dive shops on the south side, but during the winter many West End and West Bay dive shops head to the south side when bad weather rolls in. That’s a great time to take advantage of the ease of getting to Mary’s Place!
Texas: Located at the western point of the island, Texas provides awesome currents to sail through covering expansive ground. Giant barrel sponges and lots of soft coral growth make this dive site unique for this part of the island. This is also a promising location to spot some larger life as they, too, take advantage of converging currents from the north and south shores. Keep an eye out for hammerheads as they are sometimes spotted cruising through Texas.
El Aguila: El Aguila is a wreck lying at about 95’ only 10 minutes from West End. In 1998, Hurricane Mitch hit Honduras directly and split this wreck into three sections, making it a fascinating dive to easily check out the interior of each section. The dive finishes along the reef wall, making for a beautiful ascent and safety stop filled with colorful marine life and coral.
