Diving in Honduras

The Bay Islands on the second largest barrier reef on earth, and the whale sharks of Utila

1 yacht for liveaboard diving, 2 resorts

Honduras — diving on Roatán, Utila and Guanaja: walls of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, whale sharks off Utila all year, the cheapest dive training in the Caribbean.

Why divers come here

The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef — the second largest in the world, and the islands sit right on it
Roatán's walls start ten minutes from shore and drop vertically into the blue
Whale sharks are seen off Utila all year — a rare permanent aggregation rather than a seasonal one
Cayos Cochinos — a protected archipelago of untouched reefs between the mainland and the islands
Guanaja — the wildest of the three, coral canyons and almost no divers
Training costs less than almost anywhere: Utila has more dive centres than streets

What you'll meet underwater

Whale sharks off Utila Caribbean reef sharks and nurse sharks Bottlenose dolphins Green and hawksbill turtles Eagle rays and stingrays Nassau grouper, tarpon, snapper Seahorses, frogfish, lionfish Soft gorgonians, barrel sponges, coral canyons

Practical information

Best season: Diving all year. The clearest water runs from March to September; whale sharks are seen off Utila year-round, most often in March–April and August–September. The rainy season is October to January, and even then diving happens almost every day
Water temperature: 26–30 °C
Visibility: 20–40 m
Wetsuit: 3 mm year-round, a shorty in summer; 5 mm in winter or for several dives a day
Experience level: Open Water for the reefs and walls; Advanced for the deeper walls and wrecks. Roatán and Utila are among the cheapest places in the world to train, from Open Water to instructor
Getting there: There are no direct flights from Russia. Fly to Roatán (RTB) via Miami, Houston, Mexico City, Panama or San Salvador; from Moscow the journey takes 20–28 hours. Utila and Guanaja are reached by domestic flights from La Ceiba or by ferry from the mainland. Resorts meet guests at Roatán airport and the transfer is usually included.
Airports: Roatán (RTB) — international, San Pedro Sula (SAP), Utila (UII) — domestic flights, Guanaja (GJA) — domestic flights
Visa: Russian citizens need no visa: entry on a passport for up to 90 days. The passport must be valid for six months. Check the transit visas of your connection — the route usually runs through the USA, Mexico or Panama, and a US visa may be needed even without leaving the airport.
Climate: Tropical maritime, air 26–32 °C year-round, rain from October to January
Currency: Lempira (HNL); US dollars are accepted everywhere on the islands
Language: Spanish; on the Bay Islands English is also spoken, a legacy of the English settlers
Time zone: UTC-6