Thinking about fantasy island

[formernuke]

sorry wrong location

 

[robint]

Title says it all my trip to australia got canceled but I want to take advantage of my last break before I have to rejoin the work force again as was thinking the caribbean would a good affordable alternitive. One of the dive shops recomended fantasy island as being excelent for diving, food etc (best bang for buck). One of the others has a trip to mexico going on so I'm trying to figure out which would be better?????

Any help is much appreciated

Fantasy Island Resort is on Roatan in Honduras. Check out the Central American Forum here in SB, Bay Islands Forum for specific info.

Will you like it? Well, it depends what you want to do. It is an all-inclusive with diving and eating and relaxing and diving and ..... If you are looking for a night life or excitement, it isn't the place. If you want to dive dive dive it is perfect.

We really like diving in Roatan, much better than Cozumel for several reasons. A big one is that Roatan has the same dramatic walls and swimthroughs but no current... dives are very relaxed and no rush. We stayed at CCV resort, right across from Fantasy Island, and we loved it so much we are going back in March.

robin

 

[txdano]

Fantasy Island has a "buy one get one free deal" for the rest of the year if you have not seen that yet.

 

[NorthernShrinkage]

Although Fantasy Island is cheap to go to you get what you pay for. They used to be willing to take you to sites around the Island but now pretty much restrict you to sites in front of the resort. The furthest they will usualy go is Calvins crack (maybe a 10 min ride). Im not saying dont go there but you may want to book a day or two with one of the shops such as Coconut tree divers to get a bit of variation. Also waiuku shark dives is usualy a good time.

A lot of the primary dive sites such as Mary,s place have realy been torn up by bottom bouncers and after having the oppurtunity to dive a lot of the sites years ago and then returning 2 years ago its obvious to me that the reefs have been abused by over diving.........Just my 2c

 

[Doc]

The furthest they will usualy go is Calvins crack (maybe a 10 min ride).

Likely my favorite over Mary's Place. There are some weeks that FIBR does not make this 35 minute trip. Very few operations go there consistently other than RHR or CCV.

Im not saying dont go there but you may want to book a day or two with one of the shops such as Coconut tree divers to get a bit of variation. Also waiuku shark dives is usualy a good time.

Coconuttree Divers is a well regarded operation, but when you're already getting included diving at an AI, an additional $35 per dive is a hard sell. Waihuka is a half day outing that many visitors access from all over the island.

A lot of the primary dive sites such as Mary,s place have realy been torn up by bottom bouncers and after having the oppurtunity to dive a lot of the sites years ago and then returning 2 years ago its obvious to me that the reefs have been abused by over diving.........Just my 2c

Mary's Place is unfortunately one of the places that most Roatan visitors- no matter where you stay or who you dive with- a place that most divers have on their "must dive list"... thanks to Scuba Diving Magazines. It is highly over-rated, but it appeals to the needs of the more beginner diver.

The area encompassed by FIBR is a zone that is absolutely unique in the Caribbean. For two miles East and West, the walls face directly into the track of the Sun throughout the day. The walls start in 5fsw and drop straight vertical to 90' at sand (then off immediately to 3000').

The need for variation from that? You can see the variation from that distinct and unique feature anywhere else in the Caribbean. Why leave?

Other than Mary's Place, which after diving continuously over the last 30 years (even through the "ban" as I took part in surveys there), I have really not seen that much re-growth or new degradation. It is still a spectacular rock formation. 99.9% of the divers going through it never see the little creatures that live inside of it.

The South side is much more than Mary's Place. I agree with the above posts as to selecting FIBR, but understand that it is one of two ways (so far) to access this most peculiar and unique niche environment.

 

[NorthernShrinkage]

Likely my favorite over Mary's Place. There are some weeks that FIBR does not make this 35 minute trip. Very few operations go there consistently

Sorry Roatan man was a little off on my timing . LOL

Although I do agree that the walls in front of FIBR are spectacular I am speaking as someone who is land locked and only have limited oppurtunities to experience what Islands such as the Bay Islands have to offer that being said I am more than willing to pay a little extra to see what the different parts of the Island have to offer.

Although the main formation of Mary,s place has not changed I did notice about half a dozen fans and sponges laying down broken by what I am guessing would be negligent divers on my last trip. And if I as a visitor am seeing this over a short 2 week period I can only imagine what you have seen over a 30 year period !!!!

 

[robint]

Actually, RoatanMan, I disagree about Mary's Place. I really loved that dive and I am not a beginner. I also really enjoyed Calvin's Crack... both are great swimthroughs where divers can enjoy the sheer massive structure of a reef, from the inside! People rave about the swimthroughs at Cozumel, well, these are just as good and without the current.

I really, really love seeing big creatures and small creatures, but sometimes I just want to marvel at the spectacular nature of the reef system as a whole. I love coral, I love sponges, I love seafans just as much as the fish. Sometimes people make me crazy :crazyeye: when they say they did a dive and didn't see anything. Geez, the dive was a gorgeous coral formation, at least a dozen different kinds of coral, several kinds of sea fans, and sponges of every shape and color of the rainbow!!! You would think some people are looking at a pile of gray rocks (I know all about diving in those conditions as I do it here locally!). My favorite dive site we dove at Roatan was Valley of the Kings... but I can't tell you a single fish I saw on the dive, as I was so busy listening to the angels sing from the heavens as I admired the coral reef!

robin

 

[John_B]

Although Fantasy Island is cheap to go to you get what you pay for. They used to be willing to take you to sites around the Island but now pretty much restrict you to sites in front of the resort. The furthest they will usualy go is Calvins crack (maybe a 10 min ride). Im not saying dont go there but you may want to book a day or two with one of the shops such as Coconut tree divers to get a bit of variation. Also waiuku shark dives is usualy a good time.

A lot of the primary dive sites such as Mary,s place have realy been torn up by bottom bouncers and after having the oppurtunity to dive a lot of the sites years ago and then returning 2 years ago its obvious to me that the reefs have been abused by over diving.........Just my 2c

Some random thoughts, in no particular order and mostly to no one in particular.

• Calvin's is easily a 20 minute ride from CCV/FI/Prince Albert, on those boats anyway. So is Mary's Place, just in the other direction. Mary's Place is doable from the other side of the island; Calvin's, no so much.
• If you are staying on the south side (CCV, FI, etc.), it's worth a day trip to the West End.
• If you are staying on the west/northwest side (West End, AKR, etc.), it's worth a day trip to the south side.
• As far as the conditions at Mary's Place and "bottom bouncers": Not sure if you are talking about the top reef (at approx. 30'), the bottom of the swimthrough (90'-100'), or the depths below the wall dive (130'+)? Maybe you're diving a different "Mary's Place" (done this dive 5 times in the last year and I'll be back again this fall)?
• I like Calvin's as well, but Mary's Place is still my favorite of the two. I've been known to smuggle myself on a different boat for one trip to get a second Mary's Place dive in.
• My favorite dives are still the little critter dives on the south side and the West End "turtle" dives.
• Any "Free Nitrox" deal that FI may be offering will only include a fixed number of nitrox tanks; extras are extra. (CCV has an all-you-can-breathe nitrox plan.)

To the OP: Go have a great time! I'm still a few months from my next trip to paradise.

 

[Doc]

Actually, RoatanMan, I disagree about Mary's Place. I really loved that dive and I am not a beginner.

I didn't think I was a beginner either after 60+ dives through Mary's Place, until the Resident Expert on all things Mary's Place took me through and finger-thwacked me on my oblivious head a few times.

Sun Zoanthids?

If and when I could find these again (all on my own) inside Mary's Place, I will accept the title of intermediate I have tried eight times and I am assured that they are still there, exactly where I shot this picture.

Now I have no doubt that I myself am still a beginner, but in terms of the cool life forms that you come to South side Roatan to see, Mary's Place is still way down on the bottom of my list.

This is why you dive the South Side: http://s221.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/Doc_Adelman/2007 Roatan Bay Islands Honduras/

Mary's Place? By all means, do it once, but don't select a dive-op based on which is closer. As John_B points out, most (not all) of them will take you there.

Some random thoughts, in no particular order and mostly to no one in particular.....

Well said.

 

[CajunDiva]

If you are considering Fantasy Island, by all means...DON'T MISS IT! We are counting down - four weeks until we're there. This will be our fourth trip there in a year.

If this is your first trip, don't worry...you'll have plenty of dive sites to visit on the south side of the island. You can check out all of the ones mentioned above and evaluate them for yourself. Those are great because they are the ones "everyone" knows about. But there are so many others that are incredible in their own special way, and you'll stay plenty busy trying to check them all out. Even when you're not boat diving, the shore diving opportunities are incredible.

It's too bad you're missing out on Australia, but in my opinion Roatan is a close second. I've been speculating about that for some reason over the past couple of days. We really enjoyed diving the Great Barrier Reef last October - it was an amazing experience. But I think when I consider everything I love about Roatan, I'd probably rather dive the south side of the island than the Great Barrier Reef. Maybe you'll get a chance to make that trip some time later...in the mean time, enjoy Fantasy Island! But be careful...you may never want to go anywhere else