Roatan Planning Tips

[mikemill]

Hey all, my bro and I have a trip booked for May 9th to CoCo View and I was wondering if you all could give us some basic tips.

Searching around I see that the advise seems to be to take small USD bills. How much do you feel is enough for tips and such (ignoring splurges at the dive shop or local stores)? I saw that ATMs are available and we both have Visas. Is it easy enough to get additional cash for tipping? We probably won't get inebriated until the last night (hey don't want to ruin the next day's diving ).

Did you keep your passport with you? I was thinking of leaving the passport book in the room and keeping my passport card with me.

We got wait-listed for a resort room and got put into a beach house. So how far will we be lugging around the dive equipment?

How did you pack? I have a duffel style scuba bag that I can fit my gear into. I was thinking of putting my regulator (1st & 2nd stage), dive computer, and weights in my carry on backpack. So that'd leave one back for clothing which will be more than enough.

If you all have any other tips I'd love to hear them. I'm so looking forward to this trip and am more then willing to put an extra effort in beforehand to ensure it is a good trip.

 

[tridacna]

Best bet: Go to the Cocochat forum on the CCV website. There is TONS of info about this...

 

[John_B]

I pack most of my scuba gear in one bag, except the regs/mask/computer which go in the carry on with my clothes, any medicines, etc.

Don't stress out if there is a long wait at immigration, its just the way it is. It can take as long as two hours between getting off the plane and getting to the immigration official, but don't let it ruin your trip.

The resort will store your passport in their safe if you'd like. There are also wooden boxes in the rooms with locks. Either way, a copy of your visa entry form will be stapled to the passport page with your visa entrance stamp, don't lose that or you'll pay dearly when you go to pay your departure tax (which was US$34.04 as of last month, if you don't have exact change you may get the difference back in lempras).

The beach houses are just down a private path (grab one of the old bikes), but your gear will be stored in your dive locker at the dock, in a covered area right next to your boat. I wouldn't schlep anything except maybe your dive computer back to the room, but that's me.

There is a definite system to CCV; when they serve breakfast/lunch/dinner and what time the dive boats depart. Plug into that, then let the rest of the day flow around that schedule.

The sand flies are a pain; no two ways about. I tried the Cactus Juice, 100% Deet, and Cutter's Advanced with Picaridin. The 100% Deet worked but is bad for leather, neoprene, and the reef (and maybe your skin too?); plus its just plain messy, it starts oily and stays oily, and it stinks. The Cactus Juice (available on site) worked for some people but not for me. I was VERY impressed with how effective the Cutter's Advanced was. Get the liquid pump spritz bottles (link, credit to spspeck in another thread) at Cabelas or your local outdoor supply store. You'll want to bring it with you, you won't find it at the resort or (I'm told) on the island. If you get two pump spritz bottles, you can put one in your locker and one in your room and you'll always be covered.

There were various opportunities to go out to dinner, shark dives, island tours, canopy tours, etc. which all cost money. Personally, I stayed at the resort to dive, dive, dive! If you are going out, you'll be happiest if you have US$ in small bills (fives and ones). Plus you'll have to settle up your bar bill, nitrox, dive shop, etc. at the end of the stay. You'll find it easiest to not have to convert currencies. First, every transaction has to have the tax calculated and entered separately which can make credit card transactions a pain. And your bank is going to hit you with (1) a foreign currency charge and (2) likely a crappy exchange rate. The dive operation side will hold your c-card and nitrox card for the week, remember to pick it up if you decide to do the shark dive or the dolphin dive (the word from a couple in our group was that the dolphin snorkel is actually better than the dolphin dive).

The recommended tip is 10%-15% of your stay (note: not including airfare). There is a shared tip pool for the staff, but you should tip your DM and boat captain separately. And maybe anyone else who made your experience just a little nicer.

Enjoy

 

[tridacna]

And your bank is going to hit you with (1) a foreign currency charge and (2) likely a crappy exchange rate.

Good advice but not always true. I travel internationally a lot. Capital One credit cards do not charge these fees. Not only that, they actually absorb the mandatory 1% fee (rip off charge) imposed by MC and VISA. Also: Exchange rates are not variable. By law they may only charge the prevailing rate at the time of the transaction.

"The fees are twofold: Visa and MasterCard have a standard 1 percent charge on foreign purchases and the issuing bank adds another fee. Bankrate recently surveyed the top credit card issuers to find out what they charge for these transactions. The lowest conversion fees are from Capital One, at zero percent, and Zions Bank, which charges 1 percent for its conversions." (From Bankrate).

 

[LynnB]

Why would you take weights?

 

[diversteve]

Why would you take weights?

That was my question also, they're provided at CCV. Carry-on your mask instead.

If you go out to the West End for your last night (you will want to) take cash as the ATM's there mostly didn't work last spring. They're connected to the Internet which takes longer to be restored after the power fails nightly. We wound up getting a lot of lempira one day as we passed by the airport ATM - it may've been the only ATM I saw that spoke English also. Since one of our party is bilingual, it wasn't an issue for us.

 

[crd_kats]

Why would you take weights?

I dunno about the OP, but I have a 6 lbs weight bar that attaches to my backplate. With my SS bp, it gives me 12 lbs to dive with an al80. I can't remember what CCV has in the way of tanks. Maybe I'll check into it and might be able to leave it at home if they provide steel tanks.

 

[Papa_Bear]

They use aluminum like all the others on Roatan. I would use a trim pocket or two and leave the lead behind! I can't even imagine carrying a back-plate on a trip! Why? Travel light!

 

[rtbmediver]

the tank inventory at CCV is mainly aluminum 80s with a few 63s and 50s

 

[adjuster-jd]

I always carry my regulator and dive computer (and now my Oceanic Datamask) on board in my carry-on along with my camera and a change of clothes. Other dive gear gets checked in. As others have said, it can be a long wait in customs when you get off the plane. Just plan to stand in line for an hour or more and you'll be fine. Once your through the customs process everything else should be smooth. Be prepared to throw a couple bucks tip for the bag handlers at the airport or you'll find them to be rather surly.

As for bug spray - cactus juice worked for me last year, but then I wasn't outside all that much - at least in the evening if I wasn't under water. The prior year I used 100% DEET when I wasnt diving, but I really don't like the smell or greasy feeling of it. No significant bites either time.

There is a nice zip line (pirates extreme) which is right down the road from FIBR/CCV - this was has longer and higher (but fewer) lines than some of the other ones but it is close by. If you've never tried a zip line it could be fun.

As for correct change to pay the exit tax - last year I intentionally gave them some larger bills as I wanted to collect some lempiras to bring home. They wanted to give me change in USD so they are equipped to handle USD at the exit point as well.

Enjoy your trip.