Help with Roatan

[LynnB]

I am planning a trip to Roatan in June..Just came back from a cruise and did a dive with AKR... we fell in love...(very expensive there)
Does anyone know anything about Las Rocas??? Turqoiuse Bay???? Fantasy Island?????
I will be taking my college age kids with me... they both dive so we want to do a lot of that.
I know Las Rocas has no shore diving so not sure if anyone has any imput...
Thanks
Lynn

 

[BTravlin]

I've been to Fantasy Island twice and really enjoyed it and think it offers a good diving value. Don't know about the other two. You can run a search on them here in the forums and get a ton of info on Fantasy Island for sure and probably the other two as well.

Good luck.

 

[C Chris]

Definately check out Coco View - it is next door to Fantasy Island - Unlimited shore Diving 24/7 - also, two (2 tank) boat dives per day - the first dive in the morning is a site dive, the 2nd is a drop off... same for the afternoon.

 

[Cajuncru Diver]

We go to Roatan twice a year and have been going to Fantasy Island for the last four years. Don't think you will be disappointed if that is your choice, of course there are other very good options also. If you would like pictures or more information on FI feel free to PM me.

 

[Bay Island Diver]

If shore diving is a priority, Cocoview and Fantasy Island win hands down.

If you would like your kids to experience the rich culture of the islands you may prefer West Bay or West End, since being in an isolated resort really limits your opportunities to experience the top side activities of Roatan, which in my opinion are just as enjoyable as the diving.

College age kids, I am sure will appreciate the West End options. Three dives a day are easily accomplished with any of the West End or West Ops. Have alook at Casa del Sol and posada Arco Iris, they are great value hotels.

I teach Pro course and Tec course at Coconut Tree Divers and think their facilties are second to none.

Regards

Will

 

[mksmith713]

I dove Roatan twice this year and I recommend Coconut Tree wholeheartedly.
PJ has a great operation there and I love diving with them.
You can find reasonable accomodations in the West End walking distance from the dive shop and the night life is the West End is THE ONLY night life on the island.
Sandy Bay and West Bay are DEAD come sunset where the West End stays hopping until the wee hours.
AKR and COCO are nice if you have tons of $$$$ and are taking a family vacation but for pure killer diving, check out Coconut Tree.

 

[revid13]

Roatan is not what it appears to be. Be very careful if you go there. They hate Americans and all other foreign visitors and business people. They can falsely accuse you of something and detain you until you pay a bribe. This is not a joke. It happens all the time. The government is corrupt and the place is over-run by drug smugglers.
The locals live in constant fear. It's basically controlled by a handful of greedy people who run the whole island. What happened on Aruba happens in Roatan only it does not make the six o'clock news. They hush it up. That's how bad it is. There are a lot of other places to go on a family vacation. It's not worth the risk.

 

[Cajuncru Diver]

Roatan is not what it appears to be. Be very careful if you go there. They hate Americans and all other foreign visitors and business people. They can falsely accuse you of something and detain you until you pay a bribe. This is not a joke. It happens all the time. The government is corrupt and the place is over-run by drug smugglers.
The locals live in constant fear. It's basically controlled by a handful of greedy people who run the whole island. What happened on Aruba happens in Roatan only it does not make the six o'clock news. They hush it up. That's how bad it is. There are a lot of other places to go on a family vacation. It's not worth the risk.

I don't know where this poster is coming from, but I do know from first hand experience these comments are pure unadulterated BU__ S___!!

 

[Chaseh]

Weird thread. The post by mksmith713 is really bizarre and not at all based in truth. I also don't understand the post that said CCV is great if you have tons of $$$.

We're about to make our third trip to CCV. It's our low cost, dive your butt off destination.

Beyond that, I don't need to say anymore about the details of CCV, Fantasy Island, Coconut, etc. There are a few hundred threads under hear which answer the original question in much detail.

 

[georoc01]

I dove Roatan twice this year and I recommend Coconut Tree wholeheartedly.
PJ has a great operation there and I love diving with them.
You can find reasonable accomodations in the West End walking distance from the dive shop and the night life is the West End is THE ONLY night life on the island.
Sandy Bay and West Bay are DEAD come sunset where the West End stays hopping until the wee hours.
AKR and COCO are nice if you have tons of $$$$ and are taking a family vacation but for pure killer diving, check out Coconut Tree.

I don't know about the tons of $$$..We took advantage of the AKR special and stayed a week for $750pp AI and I did 18 dives in the week. The lady next to me on the plane did 28 dives at Cocoview. I haven't done that many dives in a week even on a liveaboard.