An Amazing week on Utila

[laurenceh]

I normally caution people to avoid Utila in November because the rain can be torrential but this last week has been amazing. We got lucky with the rain being only an occasional shower and most of them in the middle of the night.
The moon was full and it triggered the mutton snapper spawn and of course it brought in those who feed on the spawn. We snorkeled with whale sharks (one that hung vertically feeding for several minutes surrounded by everyone from the Utila Cays Diving boat), we saw enormous schools of bonito, even a manta ray!
Then on our last day we watched a pod of pilot whales pass through the channel between the cays and our dock on treasure beach.
No camera I'm afraid but I'm sure our neighbors at Utopia Resort will be posting and the property managers at Treasure Beach ( www.facebook.com/utilabeach )

 

[UtopiaOnUtila]

Here is a video of the Whale Shark encounter on Wednesday:

 

[Pillpusher]

Awesome. I get there in a week. I was also concerned about the weather, but things aren't looking too bad, so I'm crossing my fingers for that, and that some of the big critters you got to see will be around.

 

[laurenceh]

snorkeling with an exuberant pod of spinner dolphins that came through the channel between treasure beach and the cays

 

[drrich2]

Glad you had a great trip. Utila doesn't seem to get as much 'love' as Roatan and some other destinations; what led you to choose Utila for your trip destination? I hear good things about it, and wonder why it doesn't seem higher in the 'rankings' (apparently popularity as judged by forum trip reports and questions).

And if November is a risky time of year to go, why then?

Richard.

 

[laurenceh]

i started visiting Utila back in the late 90's to see whale sharks, then decided to buy some land. It reminded me of ambergris caye back in the 80's before the development started. I have a house on Utila now, so although I try to avoid rainy season I like to be there for the full moon in late October/early November because of the mutton snapper spawn. My place is 3 miles from town, it's only accessible by boat so its very peaceful and private, some days I don't see another soul, I go for the nature and to get away from everything. I'm hoping it will remain that way for as long as possible !!!!

 

[UtopiaOnUtila]

Awesome. I get there in a week. I was also concerned about the weather, but things aren't looking too bad, so I'm crossing my fingers for that, and that some of the big critters you got to see will be around.

The past week was awesome with whale shark sightings 3 days in a row of the eastern side of the island.

 

[UtopiaOnUtila]

Glad you had a great trip. Utila doesn't seem to get as much 'love' as Roatan and some other destinations; what led you to choose Utila for your trip destination? I hear good things about it, and wonder why it doesn't seem higher in the 'rankings' (apparently popularity as judged by forum trip reports and questions).

And if November is a risky time of year to go, why then?

Richard.

For us we moved here 5 years ago and live on the south shore of Utila too. Utila has a reputation of being a backpacker / partying destination. And that is partially correct if you decide to stay in town. But for people that are looking for something different, it can be a wonderful destination. Here is why we fell in love with it:

1. It is much less commercialized than other Caribbean dive destinations - no chain hotels, chain restaurants, high-rise buildings. It is often described as some other Caribbean location 10, 15, or 20 years ago
2. No cruise ships with their associated crowds and tourist attractions that primarily cater to the cruise ship tourists
3. Great diving - reef in good to great shape, variety of topographies, diversity of marine life, generally reasonable to good to great visibility, limit current etc.
4. The island is small enough that no matter where you stay, you can dive all around the island. Boat trips to dive sites typical range between 5 to 45 minutes.
5. On the south shore (which is boat accessible only) it is quiet, peaceful and feels like you are on a private island (no traffic, noise, ...)
6. Incredibly beautiful with friendly people
7. Chance to see whale sharks year round. Frequent dolphin sightings
8. Very safe. Almost no violent crime. Typical petty crime in town. Most visitors would say they fell SUPER safe during the day and night
9. You love beautiful sunrises and sunsets and you want to see both every day (south shore of Utila)


Utila may not be for everyone. You may not like it if

1. You need access to malls, chain restaurants and chain stores, Starbucks etc.
2. You love the cruise ship/super touristy/commercialized day-tripper scene
3. You don't like peace and quite (south shore) or noisy nightlife (town)
4. You absolutely cannot handle bugs - sandfleas and mosquitos can sometimes be a bit of a annoyance/pain in the but (days when the ocean breezes die down completely at dawn or dusk). It is very manageable in our opinion.
5. You don't like small planes or ferries. The largest plane option from San Pedro Sula is a 19 seater. The smallest one from Roatan is a 4 seater.
6. You need to see big schools of sharks, large school of larger predatory fish.

There may be other pros and cons I have forgotten to list . Bottom line is we love Utila. We love that it is off-the-beaten path. We love the friendly people. We love that it is less developed and not commercialized at all. We love the natural beauty. The great diving. having a chance year-round to swim with whale sharks. And we love that there are no cruise ship and few day trippers.