Jardine
Registered
Just recently got back from a trip to Anthony's Key Resort on Roatan. This was my first "serious" dive trip and it didn't disappoint. We spent a week there and were able to dive 22 times. We paid the extra money and did the shark dive on the south side of the island. In my opinion, it was well worth the money ($112). My brother and I wanted to get as much diving in as possible so we also did three shore dives from the north side of the key. The first of these was at dusk and was by far the best one of the three. We saw tons of lobster and even octopus. I had read in someones post before that the shoredives weren't worth the while but they may have been referring to diving in the channel. So if you want to rack up the dives at this place, carry your gear over and go. They have a hut there with tanks waiting for you. If it is good weather, not to big of waves, someone will be there waiting for divers to show up. There is a line in the water that leads you out to the first trench that will take you to the first open area in the reef. From there we had a blast exploring all the cracks and crevices on the way out to the sandy flat area where they do the dolphin encounters during the day.
We also dove the DC-3 that was sunk at the end of the channel close to the dolphin enclosure. We did it mostly to see whatever there was to see but the best part of the dive was swimming over to the dolphin pen and playing with them through the underwater fence. We heard them long before we could even see the fence and they were waiting for us when we got there. We saw the mama and her baby and all the others. They would dash back and forth along the fence close enough you could reach out and pet them as they swam by. If you waved your hand, several of them would take turns putting their noses in your hands so you could rub them.
We opted for the "hill standard" hut and for this time of year, suited us fine. It was in the 80's while we were there but if it was in the 90's and I had my wife with me, I would have paid for the upgrade to A/C. We were in one of the first ones on the hill right next to the restaurant/reception area. It was very convenient and I liked how close everything was. The food was decent and there was maybe one or two dishes that I wouldn't have liked but there were always other options. No one in our party of 12 disliked more than one or two things the whole week but everybody has their preferences. I thought the food was great and the variety was adequate for my tastes.
Anthony's Key Resort is 100% a dive resort. Although there are other activities you can do, if I wasn't a diver, I might get bored. The dive operations are fantastic. The skipper (Rupert) and DM (Ven) we had were top notch and very knowledgable. We dove twice with other DMs and thought Ven was by far the best in our opinion. Everything revolves around the dive operations and Kevin, the scuba shop manager, runs a tight ship. The gear lockers just off the dock made gear storage a breeze. Most of the dives were within a five minute boat ride and the crew would joke about the two-minute and two-second boat ride to about every dive site. Even the days that were blustery weren't bad and the boat rides in the swells were tolerable to those with weaker stomachs because they were so short. It was so nice being at a resort that was so close to most of the dive sites. We spent very little time actually on the dive boats.
It was a fabulous trip and I would repeat it anytime. The resort isn't the fanciest but if you're serious about diving and want to have good food, decent accomodations and fabulous reefs to dive on, AKR is the place to go. I look forward to returning with my wife next time.
Bruce
We also dove the DC-3 that was sunk at the end of the channel close to the dolphin enclosure. We did it mostly to see whatever there was to see but the best part of the dive was swimming over to the dolphin pen and playing with them through the underwater fence. We heard them long before we could even see the fence and they were waiting for us when we got there. We saw the mama and her baby and all the others. They would dash back and forth along the fence close enough you could reach out and pet them as they swam by. If you waved your hand, several of them would take turns putting their noses in your hands so you could rub them.
We opted for the "hill standard" hut and for this time of year, suited us fine. It was in the 80's while we were there but if it was in the 90's and I had my wife with me, I would have paid for the upgrade to A/C. We were in one of the first ones on the hill right next to the restaurant/reception area. It was very convenient and I liked how close everything was. The food was decent and there was maybe one or two dishes that I wouldn't have liked but there were always other options. No one in our party of 12 disliked more than one or two things the whole week but everybody has their preferences. I thought the food was great and the variety was adequate for my tastes.
Anthony's Key Resort is 100% a dive resort. Although there are other activities you can do, if I wasn't a diver, I might get bored. The dive operations are fantastic. The skipper (Rupert) and DM (Ven) we had were top notch and very knowledgable. We dove twice with other DMs and thought Ven was by far the best in our opinion. Everything revolves around the dive operations and Kevin, the scuba shop manager, runs a tight ship. The gear lockers just off the dock made gear storage a breeze. Most of the dives were within a five minute boat ride and the crew would joke about the two-minute and two-second boat ride to about every dive site. Even the days that were blustery weren't bad and the boat rides in the swells were tolerable to those with weaker stomachs because they were so short. It was so nice being at a resort that was so close to most of the dive sites. We spent very little time actually on the dive boats.
It was a fabulous trip and I would repeat it anytime. The resort isn't the fanciest but if you're serious about diving and want to have good food, decent accomodations and fabulous reefs to dive on, AKR is the place to go. I look forward to returning with my wife next time.
Bruce
