Nelson's Nest
16.3325°N 86.5723°W · wall
Nelson’s Nest is a wall dive site in Roatán, Caribbean.
Overview
Nelson’s Nest is a Roatan Marine Park mooring near the Anthony’s Key Resort dolphin dive area in Sandy Bay, dedicated to Marilyn and Chuck Nelson’s 50th wedding anniversary by Shirley Blakely. The site offers access to the Sandy Bay barrier reef wall, where gorgonian sea fans, barrel sponges, and healthy hard coral formations line the drop-off. Green sea turtles and eagle rays pass through regularly, and the proximity to AKR makes it a convenient stop on multi-dive boat trips. Visibility runs 20 to 40 meters with water temperatures from 26 to 29 degrees Celsius.
Site Information
- Location: Roatán, Caribbean
- Entry Type: Boat dive
- Site Type: Wall dive
- Difficulty Level: Intermediate
- Maximum Depth: 24 meters
Sources: Coconut Tree Divers – Roatan Dive Sites, CoCo View Resort – Dive Sites, Splash Inn Dive Resort – Roatan Diving Sites, Roatan-Diving.com – Dive Sites, Octopus Dive School – Roatan Dive Sites. Last updated 2026-06-27.
Sea-surface temperature and wave height from Open-Meteo Marine (ERA5 reanalysis, monthly averages).
532 verified species observations (255 species) logged within ~11 km of this site between 1911 and 2023, from the Ocean Biodiversity Information System.
- Pterois · lionfish
- Gambusia nicaraguensis
- Palatogobius grandoculus
- Poecilia orri
- Lipogramma evides · banded basslet
- Gnatholepis thompsoni · goldspot goby
- Epigonidae
- Gobiomorus dormitor
- Phaeoptyx
- Gerres cinereus
- Mugil curema
- Lutjanus apodus
Scientific survey records skew toward sampled taxa (molluscs, corals) and do not reflect what you are guaranteed to see on a dive.
Source: OBIS (obis.org), aggregated Darwin Core occurrence records.
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