The beaches are found west of town toward Blue Bayou. At Blue Bayou you can swing in a hammock, relax and enjoy the beach with a good book or snorkel on the reef just offshore. The Utila Cayes are just short boat trip away where you will find 11 palm studded islands surrounded by white sandy beaches. Utila has only one main road lined with gingerbread houses in lively colored pastels. The village looks like it came from 1950. The locals are friendly and happy and love to welcome new visitors to their island.

There are a number of services available including a telephone/fax office at Hondutel. Email and internet access services are widely available across town including the Mango Inn where it is $3 an hour or free WiFi for guests. Banking can be done at one of the two banks on the island, where cash advances, money exchange, and exchange of travel cheques can be processed.

There is an official business lunch break (siesta) from 11:30am-1:30pm. Electrical power is provided by a new independent company called 'UPCO' that operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is a great improvement since 2003 where previously town power was unreliable and operated only from 6am to 12am. There is a municipal government building found next to the ferry dock that can administer all visa and passport documents. A large well equipped clinic is located on the island as well as a dive injury trauma and recompression chamber facility.

Dive sites of Utila

Utila has something wonderful to offer every diver be they beginners doing there certification course or divers with hundreds of dives and years of experience. Every year divers have the opportunity to dive and snorkel with dolphins, whalesharks, eagle rays, moray eels, turtles, frogfish, seahorses and many, many other spectacular creatures.

Utila has on record over 220 species of reef fish and 50 species of coral as well as an untold number of reef invertebrates.

One of the most attractive aspects of diving on Utila is the wide variety. The island is circumnavigated by over 80 buoyed dive sites and these range from sheer wall dives like the 'Great Wall' to sandy bottomed shallow reefs like 'little bight', from deep wrecks like the 'Halliburton 211' to sloping fringing reef like 'Airport caves'. Wherever our boats take you there is one thing to be assured – you are not going to see the same thing twice!

To better understand the different types of diving on Utila please see the breakdown below. We have divided the island into five sections. These sections have been determined by the type of diving you will do there. There is also a list of some key sites in each area.

North Side - Turtle Harbour
Key sites include: Pinnacle; Great Wall/Duppy Waters; CJ's Drop Off; The Maze; Willy's hole; Blackish point.

For many people this is the highlight of diving in Utila. Turtle Harbour is a nationally protected marine reserve and is home to some of the most awe-inspiring of Utilas sites. It is located on the far North side of the island and is a 45 minute boat ride. Part of the attraction here is the sheer depth of many of the wall dives. The reef drops off from 15-20ft/5-6m rapidly reaching recreational limits. For this reason this part of the island is best for the more experienced diver. These sites are great for seeing many of the bigger fish such as Groupers, Barracuda, Nurse Sharks and the beautiful Midnight Parrotfish. It is not uncommon to see large schools of Snappers and Spadefish at these sites too. Certain sites in the harbour are also perfect for seeing invertebrates such as sea slugs. Take a closer look at the shallow reef on CJ's drop off – you'll be surprised how much you see!

North Side – West end
Key sites include: Raggedy Cay; Spotted Bay; West End.

Also on the North side of the island stretching from the Utila Cays towards Turtle Harbour are the North West group of dive sites – it is a 25-30 minute boat ride.. This part of the reef is particularly noteworthy because of the abundance and range of healthy hard and soft corals. The sites start at around 20-25ft/6-8m and slop off (sometimes gradually, sometimes steeply) beyond recreational limits. For many people the sheer diversity of life on these sites make them must dives for many of Utilas experienced divers. Some special species to look out for here are the beautiful Flamingo tongues as well as the shy Harlequin pipefish but don't forget to look out into the blue occasionally – you don't want to miss the Eagle ray's 'flying' by!

South West
Key sites include: Little Bight; Black Coral Wall; Silvergardens; Cabanas; Stingray point; Labyrinth; Jack Neal Cove; Big Rock.

The South West side of the island is the biggest area we have chosen and also the one with the widest variety of different sites. Boat times to these sites vary from 10-25 minutes. The fringing reef here starts at the edge of East Harbour and runs all the way to the Utila Cays (around 5 km). In this area you will find all types of sites from shallow banking reefs to smaller wall dives. Fish life is wide and varied throughout these sites but divers often like to explore the labyrinthine spur and groove formation that make up the shallows of many of these sites. Here you have a good chance of finding a sleeping Nurse Shark or a peaceful Green Moray. With the reefs on these sites starting as shallow as 3ft/1m there is plenty to see for everyone. Some of the best snorkeling on Utila can also be found at these sites.

South East
Key sites include: Airport Caves; Ted's Point; Moonhole; Halliburton 211; Lighthouse reef.

The South East end of the island is attractive because of the quality of diving and also the easy access. With boat rides between 2 and 10 minutes many divers choose these sites for their afternoon trips. This section of the reef boasts 3 wrecks and limitless swim-throughs and caves. The reef here starts very shallow (5ft/2m) and has a maximum depth of between 50ft/15m and depths beyond recreational limits. The lure here really is the chance to explore and find those nooks and crannies bustling with Glassy Sweepers and Dog Snappers. Common sightings on this part of the reef are Seahorses and Eagle Rays.
Offshore banks
Key sites include: Black Hills; Pretty Bush Mound; Captains delight

Whilst Utila's fringing reef has plenty to offer sometimes it's nice to take a break from the islands sites and explore offshore! With outstanding diving available on the many banks that surround Utila this is a must for everyone exploring the island. A particular favorite for many of Utila's resident dive pros, Black Hills offers an unbeatable volume of schooling fish including Atlantic Spadefish, Creole Wrasse and Horse-eyed Jacks. Other banks off the South West side offer incredible views of soft corals unequalled anywhere else on the island. These banks tend to be a little deeper than the fringing reef starting at around 35-40ft/10-12m. Boat times to the banks vary from 10-30 minutes.


What is diving on Utila like?

Utila offers a wonderful variety for underwater adventurers. The reefs are packed with life and the corals are in pristine condition. It is not uncommon for divers to play with manta rays, swim with dolphins and gasp with wonder as the biggest fish in the sea, the incredible whaleshark, goes by.
Divers on Black Hills seamount

Utila has some of its best diving just minutes from the town on the south side of the island. The shallow coral spur and groove formations are perfect for beginner divers. Sand patches abound and open water classes have plenty of space to practice their skills without damaging the fragile reef. It is hard to imagine a more ideal environment for those awe inspiring first visits to the underwater world. Every instructor working at Utila Dive Centre can tell stories of classes where nurse sharks or dolphins have passed close to wide eyed students just moments after they have been underwater for the first time.

The north side of the island offers advanced divers the opportunity to do some deeper diving. The continental shelf actually meets the island at Turtle Harbor Marine Reserve and even the most experienced of divers will be delighted by the amazing drop offs. The walls start at just 5m (15ft) and drop vertically down to over 1000m (3300ft). CJs drop off and Duppy waters are famed in The Bay Islands for their vertigo inducing views into the deep. Hawksbill turtles, eagle rays, reef sharks, moray eels and sting rays are all common, as well as giant sponges and a tremendous variety of soft and hard corals.
Diver at the edge of a North side drop-off

As well as fringing reefs, Utila has some spectacular sea mountains which rise from the ocean floor to just a few feet from the surface. These act as magnets to filter feeding fish and of course to the fish that like to eat other fish. Many people's favourite, a site called Black Hills, is one of the top dive sites in the Bay Islands. Sharks are common and large schools of jacks swirl around you as you drop down the coral encrusted hill top. Only the best local captains can find it, using secret coconut trees as markers as they steer away from the island.
Diver watches a school of Atlantic Spadefish

If you are an experienced diver, you will find that Utila has much to offer. On the west end of the island the currents allow for some wonderful drift diving. There is also a great wreck dive; the HalliBurton 211 was sunk as an artificial reef by the Utila Dive Operators Association in 1998 and is already attracting a lot of fishes. It lies just minutes from Utila town and has become a favorite dive site with our instructors for their advanced course dives.

The diving around Utila has rightly become legendary amongst divers who like to break away from the 'production line' diving which is unfortunately now becoming the norm in an ever more popular Caribbean. Things tend to move at a relaxed pace in the Bay Islands and in particular on Utila. Dive boats are rarely crowded and dive sites are strictly limited to one dive boat per buoy. You will never experience the feeling that there are more divers than fishes!
Endangered Elkhorn Coral

If you like adventure and want to experience something different in the Caribbean then Utila is the place for you. The crystal clear warm waters, the unhurried atmosphere and the friendly nature of the people will combine to give you an experience, which you'll never forget!

Utila Dive Center is the Premier PADI Career Development Center in Central America and the Caribbean.