CoCo View Wall Roatan
Martin Gomez Aug 12, 2026
18. CoCo View Wall
Dive type: Shore dive + shallow coral reef + wall
Reef top: within approximately 5 ft / 1.5 m of the surface in many areas
Main features: Lettuce, Staghorn and Elkhorn corals + cleaning stations + wall
Special attraction: CoCo View mentions a resident Green Moray Eel that is often seen traveling between CoCo View Wall and the Prince Albert wreck
Access: Part of CoCo View Resort’s famous Front Yard, with unlimited shore-diving access for resort guests.
What makes CoCo View Wall special?
This is one of the most important sites to understand if you're staying at CoCo View.
Why?
Because CoCo View Wall isn't simply another dive site that requires a boat ride.
It's essentially in your backyard.
CoCo View's Front Yard contains three major attractions:
CoCo View Wall
Newman’s Wall
Prince Albert Wreck
And resort guests have 24-hour shore-diving access to the Front Yard.
That means you can potentially dive CoCo View Wall repeatedly during a week.
Morning.
Afternoon.
Dusk.
Night.
And because you can return multiple times, you don't need to try to see everything during one dive.
The shallow reef top
One of the first things to understand is just how shallow the reef becomes.
CoCo View says the reef top is within approximately 5 feet of the surface in most areas and is thickly covered with:
Lettuce Coral
Staghorn Coral
Elkhorn Coral
That's an impressive combination because you're getting substantial coral structure in extremely shallow water.
And it reinforces something we've learned throughout these chapters:
In Roatán, deeper does not automatically mean better.
Some of the most interesting parts of CoCo View Wall are right near the surface.
Three corals to recognize
By now, these should sound familiar.
Lettuce Coral
Layered, leaf-like formations.
Staghorn Coral
Thin, branching structures resembling deer antlers.
Elkhorn Coral
Broader, flatter branches resembling elk antlers.
When all three are present together, the reef becomes structurally complex.
And complex coral habitat means lots of places for smaller animals to:
hide,
feed,
hunt,
and
establish territories.
So don't simply swim over the reef looking for something big.
Look inside the reef structure.
The cleaning stations
This is one of my favorite characteristics of CoCo View Wall.
CoCo View specifically highlights cleaning stations on the shallow reef top, where divers can spend considerable time watching marine life come and go.
We already talked about cleaning stations at Neverstain Bight.
The concept is the same.
Certain smaller animals remove parasites, dead tissue and debris from larger animals.
The larger fish may approach the station and position themselves to be cleaned.
It's one of those places where you aren't simply:
seeing fish.
You're watching:
fish behavior.
How to watch a cleaning station
This is important.
If you find one:
STOP.
Don't immediately swim toward it.
Instead:
Establish neutral buoyancy.
Stay a comfortable distance away.
Control your breathing.
Wait.
The less threatening you appear, the more likely you are to see natural behavior.
A photographer who charges directly toward the station may get:
one bad photograph of a fish swimming away.
A patient photographer may get:
ten minutes of natural interaction.
The resident Green Moray
Now we get to one of CoCo View Wall's most memorable characters.
CoCo View specifically tells guests to watch for a resident Green Moray Eel, which they say is often found swimming between CoCo View Wall and the Prince Albert wreck.
Obviously, wildlife is never guaranteed.
You shouldn't brief the dive by saying:
“We're definitely going to see the Green Moray.”
Instead:
“Keep an eye out for the resident Green Moray that is often seen around this area.”
That's accurate and still gives guests something fun to watch for.
If you see a Green Moray swimming...
Watch it.
Don't chase it.
A moray swimming openly across the reef is a completely different experience from seeing only a head sticking out of a hole.
Give it space and see where it goes.
And remember:
The animal doesn't need to change its behavior for you to get a good encounter.
If you have to chase an animal to see it, you're probably too close.
The connection to Prince Albert
This is where the geography of the Front Yard becomes really interesting.
The Prince Albert is sitting upright in approximately 65 feet of water directly in CoCo View's Front Yard. It's a roughly 140-foot tanker intentionally sunk in 1985.
So within the same Front Yard environment you have:
CoCo View Wall
↓
Coral reef
↓
Prince Albert
↓
Newman’s Wall
This is one of the reasons CoCo View's shore diving is unusual.
You're not entering the water just to explore one little house reef.
You have:
Two walls + a wreck + shallow coral habitat
all accessible without needing a boat.
The orientation is important
There's something every first-time CoCo View diver should understand.
New divers are required to complete an orientation and orientation dive.
One purpose is to show divers the safe passage through the reef used to access CoCo View Wall and Newman’s Wall during shore dives and drop dives.
This is important.
Don't arrive and think:
“The wall is right there. I'll figure it out.”
Learn the route.
Pay attention during orientation.
Remember the landmarks.
Once you understand the Front Yard layout, independent shore diving becomes much easier.
Navigation
CoCo View Wall is a great place to develop underwater navigation skills because you may dive it without following a divemaster every time.
Before leaving shore, know:
Where you're entering
Which direction you're traveling
Where the safe passage is
Where you expect to turn
How much gas you're reserving for the return
That last point matters.
Don't explore until:
“I have 500 psi, I guess we should go home.”
Plan the return before you're low on gas.
The wall
Once you reach the wall, the underwater landscape changes dramatically.
CoCo View explains that along this section of Roatán's south shore, the bottom slopes gradually away from shore until the reef reaches approximately 15–30 feet, where it drops into a wall-like structure. A sandy ledge generally appears much deeper, around 100–150 feet, before the reef continues vertically to depths far beyond recreational limits.
That means you can choose:
Stay shallow on the reef top
or
Explore the wall at an appropriate recreational depth.
You don't need to descend deep to experience the site.
Don't follow the wall downward
This should sound familiar by now.
A wall doesn't provide a normal bottom reference.
You can easily think you're swimming horizontally while gradually descending.
So regularly check:
Depth
Gas
No-decompression time
Buddy
Navigation
And remember:
The wall continues much deeper than you need to go.
Your dive plan determines your depth.
Not the reef.
Photography
CoCo View Wall is excellent because photographers can work with several completely different environments during one dive.
Wide angle — shallow reef
Think:
Elkhorn Coral → diver → sunlight → surface
At only a few feet below the surface, ambient light can be beautiful.
Wide angle — wall
Think:
Coral/sponges → diver → wall → blue water
This gives you the classic Roatán wall-diving image.
Marine-life behavior
Cleaning stations provide another opportunity.
Instead of simply photographing a fish portrait, try to capture:
Cleaner + client fish + reef
Now your photograph tells a story.
And then there is night diving
This is where CoCo View Wall becomes a completely different site.
CoCo View provides unlimited night shore diving in the Front Yard. Guests can explore the reefs and walls or visit Prince Albert after dark.
The reef you learned during daylight changes dramatically at night.
Your field of vision becomes:
whatever your dive light illuminates.
That forces you to slow down.
And animals that were hidden during daylight may become active.
Dive it during the day first
Before doing an independent night dive, it makes sense to become comfortable with the route during daylight.
Know:
Entry
Exit
Safe reef passage
Wall location
Major landmarks
Then when you return at night, you're not trying to learn navigation and night diving simultaneously.
You're diving a familiar site under different conditions.
CoCo View Wall vs. Newman’s Wall
Now that we've covered both, the distinction becomes easier.
Newman’s Wall
Long sand chutes
Soft corals
Sea fans
Spectacular vertical wall
CoCo View Wall
Lettuce, Staghorn & Elkhorn Coral
Cleaning stations
Resident Green Moray territory
Connection toward Prince Albert
So I would remember them as:
Newman’s = TOPOGRAPHY
CoCo View Wall = MARINE LIFE
That's simplified, of course, but it's a useful mental distinction.
CoCo View Wall vs. Neverstain Bight
This is another interesting comparison because both have cleaning stations.
Neverstain Bight
Shallow wall top + prolific coral + cleaning-station activity.
CoCo View Wall
Shallow coral garden + cleaning stations + wall + Green Moray + Prince Albert connection.
The biggest difference is accessibility.
Neverstain Bight is a site you visit.
CoCo View Wall is home.
Why CoCo View Wall is so important
If someone asked me:
“What makes staying at CoCo View different from staying at another Roatán resort?”
CoCo View Wall would be part of the answer.
You could do four boat dives during the day...
come back...
eat...
relax...
and then decide:
“I want another dive.”
Grab a tank and go into the Front Yard.
CoCo View currently describes the Front Yard as available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with CoCo View Wall, Newman’s Wall and Prince Albert all accessible from shore.
That freedom is a major part of the CoCo View experience.
How I would describe CoCo View Wall to a guest
“CoCo View Wall is one of the sites you're going to get to know really well because it's right in our Front Yard. The shallow reef comes within about five feet of the surface in many areas and is covered with Lettuce, Staghorn and Elkhorn corals. There are cleaning stations where you can stop and watch reef fish interact, and keep an eye out for the resident Green Moray that's often seen moving between the wall and the Prince Albert wreck. Once you've completed your orientation and learned the safe passage through the reef, you can come back and explore this area again and again—including at night.”
A simple way to remember CoCo View Wall
CoCo View Wall = Front Yard + three corals + cleaning stations + Green Moray + Prince Albert.
| Site | What to remember |
|---|---|
| Mary’s Place | Cracks & channels |
| Calvin’s Crack | Descending crevice |
| Menagerhea’s Reef | Ledges, overhangs & sponges |
| Carib Point | Sea fans & schooling fish |
| Castle Canyon | Shallow reef formations |
| Chimney’s | Coral boulders & dramatic wall |
| Gold Chain Reef | Hard corals, slope & sand |
| Inside Outside | Lettuce Coral & narrow cuts |
| John’s Spot | Coral ridges & steep wall |
| Little French Cay | Shallow reef & overhangs |
| Missing Link | Hard-coral hedges & schooling fish |
| Mr. Bud | Wreck & artificial reef |
| Neverstain Bight | Cleaning stations & reef behavior |
| Newman’s Wall | Front Yard, sand chutes & vertical wall |
| Parrot Tree | Shallow coral hedges & deep cuts |
| Patty’s Paradise | Sand chute, tube sponges & reef ledge |
| Two Tall Two Small | Four formations, sea fans & surge |
| CoCo View Wall | Front Yard, cleaning stations & Green Moray |
Next: Prince Albert Wreck. This deserves a full chapter because it's arguably the signature Front Yard dive: a 140-foot tanker intentionally sunk in 1985, sitting upright at approximately 65 feet, now covered with decades of marine growth. We can also cover its history, how to dive it from shore versus as a drop dive, photography, night diving, and how it compares with Mr. Bud.
