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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Fair | Fair | Good | Good |
Season follows Utila: March–August offers the calmest, driest conditions and the best whale shark odds; October–January is rainier with reduced visibility.
Sources
- Cabañas - Utila — Scubago
More dive sites in Utila
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Sand slope
A sand break through the reef, beach to past 30 metres
Similar dives elsewhere
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