My Experience Diving Mary's Place in Roatan

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Austin Tuwiner
April 29, 2026

In March of 2026, I dove Mary's Place with Barefoot Divers during my trip to Roatan, and it's easily one of the most memorable dives I've done in my life.

As a PADI Divemaster with 400+ dives across 4 continents, this is certainly a big statement.

At the top, there's a beautiful coral patch that starts around 20 feet.

Swim a little further and you hit the drop-off, and that's where the real fun begins.

The Swim-Throughs

Mary's Place is defined by its cracks and fissures formed by earthquakes and tectonic plate activity.

What used to be one large coral head, is now split apart due to repeated seismic activity, creating the swim-throughs you dive through today.

On my dive, we went through three of them.

After making our way through, the divemaster took us back from the opposite direction, giving us a completely different perspective on each swim-through.

The second swim-through was the deepest.
The third was the most shallow and forks off in another direction at the end.

This same tectonic activity is why Roatan and Utila have so many wall dives.

It causes the water to get deep close to shore, making both islands a top destination for tech divers.

How to Dive to Mary's Place

Mary's Place is on the south side of the island, and not every charter runs there on a regular schedule.

I dove this site with Barefoot Divers and stayed one night at Barefoot Key Resort.

The other charter I used on this trip was Roatan Divers, based in West End, and while they do run trips to the south side, this is only when the conditions on the north side are rough and they need an alternative.

Reach out to Barefoot Key Resort or a dive center directly via WhatsApp or Instagram before your trip, and ask them which dates they're planning to run Mary's Place.

A shoutout to Wilbur, the divemaster who guided my dive.

What Marine Life I Saw

Waves of blue tangs.
Spadefish schools following the boat.
Thriving reefs around 20FT.
Mary's Place's final boss: a large moray eel guarding the exit.

Water Conditions

Austin diving Mary's Place with a 3mm short wetsuit.

Water temperatures in Roatan stay around 27°C (80°F) for most of the year.

Visibility was excellent on both sides of the island, sometimes reaching up to 100 feet.

Most dives in Roatan enter and exit from the same point. If you're diving a wall, you'll spend half the dive going one direction and double back the other way.

Drift dives do happen but they're the exception. When they do, the divemaster deploys an SMB for the boat to pick you up.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Austin Tuwiner

I'm a PADI Divemaster based in South Florida.

With over a decade of diving experience, I help readers become better divers, buy their next piece of gear, and plan their dream dive vacation!

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