We're just back from there (5/3-10). Coconut Tree Divers is a great bunch of fun people to dive with. I honestly didn't meet anyone there I didn't like. And they were extremely accommodating to our group. Tell Gay (the owner) you read this on Scubaboard, she's a new member also.
If asked, they'll tailor dives to fit your skill level by choosing sites which have multi-level profile options. In my case, with a few exceptions I stayed around 60' (I film w/o lights) while others went deeper on the 1st dive. The normal 1st dive profile is around 100' followed by a shallower second dive around 60'. Both afternoon dives are also around 60'.
Viz was kind of hit/miss, some days it was really good, other days in the 40-50' range. And oddly the fish were also. Some dives it was all we could do to find anything interesting, other dives you couldn't take it all in. Saw turtles regularly. My buddies dove Spooky Channel and said it was epic, especially the wall once through the channel, they had Turtles, big Grouper and Barracuda all waiting for them there.
Things to expect in the West End: The power goes off regularly around dark. Some of the places have generators but not all. Most of it runs on a cash basis although most places can take credit cards - if the power is on and the Internet is functioning - two big if's... The ATM by Coconut Tree never worked the entire week we were there. In a pinch get a cab to the Airport, there's two ATM's there, the one on the right side of the lobby has more options - including English. I didn't take any travelers checks and cashing anything over $50 isn't easy - except the van drivers all seemed to have a lot of U.S. dollars. I even did some money changing with one after he took our group to a dive on the south side.
A quick way to do money conversion is it's 20:1. Most places either bring the check in both US/Lempira or will convert it for you.
Cab rides from the airport to West End are $15 max, sometimes less. Everything is negotiable but do it in advance. By the end of the week it was $10 back and one time the same to Coxen Hole which is a lot farther. You can almost always find a cab across the street from Coconut Tree.
I wouldn't rent a car there, there's a lot of stray dogs/kids on scooters and hitting one of them would be really bad. Someone said a dog can cost you $3-400 if the owner's nearby and hitting a person means they lock you up while they sort it out. No U.S. consulate on Roatan either. You really don't need a car even to go to West Bay, there's the water taxi - during the day - or it's a $5-10 cab ride at night.
Places to eat: Argentinean Grill for a nice dinner and Pasta Galley for lunch between dives. Mavis & Dixies is about 1/4 mi. west of Coconut Tree but worth the walk. They have great food and a nice deck right on the water. It's a little hard to find, there's a sign along the waterfront just past the white church. Look for the Lighthouse restaurant sign, they're both right there. You walk through someone's backyard to get to it.
A good bar is Sundowner. Surprisingly good food also.
fwiw, I felt completely safe walking around the West End at night. We had read some comments about crime there but I didn't see anything. There's a lot of tourists/expats milling around most nights.
Bring lots of Deet...at least 25% and if you can take it, the 97% one. I did pretty good with Deep Woods Off. The worst place for mosquitoes was under the tables at night. And they do have Malaria there so you might consider getting meds for that also. I took Malarone every day and it seems to have worked. Or I didn't get bit by the wrong mosquito...lol.
In case you haven't seen it, it costs $33.19 for the departure tax at the airport. Either currency is fine. Someone said they also take CC's but it didn't look like it to me. If possible, try to get off the plane asap on arrival, waiting in line at Immigration took longer than any other part of our arrival. If you're on Continental, they'll have boarding stairs at both ends.
hth,
