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Hole in the Wall
Hole in the Wall is a staple Roatan scuba dive, dont 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.
El Aguila (Shipwreck)
One of three main shipwreck dive sites off Roatans coast, El Aguila is 75 meters (230 feet) long and broken into three pieces (courtesy of 1998s Hurricane Mitch) providing plenty of areas 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.
Mandys Eel Garden
Mandys 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, but the shallow depth of the dive also 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 Odyssey (Shipwreck)
110 feet under the surface off Roatans shore sits the Odyssey wreck. At 300 feet long, 50 feet wide, and 85 feet tall, this freighter is Roatans 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 center section of the Odyssey has collapsed, but the bow remains tall and uprightproviding 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.
Blue Channel
Blue Channel is a popular dive for snorkelers and divers, located right off the shore of Roatans famous West End. The shallow dive is a channel, starting from just inside the reef and curving out toward the coral ridgethe 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.
West End Wall
One of the most popular dive sites off Roatans 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.
Turtle Crossing
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 banded 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.
Bears Den
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 Bears 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.
Back outside, 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 Bears Den earlier in the day to experience the best angle of the sun in the cavern. Bears Den is located to the east of Half Moon Bay, on the northern side of Roatan. Sea whips, sea sponges, black coral, butterflyfish, grouper, snapper, turtles, and barracudas are all often found on this beautiful and versatile dive.
Pablos Place
Pablos 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 the 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.
Spooky Channel
For divers searching for something different, Spooky Channel is an interesting location that links the lagoon to Roatans 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 Bays 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 isnt 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.