Explore Roatan

Only 30 miles from mainland Honduras, scuba diving in Roatan is said by many to be among the best that the Caribbean and the Americas has to offer. Its ideal location, with hundreds of dive sites along with protected marine parks have allowed seemingly infinite colorful corals and tropical species to thrive in excess.

You’ll enjoy a wild yet relaxing experience underwater, where cruising over coral formations, diving on deep walls, gliding along with exhilarating currents and exploring encrusted shipwrecks is just the beginning. In the West End area, there are over 50 dive sites alone, and on the South Shore, you can dive with curious reef sharks.

Divers are spoilt for choice by the sheer number of dive centers and dive resorts that cater to all budgets, and with diving suited to all skill levels, it’s a fantastic place to undertake dive courses, from entry-level all the way up to professional level. If you opt for a liveaboard, you’ll also enjoy a memorable trip, where you’ll be taken to the best diving spots all around the Bay Islands and Cayo Cochinos.

There are plenty of diving locations all over Roatan. Sandy Bay offers uncrowded reefs away from the main tourist areas on the western tip of the island, while Palmetto Bay, West Bay and West End promise a boatload of diving opportunities. Pristine Bay is also a great spot, and Coxen Hole, which offers great shark diving, is one Roatan’s most popular diving destinations along with West End. At the East End, the scenic town of Punta Gorda similarly has impressive beaches and epic diving.

Places to Explore

East End

Dive in the waters of the Caribbean’s best-kept secret: the East End of Roatan

Roatan Marine Park

33 Divesites 14 Centers

The most popular area to dive in Roatan is the Roatan Marine Park.

Upcoming Events

Diver Level Programs / Courses

Splash Inn

Advanced Open Water Diver

30 Nov 2025

If you cannot decide which specialty programs are the best choice for you, join the SSI Advanced Open Water Diver program! You will try Deep Diving and Navigation plus a variety of 3 more specialty areas of choice before committing to full specialty training. It is a great way to experience what advanced diver training is all about and how valuable it can be to your diving adventures. During the Advanced Open Water Diver Program, you will experience 5 different specialties by completing one open water training dive per specialty after a comprehensive briefing with your SSI Instructor. By taking this program you will have total freedom to explore. You can complete the full Specialty trainings any time in the future and credit your Advanced Open Water Diver training towards them.

Professional Level Programs / Courses

Warfighter Scuba

Open Water Instructor (Instructor Training Course ITC)

01 Dec 2025 + 31 more

Start today - You need to be a Divemaster or equivalent to join SSI´s 3-Step Instructor Training Approach. The training process starts with joining the Assistant Instructor / Instructor Training Course combination accompanied with Digital Learning. After successful completion of the Instructor Training Course (ITC) you will enroll in an Instructor Evaluation (IE) to qualify as an SSI Open Water Instructor. This 10 day training program entitles you to teach various key SSI programs independently like Scuba Diver, Open Water Diver, Enriched Air Nitrox, Diver Stress & Rescue and Dive Guide. For those who want to take more time to learn and to gain valuable teaching experience between the training programs the 3 parts can also be taken as single steps - Assistant Instructor, Instructor Training Course (ITC) and Instructor Evaluation (IE) one after the other at own pace and with a flexible schedule.

Diver Level Programs / Courses

Splash Inn

Open Water Diver

04 Dec 2025 + 1 more

This globally recognized certification program is the best way to begin your lifelong adventures as a certified scuba diver. Personalized training is combined with in-water practice sessions to ensure you have the skills and experience required to become truly comfortable underwater. You will earn the SSI Open Water Diver certification.

Diver Level Programs / Courses

Splash Inn

Advanced Adventurer

19 Dec 2025 + 1 more

If you cannot decide which specialty programs are the best choice for you, join the SSI Advanced Adventurer program! With this program, you can try a variety of specialties before committing to full specialty programs. It is a great way to experience what advanced diver training is all about and how valuable it can be to your diving adventures. During the Advanced Adventurer Program, you will try out 5 different specialties. You will complete one open water training dive per specialty after a comprehensive briefing with your SSI Instructor. With this trial program in specialty diving, you will have total freedom to explore. You can complete the full specialty programs any time in the future and credit your Advanced Adventurer training towards them.

Diver Level Programs / Courses

Aqua Force Omoa Divers

Enriched Air Nitrox Level 2 (40%)

20 Dec 2025

As a Nitrox diver, you can increase your bottom times and safety margins, plus shorten your surface intervals - so you can spend more time diving and less time waiting! In this program, you will learn new skills and increase your diving knowledge whilst learning how to safely plan and dive with enriched air mixtures of up to 40% oxygen. Upon completion, you will earn an SSI Enriched Air Nitrox 32% or 40% certification.

Diver Level Programs / Courses

Blue Island Divers

Open Water Diver

03 Feb 2026

Diver Level Programs / Courses

Blue Island Divers

Deep Diving

06 Feb 2026

The SSI Deep Diving Specialty will teach you all you need to dive to depths between 18 and 40 meters, through a mixture of academic sessions and open water dives. You will learn to plan and safely complete your deep diving adventures and use computers and gas consumption calculations to get the most from your deep dives. Upon completion, you will earn your SSI Deep Diving Specialty certification and be able to explore beautiful deep dive sites wherever you choose. This SSI Specialty is also a prerequisite for some advanced training, making it the next logical step to take in your dive education.

Diver Level Programs / Courses

Blue Moon Scuba

Open Water Diver

16 Apr 2026

Top Dive Sites Map

★★★★★ Odyssey (Wreck)

110 feet under the surface of Roatan you can find the Odyssey Wreck. 300 feet long, 50 wide and, 85 feet tall, this wreck will impress. Sunk for divers in 2002, the wreck was donated by Hydes of Hybour.

★★★★★ Dolphins Den

A shallow cave/cavern dive at 5-12m accessible from either inside or outside the reef. Torches are advisable but an experienced diver can work through with the natural light

★★★★★ El Aguila (Wreck)

El Aguila (The Eagle) is Roatan’s most popular wreck dive and is located just off Baileys Key and Anthony’s Key Resort. It was a concrete freighter and sunk off Utila. The wreck was raised, stripped out for diving, and then sunk again by a consortium of dive shops on the island in 1997.

★★★★★ Half Moon Wall

Located off West End, Half Moon Bay Wall is an easy site to get to and a popular one with local dive centers. The reef begins at 15 feet and drops to 150 feet.

★★★★☆ Texas (The Point)

Most dives that are called Texas actually start closer to the Salt Life Point buoy and drift into Texas. The reason for this is that Texas is the area off of the westernmost point of the island and can be subject to strong currents. The Texas buoy itself is in 40 ft / 12 m and if there is current it will generally be pushing you off of the island and out towards the blue, so your dive can be hard work and short.

★★★★★ Pablos Place

Located on the western tip of the Island, this is a great drift diving site with a vertical reef wall starting at about 50ft. An east to west current gives a moderate drift for recreational divers.

★★★★★ West End Wall

West End Wall is one of the most popular dive sites in Roatan. People come from all over the Bay Islands to dive here. It is a huge and amazing wall on the west end of Roatan, full of canyons and a huge variety of marine life. Sometimes the current can be medium to strong at the end of the dive.

★★★★★ Bucca Quay

Referred to by most as West End Wall, the official name is Buca Quay. This is a great wall drift dive with side canyons, chutes, and sand falls starting off at about 66 ft / 20 m to the bottom of the wall it drops off as you head west/south.

★★★★★ Black Rock

A continuation of West End Wall, Black Rock also provides an outstanding dive site with numerous fissures in the reef wall. Featuring spectacular soft coral formations and giant barrel sponges, this dive site joins up with West End Wall, Texas, and Pablo’s Place.

Scubapro, Stephen Frink

★★★★☆ Infinity Bay House Reef

Located just off West Bay, this site encompasses various dive sites, suited for beginners on the inner reef and snorkelers. A short distance away is the outer wall and greater depths.

★★★★★ Mandy’s Eel Garden

Located on the prestigious West Bay Beach, Mandy’s Eel Garden starts at around 20 feet and continues towards the outer wall on the reef dropping down to the abyss.

★★★★☆ Over Heat

A beautiful relaxing dive site, named after the patch of reef over which an old resort dive boat would overheat each day. Over Heat is one of the most favorite dive sites on Roatan.

★★★★☆ Butcher’s Bank

Butcher’s Bank offers is so much variation, making it a firm favorite with many dive operators in the area. The line is set at the usual 40 ft / 12 m at the inner end of a coral finger running in from the outer wall.

Scubapro, Stephen Frink

★★★★☆ Blue Cave

On the south side on the Island of Roatan, close to the west point, there is this fantastic dive site, starting in shallow clear water close to the rocky shoore.

★★★★☆ Tabyanas

Tabyana, aka “Herbie’s Fantasy or Place“ is a salt water dive site, located in West Bay, Roatan, Honduras. This dive site has an average rating of 4.50 out of 5 from 4 scuba divers. The maximum depth is 36-40ft/11-12m. The average visibility is 71-80ft/22-24m.

Diving in Roatan

Roatan is typically characterized by vibrant, healthy coral reef diving, especially since the Mesoamerican Reef is within easy access, which spans more than 600 miles, and can proudly be named the largest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere, and only second to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

Plus, with its sensational topography that allows some exciting wall and drift diving opportunities, the island is surrounded by a fringing coral reef wall, which slopes gently in some spots, and drops vertically into the blue depths in others.

The great thing is that wall diving here is perfect for beginners and seasoned divers alike. At many sites, you can float along the reef edge and fly off the drop-offs, in addition to critter hunting in the wall’s nooks and crannies. Bucket list-worthy wall and drift sites include Texas, Pablo's Place and West End Wall, which are conveniently situated on the western point of Roatan - one of the top diving spots on the island. On the West End, Half Moon Bay Wall is another exceptional wall site.

Roatan’s interesting seascapes have formed exciting tunnels, swim-throughs and caves, making for some amazing cave diving experiences. At the West End, there are numerous canyons often filled with silver sides and other small bait fish. Blue Channel, Hole in the Wall and Bear’s Den are excellent cave sites to put on your diving map.

The several wreck dive sites on Roatan allow for wreck specialty training, and attract shipwreck fanatics from all walks of life. The aging shipwrecks serve as artificial reefs, where encrusted corals coat their entirety, and plenty of diverse species thrive. The El Aguila and The Odyssey are two of the most popular shipwrecks - you won’t regret a visit.

The best Months to Dive in Roatan

Warm temperatures ranging between 27°C–30°C/81°F–86°F allow for great diving year-round. The best time is usually April and May, when the dry season causes warm, sunny weather and the best sea conditions.

The rainy season runs from around July to January, though the wettest months are between October and January. Tropical rains usually pass quickly though, and sunny days occur frequently.

For whale shark encounters, any time of the year is possible, but February and April promise the highest chance.