HYBUR 8

Best months: Dec–Feb

Protected Area

Punta de Manabique

Why dive here

With 447+ marine species recorded in the area - including barracuda, eagle rays, nurse sharks, orcas and seahorses - HYBUR 8 offers some of Caribbean Coast's richest wreck diving. Water ranges 27-31°C, warmest June, August, September.

Best timeDec–Feb

WetsuitA 3mm shorty or thin full wetsuit

Marine lifeBarracuda, Eagle Rays, Nurse Sharks, Orcas and Seahorses · 447+ species recorded

Water27-31°C · warmest June, August, September

CharacterWreck dive · max 15m

StandoutExceptional marine biodiversity

We love a good wreck, and the HYBUR 8, just off Guatemala's Caribbean coast, really delivers. This old schooner went down in 1990, so it’s had plenty of time to become a proper artificial reef, but it’s still very much a ship. You can drop onto the deck at 15 metres, often finding schools of jacks circling the masts. Inside, where the holds once carried cargo, now you’ll often find nurse sharks resting on the bottom, or big groupers eyeing you from the shadows. What makes the HYBUR 8 stand out is how accessible it is. It’s a relatively shallow wreck, so you get great bottom time, and the light penetration often picks out the details of the bow and stern. Our favourite part is finning through the superstructure, feeling the cool water shift as you pass through open doorways, with tangs and parrotfish grazing on the corals that have started to encrust the metal. It’s perfect for divers who appreciate the history of a wreck but also want to see it thriving with new life. Look for the barracuda that usually hang out near the deeper side, just off the stern.