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General Diving in The Bay Islands
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Roatan
West End Wall, which encompasses Peter’s
Place and Herbie’s
Place, is great for diving and snorkeling. The reef starts at the
shore and extends out 20 yds, where the wall drops off sharply from a ledge at 15 ft. Visibility often exceeds
100 ft. Marine life is superb, with schools of horse-eye jacks, permits, and schoolmaster. Seas are calm, with
an occasional light current. |
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Guanaja
The Bayman Drop and Pinnacle are wall dives off the north shore.
The top of the wall is between 10 and 40 ft. The Pinnacle rises from 135 to 50 ft at the top, where you’ll find
large barrel sponges, azure vase sponges and gorgonia. Black coral can be found at about 80 ft. Guanaja is excellent
for both diving and snorkeling. |
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| Pavilions is a series of
blind tunnels, pillar corals and outcroppings between 30 and 60 ft. Soft corals and sponges dominate the shallows.
Beware of the fire coral which seems hotter here than other parts of the Caribbean. The site is off Michael’s Rock
around the point next to the Bayman Bay Club. Good for diving and snorkeling. |
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| Waterfall Reef, the site
of a huge black coral tree growing off the wall at 45 ft. This site takes its name from a series of overhangs with
soft bushy corals which appear to cascade down the slope. Numerous anemones, big vase sponges and lots of fish
make Waterfall a photographers’ favorite. Good visibility. |
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Jader Trader is a 200-ft
wreck lying on its right side at 90 ft off the southwest side of Guanaja. Big morays, schools of silversides, turtles
and barracuda are in residence. Seas average two to four ft with a light current. Always good visibility. For experienced
divers.
Additional dives along Guanaja’s barrier reef are Eel’s Garden,
Black Rock Canyons, a maze of tunnels and canyons, Jim’s Silverlode, a sheer wall off
southwest cay with huge sponges and soft corals. The Cut branches out into caverns and tunnels. |
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Cayos Cochinos
Cayos Cochinos are a group of 13 small islands deemed a Biological
Reserve and managed, in part, by the Smithsonian Institution to conduct a scientific study of the reef. The park
is patrolled by park rangers. Diving and snorkeling from the shore or by boat is outstanding. |
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Utila
Utila, fringed by virgin reefs, caves and canyons, offers some of the best shore diving and snorkeling in the Caribbean.
Wildlife is exceptional, with turtles, eagle rays, southern sting rays and tropicals. Offshore sites are a 15 to
45 minute boat rides. The shore dives lie about 150 yds out. |
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Barbaretta
Barbaretta Wall off Barbaretta island, a favorite snorkeling and
picnic spot between Guanaja and Roatan. This area is a wonderland of barrel sponges and soft corals. The wall stretches
for a mile. |
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Pigeon Cays
Pigeon Cays are a small cluster of islands surrounded by shallow protected reefs, all perfect for snorkeling. |
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| Site descriptions provided by Blair Nichols. |
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