Scuba diving in Utila

Utila is the smallest of the Honduras Bay Islands, after Roatan and Guanaja. It is located off the north shore of Honduras, and its waters border the second-largest reef in the world, the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. The highest point on the island is Pumpkin Hill (74m/243ft). Utila is also famous for two main events that take place each year. The first is the Utila Carnival, which is held in the third week of July, and offers a chance to experience the local culture in full swing with a number of different events being held throughout the week. The second is Sun Jam, held in the first week of August, which is a massive techno music festival offering all night partying on Water Cay. Utila has 60 buoyed sites around the island and two marine reserves, which are the best dive locations in the Caribbean. It is one of the busiest places for the open water course in the world. There are so many choices for scuba diving, and each one offers a unique experience for any skill level. Most popular dive sites The most famous dive sites are the Haliburton wreck, CJ’s Drop-Off, the Black Hills, the Aquarium, Ted’s Point, Blackish Point, and the Maze.

The climate is tropical in Utila. Daily average temperatures range from 25-32C/77-90F, drop to around 21C/70F at night. The wettest months are October and November. The water temperature around Utila is warm year round and ranges between its lowest temperature of 25C/77F in the winter months to its warmest temperature in the summer, 30C/86F. The water visibility is 10-30m/33-98ft. What to see Divers can also explore caverns with chimneys, drop-offs, walls, swim-through caves, and fringing reefs. Divers can expect to see a wide variety of coral, sponges, anemones, seahorses, turtles, rays, dolphins, angelfish, grouper, bass, crabs, blue chromis, filefish and of course, whale sharks, some of which have been reported as being over 50 feet long.