Top Scuba Dive Shops in Utila

Utopia Village is a Utila resort that is an off the beaten path"" vacation retreat. It is remote, it is casual, it is friendly, it is beautifully designed and most of all, it is adventure, set in unchoreographed natural surroundings. This beach resort hotel is built on the edge of an abundant reef. It is located a twenty-minute boat ride from the nearest and only town on the tiny island of Utila, off the coast of Honduras. There are no roads at our Utila dive resort, no fast food joints and no nightclubs. The nightlife includes the grass-thatched beach bar with sounds of the ocean rolling in, footsteps crackling down the coral paths and the rustle of palm leaves in the breeze.

Utila, the smallest of the Bay Islands, offers a wide variety of easily accessible dive sites with varying underwater terrains. Sitting at the edge of the largest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere, Utila’s waters are teaming with colorful marine life. Utila has over 100 charted dive sites which include sea mounts, shallow fringing reefs and plunging walls that circumnavigate the Cayman Trench.

The shallow fissures with sandy bottoms and beautiful purple coral gardens just off Utopia’s shores will antalize shore divers. Utila’s crystal blue waters host over 90% of marine inhabitants found in the Caribbean, including schools of Blue Tangs, Southern Sennetes, and scores of other brilliantly colored Tropical fish. Everything from a myriad of juvenile reef residents to the larger Whale Shark, Manta Rays, Spotted Eagle Rays, and Moray Eels can be sited.

The North side of Utila is best known for its drop-offs, which are considered deep dives. The upper edge of the wall begins anywhere from 55-85 feet, with each dive site having its own personality and marine growth. Inshore from the drop-offs, excellent medium to shallow coral reefs can be found with diving depths ranging from 20-55 feet which allows both novice and expert divers to enjoy the sites. Utila’s waters also house three wreck sites in varying sizes and depths. With water temperatures averaging 80 degrees or warmer, gentle currents and 100 feet of underwater visibility, Utila will be a dive destination you will never forget.