Trip Report Dive Report: Utopia Village, Utila Honduras

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Adam K

Registered
Messages
26
Reaction score
44
Location
Michigan
# of dives
100 - 199
My wife and I made a return stay to Utopia Village in March of 2018. This was our second stay (our first was 2 years prior). We thought our previous stay was incredible, but this most recent stay was absolutely phenomenal.

Let me start with the staff/service - the owners, Paul & Chrisna, have assembled a staff that is second to none when it comes for friendly and considerate service. Guests are always greeted with a smile at every encounter. Every staff member goes above and beyond to make guest feel "at home". I'd love to go into all the fine details, but I'd go on forever, and I would hate to spoil all the surprises future guests would enjoy. Our group was very small - only 8 people. By the end of the first full day, the staff all knew our names.

The food - you will never go hungry at Utopia Village. All meals are absolutely delicious and plentiful. Utopia Village accommodates all diets and food restrictions. I assure you, you won't be disappointed.

The diving - in my short 2.5 years of diving, I've had the luxury of diving at a few of the better diving venues (Maldives/French Polynesia/Red Sea). While you may not see some of the larger animals such as mantas and an abundance of sharks, we had some incredible encounters - octopus, squid, toad fish, nurse shark, hog fish, spotted eagle ray, stingray, spotted moray, green moray, fire worm, mantis shrimp, slipper lobster, and so many other fish and macro life. John was our dive master all week, and he did a great job of taking care of us and pointing out wildlife. We were lucky to have him as our guide. In addition to the diving, we had probably a dozen different "jumps" where we were able to put eyes on whale sharks - one of the encounters was about 5 minutes long. We also were able to swim with dolphins and a pilot whale. We dove the first week of March. The water temperature was about 81 degrees at the surface and about 79 degrees at depth. I wore a long sleeve 2mm shorty wetsuit and got cold during a couple of the slow moving or longer dives. Some of the guests were wearing 3mm or 5mm wetsuits and that seemed to be sufficient. The house reef is exceptional. We saw so much just in front of the resort. Over 6 days we were able to do 17 dives.

The resort - this stay, we were in room 108 which has a great view of the ocean. The room was very comfy and clean. The staff keep the resort immaculate. Every morning, staff are picking up fallen leaves, raking the grounds, and cleaning up the waterfront from any debris that washed up. The dining area is cozy and welcoming. The hot tub and pool area have a beautiful view of the ocean. Bring some bug spray with deet. U.V. does a lot to help control sand fleas but if there is rain or light winds, you may get a couple bites without.

If you are looking for a 5 star dive resort with all the luxuries to go with, Utopia Village will not disappoint you. I look forward to a return trip. To Paul, Chrisna, and all the staff- thank you for a wonderful week.
 

Attachments

  • fullsizeoutput_416.jpeg
    fullsizeoutput_416.jpeg
    56.4 KB · Views: 238
  • 20180310_131214.jpg
    20180310_131214.jpg
    85.9 KB · Views: 230
  • 2018-03-05 17.51.33.jpg
    2018-03-05 17.51.33.jpg
    165.7 KB · Views: 235
  • DSCI1450.jpg
    DSCI1450.jpg
    37.5 KB · Views: 222
  • DSCI1852.jpg
    DSCI1852.jpg
    126.9 KB · Views: 223
  • DSCI1692.jpg
    DSCI1692.jpg
    26.2 KB · Views: 213
  • DSCI1704.jpg
    DSCI1704.jpg
    140.6 KB · Views: 214
  • DSCI1506.jpg
    DSCI1506.jpg
    44.8 KB · Views: 205
  • 2018-03-09 19.33.35.jpg
    2018-03-09 19.33.35.jpg
    84.3 KB · Views: 221
  • 20180310_130918.jpg
    20180310_130918.jpg
    93.3 KB · Views: 230
Most of the dives are by way of their dive boat, but on our last trip we did 4 dives from shore which included 2 night dives.

In the last year, Utopia Village installed a new dock with a ladder for easy entry into the water.

They also advertise unlimited shore diving outside their normal dive schedule. Staff always assists with gear. It is true “valet diving”


Since you mentioned the house reef, we’re you shore diving there?

Richard.
 
Is the new dock on their property, or down the beach a distance where the old one was that belonged to someone else? (When we were there they said they didn't have permission to build a dock and would never get it.) What we saw of the shore dive was great, but we didn't do much because it wasn't actually all that convenient at the time, and also because the shore diving was pretty much blown out most of the week.
 
The dock is on their property. Basically straight out from where the pool was. There used to be remnants (pilings) of where a old dock was when I was there in 2016. The new dock is there. When the water is calm enough, the scuba boat will also leave from the new dock.
 
Is the new dock on their property, or down the beach a distance where the old one was that belonged to someone else? (When we were there they said they didn't have permission to build a dock and would never get it.) What we saw of the shore dive was great, but we didn't do much because it wasn't actually all that convenient at the time, and also because the shore diving was pretty much blown out most of the week.
The dock is right in front of the resort (see photo). It was built 2 years ago. On a typical week there are 2 scheduled/guided shore dives (one on the first day and one night dive). But guests can do as many additional ones as they like. The entry from the dock (versus wading in from shore) has made it very convenient and less weather dependent, but it can still sometimes be too rough (especially on the exit ). The house reef is in great shape and has a 120' drop-off that can be seen on the photo too.
DJI_0030.jpg
 
Yeah that exit through the rubble was an ankle breaker, especially if the water was frisky. We were actually entering from a dock a fair walk east. We’ll have to check it out again!
 
How long are the boat rides?
The boat rides range from between 5 minutes to 45 minutes. There are dive sites less than 5 minutes away from the resort in each direction. The furthest dive site is around 40-45 minutes away on the north side.

Screen Shot 2018-10-26 at 11.59.13 PM.png
 

Back
Top Bottom