Deep Blue - Utila

[terrydarc]

We're going to Utila (again) next Feb. for a week or so to dive. Has anyone had experience + or - with Deep Blue? We got one very positive recommendation from a diver there at the time, while we were with Utila Dive Center, which was ok, good even.

But if we're gonna spend another week there, I'd like to do it with the primo dive center on the island, and don't tell me about the snobs at BICD. Can't afford it and am not impressed with what I saw while there. I hear they got two classes of people: those staying at the hotel (too many $$$) and those who walk in the front door. I'm sure that all drops away when you get below the waves, but I'm kinda anti-snobery and definitely averse to spending more than I have to.

Any other recommendations for dive centers is welcome. Thanks!
=Terry

 

[Zippsy]

My family dove at Laguna Beach Resort in June and loved it. It is definitely a bit upmarket but not "snobby". It is located away from the main city so we only went into town one night. I therefore don't know too much about other places on the island. In fact, I never even heard of Deep Blue or BICD, which does surprise me a little. I thought I did better research than that. My write up of the trip is http://dive.scubadiving.com/members/tripreports.php?s=2093

 

[terrydarc]

Hadn't heard of LBR and your trip report is excellent. How long were you there to get in 20 dives? 6 days! That's a bunch, two night dives in addition to 3x per day. Wow!
=Terry

 

[scubajoe]

I spent a week there this spring and it was great. Great diving, great people and good food. We were there for a week and did 22 dives I think. We did every boat dive available and usually a drop off dive everyday. I'd have done a night shore dive on the no night dive days but my wife was asleep shortly after supper. Sleep on vacation? What a concept, that is why I have a job!
Seriously the shore/dropoff dive is excellent and easy too. They will carry your gear out and pick it up for a shore dive and pick it up and haul you back from a drop off dive if you want to ride.
LBR is by far the easiest land bases operator I have dove with. No hassles or worries at all. I hope to go back soon!

Joe

 

[Zippsy]

terrydarc once bubbled...
How long were you there to get in 20 dives? 6 days! That's a bunch, two night dives in addition to 3x per day. Wow!

As lawyers say: "asked and answered". You did the right math. When I go on a dive holiday, I don't like to sit out dives but I try not to overdo it too. 20 dives in six days in what I call apprpriate although I am certain that many others would prefer to dive more or less than that.

FYI, most of my dives are weekend dives in South East Asia where the norm is 4-6 dives on a Saturday and 2-3 more on Sunday morning. We don't usually go beyond 80' and we also follow the "deeper dives first" rule. 3-a-day on holiday is restful!

Have fun!

 

[Cudabait]

TerryD,

My wife and I spent two weeks in February and five weeks in April and May in Utila. I had also been there before. We know a lot about Deep Blue, all good. If you will let me know what your plans are I'll try to point you in the right direction. (Example, do you plan to stay in their resort or are you going to walk on and dive with them) Let me know.

 

[terrydarc]

Thanks for the + input on DB, Cudabait. We plan to be in Utila Feb. 3-9, 2004. This to maximize chances of seeing whalesharks. We went during the full moon last year and saw bunches of them - 12 out of 14 jumps in the waters were simply awesome.

One thing about the pricing of DB - seemed hugely expensive as a package: 1 week with food, diving, etc. $1200. Last year at UDC we popped for roughly $250 for room at the Mango (loved it), $150 for dives at UDC, and maybe another $25 a day for food and miscellaneous.

I asked DB about the 10 dive package ($125 DB replied) and that's the same pricing as UDC leaving me to believe that the package deal is a bit of a ripoff. It does include 3 meals a day and nice place (presumably) to stay, but about 2x as expensive as the UDC/Mango route.
=Terry

 

[dedhed]

i don't have anyhing to report about Deep Blue, but i dived with Alton's and loved it. They arranged my stay at the Hotel Rose, $15 a night with my own bathroom, warm water,cable tv, fan and unlimited drinking water.Alton Cooper,the Mayor of the island own's the shop, hence the name, and it is managed by top notch dive pro. Mitch, the manager, runs a fantastic operation.

Peace,
Dedhed

 

[rayleeny]

Hi

I read your comments with interest and like cudabait I only have positive things to say about Deep Blue. I have spent many months over the last couple of years diving in Utila and Deep Blue are an excellent outfit. The comment about the resort pricing being a rip off is obviously based on a misunderstanding about the island and the two different businesses that Deep Blue has - Deep Blue Divers and Deep Blue Resort.

We spent a whole day going around talking to all the shops and talking to other divers we chose Deep Blue Divers and were extremely pleased we did. Most of the back packers who come to the island have never dived and the focus of the schools is training which obviously restricts the choice of dive sites visited. We found that Deep Blue Divers did everything they could to accommodate us as experienced divers as well as their newly qualified divers. Their fun dives were led by really experienced instructors who showed us stuff we would never have seen without them and after the dives they spent time with us showing us what we saw in their books. We dived in the mornings 2 tanks and we had some superb diving.

The accomodation in the town is also focused on back packers so most of it is pretty basic to say the least - cheapest around $6.00 per night. The Mango Inn is one of the better places to stay in town. The restaurants are also pretty basic, nothing fancy but good home made food at very reasonable prices.

On one of our visits we chose to stay at Deep Blue Resort as a special treat. The resort has a completely different focus, the divers who were staying there were all experienced divers on their annual vacation and were looking for a little more luxury than the town offers. The resort is completely seperate from town and can only be reached by boat. We had a large double room with air con, fans and a fridge with a private balcony overlooking the sea. The club house, restaurant and bar are all part of the resort and it was a great place to spend our evenings with good food and very pleasant company. In all we had a really enjoyable time and made to feel special.

 

[terrydarc]

Yeah we stayed at the Mango Inn for a week in their best room - around $40 a night for two. Very nice, not luxurious, but really nice. Color cable tv (watched the ever depressing Iraq war), a nice restaurant there. There were other rooms with shared bath for a good deal less. I liked the idea that we were off the main street and had a really quiet neighborhood, too.

We ate almost all our meals off the menu at the Mango and I thought it was darned good. Also a nice place to suck up a brew and reflect on one's state of being.

Utila Dive Center I thought was adequate, but a bit rah-rah rather than laid back. They had gobs of customers and the night dive was an absolute panic with about 30-35 divers trying to get into the water, form up in groups of 6 + 2 DM's, swim around. It was like the tank at Disneyworld. Lights underneath you, lights over you, no peace and quiet in the dark to explore. The dive boat was fine and the captain was aces at finding whalesharks!

The DM's were OK to great and the instructors were ok to, well, ok. Big John was kind of a jerk, but he and the rest were perfectly competent. I kinda would rather have gotten a bit more slowed down, personal touch, relaxed, but utterly professional, treatment.

BTW - it's looking like our trip starting in Yucatan is going to wind up in Cay Caulker instead of Utila this year. I'm curious what the atolls look like, even at a bit higher prices further north.
=Terry