Help Planning my Dive Trip to Roatan

[gkornfeld]

My 15 year old son and I are planning to dive in Roatan. We have 40-45 dives under our belts in places like Belize, Cozumel, Key West etc. Looking for some advice on a dive company that caters to small groups and won't be impacted by cruise ships. They should also be kid friendly and ideally do 3-4 dives a day. We would also love some advice on value minded beach front accomodations.

Would also like some advice on what to do when on the mainland; though Copan is a must for us.

So we have 9 days..

Day 1 - arrive and fly to Roatan.
Day 2-4 (maybe day 5) - Dive. Maybe add a 4th day.
Day 6 - morning flight to San Pedro

Day 6-9 - mainland, like Copan

Day 10 - fly home.

THanks for the help.

 

[SeaCobra]

Take a look at Coco View Resort, nothing fancy, but nice. It has been a while since I was there, but I would not hesitate to go back. Unlimited shore diving and meals included.

 

[RickyF]

Take a look at Barefoot Cay and Barefoot Divers. It is not the cheapest place on the island, but they run 6 pack boats, always have two DM's and the food is awesome! I have been there for the last four years.

 

[Sally Fletcher]

Check out West End Divers. (www.westenddivers.info) We did one of their 'stay and dive' packages a few months back, and it was perfect. We stayed at Cocolobo, right on the water. The dive shop was great, they max their groups out at 6 divers, and have a couple of boats, so it was never crowded. I believe they did 3 dives a day and then night dives upon request.

 

[billmosel]

I just posted a trip report on West Bay. Take a look http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bay-islands/405211-west-bay-trip-report.html

 

[Doc]

If you really want "3 to 4 dives" a day, you are de-facto specifying an AI resort. First- because of the cost, you would get killed by going to a day dive operation and buying them ala-carte or even in a ten-dive package. Second- Due to boat scheduling, it is a major hump to get in three a day in a day-dive operation's departures.

Look at what they offer and do the math. Figure costs, but also understand how the clock works in terms of dive boats. The short of it is- for three a day, go AI. Some Ai resorts may not want to book less than a seven day stay, but in this economy, who knows? For what you want, they might be the only true economical option.

SeaCobra mentioned CoCoView, and that is a nice choice, but if you find that it's booked-up for the time period, the place just across the channel has been empty for months- Fantasy Island. It has had a tough go of it as of late, but are likely offering some very low prices. It could be flipping a coin, though- no ScubaBoard reports have come from there in many months.

 

[jlevine]

I'd checkout Las Rocas Resort (Roatan - Las Rocas Resort & Dive Center, Bay Islands of Honduras). They are on West Bay Beach. They do dives at 9, 11:30, and 2pm. There is a dive shop and restaurant on site. You can get some great package rates. It's rustic. They are wooden bungalows with private bath and AC. Breakfast is included. They can quote you an all-inclusive rate if you want but since you're on West Bay Beach, I'd wouldn't do the AI. There's plenty of places to eat on West Bay Beach. I have stayed there several times and think it's one of the best deals in West Bay.