Might there be interest in putting together a low budget trip to Roatan?

[sololady]

This is the conundrum of Roatan, as it is for many destinations.


Another factor is "time". At West End day-dive operations, yes- they do run three boat trips daily, but making both the first and closely spaced second dives is not an easy task and you will likely tire of the effort after one day's go-round. Then start totaling up the cost of those "ala-carte" dives, versus the AI option.



No one offering will work for everyone, not in "today's Roatan" (Yet !)

I do believe that most of the West End dive ops only run 1-tank dives which was a surprise for me when I first started diving Roatan. But then I discovered that Coconut Tree Divers always makes the first run of the day a 2-tank dive. followed by two 1-tank dives. That's why we often go further and stay down longer and why I can can get in as many dives as I personally like in a day.

As we keep saying...it all depends on what you want to do and who is in your party. There are more and more things to do on Roatan these days and for those who want to share their island holiday with non-divers, ala carte might be the best choice.

 

[kathydee]

That would certainly misrepresent us and I believe also Steve's Deep Blue dive shop. We travel to North side with standard walk-in dive packages. It is true that we take reservations for diving places and when the dive center is busy those with reservations will, of course, get priority. Having said that I can't remember when we had to tell a customer "sorry but we are full" when it came to diving places. What seems to matter is how many boats a dive center operates and if the dive center separates fun diver and student boats.

As for outside lodging, we and several other dive centers love to work with divers staying elsewhere. In fact we even offer a free pick up and drop off service for divers not staying with us. It's actually better for us to have divers staying outside of our lodging as it keeps our beds free for more business.

At Alton's, just like Steve's Deep Blue Divers shop and several others, we offer cheap/complimentary accommodation to backpackers and others on a tight budget. We also have more upmarket accommodations for those that require private bath, a/c, etc. We have plenty of beds and we never kick people out because they have finished their diving package or training. Our beds and rooms are available to fun divers, students, and non-divers. We don't require people to dive every day, I don't believe Steve does at his Deep Blue Divers shop either. I guess some other dive centers might. It is true enough that we sell a course package including accommodation but we also do the same for fun divers and even snorkeling.

If anyone is interested in details of our services drop me a PM and I'll be happy to provide information.

Sorry but I don't know of anyone else other than Vern who is trying to run a boat service between Utila and Roatan.

That's great to hear,


I didn't dive with Altons but I was on Utilia for a month of fun diving and spent enough time with dive shop employees to understand a few of the local tricks. It appeared competition for customers was quite strong, so many of the shops were a bit dubious with their promises & promotions.

Sounds like Altons delivers what it advertises -- which is good to hear.

So hearing these promises, it seems a person would probably be best served by making prior reservations for accommodation/diving with the guarantee that they will dive on the "fun diving boat," not the class boats & will be diving the North side on a regular basis.

After my prior experience on Utilia, I’d probably ask for these details in writing before signing up for packages.

BTW, I did indeed end up diving on one of the larger shops "resort boats" and had a brilliant time diving the north side almost every day.

I just saw many backpacker types who were passing through & weren’t there long enough to pick up on the game. Many never saw the nice diving and certainly didn’t make it to the north side & out dolphin and whale shark spotting everyday during their entire surface interval like we did.

 

[scc135]

Is there much whale shark spotting if you dive from the West End?

 

[Doc]

It was my misunderstanding that the resort expected a bulk tip. We are comfortable tipping the captain and DM 10-15% of the package. We also tip dock, cleaning and wait staff individually and daily. They need the money a lot more than we do.

This thought might well apply to any "bulk tip" situation.

On a liveaboard, yes- the DM's usually do pretty well, but what about the Cook or the Engineering crew?

The same thing at a resort or guest house. In a "bulk tip" deal, the groundskeeper, maid staff, cooks, and other invisible people all should get a piece of the pie this way. Ask to be sure! Speak quietly to a few employees- there have been some real dust-ups in the industry when managerial staff perverted the system- the employees will likely tell you of any concerns. Use your best judgement.

CCV and other like-better operations will explain the system for you. It's great to give certain special folks something extra, and you're right... $50 to a Boatsman or DM is a real windfall, and a bargain for us as we usually do 20 boat dives in a week, plus they are always around and helpul for the average of 7 shore dives, too. That's about $2 per dive (per each of two men) and they are quite happy with that, for sure.

Many folks also hand over extra $$$ to their wait staff, maid, and others that catch their eye. Remember- there are still some invisible people.

On the Bulk Tip, if you specify on the envelope that you've taken care of the dive staff, they will pare out that amt from your DM and Boatsman, but unknown to you, they will take care of the guy who fills the tanks, watched the compressor and other, invisible helpers. This is how CCV does it, anyway.

So, to a great extent, a "bulk tip" situation can work to the advantage of many. Ask questions, you decide.

 

[Reef Tank]

So hearing these promises, it seems a person would probably be best served by making prior reservations for accommodation/diving with the guarantee that they will dive on the "fun diving boat," not the class boats...

Excellent advice, thanks.

 

[Reef Tank]

But then I discovered that Coconut Tree Divers always makes the first run of the day a 2-tank dive. followed by two 1-tank dives. That's why we often go further and stay down longer and why I can can get in as many dives as I personally like in a day.

I'm glad you mentioned that. When I was in their shop it was crazy busy. I thought I had stepped into the Star Wars Cantina and would probably have avoided them.

BTW, the people running around West End sure seem young.

 

[sololady]

I'm glad you mentioned that. When I was in their shop it was crazy busy. I thought I had stepped into the Star Wars

Cantina​

and would probably have avoided them.

BTW, the people running around West End sure seem young.

jajajaja, thank you so very much. So many of the people running around
West End are very young. I'm not.

Once I went to the last late club with a lady my age who was mom of one the volunteer doctors on the island at that time. It was a fabulous experience. something like 10-15 young volunteer doctors on the island for their last night. They danced all night and had a great time. I enjoyed watching them have so much fun. They had worked very hard and they deserved a good time on their last night.

As for CTD, they are often crazy busy. You need to sign up for the dives you want a day or two in advance if you are sure of what you want. If you aren't so sure, you can take what is left if you want to. But when it comes time to load the boat and get aboard, you best have you head clear and be about yourself. It happens very quickly. They run on schedule. That's how they do 4 day dives every day plus a scheduled night dive and others anytime there is enough interest.

 

[sololady]

Hard to say. Though some have, I've never seen one off Roatan, but I have been blessed to photograph and swim with them off Utila.

We all need to be deeply concerned about them right now. The British Petroleum (BP) oil spill off the Louisiana coast may well be very difficult for them.

 

[Markyc]

Is Roatan a good dive destination in November given that it's both hurricane and the rainy season? I was thinking about the Bay Islands in November myself but might go back to Bonaire and not risk it. Any thoughts?

 

[Doc]

Bonaire would be more likely to be drier of the two places.