Roatan Divers vs Reef Gliders?

[Elduderino]

Staying in the West End and am considering diving with these two shops. Any feedback on one vs the other? Roatan Divers has 4 boats from what I can tell while Reef Gliders only has 2 so I'm kind of leaning towards RD for more flexibility due to more boats, but that might be over thinking things or be completely irrelevant. (AOW, nitrox, about 90 dives. If those things matter)

 

[Gdog]

I have dove with both dive ops. Both do an excellent job. Why not dive a couple days with each and make up your own mind? You can almost throw a rock from one and hit the other. In addition, some of the DMs have and do work with both shops. We know several of them, and consider DMs from both shops to be personal friends.
RD has faster boats, and does have 4. RG has a bigger boat. With the close proximity to the dive sites, neither is a big deal. RG has a bar and small kitchen on site, called Blue Marlin. RD is about 8 steps from the back door of Gingers bar and grill. Give Fernanda or Gabbi a call at RD, and give Irma a call at RG and schedule a couple days of diving with each. Oh...and tell them I said hi!

 

[Pat S]

I think @Gdog answered this well. I’ve only been with RD but was impressed. Great staff, nice boats and they did group us by ability. I travel solo so it’s always to be with other experienced divers.

One specific thing that really impressed me was that on a day when the conditions on the north side were not great, they shuttled us all to the south side and took the boats around to meet us there so we could dive Mary’s Place. They could have easily canceled the day, but it was great that they did so much extra to make sure everyone on the schedule could still dive that day.

 

[Elduderino]

I have dove with both dive ops. Both do an excellent job. Why not dive a couple days with each and make up your own mind? You can almost throw a rock from one and hit the other. In addition, some of the DMs have and do work with both shops. We know several of them, and consider DMs from both shops to be personal friends.
RD has faster boats, and does have 4. RG has a bigger boat. With the close proximity to the dive sites, neither is a big deal. RG has a bar and small kitchen on site, called Blue Marlin. RD is about 8 steps from the back door of Gingers bar and grill. Give Fernanda or Gabbi a call at RD, and give Irma a call at RG and schedule a couple days of diving with each. Oh...and tell them I said hi!

Thanks for the info. I usually do a package of dives since its cheaper. But I guess I could do 1 or 2 dives first. Wasn't sure if space would be an issue (idk why part of my text appears bold, maybe I'm losing my mind lol)

 

[Elduderino]

I think @Gdog answered this well. I’ve only been with RD but was impressed. Great staff, nice boats and they did group us by ability. I travel solo so it’s always to be with other experienced divers.

One specific thing that really impressed me was that on a day when the conditions on the north side were not great, they shuttled us all to the south side and took the boats around to meet us there so we could dive Mary’s Place. They could have easily canceled the day, but it was great that they did so much extra to make sure everyone on the schedule could still dive that day.

Yea that's nice having that flexibility. I know most dives are right off the dock. Are there any longer boat trips to dive sites further away that are worth it?

 

[OMyMyOHellYes]

Thanks for the info. I usually do a package of dives since its cheaper. But I guess I could do 1 or 2 dives first. Wasn't sure if space would be an issue (idk why part of my text appears bold, maybe I'm losing my mind lol)

That could be the case!

 

[Gdog]

Yea that's nice having that flexibility. I know most dives are right off the dock. Are there any longer boat trips to dive sites further away that are worth it?

Oh absolutely. And if conditions allow, they will. The reason many of the dives feel like they are right off the dock is that there are so many sites within 5 minute boat ride. Some of the more distant sites really depend on what the water/wind are doing.

 

[MTlightrod]

We have excellent experiences with RD. They are super friendly and are extremely flexible when it come to the dive schedule - if we didn't feel like making the afternoon dive, it wasn't a big deal. We also love that we get to dive with different Dive Masters, each with their own specialty - maco spotters, ray/turtle spotters, and all of them are great in helping us improve our skills. They truly and genuinely worked to make us better divers. We have thought about an all-inclusive shop, but have found that West End offers so many dining options we would have to be tied down.