The island of Utila is in the western Caribbean just of the coast of Honduras and is part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the second largest reef system in the world.

With Utila’s wide variety of dive sites, warm clear water - often surpassing that magical 100ft/30m visibility - and abundant sea-life it is no wonder that Utila attracts divers and people who want to learn to dive from all around the world. With over one hundred world class dive sites to explore, your options are endless.

Utila's reef systems are amongst the best and most interesting in the world because of their location on the edge of the continental shelf at the transition between shallow water and deep water habitats. Almost all the species of marine life known to inhabit the Caribbean have been identified in the waters here.

Some of the best diving around Utila (in fact around the Caribbean) is found only minutes from the bay that protects East Harbor, the town of Utila.

One of the most popular dives at Alton’s is a drift dive through the Airport Caves dive site which is just 5 minutes boat ride away. Here you will find some of the best swim throughs, overhangs and caves around Utila. Black Coral Wall lies on the edge of the bay and has one of the deepest walls on the south side of the island and an amazing coral garden running along the top of the wall where hawksbill turtles are often found cruising the reef. Labyrinth and Pretty Bush dive sites are just minutes away from the harbor, where winding sand channels on top of the reef act as a haven for morays and lobsters.

At the west end of the southern shore you’ll find Stingray Point , a hugely popular and special dive site due to the convergence of two reef walls creating a funneling effect, finishing at the beach at Stingray Point. With it's canyons and wide coral garden on top of the wall, interspersed with sand channels, Stingray Point is a great place to explore.

Carry on past the Cays laying off the west end of Utila and you’ll come around to the north side of the island. This is where the continental shelf drops away into deeper ocean. CJ’s Drop-off dive site is renowned for it’s dramatic views down into the blue, one of the biggest drop offs you'll find diving in the Caribbean, the reef wall drops vertically from 15ft/5m to over 3000ft/1000m! This is one reason why Whale Sharks come so close to Utila - the deep waters very close to the shore.

The north side of the island is home to the Turtle Harbor Marine Reserve  which has dive sites such as The Pinnacle , The Maze and on the eastern edge of Turtle Harbor there is Duppy Waters with beautiful reef to explore and a vertigo inducing wall home to enormous barrel sponges. As you progress eastwards around the island you’ll come across Blackish Point an absolutely stunning drift dive with overhangs and chimneys carved into the "Iron Shore". Further around the island to the east end you’ll find Black Hills - a breathtaking site a little under one mile off Utila. A sea-mount out in the ocean, it attracts huge populations of fish. Expect to see schools of horse-eye jacks circling the top of the mount, atlantic spade fish,  hawksbill and green turtles can be seen here.There is always the opportunity of finding whale sharks and manta rays in the deeper water away from the mount itself, so don't forget to take a look up towards the surface from time to time.

Wherever you take your dives the variety of dive sites and marine life species is amazing! If you have an interest in marine life take a moment to chat with our resident marine life expert or come along to one of the free fish identification and behavior talks run weekly.

Take a Nitrox diver specialty course while you are here and get even more out of your diving - dive for longer and feel less tired afterwards!

Utila Experience Package 7 nights luxury accommodation. 5 days diving with two boat dives per day + two night dives Price: $799 > Add to Cart <

Utila Dive Junkie Package 7 nights luxury accommodation, 5 days diving with three boat dives per day + two night dives Price: $949 > Add to Cart <