Barefoot Caye - Any Feedback?

[BellesMom]

Looking for any feedback on this resort and esp. the diving. We are thinking of May. Weather? Anything we should consider on this place. Have been diving in Indonesia the last 5 years so we do realize this may be a step down from what we have experienced over there. But looking to stay closer to home this year.

Many thanks in advance for any advice!

Cheers!

 

[diversteve]

Since no one else seems to be answering, here's my limited experience:

We dove there one morning in May 2008. We wanted to dive Mary's Place but were diving all week in the West End. So our diveop set it up with them. That day I watched them unload their new compressor. They had nice gear, a nice facility and an easy to exit boat. Really friendly DM also, he gave us the history of places we rode past.

As it turned out I didn't do the dive that morning so ate breakfast with a couple of my friends at Barefoot's restaurant - we sat upstairs and watched our friends diving - Mary's Place is literally just offshore. It's one of the top divesites on the whole island. We also did a second dive to the Prince Albert off Cocoview - it's a couple miles away.

Really nice group of folks in the diveshop. They stopped back from Mary's Place to pick us up for the 2nd dive. That morning we were their only business. (7 of us)

The pool area is nice, the beach looked nice, the restaurant had good food. Except for us, it was guests only. We saw four other guests all morning - May seems to be a slow time on Roatan.

I think you could walk to French Harbor from there - it's maybe 1/2 mile? - along the main road. A couple miles the other way is the airport. The week we were there it rained steady one day and twice at night. Not enough to interfere with diving.

The south side is all little stuff. Maybe consider the Shark dive also, Barefoot Divers can set that up with the operator. It's just off the airport. Can be a rough ride out though (zodiac). And high current at times there.

 

[nomoresnow88]

I worked there as an Instructor in the summer of 2008 and am still friends with the Dive Shop Manager and the owners. They are very service oriented in every part of the resort and especially at the dive shop. Each detail of this property has been well thought out and very well maintained. The dive operation is first class.

 

[donnad]

bellesmom, my husband and i and another couple are making our first trip to Roatan in September, and we are staying at Barefoot Cay!!! if you read reviews on the place.......you'll see that everyone who has stayed there thought everything about it was awesome (read reviews on tripadvisor.com). Not as many people on this board seem to have stayed there..........it's a smaller place, much more expensive than many places on roatan........but i believe it will be a very nice experience! everyone says the food it top top notch, terrific service.....no more than seven divers on the boat plus the guide.

 

[susan6868]

Funny, we're looking at Barefoot Caye for Sept 11 through 18 and wondered about the weather as well as diving from the south shore vs. the north. Any comments are welcomed. In the meanwhile, I'm off to stalk the other posts to see what folks here have to say.

 

[Doc]

.... we do realize this may be a step down from what we have experienced over there....

The Caribbean is a bit less exciting than the South Pacific, but if you want to see "the best of what's left", the South side of Roatan is the hot spot to look. It is a unique niche environment like no other. Shallow coral heads that break in 5~15' and go straight down to a sand shelf at 90fsw... always exposed to the SSW Sun track throughout the day.

Barefoot Key is situated at the far Western edge of this zone. It is right in front of Mary's Place that acts like a yellow porch light on a summer's night. After you have cruised through the dark chasm of Mary's Place, instead concentrate on the exterior fringing walls- much more interesting. Lots of little babies and colorful critters hiding amongst the broadest array of hard and soft corals in the Caribbean.

BTW- Mary's Place is nice, but ask your DM to point out all of the invisible critters that hide in plain site in it's darkness.

wondered about the weather as well as diving from the south shore vs. the north. Any comments are welcomed. In the meanwhile, I'm off to stalk the other posts to see what folks here have to say.

Lurk.. don't stalk.

The South side always has at least a 1' running sea, rarely as calm as the North side. However, the plus to this is that the diving on the South side never weathers out- it is always diveable... unlike the North where only the better ops have the wherewithal to consistently bring their guests to the South side. It can get this way often Sept>March. The other plus that this creates is not related to diving, but more towards surface interval survival. On the South shore- you always feel the breeze, this knocks the sand flies down, unlike life on the North/West in the still shadows of Roatan's ridgelines.

 

[susan6868]

Hi Doc- Thanks for helping me out. Your advice on our trips to Utila was priceless and last year we actually got to cross the illusive whale sharks off our "bucket list".

This trip is being planned sort of by accident. We have friends who are going to Cocoview in late August. It looks like their dates may not work for us. Since we might be going alone anyway, I thought this time might be nice to stay someplace a little more private and upscale than the usual dive lodge. Having just returned from an "eco-friendly" shack on the beach at Tulum, we feel like being spoiled a bit.

Barefoot Cay seems like a place we could be happy topside as well as diving.
The resort itself looks impeccable, and the reviews on Tripadvisor describe it as a mini Eden with very personalized service.

From your post and the "youtube" clip I can see that weather shouldn't be a problem. I'm going to contact Barefoot Divers today to see if they ever take their divers to dive the North side for diversion, but if not, I'm just wondering if I should try to make separate arrangements to do so.

I know that when we were in Grand Cayman, one side of the island had much more color and marine life. (can't remember which) and in Utila our dives to the north were always more beautiful than the south. Although I know there is value in almost every dive, I want to make sure we're on the "right side" of the island to see the most beauty.

What do you think?

 

[susan6868]

Just found this interactive map on the dive op's website and thought I'd share for anyone else who might be traveling that way or considering the same resort.


Roatan Scuba Diving, Dive Sites, and Scuba Diving Information | Roatan, Honduras


I haven't quite figured out how to post a link so bear with me................

 

[diversteve]

I'm going to contact Barefoot Divers today to see if they ever take their divers to dive the North side for diversion, but if not, I'm just wondering if I should try to make separate arrangements to do so.

I know that when we were in Grand Cayman, one side of the island had much more color and marine life. (can't remember which) and in Utila our dives to the north were always more beautiful than the south. Although I know there is value in almost every dive, I want to make sure we're on the "right side" of the island to see the most beauty.

What do you think?

It's kind of a long boat ride around. When the north gets blown out, I think the diveops bus (van) their guests to meet the boat on the south side. We dove all week with Coconut Tree Divers and they set up our dives with Barefoot - said the owner was a friend of theirs. So maybe they do the reciprocal. It cost us $10pp (both ways) for the ride to Barefoot Cay - but there were 8 of us.

Both sides are different. The north has bigger animals that we didn't see on the south. But we didn't spend a lot of time there either. Typical dives on the north we saw turtles, often some bigger grouper and the occasional barracuda or ray. A couple of good dives were Texas and Spooky Channel. CTD does both, but you might also try contacting either AKR or BIBR - both are closer to Spooky Channel. A double with AKR plus a Dolphin encounter might be a good day.

Here's a north side interactive map - with descriptions: http://www.lunabeachresort.com/map/island/

 

[wrinkldogs]

We were there last June/July for 8 nights. It was one of the best vacations I have ever had. I posted a review on tripadvisor. You can believe everything on the tripadvisor reviews. The diving operation was incredible as well as all the staff. We did 3 dives/day and a couple times were the only 2 on the boat. The boats hold 6-8 people max and the dive sites are very close so they come back for surface intervals. We wanted to go back this April but they didn't have room for us. It is a very small resort, probably can only hold about 24 guests max not including the marina, which is not that big either. Everything about Barefoot Cay is top notch. If you have any specific questions I will be more than happy to answer. If you are looking for small, relaxing, outstanding service, outstanding food, great dive operation, this is your place to go.