After reading so much about CCV here, Hubby and I are getting away to CCV for first time and have a few questions.
1) We'll be staying at one of the Playa Miguel houses - its #12, so we're a bit of a stroll down the road to the resort. But they have bikes , right ?(to rent or it comes with the house?)
2) Groceries - are there any stores nearby within walking distance or do we have to take a taxi ? We have a list of groceries that Liz at Roatan Charters gave us that they can supply for us before we get there, but just in case we want something else, you never know...
3) Are there any other restaurants nearby other than CCV? Can you go to Fantasy Island for food? Would you even want to???
We are really looking forward to this trip - we planned it since last summer so we can't wait to go.
TIA
Hello, DG, we just got back from a trip. We stayed at Playa Miguel #9. #12 is just a bit further down. If #9 is a 5 minute walk, I'd say #12 is a 7 minute walk. There's a whole bunch of free bikes that you can use. There's a couple of parking racks for bikes near the clubhouse/dive shop; just grab a bike and go. There's also a rack down at each beach house. The trick is to make sure that if you bike to the clubhouse, that you bike back (law of conservation of bikes...). You can rent a golf cart for the week, but I wouldn't bother. The trick to using the bikes is to find one with the seat height near what you like (they're adjustable, but on some, the quick release is rusted). Then, park it at the far end of the rack, where no one wants to bother walking the extra 20 ft to find the bike you've been using.
I would not bother with provisioning/cooking. Buy the CCV meal plan. For most of the beach houses, only the bedrooms are air-conditioned. You really don't want to cook in the heat, do you? Nor do you want to stroll/bike back to your beach house for lunch, then, back to CCV for the afternoon boat, etc., right? You're already buying the dive plan, so just add the meal plan too!
As the other repliers have said, if you're bored with the food, you can certainly make arrangements through the office to go to town on any day you like, separately from the "organized" excursion. I personally found the food plentiful, plain, but good (especially after some number of dives between meals).
Couple of hints:
- There's a porter inside the airport who looks for CCV pink tags. He'll take your bags, except for your carry-ons. (If you have the pink tag on your carry-on, he'll take that too). They load the baggage on a separate truck from the van that takes you to the dock. You then do a short boat ride to CCV.
- When you arrive at CCV, there's a bunch of forms you need to fill out. Follow the crowd to the clubhouse, get a form, and start filling. Hand them to the office when done. Depending on when you arrive, lunch may be served (lunchtime is extended on Saturdays). When dropping your forms (and passport) at the office, ask to rent a beach towel for the week. Exchangeable any time the office is open; great for drying off after showering at the end of a dive.
- Your baggage arrives at CCV separately from you. Probably after you arrive. If you've packed a swimsuit in your carry-on, you can swim practically as soon as you arrive. (You can get snorkeling gear from the dive shop for free). If the swimsuit is with your baggage, you'll have to wait for the bags to arrive, etc.
- When your baggage arrives, segregate your dive gear bag from the rest. They will carry your pink-tagged bags to your beach house. If you have pre-emptively moved your dive gear to the dive locker bays, you can unload your dive gear, rather than need to ask to have your dive bag brought back from the beach house to the dive area. Ask any staff member, DM, or repeat guests about finding your boat assignment, and finding a dive locker appropriate for your boat assignment. Write your beach house assignment on the pink tag (BH-12) in big letters; that'll help the staff. Don't take off the pink tags; they use them to load bags back at the end of the trip!
Enjoy! I had a great time! As soon as I do some photo selection, resizing, & color correction, I'll post an album & a more detailed review!
They were all pretty much spot on. We would go back in a heartbeat if given the chance. CoCoView IS everything you all said it would be and more. We got in 22 dives in 5 1/2 days and could have made it 25 if hubby didn't get nasty sting on last diving day.
