Roatan or Utila? Internet. Length of trip. So many things to decide...

[terramar]

I'm looking to do a trip with my kids (ages 17 and 19) and get in as much diving as we can.

I've got about 50 or so dives, my kids about 10 after their OW certification. They're interested in doing their AOW on this trip too. All of their diving has been in Hawaii so far, and we're really looking forward to trying something new.

First question: Roatan or Utila? Given that we'll be mainly diving, is there anything to push us towards one or the other?

Second Q: Is a week enough time? Is two weeks too long? I was just in Maui for a week, and it flew by, so I'm leaning towards the longer trip, but I'm curious what people's experiences have been.

Third question Internet. While I wish I could completely unplug for the trip, but I have to be able to check in and do a bit of work each day while I'm vacation, so I'm hoping for a place with a decent internet connection.

Last one (for now, at least): What resorts should I put at the top of my list? I'd like something with comfortable accommodations. Near or on the water would be great, but it doesn't have to be fancy. All inclusive or not. I've started checking out Roatan Divers (roatandivers.com) and their suggested "The Beach House" as well as Utila Lodge. (utilalodge.com)

Thanks. I appreciate any advice and recommendations.

 

[diversteve]

The Beach House is in the West End. I walked by it daily plus I think the little bakery we liked is on the ground floor. The resort seemed nice enough and in the middle of the West End where most of the Roatan restaurants are.Also two markets are within a block. Don't use the outside ATM a few blocks south as it gets reliably hacked

IDK Roatan Divers but there's at least a dozen other dive operations within walking distance. All have their boats moored across the street so 4 dives/day is sometimes possible - 3 likely. Some even return to the dock between dives as some of the best sites are 10 minutes or less away.

Were you looking for an AI - Anthony's Key Resort is about 10 minutes further east. The dolphins are there and you can dive with them for an additional fee. If they've continued it in 2018 their BOGO makes the price attractive.

We personally used/liked Coconut Tree Divers but rented a house so I can't help a lot with resorts, I would stay away from any near the water taxi stop as some are fronted by the loud bars. My other recommended op would be Reef Gliders since I knew rhe owners b4 they moved there. They use the smaller panga-stle boats common there.

Internet access is decent in the West End - there used to be an internet cafe at Sundowners bar/grill but it may have closed. I think there's still another one down the street if your resort doesn't offer good speeds.

On Utila I'd stay in town for connectivity. We stayed at one of the dive resorts on the south side and access was so slow we'd talk for a few minutes while waiting for e-mail responses.

Utopia Village looked nice, we planned to go there until I won a trip to Deep Blue Utila - but I don't currently recommend DB as they've had financial problems the past few years. I don't know the properties in town at all but Coral View Beach Resort looked nice - and is one of few with a shore dive - one dat as we dove nearby. It's far enough west that town would be a 14min walk or short bike ride.
Most travel on Utila is by golf cart or ATV - I dpn't believe you can even rent a car,
It would be easily possible to dive both islands in about 10 days since there's a ferry - takes about 90 mins. HOME -UtilaFerry.com your international flight would be out of Roatan since the Utila airport is a tiny grass strip.

I personally found the diving better on Utila. During spring it's possbile to snorkel with Whalesharks there also - we did about 4 days after diving - got in the water with 8.

Except for Black Hills and maybe the Halliburton wreck IMO all the better diving was on the mostly unpopulated north side.Almost all the boats go there daily except they do some classes along the sw shore.

On both islands - bring lots of bug repellent. We found Deep Woods Off worked. The sand flies are vicious around dusk. For Roatan we also did the Malaria treatments - there's also Dengue Fever but we took our chances with that.

Good diving and very different from Hawaii since the substrate is different. Lots of good swim-thru's and twisty channels to follow.

 

[Doc]

.... I have to be able to check in and do a bit of work each day while I'm vacation, so I'm hoping for a place with a decent internet connection.

"have to" versus "hoping", let's look at it that way, then...

The Internet connection is actually dictated by the island to mainland microwave link on any given day.

That, and the dimwit vacationing family downloading movies next door instead of enjoying a sunset.

If you "have to", I'd say go anywhere else. If you're good with "hoping", join the crowd. Not so good for check-kiters, day traders and monitoring the dog walker's visits.

 

[scrane]

First of all, West End vs West Bay:
West Bay has newer, bigger, brighter, higher, and fancier facilities. Better beach. If you tend towards standardization and luxury, WB might be better.
West End: Older, funkier, more established in a seedy kind of way. More restaurants, more bars, more small hotels, more things to see, more contact with locals. Narrow beach that you'll have to share with the locals and their kids (and dogs).

 

[kelemvor]

I was under the impression that utila was almost exclusively about training. Primarily divemaster/instructor training. Am I wrong?

 

[laurenceh]

your kids would almost certainly enjoy utila a lot more than Roatan.
Utila town is full of backpackers from europe, scandinavia, israel and australia, all in the 18-28 years age range, lots of partying at night time and good diving during the day. most of them are on the island for a few weeks of diving instruction and certification, as part of an extended trip around central america. your kids will have a great time hanging out with everyone and will probably never want to come home.
Roatan tends to attract an older crowd and mostly from the u.s. and canada, which may be more your cup of tea.
if you stay in Utila town I would recommend either the lighthouse inn or the mango inn, i'm not a fan of utila lodge.
another option would be to rent a beach house away from town and just visit town occasionally in the evening (in my experience most u.s. parents like to restrict their teenage kids access to the partying in utila town). if that sounds good you'd have a hard time beating the rental homes on treasure beach ( www.facebook.com/utilabeach ).

 

[Coralcomm]

On the internet front, here at Barefoot Cay Resort/Barefoot Divers we went on a mission to take the "if" out of "wifi"...We find everyone can relax a whole lot more just knowing they have reliable, robust connectivity 24/7 even if they're not glued to it...Yes, there is point-to-point going from the mainland to Roatan, but unless there's some biblical weather event, that's not the issue--it's the shared bandwidth (the family next door downloading movies as Doc referenced), so we invested in a dedicated fiberoptic line with all the bandwidth we need...Works like a champ, and now we're freer to enjoy the wonders of nature rather than man-made frustrations!

 

[laurenceh]

I was under the impression that utila was almost exclusively about training. Primarily divemaster/instructor training. Am I wrong?

many people on Utila are doing training but there are also plenty of people there just for fun diving and to try and see a whale shark

 

[Lorenzoid]

I was under the impression that utila was almost exclusively about training. Primarily divemaster/instructor training. Am I wrong?

If you visit Utila Town or talk to people staying or working in Utila Town, as opposed to somewhere outside of town, that's the impression you'd get. When I was there almost 15 years ago as a typical backpacker on a shoestring budget, I wasn't even aware that there were places outside of town where people came for what I now think of as a typical dive vacation.

 

[KatieMac]

First question: Roatan or Utila? Given that we'll be mainly diving, is there anything to push us towards one or the other?

This is a bigger question - Utila vs Roatan in West Bay, West End or dive shops further away from civilization like Barefoot, Fantasy Island, Turquoise Bay, Anthony's Key, etc. And then decide if you want all inclusive or a la carte. Note that some "all inclusives" don't include alcohol and some don't include all meals.

Second Q: Is a week enough time? Is two weeks too long?

I find one week too short always. Two weeks is too long unless you're diving in which case it may still be too short.