PADI 5-Star Dive Centre · Half Moon Bay, West End, Roatán

Forty years. One incredible reef.

Beachfront diving on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. Daily fun dives, courses for every level — and the only PADI dive shop in Half Moon Bay with its own dock.

Welcome

Four decades on the beach in Half Moon Bay

Welcome to Coconut Tree Divers — a beachfront PADI 5-Star Dive Centre in the heart of Half Moon Bay, West End. We've been on the same stretch of sand for four decades, opening originally as Bottom Time Divers and rebranding as Coconut Tree Divers in the years since. Same beach. Same kind of operation. Small boats, small groups, big reef.

We're also the only PADI dive shop in Half Moon Bay with our own dock. That sounds like a small thing until you've watched other divers wade through chest-deep water with their gear on, trying to reach a moored boat. When you book with us, you walk down to the boat. Dry clothes stay dry. Cameras stay on the dock.

The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef — second only to Australia's Great Barrier in size — runs straight past the dive shop. The wall starts about fifty metres off the beach, drops past recreational limits in the next breath, and we have mooring buoys on it within five minutes of leaving the dock. Most of our fifty-plus dive sites are within thirty minutes; a handful are worth a longer ride for the right group.

Why Coconut Tree Divers

Four reasons divers come back

01

Beachfront in Half Moon Bay

The shop sits a few steps from the sand, walking distance to West End's restaurants, bars and most of the rooms in town. Roll out of bed, into the water.

02

Our own dock

The only PADI dive shop in Half Moon Bay with its own dock. No wading through the bay to board the boat — you walk down dry, you climb back up dry.

03

Over 50 dive sites in reach

Most are within thirty minutes of the dock; a handful are worth a two-hour run for the right group. The crew picks the site each morning based on conditions, who's on board, and what the reef's been doing that week.

04

Tuition in three languages

The team is genuinely multinational — English, Spanish and French instruction, delivered by people who actually live in each of those languages.

From above

The wall runs straight past the dive shop

Mooring buoys five minutes from the beach. Over fifty sites in reach.

Conditions

Reef diving that tends to ruin you for other destinations

Water temperature stays between 27 and 30°C year-round. Visibility on the West End reefs typically runs 20 to 30 metres. There's no current to speak of in the protected zone of the Roatán Marine Park. Every dive is essentially a wall dive with a shallow reef-top return — descending past sea fans, sponges and tube corals, then drifting back over the top of the reef on the way home.

Turtle and eagle ray sightings are common; spotted eagle ray season runs December through April. Whale shark and dolphin encounters are rarer but happen most months.

  • Wall starts at 12 metres — drops past 300 metres within a few fin kicks
  • Over 50 dive sites — most within thirty minutes; some up to two hours
  • Inside the Roatán Marine Park — protected reef, reef-fee funded patrols, line fishing prohibited (spear-fishing permitted only for invasive lion fish, with Marine Park licence)
  • Three boat departures daily — one morning two-tank trip plus two afternoon single-tank trips
  • Night dives Tuesdays and Thursdays — subject to a minimum of four divers booked
  • Confined-water training off the beach — 6 m of sand directly in front of the shop, no pool needed

27–30°C

Water temperature, year-round

20–30 m

Typical visibility on West End

50+

Dive sites within reach of the dock

4 decades

On the same beach in Half Moon Bay

Recreational scuba diving and PADI courses in Roatan with Coconut Tree Divers

Recreational Diving

Try-dives, courses & daily fun diving

Technical diving training in Roatan with instructor Monty Graham

Technical Diving

Roatan's only dedicated tec centre

Go Pro PADI Divemaster and Instructor training in Roatan with Go Pro Caribbean

Go Pro

Train to work in diving — DM, IDC & beyond

Beyond recreational limits

Technical Diving in Roatan

Technical diving takes you past the limits of recreational scuba — deeper, longer, with planned decompression and gas-switching. Coconut Tree Divers is the only dedicated technical dive centre on Roatan, with a full classroom, gas-blending station and equipment hire on site.

Led by the legendary technical instructor Monty Graham — 23 years of experience in technical and commercial diving. Whether you're a certified diver looking to take your first steps into tec, or an experienced tec diver eager to take on the challenge of full Trimix, there's a clear pathway here at every level.
  • Roatan's only dedicated tec centre
  • 23 years experience (Monty Graham)
  • First-steps tec through full Trimix
  • Sidemount & twinset configurations
  • Decompression procedures
  • Equipment hire on site

Train to work in diving

Go Pro — Divemaster & Instructor Training

Coconut Tree Divers is the home of Go Pro Caribbean — the professional training arm run by PADI Platinum Course Director Will Welbourn. Train here from Divemaster through to PADI Instructor, and live in our on-site accommodation for the duration of your training. 500+ instructors certified since 2008.

  • PADI 5-Star IDC Centre
  • 500+ instructors certified since 2008
  • 100% IE pass rate (last 10 years)
  • Max 6 IDC candidates, guaranteed
  • Monthly IDCs year-round
  • On-site accommodation from $5/night

On any given day

Three boat departures, most sites within thirty minutes

Plus night dives twice a week, subject to a four-diver minimum.

On every boat

Full safety kit on every trip

Every boat that leaves the dock carries a full safety setup — not just what the regulations require, but what four decades of running these reefs has refined down to what you actually want on hand. Comprehensive, redundant where it matters, ready before you board.

  • Emergency oxygen and comprehensive first aid kit
  • VHF radio, mobile phone and fire extinguishers
  • Complete dive roster and surface check-in on every dive
  • Two life rings and rescue equipment
  • Spare equipment bag — fin straps, mask straps, backup regulator
  • Chilled fresh drinking water on every trip

Around the shop

What a week with us looks like

Scroll through. Click any image to enlarge; in the lightbox, use the arrows, swipe on mobile, or press the arrow keys.

Where to start

From your first breath to your hundredth dive

Whether you've never had a regulator in your mouth or you're a certified diver looking to log a week of dives, there's a clear starting point here. The course list below covers everything we run — prices, what's included and what you need. Tap a card to see the detail.

PADI Open Water Diver · Recreational Certification

PADI Open Water Diver Course

Your first dive certification — qualifying you to dive worldwide to 18 metres with a buddy. Run by Coconut Tree Divers from their beachfront shop in West End, Roatan.

$400 all-inclusive — tuition, materials and PADI certification fee

What you'll do

Five short confined-water sessions to learn the core skills, then four open water training dives on Roatan's reef to put them into practice. Theory is completed online via PADI eLearning.


Course structure

  • 5 knowledge development sections (PADI eLearning)
  • 5 confined water dives in 6 m of sand directly off the dive shop's beach — no pool
  • 4 open water training dives on the West End house reef and nearby boat sites
  • Final knowledge review and exam
  • Around 3 to 4 days end to end

What's included

  • Course tuition with a qualified PADI Open Water Instructor
  • PADI eLearning access — all theory and certification materials
  • PADI Open Water Diver certification fee
  • All scuba equipment rental for the duration of the course

Requirements

  • Minimum age 10 for Junior Open Water Diver, or 15 for the full rating
  • Basic swimming ability — 200 m surface swim and a 10-minute float
  • PADI medical statement signed

Book directly with Coconut Tree Divers

Roatan's 5-Star PADI dive centre, on the beach in West End

Considering this as a first step toward becoming a PADI Instructor? See the complete beginner pathway.

PADI Advanced Open Water Diver · Recreational Certification

PADI Advanced Open Water Course

Extends your training to 30 metres and introduces five specialty experiences across two days of guided diving on Roatan's reefs, walls and wrecks.

$400 all-inclusive — tuition, materials and PADI certification fee

What you'll do

Five guided "Adventure" dives, each introducing a different specialty area. Two are mandatory — Deep Diver and Underwater Navigation — and you choose the remaining three. Theory through PADI eLearning.


Adventure dive options on Roatan

  • Deep Diver — mandatory. A single deep dive to around 30 m on the West End wall.
  • Underwater Navigation — mandatory. Compass and natural navigation on sand and reef.
  • Wreck Diver — exterior survey of a sunken freighter
  • Night Diver — dusk descent on a shallow reef
  • Peak Performance Buoyancy — fine-tunes trim and weighting
  • Drift, Photography, Fish ID, Search & Recovery — also available

What's included

  • Tuition with a qualified PADI Instructor
  • PADI eLearning — Adventures in Diving materials
  • PADI Advanced Open Water Diver certification fee
  • All scuba equipment rental for the course
  • All boat dives, tanks and weights

Requirements

  • PADI (or recognised equivalent) Open Water Diver certification
  • Minimum age 15, or 12 for Junior Advanced
  • PADI medical statement signed

Book directly with Coconut Tree Divers

Roatan's 5-Star PADI dive centre, on the beach in West End

Building toward a career? Advanced Open Water is a prerequisite for the PADI Divemaster course.

PADI Rescue Diver · Recreational Certification

PADI Rescue Diver Course

The most demanding course in the recreational chain — and the one most divers describe as the most rewarding. Self-rescue, buddy rescue, and emergency management.

$400 all-inclusive — tuition, materials and PADI certification fee

What you'll do

Theory through PADI eLearning, then practical skill exercises in confined water followed by ten open water rescue scenarios. The course closes with a final two-scenario assessment.


Course structure

  • 5 PADI eLearning knowledge development sections
  • 10 rescue skill exercises in confined and open water
  • 2 staged rescue scenarios as the final assessment
  • Around 3 to 4 days end to end
EFR prerequisite Rescue Diver requires Emergency First Response (Primary & Secondary Care) current within the last 24 months. If yours has lapsed, EFR can be added for $145 — see the Other Courses card.

Requirements

  • PADI (or recognised equivalent) Advanced Open Water Diver certification — or Adventure Diver with the Underwater Navigation Adventure Dive
  • EFR Primary & Secondary Care current within the last 24 months
  • Minimum age 12
  • PADI medical statement signed

Book directly with Coconut Tree Divers

Roatan's 5-Star PADI dive centre, on the beach in West End

Rescue is the final recreational prerequisite before going professional. See the Divemaster course or the full Instructor pathway.

Certified Divers · Day Diving & Multi-Day Packages

Fun Diving in Roatan

Boat dives on Roatan's West End reefs and walls. Two boats run daily from Coconut Tree Divers, with morning and afternoon departures from the beach.

From $50 per dive · multi-dive packages from $235

Day rates & packages

Single tank dive$50
Equipment rental (per dive)+$5
5 dives — own equipment$235
5 dives — rental equipment$260
10 dives — own equipment$400
10 dives — rental equipment$450

All dives include tank, weights, boat ride and divemaster guide. The Roatan Marine Park fee is payable separately on arrival.

Book your dives with Coconut Tree Divers

Departures from the dive shop on the beach in West End

Additional Courses & Experiences

Other Courses & Specialties

Single-day intros, EFR first aid, individual PADI specialty courses, and technical training through our colleagues at Roatan Tec Center.

Intro to scuba & entry-level

Discover Scuba Diving — half-day intro, no certification$100
PADI Scuba Diver — abridged certification, dive to 12 m with a pro$280

First aid & emergency response

EFR — Primary & Secondary Care (CPR and First Aid)$145

PADI specialty courses

Deep Diver$350
Wreck Diver$400
Underwater Navigator$250
Night Diver$250
Enriched Air Nitrox (includes 2 dives)$250

Technical diving

Technical training in Roatan — TDI and PADI Tec, side-mount, twinset and rebreather — is run by our colleagues at Roatan Tec Center, a short walk from the dive shop.

Recreational courses & specialties

Booked with Coconut Tree Divers. Technical training with Roatan Tec Center.

Go Pro Caribbean · Divemaster & Instructor Training

Train to work in diving — DM & IDC pathways

Go Pro Caribbean is the professional training arm at Coconut Tree Divers, run by PADI Platinum Course Director Will Welbourn. Two pathways into pro diving, both delivered in West End, Roatan.

500+ instructors certified since 2008 · 100% Instructor Exam pass rate over the last 10 years

Two professional pathways

  • PADI Divemaster Internship — Unlimited diving over 6 to 12 weeks, no fixed dates. 60 to 100 dives logged on average. Start any week of the year. The entry-level professional rating; the first step toward working in diving.
  • PADI Instructor Course (IDC) — 12-day IDC plus the 2-day PADI Instructor Examination, both in Roatan, no separate travel. Maximum of 6 candidates per class, guaranteed.

What sets the training apart

  • PADI 5-Star IDC Centre — the highest PADI dive-centre rating
  • 500+ instructors certified by Will Welbourn personally since 2008
  • 100% Instructor Exam pass rate across the last decade of IDCs
  • Monthly IDCs run year-round — pick the dates that suit you
  • On-site accommodation from $5 per night for IDC candidates — private rooms with private bathrooms in a 13-bedroom house with private pool, four-minute walk from the dive shop
  • Roatan Tec Center on site for Tec instructor crossovers and rebreather pathways

Choose your pathway

Each hub has full pricing, course structure, dates and frequently asked questions

Most pro trainees stay in the Go Pro Caribbean on-site accommodation for the duration of their training.

Stop by for a chat and a look at the reef map

Four decades of diving the same wall means we've got opinions about which sites suit which days. Come find out which ones suit yours.