Activities on Utila – What to do on Utila Besides Diving?

Utila, in the Bay Islands of Honduras is becoming well known for its fantastic diving and snorkeling at very affordable rates. But is there anything else to do on the island besides diving? You bet! Utila has a host of other activities, including kayaking, stand up paddleboarding (SUP), hiking, fishing, finding whale sharks, swimming, horse-back riding, cave exploring, enjoying the beach, floating in a float tank, volunteering for turtle patrols and lion fish control, visiting with the locals, go to the Cays, and much more!

Utila Lionfish Derby and Cook off! April 29/ May 1

Friday April 29is the day for the first Utila Lionfish Derby! For this first derby, teams are only through dive shops- contact your dive shop or BICA (Bay Islands Conservation Association) for more information. Sunday May 1stat Chepes Public Beach is the Utila Cook Off for the captured Lionfish! Lionfish are safe to eat and tasty- the venom is in the spine, not the flesh and cooking destroys residual toxins. Care must be taken in preparing the the fish, as the spines can have a powerful sting, but guidance will be on hand to show newcomers how to safely prepare these fish. Lionfish are a highly invasive species which means they were introduced to this area (the Caribbean) AND have harmful impacts on the native species. In simple terms- Lionfish can destroy the local fish populations on a reef, and don’t have any substantial predators to keep their numbers in check. A recent Roatan Lionfish Derby and Cookoff resulted in over 1300 of these invasive species being removed from the reef~!