Utila Bay Island - Diving
Utila Bay Island offers nearly 100 world-class dive sites including
those highlighted below.
South side
Platform fringing reefs are offered in Utila’s South side.
The depths of 15-25ft are wonderful for shallow dives exploring
the tongue and groove coral formations. Most walls slope gradually
to 70 or 80 ft. The hard corals are rich and varied due to the southern
exposure. A wide variety of colorful tropical and young black coral
can be found throughout this area. An occasional hawksbill and green
turtle sighting can be found west from Jack Neal Point. Be sure
to keep an eye on the deep blue for the resident spotted eagle rays
cruising parallel to the wall.
Click to Enlarge
Sea Mounts
Sea mounts are dotted around within a few miles of Utila’s
coast and reach up to within 30-45 ft of the surface and sloping
down to as deep as 200 ft. Here is where you will find the most
abundant soft coral diving. With a variety of pelagics, you can
expect the unexpected. Some common sights include schools of jacks,
snappers, spade fish and every species of grouper found in the Bay
Islands, all at just one dive site. Make sure to keep an out eye
for resident hawksbill or green turtles, spotted, green, and goldentail
moray eels, and balloon, porcupine, and webbed urrfish puffers.
North side (Turtle Harbor)
An active fish nursery is located on the lip of the Continental
Shelf a plateau of 25 ft, edged by pillar and mountainous star coral.
This platform leads dramatically to a sheer, deep wall extending
well below 1000 ft in many places. The wall is covered by sparse
hard corals, due to the northern exposure, and rich with profuse
sponge formations. Look for dog snapper, mackerel, permot, grouper,
and ray at depth. Nesting and feeding on the shelves you can expect
an occasional hawksbill and green turtles. Turtle harbor, hence
the name, is a nesting ground for turtles. Also keep a close eye
out for midnight parrot fish between Turtle and Rock Harbor.
Ironshore
The volcanic coastline, located along Utila’s eastern shore,
makes for strangely stunning shallow diving with the waves quietly
breaking right overhead.
Whale Sharks
Most divers come to Utila in search of perspective- human vs. Whale
shark. During the months of May through September, numerous divers
experience the excitement of a diver’s lifetime and swim with
these gentle kings of the ocean. The nutrient rich waters of Utila
attract the whale sharks.
The chances of you seeing a whale shark, according to statistics,
are about 50/50. The average is about one sighting per week in Utila
and most operators have exceptional techniques to spot them so your
chances are pretty good!
Learn
More about Whale Sharks.
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