Roatan Trip Report, Sept 20-27

[miztflip]

Just a quick TR from our recent trip.

Our digs:

We stayed in West End at Posada de las Orquideas. Great clean rooms for the price. The huge decks overlooking the small bay were the highlight. We were on the 3rd floor which I'd highly recommend for the view. Being the low season we were the only ones there. The walk to town is 5-10 minutes depending on where you are going, but was worth if for the quite and seclusion. The island power went out one night and the generator kicked in without missing a beat and didn't disturb us in the least. We opted for the A/C which was well worth it. The pier was nice and we snorkeled out to Swiss Cheese one afternoon with little trouble. Just keep an eye out for boats.

Our Dive Op:

We dove with Native sons in West End. If you like small dive operations aka small dive groups you could not find a better operation. Most days it was just the four of us with an additional diver sometimes. We dove 3 dives per day and really enjoyed coming back to the beach between dives. With travel time were were still only out of the water for a 1 hour surface interval and had the chance to get something to eat or drink. We dove everywhere from Texas up to Bear's Den. The boats were fast and the rides were rarely more than a few minutes. The crew was awesome and dove where we wanted to. The goal every dive was 1 hour and we averaged 62 minutes per dive over the week. They also took care of our gear everyday and had it set up for us every morning. The dives were 25US dollars each.

We also went over to Fantasy Island for two dives so that my wife could say Hi to the staff (throughout college she went there 6 times) and dive Mary's Place. Well run operation but too many divers for me. I'm glad we didn't to the AI option. I really enjoy having options and I liked the local flavor of West End.

One day we did the Shark Dive, great experience as it was just me, my dad and wife. Now that I've done it I most likely wouldn't do it again but would recommend it to anyone who has not done it.

Our Dining:

Argentinian Grille: We ate there twice and it was awesome each time. Great bang for the buck for those of us who like meat. It ended up being my favorite place of the trip.

The Lighthouse: Another awesome meal on a nice deck overlooking the water. The pasta dishes are rich and tasty.

Le Bistro: Tasty meal but not too spicy for Thai food. Small portions but inexpensive.

Mavis and Dixies: After all the hype I was excited about this meal and chose if for my birthday dinner. Although the food wasn't bad, it was by far my least favorite meal of the trip. If you don't like seafood stay away, there is one non-seafood dish on the menu. Very expensive and the food was relatively bland.

The Bakery #2: We ate here several times for breakfast and lunch. Awesome food and very reasonable. The Ribeye Philly Cheese Steak was awesome. The breakfast were also very good.

Cannibal Cafe: Pretty good mexican food for the price. We enjoyed it and would eat there again.

Shark Cave (Pizza Place): We also ate here twice and were very pleased with both the flavor and the price. Highly recommended for something different on the island. Lots of locals and dive staff were always there which says alot.

Summary:

This was my first trip to Roatan and I didn't really know what to expect. The diving was typical Caribbean diving. The water temps were a consistant 85 with visibility in the 50-70 foot range. Very little current. The reefs were healthy with pretty good macro life but not alot of large critters (an occasional large grouper or snapper). Aside from the shark dive where we had about 15 Gray Reef sharks in the 6-8 foot range, we also saw a 6 foot nurse shark on the north side. Otherwise, nothing that I haven't seen at other Caribbean Locals.

My favorite dives were the drift from Peter's Place to Bear's Den, Texas, and West End Wall. FYI, I like poking around nook and crannies at a slow pace and looking for little stuff. Mary's Place I thought is a little overrated and wasn't much better than any other place although the reef was very healthy.

It seems like the DM down there love their swim throughs. I'm of the mind that if I want that I'll head to central Florida or the Cenotes. I much prefer the walls and reef tops were the life is.

Some tips, always negotiate taxi fare as they always start very high. We went all cash and were glad we did. US currency is accepted everywhere with exchange rates from 18.5 - 19 Limps/Dollar. We stocked up on snacks and water at Woodies at it seemed much cheaper there. Also if you are looking for something to do, my dad and I walked the beach from West End to West Bay and took the water taxi back. Nice walk with great scenery.

Great overall experience, but as I've said before, there are far too many places to see for me to return.

 

[Doc]

The diving was typical Caribbean diving. The reefs were healthy with pretty good macro life but not alot of large critters (an occasional large grouper or snapper). Aside from the shark dive where we had about 15 Gray Reef sharks in the 6-8 foot range, we also saw a 6 foot nurse shark on the north side. Otherwise, nothing that I haven't seen at other Caribbean Locals. I much prefer the walls and reef tops were the life is.

Bravo for the detailed report.

Native Sons is a great dive op, but I think though that your DM's were below average. Roatan has an enormously varied population of small critters, unlike anything anywhere in the Caribbean. The only place that comes close is certain parts of Belize and Klein Bonaire. The day dive ops are handicapped in this regard because they are clustered on the North and West ends and do not access the South side except to do the occasional Mary's Place, and apparently (due to fuel costs?) they don't do that as much as before. Cabbing it to FIBR to dive the South side is a good option, but so far- the only way to dive the South side is with an AI. Well, you can't have it all, I guess.

I understand well what you meant when you said "I much prefer the walls and reef tops were the life is", but the place to find the vertical walls starting in shallow reefs is not where you spent the week diving.

The most unique portions of Roatan (versus the rest of the Caribbean) are in dive sites that run along the South side running from Mary's Place to East to Oak Ridge. Other places on Roatan? You will likely see the common Caribbean critters that you noted, you are certainly dead-on in that regard.

Those are the unique areas near FIBR on the South side, unfortunately you got pulled in by the "big draw" of Roatan, Mary's Place.

Curiously, no resort is allowed to take a diver there before they have gone thru a 1 hour orientation and at least one dive beforehand to observe your buoyancy skills. In that Mary's Place is so deep, this means a diver has had to likely dive with them the day before MP. Some resorts follow the rules, others do not.

Your story points up the true dichotomy of Roatan. Unlike most visitors, you had the desire and obvious ability to see the micro stuff that truly sets Roatan apart from the rest of the Caribbean. Unfortunately, your dive ops were so remote from the South side locations that could offer this, you even had to switch over to see Mary's Place. You would have likely been a lot happier diving the house reef at FIBR, instead. It is loaded with macro critters.

The South Side's unique delights:
http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=3139

Many people come to Roatan only prepared to see larger creatures. They are at that stage in their progression of buoyancy and observational skills. They go home talking about the various critters that they saw that were visible to them and larger than a toaster oven. At the same time, if you want the little critters and know how to see them (versus just looking in their direction), you will also be disappointed unless you hit the right dive sites with the right guides.

I think your restaurant guide is real valuable. See? It was self guided, and for that kind of delight- you were "at the right mooring" Access to the West End and it's culinary diversions is a grand experience. You did miss the superb restaurant offering right near FIBR, it's called The View.

Consider returning sooner than you may have planned so far. If you aren't seeing a Sea Horse on every dive, you're diving the wrong sites and don't have the right divemaster.

 

[miztflip]

I guess I should clarify, the DMs were awesome, they did a great job pointing out seahorses, neck crabs, slendor file fish and all the other goodies. I'm by no means saying that Roatan doesn't have small critters, it does. Having done all of my 1000+ dives in the Caribbean there isn't much you could show me that I haven't seen other than some of the critters that have only been seen a handfull of times by any diver and critters endimic to areas I haven't visited. Don't get me wrong, I still get just as excited over juv yellowtail damsels and other common critters as I did the first time I saw them.

As for the check out dive, I couldn't answer. It may help that my wife has been friends with Robert, the FIBR dive shop manager for more than 15 years and has done hundreds of dives with them.

And yes, I'm sure I'll return sometime, It usually takes me a few years to cycle back through.

 

[manitou diver]

Thanks for the great TR and to Roatan Man's follow up. I am researching a first trip to Roatan in January and this info is great timing to get an idea about my planning. Any thoughts if one week is enough to get a full experience of the area? Is there any incentive to dive Utila while in the area or will Roatan give the variety. I've been to Coz for several years and am looking to have a new experience. Seahorses and small critters would be fun to see.

 

[divin'dog]

Thanks for the great TR and to Roatan Man's follow up. I am researching a first trip to Roatan in January and this info is great timing to get an idea about my planning. Any thoughts if one week is enough to get a full experience of the area? Is there any incentive to dive Utila while in the area or will Roatan give the variety. I've been to Coz for several years and am looking to have a new experience. Seahorses and small critters would be fun to see.

Just remember that January is rainy season. Yes, you will be underwater, but coming up from a dive is just so much better when the sun is shining. It's also nicer when the sun comes through the water to illuminate everything. I dove in January in 2006 and it rained about 5 out of the 7 days I was there.

 

[Bay Island Diver]

I didn't even bother to read Roatanman's post to the end, given how inaccurate the start of it was.

 

[Papa_Bear]

Hummm, North side critters are all over the place like this one:

I have been all around the island and each place has some nice places, but the north is every bit as nice and it has Spooky Channel and Herbie's Place!

More at our web site including a video of the diving:
Two Tanked Productions HD & SD Underwater Productions and video services

one more:

 

[manitou diver]

Is the rain in January worse than the nortes that hit Coz? Seems they only seem to last a couple of days. Do they close the ports? Or is it just wet? Is it better on the south side when it is stormy?

 

[marcoa]

Again, the constant steady flow of BS from wish I knew what I was talking about "RoatanMan"....

Perhaps seeing is believing, as Two Tanked Productions has illustrated...

 

[Doc]

Is the rain in January worse than the nortes that hit Coz? Seems they only seem to last a couple of days. Do they close the ports? Or is it just wet? Is it better on the south side when it is stormy?

Northers come from the North. The Northers are generally worse up by Coz, but just to the South lie the cayes (islands) of Belize. Most of the diving and dive ops in Belize are facing the South side of their cayes, so they are well protected from Northers.

When the heavy cold fronts push down to Texas, it's about to turn to dogmeat in the Western Caribbean. This does happen fairly often in the Winter months as anybody watching the Weather Channel knows. They love to show images of shivering Texans.

Roatan is a long narrow island that runs SW>NE and has a high ridge line that divides the island. When the windy Northers come, as you crest the hill coming over to the North, your windshield is spattered with sea spray and the taste of salt- some 2 miles inland. It gets pretty icky to the North & West.

They do seem to last only three or four days, and there are no North & West ports, per-se to be closed. It is more a matter of whether the North & West boats can safely move outside the few protective bays. Historically, and you can look back to the pirate days, the harborages and moorings that visitors to Roatan found most desirable were Coxen Hole, French Harbour up to Port Royal- all along the protected South side.

The reef structures are therefore obviously dramatically different, as are the land values. Where they will likely be crushed, delicate fancy things do not get built above or below water, neither by man nor any god. Pure Darwin. South side? Intact shallow wrecks. North & West? Deep but still thrashed apart by wave action.

The best of the North & West dive ops will bus you to the South side to meet the boat when this happens, the good ones will motor you over in the dive boat with the DMs. The grass shack types will simply hang out a sign that says "closed due to weather" to greet you after breakfast. Email and inquire: What will your dive op what they will do in the unlikely event that this occurs during your visit? Be careful of the "minimum divers required" escape clause flim-flam. You might have to spend the day instead buying beers for your dive staff.

With the escalating cost of fuel, this going to the South side thing is also a big issue if local diving is blown out. The 1.5 hr trip each way from the North & West to the calmer South is best avoided by guests, and it also strains the limit of the working hours of their employees. That long trip barely gets you to Mary's Place, certainly none of the better stuff further East- they'll never take you there to places like Calvin's Crack or the shallow intact wrecks.

I didn't even bother to read

Again, the constant steady flow of BS

This member has said "Thank you." to Bay Island Diver

Don't all three of you guys work for CoConut Tree Divers on the West End of Roatan? I'm sure you have a different view, what with being there in the shop and online making posts on SB all day long. How's the North & East weather look off the porch?

Set up a West End webcam, will'ya? Point it at where you dive- not at the beach! Here's one for the South side: South Side Roatan Shore Dive Cam