Roatan Marine Park Dive Sites
There are over 40 dive sites within the West End & Sandy Bay Marine Park so you are well and truly spoilt for choice. Most sites are a maximum of 15 minutes away on a fast boat and many are less than 5 minutes  away. There tend to be 3 types of dive site available:
Also covered in this section:
WALLS
Many of the dive sites have what is called the mini wall close to shore and then the main wall further out. The mini wall typically starts at about 15ft/5m and drops to around 40ft/13m. The main wall starts at about 40ft/13m and drops down to 140ft/30m+. The most noteable wall dives are West End Wall and Pablo's Place.
SANDY/CORAL GARDENS
In these areas there are large sandy patched frequented by stingrays and eagle rays, whom search for food by stiring up the sand with their "wings" to get at the food beneath. Ths sandy areas are scattered with  small to large coral "hills" making a nice variety for the dive. The best sites with these features are Deep Seaquest, Mandy's Eel Garden and Herbies Fantasy.
Where the coral meets the sand, look for small cleaner shrimp, lobsters, arrow crabs and other "small stuff". These areas are also where you are most likely to see turtles. Both hawksbill and green turtles frequent the reefs around West End and the best areas for seeing them are the dive sites between Mandy's Eel Garden down at West Bay Beach and Lighthouse Reef right opposite Reef Gliders and Ocean Connections dive centers.
Wrecks
There are a couple of nice wrecks within the Marine Reserve. The closest to West End, and the better of the two, is El Aguila. This was an old 250ft/50m long cargo vessel which was sunk and later broken into 3 pieces by Hurricane Mitch. The other is the 300ft/100m long Odyessy. Whilst it is an interesting wreck there doesn't seem to be much marine life living in and around it.
Roatan, West End, Top 5 dive sites
The following is our choice of the top 5 dive sites within the Marine Reserve. A good dive center should visit all of them at least once a week.
5. Pablo's Place
Right at the tip of the island, past West Bay Beach, this wall dive lies on the southern side of an underwater plateau. The wall starts just a few meters from shore and drops almost vertically to depths of over 130ft/40m. The soft corals on this wall are some of the healthiest and largest in the area. There are huge gardens of black corals and giant sponges as big as a diver. Fish life on a good day can be profuse and the currents can be strong. Although very rare in the Bay Islands, it is at this dive site where most people who see Hammerhead sharks see them.
Always keep an eye out below you and into the blue - you never know what you might see. In the wall itself lookout for moral eels and various tpyes of crab. Schools of snapper and creole wrasse cover the top of the wall and you can also see big grouper, barracuda, turtles,the occasional eagle ray heading towards Texas dive site and a range of other creatures.
4. Deep Seaquest
 This dive site is located in between West Bay and West End, so is only a couple of minutes away from most dive centers. The mooring line is located on a large sandy patch in about 40ft/13m of water. As you swim out towards the mini wall, which lies further away from shore in this area, keep an eye out for stingrays and eagle rays in the sand. As you reach the mini-wall you are usually met be a large school of horseyed jacks circling around.
For some reason this site is also home to a school of Atlantic Spadefish - the only dive site within the Marine Park with such a school. They are usually in a tightly packed group close to the Horse-eyed Jacks. Occassionally you will also be lucky enough to see a Loggerhead Turtle at this dive site, easily distinguishable from the far more common Hawksbill and Green Turtles by its size and large dome shaped shell.
3. El Aguila Wreck
This wreck lies in 100ft/30m of water just off Anthonys Key Resort. Its depth, and the fact that it lies on a large sandy area close to the wall, makes it ideal for the Deep Dive of the Advanced Open Water course. You do your brief skills session with the 250ft/50m long wreck as the backdrop and then get to swim around the outside of the wreck for the remainder of the dive. The wreck is home to at least 3 large moray eels and a number of very large grouper. Don't be surprised if these grouper follow you around for most of the dive as, despite it being illegal to feed the fish within the Marine Park, they are frequently fed by the divemasters and boat captains at Anthony's Key Resort.
2. Spooky Channel
This is probably the most unusual dive site in the Marine Park and one that always seems to get mentioned in the guide books. The dive begins on the inside of the reef in shallow water in a kind of canyon. Visibility can be pretty poor at the beginning of the dive (hence the name "Spooky").You swim over a large coral block and then find yourself in a bizzare underwater world of weird rock formations and strange lighting effects. You are now in a wide canyon with vertical walls looking like they have been carved out by ancient rivers. The top of the canyon has huge overhangs on both sides blotting out the light and making it quite dark. There are various holes in the overhang so beams of light punch through to give fantastic lighting effects. As you swim through the canyon to the main wall the visibilty steadily gets better until you swim through a small opening at the end of the canyon and find yourself hovering about a vertical wall with bright blue water. Fishlife on the dive includes a schol of Southern Sennetts (which look like small baraccuda), a VERY large baraccuda called Daisy and numerous large grouper. If you are lucky you will see the bizzare looking Toadfish, which lives in an area of rock formations near the beginning of the dive. Don't be scared of the baraccuda - it often follows you around and you can feel like you are being stalked. See the comment in the El Aguila description for why the fish get so close on this dive site.
1. West End Wall
 After a lot of thought and some stiff competition, this is our choice for the number one dive site within the Marine Reserve. West End Wall is on the northern side of the underwater plateau where Pablo's can be found. The features of the reef are the same - steep walls, beautiful corals and the potential for some strong current. What makes this dive site though, is the quantity of fishlife. When the current is running this dive site seems to have more fishlife than all the other dive sites put together. Huge schools of Creole Wrasse gather close to the wall and in the blue large quantities of snapper and bar jacks circle around them. Look above you and you can often see schools of Sea Bream. Further along the dive you often get to see large shools of Horse-eyed Jacks and Permit and baraccuda. Look closely within the coral for various types of moray eels. There are also large king crabs under overhangs and, quite often, turtles. At certain times of the year (usually around full moon) there seems to be a gathering of large dog snapper here - there can literally be hundreds of them to be found away from the wall.
Other dive sites
 Hole in the Wall
This dive site can be dived as either a shallow or deep dive. For the deep dive you enter the water above a sandy patch at about 35ft/12m depth and make your way to the "hole" the dive site is named after. As you decend along the sandy patch the coral walls rise to either side until you are diving through a narrow canyon. Eventually you will readh the "hole" - literally a hole in the reef wall that you swim through and find yourself in a bowl with the canyon continuing to descend before you into the depths.
Now you can either turn to the left and swim back up another, steeper, canyon back into the shallows, or continue along an almost vertical wall for the rest of the dive. If you swim back into the shallows, a good dive guide will be able to take you into a series of canyons, tunnels and swimthroughs in about 20ft/7m of water. For the more experienced diver there is a stunning cathedral like cavern where cracks in the roof allow the sun to punch through in beams of light, reflecting on a school of glassy sweepers that live in the cavern.
Bear's Den
Peter's Place
 This is a very interesting dive if done as a shallow dive. Here you will find a small wall which starts close to the surface and decends to about 40ft/13m. The wall is made interesting by a seried of canyons and swimthroughs. Some are dead ends but are still worth exploring, whilst others allow you to enter and exit the reef. The soft corals at this site are stunning but don't expect a huge amount of fishlife in the shallows. However, if you swim north to the main wall you will be greeted by schools of snapper and creole wrasse and some very large grouper.
 Mandy's Eel Garden
This is a popular dive site for students, novices and advanced divers alike. The shallow mooring lies in about 15ft/5m and the large sandy area is ideal for training dives. If you are lucky you may see small stingrays in the shallows and a school of Caribbean reef squid. Heading towards the wall you will go through a swimthrough (look out for a large moray eel as you do) and then be greeted with the wall dropping down to about 90ft/27m. Look out for turtles and eagle rays as you swim along. Don't forget to look above you for barracuda and permit.
Lighthouse Reef
 Another nice reef area ideal for training dives. Again the mooring is in about 15ft/5m of water on a sandy area. In the shallows we have seen golden spotted eels, drum fish, lobster the occassional seahorse and a host of other small marine life. The wall is only a couple of minutes swim away from the mooring. Divers usually head north, away from the boat channel, and enjoy some stunning scenery. Turtles are relatively frequent around this area.
Fish Den
Bikini Bottom
Allegedly so named due to the fact that the Marine Park found a bikini bottom in the area when they were first putting the mooring in at the site. Used as a training site and as a nice easy dive for those who want it, it can be a great area for seeing turtles.
Texas
 This site was only thrown out of our top 5 after much debate. Located past the tip of the island on top of the plateau that has Pablo's Place to the south and West End Wall to the north. This is a large flat area (hence the name) which is covered in soft corals and coral hills. The current can be stong at this site so little effort is needed to cover a fair distance. The coral hills are covered with some of the healthiest fans, sea whips and huge barrel sponges (some as big, if not bigger, than a diver). Sometimes you can see large schools of horse-eyed jacks at this site, together with dozens of barracuda and permit. In the sandy areas keep your eye out for stingrays and eagle rays. We have also seen seahorses, oceanic trigger fish, trumpet fish, trunk fish and a huge range of other marine life at this site.
 Pillar Coral
If your air consumption is good then you have probably ended your El Aguila wreck dive at Pillar Coral. Named after the huge pillar coral close to the mooring there are some interesting canyons and swimthroughs close by. The wall drops vertically into the depths and, on a good day, there can be huge schools of creole wrasse, yellowtailed snapper and sea break at this site. Look under ledges etc for large king crabs and lobster. In the shallows you can often sea flamingo tongues, small morays and eels.
Blue Channel
 This is a great dive site if you are into "macro" reef life. The mooring lies in about 40ft/13m of water at a wide entrance to an underwater channel that progressively narrows as you swim into it. On the right are a series of interesting swimthroughs for the more experienced diver. Check out the amazing rock formattions as you make your way into the channel. Keep a close eye out in the rubble areas and small coral blocks for a host of small marine life such as jawfish, shrimp, crab etc.
Half Moon Bay Wall
 Located just offshore by Half Moon Bay Beach, this is a lovely wall dive. The reef starts at about 30ft/10m and decends to approximately 100ft/30m+. Schools of creole wrasse and snapper cover the wall at various spots. Keep an eye out for turtles and eagle rays. On the reef top, heading back towards the shore there are sandy/rubble areas where numerous reef creatures can be found.
Canyon Reef
Named after the narrow canyon located right next to the mooring line, and a number of other canyons which run from the iron shore out to the reef wall.
Shallow Seaquest
 A nice easy dive site located close to Deep Seaquest and Herbies Fantasy dive sites. Used as a training site due to the mooring line being located on a shallow (15ft/5m) sandy area. Look out for small stingrays in the sand and the occassional reef squid close to the surface. A short swim takes you to a small wall, which decends to about 40ft/13m. The main wall is quite far off shore in this area so the dive tends to be done as a circular route around the sandy areas covered with coral blocks and large coral hills.
Melissa's Reef
This dive site is best known for the two fairly wide canyons which run from the shore to the reef wall. Unlike most of the other dive sites with canyons, the ones at Melissa's are covered with sandy bottoms and are wide enough for even novice divers to make their way through.
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