First time Roatan/Turquoise Bay Resort

[dmaziuk]

How is the "unlimited shore diving" from the resort? Heading here in February with a group of 24-30.

Which resort? TB has no house reef, we did our dial-in on the way down on the 1st dive of the trip.

 

[Saltyhawg]

Yep, no shore diving at TB. The reef is way too far from shore there to dive without a boat. Most of the dive sites are short boat rides. Our package included 3 boat dives per day and we added a couple of night dives as well as the shark dive.

 

[Greg #504]

Yep, no shore diving at TB. The reef is way too far from shore there to dive without a boat. Most of the dive sites are short boat rides. Our package included 3 boat dives per day and we added a couple of night dives as well as the shark dive.

Yeah, at TB. I kind of figured that from what I could see of the pictures on their website. Thought it odd they would advertise "unlimited shore diving" there with no HR. Maybe it is just deep enough to do some buoyancy checks and submerge instead of snorkeling? I'm certainly not opposed to this as we'll have a few that this will be their first dive trip. Work out some nerves when we arrive before we head out on the boats the next day.

 

[dmaziuk]

Uhm... this is what I see on Dive Packages | Turquoise Bay Resort:

...When you’re not out diving, relax on our private white-sand beach, enjoy a dip in our pool, or explore the beautiful waters of Roatan with one of our kayaks or paddle boards.

Our dive packages include three dives a day around the Mayan Barrier Reef, as well as weights, tanks, locker and boat transportation to the dive sites with specialized personnel from our onsite dive operation, Subway Watersports...

I certainly didn't see "shore diving" mentioned anywhere when we booked our TB package.

 

[Greg #504]

Roatan, Honduras
October 22-29, 2016
Turquoise Bay Dive & Beach Resort
We booked the whole resort for the week.

All meals, 16 Boat Dives, Unlimited Shore Dives.

615-955-3483 Marcos@ScubaNashville.com

$1056 per person based on Double Occupancy
$1260 per person based on Single Occupancy
$820 per person Non-Diver based on Double Occupancy
Spaces are limited.
$300 Nonrefundable Nontransferable Deposit

Lodging in comfortable Hillside* or Garden View** rooms with hot water, TV, A/C, coffee machine and hair dryer.

• Roundtrip Airport Transfers
  • All meals (buffet service or a la carte depending on occupancy levels)
    • 
      
      • 
        Free WiFi internet access
      • 
        Use of kayaks, paddle boards and use of all resort installations (private beach, pool, fitness equipment, etc.)
  3 dives a day with specialized dive masters from Subway Watersports 1 night dive for stays of 6 or more nights
  
  • 
    
    • 
      Weights, tanks, locker and boat transportation to the dive sites

Optional Add-ons

• 
  
  
  • Nitrox @ $141.61 per person (must be reserved in advance)

• 
  
  
  • Alcohol Beverage Package @ $148.75 per person

• 
  
  
  • Ocean View- additional $119 per person based on double occupancy

We reserved all the rooms at the resort for our group.

Room Options: Click on photo below for room number options
Rooms 1-12: Ocean View (add $119 per person all taxes included)
Rooms* 14-21: Hillside (45 steps to rooms with amazing views from your private balcony)
Rooms** 22-27: Garden View (Two story building with 3 rooms on each floor. They don’t have a private balcony like the rest, but are bigger and are closer to the dive shop, beach, pool and restaurant.)

 

[tarponchik]

We stayed at TBR in 2015. Everything was lovely, except for the sand flies, of course. There is no shore diving there; moreover, snorkeling is not very exciting, unless you swim far out to the barrier reef. Note that TBR organizes dives in the south also, like Mary's place etc.

 

[Greg #504]

Thanks, tarponchik. I stayed at FI in French Harbor this past February and the diving was great on that side. House reef between FI and CCV with a ship wreck and airplane to boot.

 

[dmaziuk]

...

Looks like someone at ScubaNashville made a typo/braino. They do have kayaks at TBR, though, diving the reef in front of it off a kayak is probably feasible -- it's about a 3-minute boat ride, as @tarponchik said a bit too far to swim.

 

[ScubaNashville]

We took our group there in October. We were told there was unlimited shore diving. They failed to mention no reef just sand. After we returned we went over their emails and they did mention that shore diving is available but the reef is too far to reach from shore.
No worries. Some of the group did a quick weight check and refresher anyway.

 

[tarponchik]

Thanks, tarponchik. I stayed at FI in French Harbor this past February and the diving was great on that side. House reef between FI and CCV with a ship wreck and airplane to boot.

Is FI in diving business again? We stayed there back in 2007, but when we were at TBR in April-May/2015, FI only hosted local events, like weddings, etc.