Sirto
Contributor
We just got back from Roatan. We stayed at Fantasy Island between 8/13 and 8/20. We had stayed there last year as well and enjoyed ourselves then as well as this year.
Last year we went in October so this year I expected the weather to be very hot and muggy. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was very pleasant and not muggy in the least. Temperatures were in the mid 80's all week. It rained one evening but otherwise was bright and clear. Unfortunately the winds were fairly strong which made for somewhat rough boat rides. Seas ranged from 1 - 2 ft on the one non-windy day to 4 - 5 ft.
It was a very quiet week at FI. We came in with only 5 others on the morning flight from Houston (vs 13 others last year). They only had to run only two boats of about 10 divers each. One boat was filled with Americans while the other was mostly Italians. FI seems to have a large Italian and Spanish clientle with a smattering of Americans. There were quite a few people who were not diving including a handfull of children.
We stayed in one of the new buildings which were being built last October. The second floor room was large and roomy. There was a problem with the fit of the bathroom door and it would not close completely. Not a big deal but surprising in a new installation.
The reef was in good condition and the visibility was good - 70+ feet I'd guess. As usual for Roatan there was not many large fish. I did see one spotted eagle ray, a few mid sized grouper, a couple of large barracuda and a mondo parrot fish sleeping on the Prince Albert. There were a lot of medium to small fish. Some of the interesting fish we saw included:
Scorpion fish, brittle stars, ocean sunfish, fireworms, black durgeon, lizard fish, sea horses, nudibranchs, some unusual(to me at least) sea cucumbers - very long and thin as opposed to the usual short, fat ones. I also saw the largest crab I've ever seen, the claws were about 9" long. One of the divers said that when he took a picture of the crab it reached out and grabbed him. We also ran into a free swimming green moray eel who followed us for the whole dive. He passed so close that I was able to pet him several times.
Due to the high seas we did the night dive on the Coco View wall and the Prince Albert where the waves were smaller. I went on two night dives during the week. I saw several octopusses ranging in size from about 6" across (not counting the tentacles) to about 20". This is when I saw the large parrot fish. We saw two banded corral shrimp and a couple of brittle stars together on the ship. We also spotted a small yellow seahorse on the upper deck.
The beach at FI is really beautiful with lots of shade to hide under when the sun gets too strong. It was never crowded, in fact it was almost empty. They have a salt water (I think) pool. It's small but at least it was clean this year.
The food was good but not great. There is always fish (really good - grouper I think), beef , chicken and usually pork. They often have shrimp. On Thursday evening there is a seafood buffet which includes broiled lobster tails and crablegs.
All in all I think that FI is a good choice for divers. There are three boat dives each day and you can do as many shore dives as you'd like. The small boat at the dive shop will drop you at the ship or at one of the two walls and, after the dive, they'll come out to the gazebo to pick you up. If you wish to dive after 8pm just let the dive shop know and they'll leave tanks for you at the gazebo.
If anyone has questions about FI I'd be happy to answer them.
PS
On one dive , I think it was at Fourty foot Point , we spotted a plaque in memory of Tulio Gomez, the CocoView instructor who died recently in a dive accicident.
There are 6 small monkeys that roam the grounds at FI. If you dine at the upstairs dining room on the outside porch they will come right down to you and try to get something to eat. My wife was outside one day trying to get them to come down so she could take some pictures. She succeeded too well. One of them picked her pocket so to speak - took an item out of her handbag. She did get it back.
FYI, there is a small zoo up on the hill near the dive shop - up the stairs past the hyperbaric chamber.
Last year we went in October so this year I expected the weather to be very hot and muggy. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was very pleasant and not muggy in the least. Temperatures were in the mid 80's all week. It rained one evening but otherwise was bright and clear. Unfortunately the winds were fairly strong which made for somewhat rough boat rides. Seas ranged from 1 - 2 ft on the one non-windy day to 4 - 5 ft.
It was a very quiet week at FI. We came in with only 5 others on the morning flight from Houston (vs 13 others last year). They only had to run only two boats of about 10 divers each. One boat was filled with Americans while the other was mostly Italians. FI seems to have a large Italian and Spanish clientle with a smattering of Americans. There were quite a few people who were not diving including a handfull of children.
We stayed in one of the new buildings which were being built last October. The second floor room was large and roomy. There was a problem with the fit of the bathroom door and it would not close completely. Not a big deal but surprising in a new installation.
The reef was in good condition and the visibility was good - 70+ feet I'd guess. As usual for Roatan there was not many large fish. I did see one spotted eagle ray, a few mid sized grouper, a couple of large barracuda and a mondo parrot fish sleeping on the Prince Albert. There were a lot of medium to small fish. Some of the interesting fish we saw included:
Scorpion fish, brittle stars, ocean sunfish, fireworms, black durgeon, lizard fish, sea horses, nudibranchs, some unusual(to me at least) sea cucumbers - very long and thin as opposed to the usual short, fat ones. I also saw the largest crab I've ever seen, the claws were about 9" long. One of the divers said that when he took a picture of the crab it reached out and grabbed him. We also ran into a free swimming green moray eel who followed us for the whole dive. He passed so close that I was able to pet him several times.
Due to the high seas we did the night dive on the Coco View wall and the Prince Albert where the waves were smaller. I went on two night dives during the week. I saw several octopusses ranging in size from about 6" across (not counting the tentacles) to about 20". This is when I saw the large parrot fish. We saw two banded corral shrimp and a couple of brittle stars together on the ship. We also spotted a small yellow seahorse on the upper deck.
The beach at FI is really beautiful with lots of shade to hide under when the sun gets too strong. It was never crowded, in fact it was almost empty. They have a salt water (I think) pool. It's small but at least it was clean this year.
The food was good but not great. There is always fish (really good - grouper I think), beef , chicken and usually pork. They often have shrimp. On Thursday evening there is a seafood buffet which includes broiled lobster tails and crablegs.
All in all I think that FI is a good choice for divers. There are three boat dives each day and you can do as many shore dives as you'd like. The small boat at the dive shop will drop you at the ship or at one of the two walls and, after the dive, they'll come out to the gazebo to pick you up. If you wish to dive after 8pm just let the dive shop know and they'll leave tanks for you at the gazebo.
If anyone has questions about FI I'd be happy to answer them.
PS
On one dive , I think it was at Fourty foot Point , we spotted a plaque in memory of Tulio Gomez, the CocoView instructor who died recently in a dive accicident.
There are 6 small monkeys that roam the grounds at FI. If you dine at the upstairs dining room on the outside porch they will come right down to you and try to get something to eat. My wife was outside one day trying to get them to come down so she could take some pictures. She succeeded too well. One of them picked her pocket so to speak - took an item out of her handbag. She did get it back.
FYI, there is a small zoo up on the hill near the dive shop - up the stairs past the hyperbaric chamber.
