Great Geography: The Bay Islands of Honduras are ideally located at the southern end of the Belize Barrier Reef. Made up of three distinctly different islands, the Bay Islands have something for everyone. Roatan is a large island with separate towns - a mixture of resorts and cheap hotels, surrounded by beautiful white sandy beaches, and legendary shark dives. Guanaja is an exclusive resort paradise that few can afford to experience. Utila, on the other hand, is their somewhat rougher around the edges cousin - an island purely devoted to diving and partying that manages to attract both frugal backpackers and all-inclusive vacationers.
Epic Walls: The main attraction on Utila isn't the beach or the beauty of the town (Utila is a little lacking in both of these departments) but is the amazing diving. Perched on the edge of the continental shelf, the north side of Utila is skirted by an underwater wall that drops off to over 1500 feet. There is something amazing about hovering off the edge of a wall that drops off into a truly incredible abyss below you. Of course, the wall itself isn't the only reason to dive here, there are also the Manta Rays and other large visitors...
Whale Shark Paradise: The north-side of Utila is one of the best places in the world to spot the elusive Whale Shark. They tend to visit Utila during two seasons in March-April and August-September but this isn't a hard and fast rule and it's quite common to see them at other times of the year. There is good awareness of the need to protect the island's number one draw card and Utila has implemented some simple rules to protect the gentle giants. In addition to rules for boats, divers can only swim with the whale sharks minus scuba gear and there is an absolute lack of tolerance for any touching or harassing of the sharks.
Mellow South-Side Diving: The south side of Utila is like a completely different island - the dive centers of Utila tend to frequent the south side of the island in the afternoon and when the wind is a bit too strong to allow for diving the north side in the morning. Fortunately, the south-side of the island features lots of great dive sites from the perfect wreck of the Halliburton, to the small and easily penetrable caves of Airport Caves, with another 20 or so nice reef dives thrown in. Eagle Rays, Turtles, and huge schools of Tarpon can be found alongside all the usual reef fish of the Caribbean.
Cheap Certification: Utila is renowned for being the cheapest place in the world to become Open Water certified. In addition to the low price (around US$250 - maybe not the cheapest, but definitely cheap) there are normally freebies included with the course - usually either free accommodation (in a backpacker style lodge) for the duration of the course or two free fun dives at the end of the course. Many travelers are so enamored with the laid back vibe of Utila that they end up staying on to complete further training. So many in fact that the island has become one of the top destinations for Divemaster and Instructor training.
That Private Island Feeling: For those looking for more of an exclusive vacation Utila has a few all-inclusive dive resorts that offer a more pampered experience. Most of these operations are located well out of town and ferry their customers back and forth to town using boats. These resorts are often frequented by large groups of divers who come for the fantastic all-you-can-dive packages that are perfectly complimented with great facilities and a feeling of mellow solitude that only the resorts can provide.
Quality Operations: There are approximately 15 dive centers on Utila (the numbers change from time to time) and most dive shops are PADI, NAUI, or SSI endorsed and operate good quality operations. However, not all dive centers are reputable and it's best to check if they are truly endorsed by one of the main dive societies (some shops advertise that they are but aren't). Below I've listed some of my recommendations for shops and resorts (this list is not exhaustive and is a selection of dive centers that I personally know to be reputable).
Eccentric Local Character: Of course you won't spend all of your time here underwater. While the town of East Harbor (more commonly referred to simply as Utila) isn't going to win any prizes for beauty, it does have an eccentric charm that grows on you over time. The Bay Islands were originally settled by the English and consequently the locals speak English (or at least a strange Caribbean version). The Bay Islands have a very different feel from the mainland of Honduras and have their own unique way of doing things. Life isn't rushed here and there's no need to ever feel anything more than mellow.
Utila Your Way: Utila is the sort of place that suits most divers and you can make of it what you please. For some it's about a couple of morning dives, a long lunch, nap in a hammock, a big dinner in one of the many island restaurants, and a couple of cold beers by the water at Coco Locos, Tranquila, or the uniquely Utilian Jade Seahorse. For others it might be five dives followed by a night of partying at Bar in the Bush (which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like). The great thing about Utila is that it's up to you.