Route Description - Roatan, Utila & Cayos Cochinos
The Roatan and Bay Islands of Honduras itinerary explores some of the Caribbean’s finest diving, from dramatic walls and colourful coral gardens to historic wrecks and rarely visited seamounts. Discover Roatan’s famous Mary’s Place and the impressive Odyssey wreck, explore Utila’s pelagic-rich reefs and look out for manta rays, eagle rays, turtles and whale sharks. The journey also visits the remote seamounts and vibrant reefs of Cayos Cochinos, offering fascinating macro life and abundant tropical marine species.
Roatan
Mary’s Place
One of Roatan’s most famous dive sites, Mary’s Place features a vibrant reef crossed by deep crevasses, narrow passages and tunnels. Its dramatic formations create fascinating underwater scenery and excellent opportunities for photography.
Taviana’s Wall
This colourful wall dive is known for its resident turtles and rich reef life. It is also a popular night dive, when octopuses, crabs and lobsters emerge from their daytime hiding places.
Wreck of the Aguila
The Aguila wreck has become an artificial reef supporting an impressive variety of marine life. Large groupers, a distinctive blue parrotfish and a resident green moray eel are among its highlights.
Odyssey Wreck
Measuring approximately 300 feet long, 50 feet wide and 85 feet tall, the Odyssey is Roatan’s largest wreck and one of the Caribbean’s most impressive artificial reef dives. Its enormous structure offers plenty to explore.
Seamount
Coco’s Seamount
Coco’s Seamount is admired for its combination of colourful coral formations and excellent visibility. Rising from depths of several hundred feet to around 40 feet below the surface, this remote underwater feature offers a rewarding dive away from the more frequently visited coastal sites.
Utila
Black Hills
A favourite among divers, Black Hills is a seamount teeming with schooling creole wrasse, Atlantic spadefish, horse-eye jacks and southern sennet. Scorpionfish, toadfish and the occasional frogfish can also be found around the reef. Turtles and barracuda are regular highlights, while encounters with larger pelagic species may include manta rays, marlin, sharks and whale sharks.
Duppy Waters
Duppy Waters begins with a colourful coral garden at around 20 feet before sloping down into deeper blue water. Eagle rays, stingrays and octopuses are among the marine life found here, alongside schools of creole wrasse and blue tang.
CJ’s Drop-off
A rewarding site for deep-dive enthusiasts, CJ’s Drop-off features deeper reef terrain and opportunities to encounter Caribbean spiny lobsters, golden-tail morays and schools of jacks.
Raggedy Cay
Starting at approximately 30 feet and descending to around 130 feet, Raggedy Cay features coral gardens and sandy channels. Divers may encounter majestic eagle rays, hawksbill turtles feeding on soft corals, octopuses and spotted moray eels.
Old Bank
This shallow reef site is known for its flourishing elkhorn coral and smaller marine life. Fringed filefish and Caribbean reef squid can be spotted along the walls, while yellowhead jawfish occasionally peer out from their burrows in the sandy areas.
Cannery Bank
Cannery Bank offers the chance to encounter large pelagic species in open water. Colourful coral formations cover the seamount, which begins at approximately 25 feet and slopes down to around 110 feet.
Jack Neil Point
Featuring sandy areas, walls and scattered coral formations, Jack Neil Point offers a diverse underwater environment. Its unusual inhabitants include longsnout seahorses, large-eye toadfish, flying gurnards and octopuses, making it a particularly rewarding night dive.
Halliburton Wreck
Sunk in 1998, the Halliburton is an artificial reef lying between approximately 65 and 100 feet. The wheelhouse sits at the shallower end, with the vessel extending down towards the seabed. Marine life commonly seen around the wreck includes green moray eels, spotted drum, yellowline arrow crabs, channel-clinging crabs and bearded fireworms. Porcupinefish and pipefish may also make an appearance.
Hawksbill Bank
This remote seamount, visited by only a limited number of operators, begins at around 40 feet and slopes down to approximately 80 feet. Bluebell tunicates and rare fingerprint cyphomas can be found among its marine life, while a resident hawksbill turtle gives the site its name.
Cayos Cochinos
Toon Town
Toon Town is a fascinating macro dive site known for its abundance of small marine life. Large clusters of bluebell tunicates provide shelter for tiny crabs and flamingo tongue cowries, making it an excellent destination for underwater photographers and critter enthusiasts.
Pelican Point
Pelican Point features a thriving reef populated by a wide variety of tropical fish, including French and queen angelfish, butterflyfish, tangs and parrotfish. Larger predators, such as sharks and barracuda, may be spotted patrolling the outer reef.