Honduras: Utila Dive Centre/Mango Inn

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Utila Dive Centre/Mango Inn

Address: Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras
Phone: 5044253327
Fax: 5044253327

Email: info@utiladivecentre.com  
Website: www.utiladivecentre.com / www.goproutila.com  

Opening Hours: 7am to 7pm
Air To: 220 Bar

EH, ESI, TD, EA, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, CAOS

Nitrox, Trimix, Rebreather friendly, National Geographic Facility

Affiliation/Level: PADI Career Development Centre and IANTD facility

PADI certification courses from beginner to Instructor (monthly PADI IDC's) with diving packages and accommodation. The island of Utila offers spectacular Caribbean diving and Whale sharks. 

The Utila Dive Centre is the Premier PADI Career Development Centre in Central America and the Caribbean and is located in the Caribbean Bay Islands of Honduras, offering diving packages, accommodation, PADI certification courses from beginner to Instructor (monthly PADI IDC’s), GoPro internship programs, marine ecology training.

There is no other facility in Utila, Honduras or elsewhere in Central America that has such a combination of experience, commitment and enthusiasm and we aim to provide our divers and students with more than just diver education and that is what makes our team so successful. We are on the cutting edge of training and conservation and set the standard for so many dive operations and professionals in the region.

In the last few years we have received countless awards from PADI for our training programs and in 2004 we were voted No 1 Dive Facility worldwide for entry level training by PADI Americas. Our PADI Course Directors (Instructor Trainers) have received countless Certificates of Excellence for their Instructor Training Programs and hold the Platinum status ratings. In 2006 the 'Divers Alert Network' (DAN) rewarded our Instructor trainers for their commitment to promoting safe diving and from 2006 - 2009 we also received the PADI Project Aware Environmental Achievement Award.

Our PADI internship programs are ideal for divers who wish to GoPro and train to become PADI Divemasters or Instructors in our immersion environment, and gain experience assisting on PADI recreational courses and specialty diver training. We offer intensive internships for Open Water to Divemaster in 8 weeks and as part of our Divemaster internships all candidates partake in the Project Aware Coral Watch program and learn about identifying diseased corals and recording data for the University of Queensland. For certified divers we also offer training to Instructor in 8 weeks. If you are a complete beginner and wish to train to Instructor we also have 6 month beginner to Instructor programs. Utila is the ideal destination to gain experience whilst interning, unlimited diving, great conditions with coral reefs and Whale sharks, and very affordable living with a fun and social lifestyle.

In 2006 Utila Dive Centre was one of the founding members of the 'Utila Centre for Marine Ecology' (UCME), a non-profit NGO, which is headed by marine biologist Dr Stephen Box. UCME is dedicated to protecting Utila's delicate marine environment, through research, scientific studies and education. Through our support for Utila's only environmental NGO, the Utila Center for Marine Ecology' (UCME), we have committed ourselves at the forefront of environmental research, scientific studies, community awareness and educational offerings. We want to share our passion, enthusiasm and respect for the underwater world, reef systems, and mangroves with all visitors, professionals and the local community on Utila. No other facility on Utila places as much emphasis on environmental protection as Utila Dive Centre, after all we are in this profession for life and for love, and we hope to share that with all our divers and students.

UDC is also a PADI National Geographic Centre and a Divers Alert Network (DAN) member and offers technical dive training from both DSAT and IANTD, the two most respected agencies in technical diver training. On top of this we are also the only facility in Central America/Bay Islands to offer diver level and Instructor training with the 'Beautiful Oceans' Science and Marine Ecology Programs.

Our service is delivered in a professional manner and we aim for the highest level of customer satisfaction. Our purpose is to provide more than just a diving experience but a transformational experience that allows our divers to get so much more enhancement from their time with us. This allows our divers to make a positive contribution to the underwater world and raises their level of education and awareness. We do this in a safe, professional and, most importantly, fun manner!

The Instructors who work at Utila Dive Centre are trained to the level of at least PADI 'Master Scuba Diver Trainer.' We also have several PADI IDC Staff and Master Instructors on staff to raise the quality of the courses we offer to divers at all levels. Our core competencies are the experiences that we provide certified divers, the training we provide to students of all levels and the effort that we take to protect our environment and underwater heritage.
Utila Dive Centre doesn't just aim to be a market leader but aims to raise standards not just by educating our own divers and staff but through professionalism, customer service, innovation and environmental protection. We set the standard for the dive industry and other dive centres in our region and we aim to provide our service with dedicated personal attention. This benefits our divers and makes 'word of mouth' the number one reason why people choose to dive with us.

Every diver or student that visits us is treated as a friend and a lifelong member of the Utila Dive Centre. Our divers are guided in small personal groups and our students receive the strictest class ratios on the island, no other facility in Central America offers such dedicated supervision and personal customer service as Utila Dive Centre. This is why our divers keep coming back and more professionals choose to undertake their training with us than any other facility in Central America.

Our weekly BBQ's and social events highlight the fun and personal service; our staff like to share with all our divers to at our facility.

We invite you to come to Utila and dive with us. Whether you are a novice or an expert diver, we will show you why Utila Dive Centre has been so successful and is one of the top PADI Career Development Centres in the world.

‘Often imitated, but never surpassed’

Diving on Utila – Bay Islands Honduras

Utila offers a wonderful variety for underwater adventurers. The reefs are packed with life and the corals are in pristine condition. It is not uncommon for divers to play with manta rays, swim with dolphins and gasp with wonder as the biggest fish in the sea, the incredible whale shark, goes by.

Utila has some of its best diving just minutes from the town on the south side of the island. The shallow coral spur and groove formations are perfect for beginner divers. Sand patches abound and open water classes have plenty of space to practice their skills without damaging the fragile reef. It is hard to imagine a more ideal environment for those awe inspiring first visits to the underwater world. Every instructor working at Utila Dive Centre can tell stories of classes where nurse sharks or dolphins have passed close to wide eyed students just moments after they have been underwater for the first time.

The north side of the island offers advanced divers the opportunity to do some deeper diving. The continental shelf actually meets the island at Turtle Harbour Marine Reserve and even the most experienced of divers will be delighted by the amazing drop offs. The walls start at just 5m (15ft) and drop vertically down to over 1000m (3300ft). CJs drop off and Duppy waters are famed in The Bay Islands for their vertigo inducing views into the deep. Hawksbill turtles, eagle rays, reef sharks, moray eels and sting rays are all common, as well as giant sponges and a tremendous variety of soft and hard corals.

As well as fringing reefs, Utila has some spectacular sea mountains which rise from the ocean floor to just a few feet from the surface. These act as magnets to filter feeding fish and of course to the fish that like to eat other fish. Many people's favourite, a site called Black Hills, is one of the top dive sites in the Bay Islands. Sharks are common and large schools of jacks swirl around you as you drop down the coral encrusted hill top. Only the best local captains can find it, using secret coconut trees as markers as they steer away from the island.

If you are an experienced diver, you will find that Utila has much to offer. On the west end of the island the currents allow for some wonderful drift diving. There is also a great wreck dive; the Halliburton 211 was sunk as an artificial reef by the Utila Dive Operators Association in 1998 and is already attracting a lot of fishes. It lies just minutes from Utila town and has become a favourite dive site with our instructors for their advanced course dives.

The diving around Utila has rightly become legendary amongst divers who like to break away from the 'production line' diving which is unfortunately now becoming the norm in many developed resorts and Utila offers a laid back and chilled experience reminiscent of the traditional Caribbean. Things tend to move at a relaxed pace in the Bay Islands and in particular on Utila. Dive boats are rarely crowded and dive sites are strictly limited to one dive boat per buoy. You will never experience the feeling that there are more divers than fishes!

If you like adventure and want to experience something different in the Caribbean then Utila is the place for you. The crystal clear warm waters, the unhurried atmosphere and the friendly nature of the people will combine to give you an experience, which you'll never forget!