Scuba Diving in Roatan Honduras
Roatan is known as a scuba diver’s paradise. In fact, it’s the reason tourism developed on the island as more and more divers started visiting and requiring more services. Scuba diving in Roatan Honduras is one of the bucket list places for divers around the world. Let’s talk about why…
Dive Sites in Roatan
Roatan is surrounded by the second-largest barrier reef in the world: the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. It stretches from the Yucatan Peninsula down and around our Bay Islands of Honduras. It’s so close to Roatan’s shore that you can easily swim out to snorkel or dive, without needing a boat.
Most diving in Roatan is, however, boat diving. It makes it easier to reach different dive sites and allows you to drift dive safely. The currents aren’t strong in Roatan, but it’s still nice to stay along the wall and not have to double back to the boat.
The Roatan Marine Park oversees the installation and naming of dive sites around Roatan. Their conservation efforts are absolutely vital to the survival of this fragile ecosystem, so it’s important to support them however you can.
They have buoys for over 50 dives just around the West Bay/West End/Sandy Bay area alone! They also patrol the coastline to prevent illegal poaching or other activities.
Scuba Diving in Roatan Honduras
The scuba diving conditions in Roatan are outstanding! We enjoy extensive visibility, warm waters, and minimal currents. That’s also what makes Roatan such a premier location for students to learn to dive. It’s a beautiful, comfortable location to do scuba courses.
There are dive shops all around the island, from the East End to the end of West Bay Beach. If you move to Roatan and want to dive, you can choose whichever dive shop is your favorite. Many will offer discounts to locals who want to dive regularly. It’s also a great way to show your friends and family more of the beauty of Roatan when they come to visit!
Throughout much of the year, dive shops tend to use 3mm shortie wetsuits for guests. Dive professionals often opt for full wetsuits only because they’re in the water all day everyday. If you’re diving in the height of summer, you might not even need a wetsuit at all!
Living in Roatan and Diving
Since I moved to Roatan, I’ve learned not only the basics of diving…I’m actually an Advanced Open Water Diver! I’m proud to say that because I think it’s so important to see and understand the coral reef system around our island home. Once you see the beauty and the diversity of marine life that’s there, you can’t help but want to protect it.
As residents, whether local or expat, it’s our responsibility to do our part supporting the Roatan Marine Park and encouraging sustainable practices in tourism.
The coral reef here is amazing and it’s what draws massive tourism investment annually. But, most importantly, it is fragile and susceptible to human interference, so we need to be careful and protect it for future generations.
If you move to Roatan, you simply have to try scuba diving. Even if you only try it once, it’s important to understand what’s under the surface so we can all work together to keep Roatan beautiful.
Are you thinking of moving to Roatan? Do you already scuba dive? Get in touch and I’ll share my insights from living and diving here in Roatan.