A visit to Roatan, Honduras, would not be complete without a snorkeling tour in the warm, turquoise Caribbean Sea. Joining Jolly Roger Roatan for a day allows you to enjoy stunning underwater views filled with vibrantly colored coral and fish. Whether you are a veteran snorkeler or a complete beginner, you will see a variety of colorful fish around Roatan that you might have never seen before.

Roatan is surrounded by the second-largest barrier reef in the world, bringing many different species of fish and other marine life to the area. Here is a quick cheat-sheet for the types of fish you might see while snorkeling with Jolly Roger Roatan.

Parrotfish: Stoplight parrotfish are in abundance around Roatan. The males boast bright shades of green, blue, and orange, with a bright yellow spot on the tail to create a rainbow of color. Parrotfish are very entertaining as they chomp on coral for a midday snack, making loud crunching sounds you can hear underwater! Take a look at their big front teeth – it looks like they are smiling at you as they swim along.

Angelfish: Queen and French Angelfish are both prevalent in shallow waters around Roatan. Queen Angelfish are beautiful hues of blue and yellow, while French Angelfish are black and yellow. Juvenile French Angelfish have stripes while adults have distinctive scale patterns.

Sergeant Major: Look for the distinctive white and yellow bodies with black stripes to identify lots of Sergeant Majors swimming around. They also look like they are permanently puckered up and ready for a kiss!

Blue-Headed Wrasse: These vibrant little fish have blue heads (obviously), followed by a black-white-black stripe pattern, with the rest of the body a yellow or green hue. They are short and narrow-bodied but you are likely to see lots of them while snorkeling!

Fairy Basslet: The purple and yellow color combination of fairy basslets gives them a very unique look. They are also quite small – only up to about 3 inches – but they are frequent visitors to the sites we snorkel around Roatan.

Blue Tang: Have you seen Finding Nemo? Dory is a Blue Tang, and around Roatan you will see lots of little Dories swimming around! If youâre lucky, you may even see a massive school of Blue Tang cruising around the reef together.

Feel free to ask our snorkel guides or safety crew floating nearby in a kayak if you can not identify a certain fish. The Jolly Roger Roatan crew is full of local knowledge, especially about our beloved reef life!