Any feedback on the Roatan Aggressor?
- Thread starter jrmdad
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what time of year are you going?
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If those were my 3 choices, for whatever reason, I'd go with Turks and Caicos on the T&C Explorer first, Bay Islands on the Aggressor, lastly Tiger Beach. But why Tiger beach? The Aggressor doesn't bait or hand feed, so the experience of Tiger Sharks is not what it could be. If you want to see Tiger Sharks, wait for the new Master boat, or go with Epic Diving. If you want to see the Bahamas, go on the Aquacat to the Exumas. If you want to see sharks, but not all touchy-feelie, go see the Great Hammerheads at Bimini with Neal Watson Jr. Little Bahama Bank is nice, but not that nice. The weather can suck year round. And while the sugar wreck and Mount Olympus are great dive sites, they aren't worth spending a week on.
That's true, but the T&C Explorer and the Aggressor usually divert to the Silver Banks for whale-watching tours during late January through March so they are not available for liveaboard diving. Also, in the winter and spring the water will be cold in the Bahamas, not quite as cold - but still pretty cold - in the T&Cs, but warmer in Roatan. However, October through Feb is the rainy season in Honduras, so the time of year you travel can be an important factor in making a decision about the destination.
I have done LOB trips in both the T&Cs and the Bahamas (but not Tiger Beach) and land-based dive trips on Roatan. If the time of year and water temperature was not an issue, out of the OP's list I would pick the T&Cs first, because it was wonderful diving, with sharks and eagle rays on almost every dive - and because you will have long boat trips out to the reef if you are doing land-based diving on Provo. So a LOB is really the best way to dive the T&Cs in my opinion; but the T&Cs were recently hit hard by hurricanes, so check the status of the island and the reefs before making a decision.
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Damselfish
Contributor
Not positive with your title about Roatan Aggressor, then a poll about 3 different places, what you're looking for. I infer you are just looking at liveaboards in these places? What else are you looking for? There is a recent thread talking about the Roatan Aggressor - https://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/so-is-the-roatan-aggressor.542647
I myself would probably do the Roatan Aggressor, which we did a few years ago when it was the Caribbean Pearl. The itinerary and boat both sound improved since then and I'd like to give it another shot. (Also have tentative plans in a couple years to go with friends who haven't been there, hopefully it continues to run.)
I wasn't impressed by the quality of Bahamas diving and have little interest in shark-focused trips. (Nothing against sharks, but won't usually go out of our way for them.)
We did a liveaboard in T&C long ago, but it focused on Grand Turk/South Caicos area. I have some interest in trying the T&C Explorer, but the diving tends to start deeper than average there, so I've had trouble talking my air hog photographer spouse into it.
If you are interested in sharks of course you should have much more luck in T&C than Roatan (unless of course you're looking for whale sharks, then maybe the Roatan Aggressor at more promising times of year would be a good choice. Sounds like they don't even do Utila all the time but I imagine they would if whale sharks are being seen.)
I myself would probably do the Roatan Aggressor, which we did a few years ago when it was the Caribbean Pearl. The itinerary and boat both sound improved since then and I'd like to give it another shot. (Also have tentative plans in a couple years to go with friends who haven't been there, hopefully it continues to run.)
I wasn't impressed by the quality of Bahamas diving and have little interest in shark-focused trips. (Nothing against sharks, but won't usually go out of our way for them.)
We did a liveaboard in T&C long ago, but it focused on Grand Turk/South Caicos area. I have some interest in trying the T&C Explorer, but the diving tends to start deeper than average there, so I've had trouble talking my air hog photographer spouse into it.
If you are interested in sharks of course you should have much more luck in T&C than Roatan (unless of course you're looking for whale sharks, then maybe the Roatan Aggressor at more promising times of year would be a good choice. Sounds like they don't even do Utila all the time but I imagine they would if whale sharks are being seen.)
Just an FYI, there is currently major political unrest, demonstrations, violence, and an imposed curfew on mainland Honduras in the wake of their recent presidential election - but it appears that the Bay Islands, including Roatan and Utilla, are not part of the violence or the curfew. The Aggressor departs from Roatan so you should look for flights directly to the island without stopping on the Honduran mainland.
A lot of airlines have flights directly to Roatan, and Cayman Air is currently allowing travelers to Honduras to change their flights and fares without penalty - during the curfew - see below:
Honduras travelers on CAL can change fare at no cost | Cayman Compass
A lot of airlines have flights directly to Roatan, and Cayman Air is currently allowing travelers to Honduras to change their flights and fares without penalty - during the curfew - see below:
Honduras travelers on CAL can change fare at no cost | Cayman Compass
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drrich2
Contributor
Tell us about the people going; about how many dives, are they comfortable diving fairly deep, and do they all have prior shark experience? I'm not sure a large tiger shark making a close pass by someone who's fairly new and never been in the water with a shark before would be a good idea; I doubt that's your situation, but it's worth making sure.
How important is it to see sharks? T&C is famous for reef shark sightings from what I read; is that a big deal? Reports I read about Tiger Beach indicated not just tiger but also lemon sharks; is that a big deal (good or bad)?
Richard.
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