Cabañas is a wall and drop-off two minutes east of the Utopia Resort dock, with a mooring buoy in place for dive boats and a layout that also works well as a drift. Maximum depth averages around 29 metres. It is the location of one of Utila's coral nurseries, where staghorn coral is propagated on the reef.
Where it is and how deep
16.0693° N, 86.9518° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The site is a wall and drop-off, with a buoy in place so boats can moor rather than live-boat, and it is close enough to the Utopia Resort dock - about two minutes east - to work as a first or last dive of the day. Maximum depth averages around 29 metres, so the usual profile is a run along the drop-off with the deeper part taken early and the shallower reef saved for the end.
Along the way you are diving over one of Utila's coral nurseries: staghorn coral is propagated here, and that stretch deserves a slow, hands-off pass, since fins and dangling gauges do more damage to young coral than anything else on the dive. Nurse sharks and sea turtles are encountered occasionally rather than reliably, so treat them as a bonus rather than the reason you got in the water.
Marine life and season
- Sea turtles
- Reef sharks
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Good |
Season follows Utila: March to May is dry, clearest and best for whale sharks; October and November bring the heaviest rain and some runoff.
Sources
- Cabañas - Utila — Scubago
More dive sites in Utila
Sand slope
A sand break through the reef, beach to past 30 metres
Reef
Black coral on a south-side drop, marked by four buoys
Reef
Hawksbill and green turtles at the reef's western end
Wall
A large seahorse in the garden eels at 18-24 metres
Wall
A 100-metre crack in the wall at 18 metres
Wall
Near-vertical face of tube sponges, sea fans and black coral
Cave & cavern
A cavern mouth at 24 metres, just past The Maze
Reef
A maze of reef channels at around 12 metres
Similar dives elsewhere
Hawksbill turtles among barrel and basket sponges
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Dog Island
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A face that starts at 15 m and drops straight into the blue
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