Snorkel· Cayos Cochinos· Other Caribbean

Cayos Cochinos Marine Monument

15° 56.8′ N · 86° 29.7′ W

Two hilly, forested islands and 13 coral cays 20 miles south of Roatán, protected since 1994 with Smithsonian help — clear water, healthy fish life and the world's only pink boas ashore.

Belize Barrier Reef

Practical

Coordinate is the Monumento Natural Marino Cayos Cochinos protected-area centroid (OpenStreetMap). Managed by the Honduras Coral Reef Fund / Fundación Cayos Cochinos, which collects a park entrance fee (amount not verified — ask the rangers) and runs coral restoration, lionfish culling and hawksbill turtle monitoring; research station on Cayo Menor. Commercial fishing, netting and trapping are banned; Garifuna fishers in Chachahuate and East End may use hand lines only. NO anchoring — use the moorings (see anchorage entry). Snorkel off the boat: queen triggers, angelfish, big barracuda.

Best for

Pristine protected reefs between Roatán and the mainland

Nearby