Trip Report Dive Report: Utopia Village, Utila Honduras

[UtopiaOnUtila]

Was it drift diving (like Cozumel) or does the boat anchor? How rough are the rides out to the dive sites? Thanks.

On most sites the boats will tie up to a dive buoy. There are some sites where there aren't any dive buoys, and there the dive will be a "drift dive". But on Utila. there is little to no current on the vast majority of the dive sites, so "drift dives" are really just relaxing one way dives . How rough the rides are depends on the weather. But . generally the boat rides are comfortables. In rougher weather, it can be a bit tougher as there can be bigger swells. The nice thing about a small island liek Utila is that you can generally dive all around the island, and there is normally a side where the weather/wind is calmer even on rough days.

 

[jonhall]

Great report and pictures. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Adam K]

Was it drift diving (like Cozumel) or does the boat anchor? How rough are the rides out to the dive sites? Thanks.

There was little to no underwater current on all the dives we did with Utopia Village. If the wind is strong, the boat rides are a little bumpy but not bad compared to some of the other places I’ve been to. Nothing that would make you seasick. The boat anchored every time

 

[Scubagolf]

Unfortunately, the resort is closed the week in April we are going somewhere to dive. Looking elsewhere.

 

[laurenceh]

Unfortunately, the resort is closed the week in April we are going somewhere to dive. Looking elsewhere.

Check out www.facebook.com/utilabeach it's about 1 mile down the beach from Utopia and is beautiful. It's serviced by Utila Cays Diving, who I highly recommend.

 

[Damselfish]

Unfortunately, the resort is closed the week in April we are going somewhere to dive. Looking elsewhere.

What week is that? I looked on their website and can't find any schedule that mentions times they are closed. (We were there in the past in late May, during previous owners, and they were going to be closed the following week, or maybe month - I think they said something about a windy season.) I was considering this for April or later spring but it would be really helpful to have a list for easier planning purposes.

Also, did they do a required trip to Pigeon Cay during the week? When we were there it was required in the sense that if you didn't go you didn't eat (because they gave the chef the day off) or dive (because they had one boat.) I would way rather just dive then eat in a comfortable dining room, than have to eat when all salty at the little restaurant they took us to (not included) with 2 choices, then wander around a hot island that wasn't all that interesting the first time. (I was especially bugged about this since it wasn't anything mentioned when we booked the trip, didn't know until the day before.)

 

[Scubagolf]

This was the response, in part.

Thanks for your interest in our beautiful resort. Our resort is closed from April 13 - 27 for Semana Santa (Holy Week) to allow our staff to have time with their families during this holiday. If your dates are flexible, we have great availability for the prior week, Apr 6 - 13 or the week before that, Mar 30 - Apr 6.

 

[Scubagolf]

We are going back to Scuba Club Cozumel April 11-21.

 

[UtopiaOnUtila]

This was the response, in part.

Thanks for your interest in our beautiful resort. Our resort is closed from April 13 - 27 for Semana Santa (Holy Week) to allow our staff to have time with their families during this holiday. If your dates are flexible, we have great availability for the prior week, Apr 6 - 13 or the week before that, Mar 30 - Apr 6.

We are sorry we were not open the week your trip was planned. We hope you will consider us in the future. March and April are normally our busiest months during the year and we are not typically closed over Easter. But this year we made a difficult decision to close the two weeks over Easter to allow our staff some time off on what is an important holiday for them. For the past 5 years that we have owned the resort they have worked on all major holidays (Christmas, New Year, Easter, Independence Day etc.) and we felt they deserved this one.

 

[UtopiaOnUtila]

What week is that? I looked on their website and can't find any schedule that mentions times they are closed. (We were there in the past in late May, during previous owners, and they were going to be closed the following week, or maybe month - I think they said something about a windy season.) I was considering this for April or later spring but it would be really helpful to have a list for easier planning purposes.

Also, did they do a required trip to Pigeon Cay during the week? When we were there it was required in the sense that if you didn't go you didn't eat (because they gave the chef the day off) or dive (because they had one boat.) I would way rather just dive then eat in a comfortable dining room, than have to eat when all salty at the little restaurant they took us to (not included) with 2 choices, then wander around a hot island that wasn't all that interesting the first time. (I was especially bugged about this since it wasn't anything mentioned when we booked the trip, didn't know until the day before.)

On your first comment: We are not normally closed in March through May. It is the busiest time of the year for us. But we do sometimes block off a week or two to allow us and our staff time-off (or if there is low demand for a week). This year we made the decision to give them time off over Easter, as in the the past 5 years that we have owned the resort, we have been open (and they have worked) on all major Holidays (US and Honduran). We felt this year they deserved an Easter with their families. The only time we are typically closed EVERY year is from beginning of October/Late September to Early November. Normally (not always) this is the rainy season and we use this time to renovate the resort etc. During the rest of year we we sometimes block of a week or two, or weeks are not available because they are fully booked. The best is to check with our reservations @reservations@utopiautila.com.

On the 2nd comment/question: What you are describing was part of the old resort (before we owned it). We do not have a mandatory trip to Pigeon Cay or anywhere else. We do offer a short tour of Pigeon Cay on a Friday at no cost. But the tour doesn't have lunch - lunch is at the resort. On one day of the week (normally Wednesday) we do stop in Utila Town for lunch between the 2 morning dives and the afternoon dive. But even then, we offer an option to go back to the resort for lunch if you prefer.