Roatan experts

[KLSanford]

Hi all of you expert Roatan divers!  I am so excited to be planning our first trip to Roatan for next May!  It sounds like most of you stay at Coco View, but we will be staying and diving with Turquoise Bay.  One of their dive sites is the Dolphins Den - it sounds very intriquing and the pictures look awesome.  Can anyone tell me what they think of this dive site?  Also, it sounds like May will be a good time to travel.  Are the bugs any worse in May?  I don't mind the bugs, I just want to be prepared.  What is the best kind of repellant to use?  It sounds like you all have a different idea on this.Also, what are the chances of seeing dolphins in the wild?  That would be too cool!Ok, one last question...TB has day trips to Utila to look for whale sharks so I was wondering if anyone has done that and would it be worth giving up a day of diving to do it?  I think another option is a 3 tank day out to one of the smaller cayes which also sounds fun to do something different.  I am thinking that one week is not going to be enough time!Thanks for all of your Roatan advice!Happy Diving!

 

[RTBDiver]

Many stay at Cocoview, I never have and most likely never will, I stay home. I would not get all jacked up about any one particular dive site like dolphins Den.. Just enjoy the diving, take your time and have a good time. If you go with intentions of seeing this and that you will swim like hell looking for it and if you miss it the dive will suck, meanwhile back on the boat everyone else will be talking about all the cool stuff they saw. Bugs? No worse in May and use whatever you use now that works when trying to repel bugs, . Chances of wild dolphins are good, chances of actually diving with them decrease, I have dove with a lot more off Jacksonville Florida than Roatan. I would not worry about a trip to Utila for whale sharks, Its hit or miss and I think may is a little late but i could be wrong. I might be interested in a Cayos trip if the price was decent. My watchman has gone with a group from West End as a local guide/coconut chopper/translator/and sherpa and everyone seems to enjoy it.
Is one week enough time to do everything Roatan has to offer?? Of course not, I have owned my home there for years and spend 3 or so months there each year and have trouble getting past Flowers Bay.

 

[robint]

it may seem like most people stay at CCV, but that's not true. Very few people stay there as it is a small resort. BUT there are quite a few CCV lovers who are SB members.
As mentioned by RTBdiver, don't get too excited about any one dive site. All the dive sites that we visited were very lush with great sealife. That is one of the BIG things I like about Roatan, the reefs are so healthy, especially when you compare them to other dive destinations in the Caribbean.

 

[Mike]

This alone sounds like a pretty good incentive to stay there instead of CCV.

On request we offer two tank dives or day trips to the fantastic Morat Wall with surface interval at Pigeon Cay a tiny deserted island. Each of our four dive boats takes no more than 6 to12 scuba divers to one dive site and all dives are guided by a PADI divemaster. We do multilevel dive profiles with one hour dive time.

On our last day (actually about 4 hours before our flight out) we took the sea plane tour that took us over Pigeon Key, it had me just about drooling and dreaming of my next trip back just to get up there.

I'd be all over a dive trip up to there!

 

[ncchuck]

I echo what other have said about a particular dive site. I did a lot of diving all around Turquoise Bay when I lived at Paya Bay. I dont remember one called Dolphins Den but various operators on the north east side name dive sites differently. Diving on the North side is substantially different than areas around CCV. No walls to speak of compared to south side. I was there 4 months and saw dolphins once. Bugs are hit an miss year round.

I definately would not spend a day or two traveling to Utila. The chances of seeing a Whale Shark are slim at best. Utila is a great place to visit and dive but you should just spend a week there some other time or expand this trip by a week. There are much better times of the year for whale sharks however.

If they are talking about going to Cayes on the South East side, the trip would be well worth it. Not many divers get out there. Morat wall is the best dive site in the Roatan area as far as I'm concerned. DO IT.

Have a great time.

 

[diversteve]

Are the bugs any worse in May?  I don't mind the bugs, I just want to be prepared.  What is the best kind of repellant to use?

Something with Deet in it. Deep Woods Off worked well for me. And I'm a bug magnet. Don't forget to reapply it late afternoon, that's when they're the worst. And something was under the table at dinner those nights we had a tablecloth. Got pretty bit up the one night I forgot. We were there the 1st week of May 2008.  

Also, what are the chances of seeing dolphins in the wild?

 No idea, but we never saw one in a week of diving that side of the island. Not even riding the bow wave. Best bet for Dolphins is the RIMS dive encounter at Anthony's Key Resort.

TB has day trips to Utila to look for whale sharks so I was wondering if anyone has done that and would it be worth giving up a day of diving to do it?

We were going to do that with BIBR but they called us up and cancelled as the conditions would be too rough coming back in a small boat. Their idea, not ours.

We were in Utila end of March for Whaleshark research and the only days we saw them it was rougher, deeper water. One of the researchers thought it might've been because it moves the plankton up near the surface. The Whaleshark season on Utila is Feb-May. The peak times within that timeframe are mid-March-end of April.

Given that it's a couple hours each way plus you'd arrive late morning when it's already hotter, (Whalesharks stay deep when it gets too warm) it could be a nice all day boat ride with seeing a whaleshark as a bonus. Most days we had a spotter boat out looking for them in addition to our boat and we only found them two mornings out of a week of looking. The Utila operators give the location over the VHF when they spot one, I don't know if Subway would be party to those conversations. Sometimes they also give misleading directions as some of the trips are just day tourists and tip better when put on a shark.

And you can't dive with them, it's snorkel only. Just so you're not disappointed, when you jump they almost always turn away from you and go deep. So it's a 10-15 sec. encounter typically. And a lot of time sitting on the boat waiting for one to re-surface.
Upside would be if you did see one, you'll remember it forever. We saw 6, 5 12-18' juveniles and one larger female - it was like swimming next to a bus. It's something I'll definitely do again but probably in Belize.

You should do the Waihuka Shark Dive by the airport. Subway can set that up for you - they don't take private reservations. And ask Subway to set something up with someone (we did it with Barefoot Divers) to do some south side diving one morning. Mary's Place or the Cocoview Front Yard/Prince Albert - the South side is quite different from the North. I'd also strongly ask them to take you to Spooky Channel one morning, it's just past the Odyssey and one of the best dives we did on Roatan.

Here's a video showing some of what that area is like - including the Dolphin Dive at AKR and the El Aquila wreck. Bay Islands Beach Resort 2008 on Vimeo - not my video, Reed is PapaBear here on SB.

It'd be worth a cab ride one day to the West End for dinner/shopping also. It's a fun part of the north side and to be experienced. Negotiate the fare up-front anytime you get in a cab.

 

[Doc]

Dolphins....No idea, but we never saw one in a week of diving that side of the island. Not even riding the bow wave. Best bet for Dolphins is the RIMS dive encounter at Anthony's Key Resort.

Dolphins in the wild? Just about 1 mile East of CCV/FIBR on the South side, off of "Iron Shore"- they're seen quite often.

From Turquoise Bay, this would likely be an "all day trip" where you would cut through the center of the Island via the canal to the far East. The would likely dive Calvin's Crack, possibly all the way down to Iron Shore, but it's a bit of a trip for anything beyond that (French Key down to Mary's Place).

Don't fret, it's all quite interesting.

 

[diversteve]

that side for reference is the North side - where Turquoise Bay is.

 

[Doc]

that side for reference is the North side - where Turquoise Bay is.

I was addidng to the "Best bet for Dolphins" refernce.

Like so many people have said- come, dive and have fun. If you see cool stuff? Great!

Remember- not all "cool stuff" is bigger than a breadbox!

Relax- you'll see it all in due time.

 

[mikemill]

This alone sounds like a pretty good incentive to stay there instead of CCV.

On request we offer two tank dives or day trips to the fantastic Morat Wall with surface interval at Pigeon Cay a tiny deserted island. Each of our four dive boats takes no more than 6 to12 scuba divers to one dive site and all dives are guided by a PADI divemaster. We do multilevel dive profiles with one hour dive time.

On our last day (actually about 4 hours before our flight out) we took the sea plane tour that took us over Pigeon Key, it had me just about drooling and dreaming of my next trip back just to get up there.

I'd be all over a dive trip up to there!

When I went to CCV there was about 12 of us on our boat and the dives were scheduled for an hour. So not sure what the incentive is over CCV...