Why Choose Utila, in the Amazing Caribbean Bay Islands of Honduras, Central America?

There are many choices worldwide for becoming a dive professional, and whilst each location has different appeals, we want to give you more information on Utila and the surrounding region to help you make an informed decision on where to take your PADI Divemaster or Instructor. Like choosing where to study for a degree or univeristy education, there are many factors to consider. The facility and location is probably one of the most important. Students choose to go to Harvard or Oxford University mainly for the education, training and network support they will receive long after their course is over.  Many of our interns travel from all over the world to Utila to take their training with Utila Dive Centre, as we are proud to be one of the top PADI Career Development Centers in the world. We have often been compared to a top university, but for professional scuba instruction in one of the most idyllic locations in the Caribbean and Central/Latin America, with the most diverse range of diving and training options, from PADI courses, Beautiful Oceans marine ecology, IAHD adaptive teaching, and rebreather/sidemount/tec diving, all in one great convenient location and dive center.

It's this low key development and afforable cost of living that also attracts tourists and backpackers from all over Central America, North America and Europe to visit Utila for PADI dive certification as they travel in the region. As a dive professional, this will benefit you during your training and internship as you will have a variety of courses to assist on and real students to work with, which will accelerate your professional development and provide you with real world teaching experience.  As Utila Dive Centre is the most referred dive centre in the Bay Islands for  dive training, with the most classes scheduled, you'll accumulate a wealth of experience in 1 month with our staff and facility which could take 6 months elsewhere. Whereas other facilities can offer a certification, Utila Dive Centre is in a unique position to offer real-world training and experience to go with your certification, we're a real dive center, not a concession in a resort chain and the most convenient location for diving, training and living.  When compared to the Yucatan of Mexico and other Caribbean islands we have escaped the mass/up-scale tourism development and you won't be overcharged on cruise ship days, or need taxis and cars to move around, and our facility has everything in one location just a a few minutes from your accommodation. Our staff have the most experience in the region. Just like you would choose a university whose teachers had the best educational and experienced backgrounds, or you would choose a busier restaurant over a empty restaurant as a better sign of customer satisfaction, Utila Dive Centre is the most referred dive operation in the region for quality reasons that will make you stand you out as a dive professional. Utila is also a fun and social island, and you'll often find yourself socialising with the students you train and work with in the evenings as well during as the day, sharing travel and diving experiences. 

There are appoximately 80 buoyed dive sites around the island, ranging from a 5 minute - 40 minute boat ride. Often on these journeys we encounter schools of dolphins, whale sharks and other aquatic life. Try discovering that in a shore dive location, or when the boat rides are too close to the shoreline! The dive site topography around the island is extremely diverse. Paul Humann and Ned Deloach, who author the reef series books, have claimed that Utila has one of the highest biodiversity of species in the Caribbean. Many islands, particulary in Asia and the South Pacific/Indian Ocean, have a 'one kind' sloping gradual topography, and although Utila has a similar sloping, fringing reef with beautiful coral gardens on its south shores, you'll find that on the north side of the island there are drop offs and sheer walls that go to depths of 1000 meters/3000feet. It's in these deeper waters that we find the whale sharks. There are some exhilarating dive sites, swimthroughs and canyons in this part