Belize or Utila , or split?

[nashoba]

Hi everyone- I am planning a surprise trip for my son next year as a graduation present. He will be going to College to study Marine Biology. We are both PADI open water divers. I would like us to do some Whale shark dives as well as hope to spot dolphins and any other large ocean creatures. And then maybe slower dives for all the little creatures.
I have been researching both Belize and Utila in Honduras, have seen mixed reviews on both. Utila is for sure a little harder to ge to, but cheaper. Belize seems to offer a lot more diverse top side adventures. I have even thought about maybe a split , some time diving in Belize, and then some in Utila.
Would love ALL imput, ideas, suggestions. Have plenty of planning time (and saving time!)
Thanks so much

 

[diversteve]

Some info that may be of use:

Whaleshark season is Feb-May in Utila, peak is Mar-Apr. Although the owner of our resort told us they've seen at least one every month the past year.

Since your son is studying Marine Biology, you may be interested in the program I participated in this past March.

We did a trip to Deep Blue Utila resort. It's a nicer resort outside of town that participates in Whaleshark research. From Feb-May, they have a whaleshark program, and during 4 peak weeks, they fly in experts in the field and you participate in their activities in addition to your regular diving. We did one of those. We had a geneticist from the Univ. of Chicago as our expert - she's a staff member of the Shark Research Institute also - and both Steve Fox, Deep Blue's owner and a person from a Whale Shark program in town lectured on different nights. Frankly the experts discussion was a little over my head but your son probably would've enjoyed it and conversations at dinner with her.

The peak week prices are slightly higher reflecting their presence but they also put a spotter boat out during your morning dives looking for whalesharks, when found you go over and snorkel with them during your SI's.

We snorkeled (all you're allowed to do) with 6 different sharks on two different days. Flat calm conditions made the other days a long boat ride. We also participated in one tissue sampling (attempt), and my buddy shot a picture of one that was submitted to the ECOCEAN database - they already had it, but if not he'd have gotten updates about it's travels.

Steve Fox, the owner of Deep Blue posts here often: DeepBlueDivers

It's a pretty nice resort right on the beach but a bit isolated from town as it's on the other side of a small boat channel. They'll take you into town a couple times during the week via boat. Rooms were spacious, clean and all have a deck facing the beach. Close so you hear the ocean all night. Biggest problem was the sand flies, we all were pretty bit up by the end of the week - but I forgot to Deet a couple of times. Sand fleas on the beach also got us once. Kind of place where you don't lock the door except to keep it shut. Nice people work there also, the entire staff made you us feel welcome. Very good food also and multiple choices daily.

The diving is really good in most areas. Black Hills was a great site, it's a seamount that rises from the depths to within 40' of the surface. Saw Turtles, huge Oceanic Triggers, and a large school of Barracude there on one dive. We also did a very interesting dive off the south side, kind of low-viz just off the bay but down near the bottom were seahorses, batfish and a electric ray buried in the sand. Most sites the top 30' of water is filled with coral, fish etc. The north side of the island is the other side of a deep trench just offshore so you see a lot of bigger stuff there. There's also a great dive called Pinnacles, you enter an opening and exit out on the reef at 120'+.

All the whalesharks we saw were out in deeper water. We spent just about every surface interval in the morning looking for them.

From PHX we flew through Houston to Roatan, then took two ferries to Utila arriving the same day around 5PM. It was 1/2 the cost of a direct flight to Utila and shorter. Most Utila flights go through San Pedro Sula, on to La Ceiba then on to Utila via puddle jumper. Continental had us on the ground at 12:15, after an hour delay in customs (always happens) we got to the ferry port via cab for a 2PM sailing. Then a 2nd ferry from La Ceiba to Utila. Total cost including cabs was about $125pp and we didn't have to overnight on the mainland - which you often do if you try to save money and take the bus from SPS to LCE. There's a lot of threads about options here in the Bay Islands forum.

Links that may be of use - had them bookmarked:
Deep Blue Utila swim with whale sharks at our all inclusive resort. Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras
Utila Whale Shark Research
ECOCEAN USA

Safeway Maritime Ferry - Roatan to La Ceiba
Utila Princess - Utila, The Bay Islands, Honduras
Hedman Alas ::: Leaders & Innovators of land transportation in Central America Since 1952 :::

Welcome to Scubaboard...

 

[Doc]

Belize (City), the mainland part you fly into, is not easy to arrange day dive trips from, and the environment is not all that nice. From there, most divers usually fly out to one of the many cays (islands) that offer diving through resorts or day-dive ops.

The Diving in the Belize Cays is great, but you will need to select which island you might like depending upon your temperment and wallet. Hopping around from one to the other isn't really a viable option.

The Belizian "topside adventures" do base out of the mainland, more commonly out of Belize City and take you to points inland.

Utila is the kind of place a college kid could well enjoy- he will be surrounded with others of like age. Once you're in Utila, you're now where you were going. There's no need to understand where to go next... unlike Belize.

 

[nashoba]

thanks for the great info: I should have been more specific about Belize, I was looking specifically at Placencia (sp?). for the Whale sharks and the diving. and then mainland, of course for Jungle, jaguar tours, etc.
I worry that Utila might be a little remote for a teen,especially now adays with them all being so addicted to the internet and cell phones!
We love to dive, however, we will for sure want to see lots of other things, too. I am thinking 2 boat dives a day will be enough for both of us. That's why I was looking for some other adventures to go along with the diving. From what I can gather, seems like there is not much to do after the dives on Utila.(to bad for him, he's not old enough to drink!) Along those same lines, I worry about DBS being kind of remote (???) for a teen. any thoughts?

 

[robint]

thanks for the great info: I should have been more specific about Belize, I was looking specifically at Placencia (sp?). for the Whale sharks and the diving. and then mainland, of course for Jungle, jaguar tours, etc.
I worry that Utila might be a little remote for a teen,especially now adays with them all being so addicted to the internet and cell phones!
We love to dive, however, we will for sure want to see lots of other things, too. I am thinking 2 boat dives a day will be enough for both of us. That's why I was looking for some other adventures to go along with the diving. From what I can gather, seems like there is not much to do after the dives on Utila.(to bad for him, he's not old enough to drink!) Along those same lines, I worry about DBS being kind of remote (???) for a teen. any thoughts?

You won't really be able to do the topside adventures on the same day as your diving regardless of where you go. There just isn't enough time. All tours usually leave between 7-9am, same time as the boats go out to dive - so you do one or the other.

Your best bet to snorkel with whalesharks is in Holbox just north of Cancun, Mexico in July-Aug each year. There are lots of video posts of this on the Mexico Forum. If your son is graduating from HS in late May or early June, you will be missing the peak season to possibly see them in Utila and Belize.

If seeing whale sharks isn't a top priority, then I would do either Belize from one of the Cayes, like Ambergris Caye, and you can do a few days of topside activities over to the mainland..... or I would go to Roatan and do one of the all-inclusives (CCV, FI, or AKR), where you can dive 4-5 dives per day or skip some dives and do some topside activities. Your son might really enjoy the dolphin program at AKR but you don't have to stay at that resort to do the dives with the dolphins. Also, Roatan has a shark dive he would probably enjoy.

robin

 

[diversteve]

I agree with Robin, Utila sounds a little too remote for what you want. Deep Blue has wifi as do most resorts but (at least at Deep Blue) the connection itself was kind of slow. A couple times we had seconds of delay using Yahoo Msgr. I was able to use my laptop on our deck at night but the bugs liked the glow also. Once I moved inside, I lost the signal. There's no regular TV at Deep Blue afaik - we never tried it - but there is a DVD/VCR player. And a pool table. Deep Blue does 2 morning dives and 1 afternoon or evening dive only. Nice big bar and lounge area as that's pretty much what we did after diving most evenings.

My buddy went into town one afternoon, came back and said it wasn't much. Some bars and a few small shops. It's a backpacking location so there were a lot of younger people on the ferry with us and around town.

If your son is 18 next year, he can drink in Honduras legally.

Roatan might be a better choice, basically the same diving with much more to do. Zipline Canopy tours, ATV's Parasailing, Horseback riding on the beach, Wakeboarding etc.. A list of activities: Roatan Tours, Travel & Tourist Information Center

He might really enjoy the Stanley Submarine also - it's a real deep diving sub - not a glorified glass bottom boat. Costs accordingly...

We did both the Waihuka Shark and AKR Dolphin dives - each was good. There's also a dolphin encounter where you get in the water with them in the pens - some folks have posted it's better than the dive for interaction - and cheaper.

You probably don't want to stay there as it's all by itself and 10mins. from anything resembling night life (the West End), or at Cocoview or FIBR either - they're all AI resorts and somewhat isolated. FIBR/CCV is close to French Harbour - it's a small town though or a 5min. drive further to Coxen Hole - which is more about locals after the cruise ships leave.

The West End is lots of people his age - a mix of bars and restaurants about a mile long. There's an internet cafe and some of the bars also have access. Sundowners is a popular place to hang out and they have several internet computers onsite. I have an international sim card for my phone and it worked fine in that area. My buddy has AT&T Int'l so his did also. You can buy cheap prepaid sims all over Roatan.

If you're just planning on 2 dives/day Coconut Tree does 2 morning dives daily. They're fun people also. There's accommodations in that area in every price range. Several of my friends stayed in Coconut Tree's cabins and I rented a house out on Half Moon Bay point with a couple others- neither was optimal. They had no view and we had power problems and no water access (ironshore everywhere). The 2BR CTD cabin did have a full kitchen and there's two markets within 200 yds.

West Bay is another option but it's more for the sedate beach/vacation crowd imo. You can get almost anywhere on Roatan for a $10-15 cab ride so getting to other parts of the island is fairly easy. Negotiate in advance!!

It's recommended you don't drive there - as someone once put it - even if you get hit by the time the police show up it'll be your fault.

 

[Scared Silly]

We dove out of Placencia during the spring Whale Shark season. Those dives are all day affairs. Like others have noted when diving that is the day's activities. There are land excursions out of Placencia but they are also all day affairs. Placencia is very low key. I would say go to Utila as I think he will enjoy himself more.

 

[nashoba]

I have pretty much come to the same conclusion as Robin said "wrong time of year" and Diver Steve " too remote". Plus, the sand flies and/or fleas kind of clinched it for me. I can stay home in Texas and get bit by fire ants ,for free!
Our phone are international and they have internet, so anywhere not too remote, he should be able to keep up. He won't quite be 18 ( by one month) so no legal drinking in Honduras, this time around!
I have checked out what you suggested, RobinT, about the snorkeling with the whale sharks, I think that is a better option and seems like a lot less time just "looking for them" and more time actually seeing them. I have seen posts for Isle Mujeres whale sharks also, do you know if that is better than Holbox? I read that Holbox doesn't having any diving to speak of, I was thinking maybe it's better at IM.
I like your suggestions about Roatan ,Steve and I will check out the links you sent me.
I think he would be really interested in the Dolphins and Sharks, me too, actually.

I am now kind of thinking of maybe a week in Mexico, maybe Holbox or Isle Mujeres, (we have done Cozumel, too many cruisers, now) to snorkel with the Whale Sharks and then a week in either Belize or Roatan. I'm really searching for the kind of place that Cozumel was 20 years ago, nice diving, a few fun things to do, pretty beaches and not crowded!
RobinT- I'm wondering, would you do Belize or Roatan for the 2nd week?
I read some stuff on the "aquarium", and other nearby dives, sounded great.
I think the 2nd week is going to be my hardest choice now!

I am off to look at all the great info you linked- Thanks!

 

[robint]

I have pretty much come to the same conclusion as Robin said "wrong time of year" and Diver Steve " too remote". Plus, the sand flies and/or fleas kind of clinched it for me. I can stay home in Texas and get bit by fire ants ,for free!
Our phone are international and they have internet, so anywhere not too remote, he should be able to keep up. He won't quite be 18 ( by one month) so no legal drinking in Honduras, this time around!
I have checked out what you suggested, RobinT, about the snorkeling with the whale sharks, I think that is a better option and seems like a lot less time just "looking for them" and more time actually seeing them. I have seen posts for Isle Mujeres whale sharks also, do you know if that is better than Holbox? I read that Holbox doesn't having any diving to speak of, I was thinking maybe it's better at IM.
I like your suggestions about Roatan ,Steve and I will check out the links you sent me.
I think he would be really interested in the Dolphins and Sharks, me too, actually.

I am now kind of thinking of maybe a week in Mexico, maybe Holbox or Isle Mujeres, (we have done Cozumel, too many cruisers, now) to snorkel with the Whale Sharks and then a week in either Belize or Roatan. I'm really searching for the kind of place that Cozumel was 20 years ago, nice diving, a few fun things to do, pretty beaches and not crowded!
RobinT- I'm wondering, would you do Belize or Roatan for the 2nd week?
I read some stuff on the "aquarium", and other nearby dives, sounded great.
I think the 2nd week is going to be my hardest choice now!

I am off to look at all the great info you linked- Thanks!

As far as as the whale sharks go - Isla Holbox and Isla Mujeres are the same place. They all take boats to the same area to see them. I would not stay in Holbox though, it is pretty remote from what I have read. Stay at a hotel in Cancun or Mujeres and book the tour with one of those dive ops. Or you can stay in Playa del Carmen and book the tour through them. During the "season", all the dive ops there in that area run trips up for it. Either way, fly into Cancun. If you hate touristy, then stay away from Cancun! PDC is much more like old Cozumel.

If you do go to this area to dive, I highly recommend you spend a day and go over to Chichen Itza. Check out my report and video: Mayan Ruins of Chichen Itza on Vimeo
Mayan Ruins - Chichen Itza
I highly recommend diving the cenotes one day also: http://www.rnrscuba.net/2009Yucatan/Cenotes.html
some dive ops to check out:
Yucatek Divers & Paraiso Azul's Casa de Gopala, Playa del Carmen, Riviera Maya, Mexico
Playa del Carmen Diving, Dive Packages and Fishing in Playa del Carmen, Cozumel and the Riviera Maya, Mexico - Fantasea Dive
Geofish Dive - Scuba Diving, Snorkeling & PADI Instruction in Playa del Carmen & Cozumel, Mexico
also, that area has lots of topside activities like ziplines, caves, and other Mayan ruins, etc. You can easily do 2 weeks there and have a great adventure.
Maps to check out: Can-Do Travel Guides
The Mayan Adventure map shows all the cenotes and Mayan ruins in the area and how to get to them driving, restuarants, prices, etc. Very good and very helpful in our trip there in March.

As far as traveling by plane between countries in Central America isn't that easy. You would probably have to fly from Cancun back to Houston and change planes just to fly back down to Belize or Roatan. I would do 2 weeks at Cancun area or 2 weeks at one of the others and not try to combine on one trip. I have seen trip reports where people took buses between the countries but they aren't like US buses. Just my 2 cents.

Ambergris Caye,Belize is probably alot like Cozumel used to be - no paved roads, small village with nice beaches. Overall, this might be your best bet for a trip with good diving and topside activities. But chances of seeing the whale sharks is highly unlikely from there. Maybe save the whale shark trip for another time?
http://ambergriscaye.com/



As far as your concerns about bugs - all of Central America has bugs. If you use spray like Cactus Juice or Deep Woods OFF or something of those sorts you will be fine. It isn't a big deal unless you don't use any protection. We really like the Cactus Juice as it is natural (made from cactus) and doesn't smell bad or burn your skin.

robin

 

[LynnB]

We spent 8 days in Roatan and my college kids loved it. Yes they are used to the cell phone and computers too but i really think they enjoyed the break from them. I never heard them say they were bored. We had a blast and can't wait to go back.