West End, Roatán, Bay Islands, Honduras

Mandy's Eel Garden

Mandy's Eel Garden is a relaxed shallow dive on Roatán's north shore named for the dense colony of garden eels carpeting its sandy slope. The site begins in 5 meters near a healthy reef section and slopes down to around 18 meters where hundreds of yellowhead and brown garden eels extend from their burrows in the open sand. Behind the sand patch the reef itself hosts pillar coral, sea rods and barrel sponges. Common sightings include yellow stingrays, peacock flounders, sand divers, spotted goatfish, juvenile spotted drums and hawksbill turtles passing between the reef and the sand. Because of the shallow depth, easy current and absence of overhead environment, Mandy's is a popular site for open-water training, refresher dives and the second dive of an afternoon. Visibility is normally 15 to 25 meters and the site is accessed by a short boat ride from West End or Sandy Bay.