Anybody dived in Roatan recently?

[KatRizzo]

Hi,
We've been to Roatan 4 times with the last time being March/early April, 2017. We didn't see nearly as much life on the reef this last trip as in previous ones. I'm told now, after a "long, cold winter" the reef has rebounded and is much better with most folks not noticing any difference from before. Has anyone been lately that has been before, and if so, what is your opinion?
Thanks in advance.
Kathy

 

[Doc]

That's a complex format of a seemingly simple question. My answer would be dependent upon some more information. I've been visiting a minimum of once or twice each year since 1984.

<?> You're inferring that there's an upcoming trip in the offing...if so it would be into the Summer months like June thru ? What you will see is very seasonally dependent.

<?> Which location have you been diving? Is that where you are returning to? What you will see is very localized geogrphically by season of visit. You may divide the island into the following zones, each having distinct fauna: West/North, South, North up East. So...where?

<?> What type of "reef life" are you accustomed to seeing already?

<?> What are you still searching for? Your bucket list?

April thru August is my favorite time to visit Roatan. Weather can be absolutely disagreeable November through February (as is the case with the entire Caribbean) and fishies <*}})))>< tend to scamper away during such times, not caring if they disappoint you or not.

You mention April in specific...if the winter tropical storm season refuses to give it up, yes- even as late as April can be a disappointment, anywhere in the Caribbean.

With answers to the above <?> unknown quantities, you'll get a better response.

Either way, it's pretty subjective and wildly dependent upon the individual diver's observational skills and life-list of critters still to hunt for.

 

[tridacna]

Coral reefs were in bad shape in November. A lot of die-off and bleaching. Lots of red slime algae. Tim at CCV agreed that it was the worst he's seen in years. I doubt that it's recovered that fast. Fish count was also the lowest I've seen in many years. No idea why. Still worth going though.

 

[JohnWoods]

I was in Roatan at the beginning of February this year. Stayed at Fosters in a cabana 40 feet from the water , awesome location. Diving was great , went with Sun Divers and highly recommend , picked us up at the dock right in front of the cabana at 8:00am every morning. Any specific questions please ask !!

 

[lthomas132]

I was in Roatan at the beginning of February this year. Stayed at Fosters in a cabana 40 feet from the water , awesome location. Diving was great , went with Sun Divers and highly recommend , picked us up at the dock right in front of the cabana at 8:00am every morning. Any specific questions please ask !!

Did Foster's ever fix the earthquake damage in the cabanas? Last time we were there the rooms were in really bad shape, gaps in the walls, generally run-down, & Foster's sons cared more about providing for the cruise boat people than the folks staying there. Daddy Foster is a great guy but turned over operations to his boys. We stayed at Las Rocas last year due to our previous experience at Fosters.

 

[JohnWoods]

We stayed in the round cabana right on the beach (photo attached), had the upper unit and lower unit. I didn't notice any earthquake damage myself. One of us stayed in a cabana behind the dive shop and he was pleased with it as well. Las Rocas looked nice also , we ate mostly there as Fosters was overpriced and no so good. Never saw the inside of any other cabanas. Ours was $149/night with the 8th night free, that's the top unit... bottom one was $129/night. I preferred the top unit. They're not luxury but for us perfect considering the location.

 

[lthomas132]

We stayed in the round cabana right on the beach (photo attached), had the upper unit and lower unit. I didn't notice any earthquake damage myself. One of us stayed in a cabana behind the dive shop and he was pleased with it as well. Las Rocas looked nice also , we ate mostly there as Fosters was overpriced and no so good. Never saw the inside of any other cabanas. Ours was $149/night with the 8th night free, that's the top unit... bottom one was $129/night. I preferred the top unit. They're not luxury but for us perfect considering the location.

Three of us stayed at the 3 bdrm. directly in front of the dive shop. There was a crack in the shower big enough to put your fingers through! They said that it wasn't a big deal and would be fixed. Las Rocas has small cabins but big enough for 1 or a couple. Food was OK, diving was good.

 

[Bali1]

I was at CCV in Feb and March.

Newman's and Minagheries have never looked better. Fish life was more than the previous 5 years and I did not think it was that bad before but this year was extraordinary. There just seemed to be more juveniles and larger fish. So I would say most reefs have rebounded very well. Patti from Dockside did say that the cold water reversed the bleaching that was happening last Fall. The water temp fell to 76 or so and stayed there for some weeks which made all the difference.

I usually go late March.

 

[KatieMac]

Hi,
We've been to Roatan 4 times with the last time being March/early April, 2017. We didn't see nearly as much life on the reef this last trip as in previous ones. I'm told now, after a "long, cold winter" the reef has rebounded and is much better with most folks not noticing any difference from before. Has anyone been lately that has been before, and if so, what is your opinion?
Thanks in advance.
Kathy

I was just there in March. I have no comparison really but the people who dive there regularly were telling me the fish population is rebounding as they get the lionfish population under control. I didn't see a ton of fish but the coral was healthy - although some breakage from storms where I was diving.

 

[Lefty Writer]

My wife and I, along with several others from our scuba club, just spent a week in Roatan on the south side, right next door to the Reef House. Viz was generally pretty good, and while some sites were better than others, all of them had a good variety of marine life. The coral appeared healthy. I wrote a blog about our time there, which includes both diving and nondiving stuff we did. You can access it here if you are interested.