EVERYONE KNOWS ROATAN IS THE BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD FOR DIVING! What makes Roatan incredible is the whole island is surrounded by a wall of reef otherwise known as barrier reef. this means you can pretty much snorkel and dive anywhere and find incredible reef, big drop offs and all kinda of cool marine life. Most of the area before the barrier reef is shallow turtle grass or shallow coral. There are a few deep water bays but for the most part you cant throw a rock and not hit coral. All this being said, you can do a Roatan shore divefrom most places. It is a lot easier though to get a boat and get dropped off. There are parts of the outer reef that do have current so just be careful when you go out, especially at the points of the island. The Roatan Marine Park has a great little guide book if you are interested in learning about all the different dive sites in Roatan.
