Kid & Family friendly dive shop on Utila

[aeronca]

Putting together a trip to the Bay Islands in July for the Family. Will be first trip down there and we are interested in learning to dive. I am very enthusiastic, wife maybe a little less so, and my 12yr old son who is also very enthusiastic. Was thinking of going over to Utila and finding a place to get the open water certification and then back to Roatan to spend the rest of the vacation 10-12 days.

I was wondering if anyone had any advice on a place that might be kid friendly, we kinda like the off the beaten path kinda place, so it doesn't have to be AI. Anthoneys Key sounds great on Roatan but a bit too pricey.

Have been looking at Utila Dive Center, Cross Creek, and Captain Morgans. Will be contacting them this week, and was wondering if anyone had any other suggestions.
This is all very new to us so we appreciate any suggestions.
Thanks

 

[James Bond boat entry]

I always promote Captain Morgans, the cays are quiet compared to Utila harbour and there are virtually no insects.

Also, I stayed at this place -> http://www.plantationbeachresort.com/ not on Utila but very nice place to stay, I would NOT do a dive course there.

 

[RTBDiver]

Do class part at home

 

[kathydee]

You will find ongoing ow certification classes everywhere on Utilia and they usually come with a few bonus dives & free nights sleeping accomodations. Captain Morgans place on the Cay is more like a casual classroom environment with sleeping rooms.

Regardless the Cay is a nice place, very small with a casual atmosphere and the locals are very friendly. But there are not many amenities at all. Like very few places to eat and only one internet and some tiny little stores that often only have a few things.

Also while some of the teachers are good - I liked Gina (if she is still there), the rental gear is old. But on the flip side there are kids to play with & it's very safe but will feel more like living in a classroom than a family vacation.

UDC is known for its classes and has a much nicer off the beaten path place to stay which is nestled up in a neighborhood and makes excelent pizza . It is a professional operation.

I don't know much about Cross Creek - sorry.

Enjoy and if whale sharks are around try to get out on a spotting boat for snorkling with them.

Utilia is fantastic!

Here is verns email if you need a lift from roatan to Utilia vfine@hotmail.com.

Enjoy!

 

[diversteve]

A couple of things.

First of all, if possible, you may want to take your classroom portion locally and not burn dive time doing it on Roatan/Utila. Your LDS will give you a referral for your checkout dives and handle the certification process when you return. PADI would be your best option for this, they're the most widely available on both Roatan and Utila. PADI even has e-learning now, but I'm not a big fan...

A couple places off the beaten path - yet close to things that I can think of on Roatan are Barefoot Cay or Luna Beach Resort. Different sides of the island but both are nice. Each has an onsite diveop also. Barefoot is a few miles from either French Harbor or Dixon Cove, Luna Beach is a long walk to the West End. They also have a water taxi. On Utila, either Deep Blue or Laguna Beach are fairly isolated - you take a boat to get to either, yet 10mins. from town. Both are more "upscale" than the places you mentioned. They're AI's so not sure if they book by the day. The owner of Deep Blue, Steve, is on here often - he'll probably see this. Of the two, Laguna Beach seemed to have a nicer beach. And a pool.

Just as an fyi, there's no reliable air service between Roatan and Utila. Most people fly to one or the other from either the states or through San Pedro Sula. There is however the ferry option, the Galaxy leaves Roatan at 2PM to the mainland - La Ceiba. 1/2 hr. after arrival you can take the Utila Princess to Utila, arriving around 5PM. The two ferries dock adjacent to each other in LaCeiba and their schedules mesh. Coming back the 6AM Princess puts you back on LaCeiba in time to be back to Roatan by about Noon. Kathy's suggestion for Vern is another option, he runs a catamaran between Roatan's West End and Utila. Leaves about 1PM from Roatan. It's a 4hr. sail. Just a heads-up - it can be a rough crossing.

 

[DeepBlueResort]

Hi

Great information from everyone I think diversteve gave very good advice about taking the first part of your open water at home so you will be able to spend more time diving on Utila, All the shops will be friendly on Utila, and even though Captain Morgans is on the Cays it is still classed as Utila, if you do not go there it is still good for a visit to the cays, all the shops you have suggested are very good, you can contact them in advance or if you want as all the shops are close in town you could just walk in and chat with them to see what one suits your needs best.

I wish you luck and hope you have a great time in Utila

 

[robint]

Do your classroom and pool skills sessions at home! There are several reasons for this, mainly not to waste your vacation time sitting in a classroom doing tests but also since your wife is not as enthusiastic it will give her more time to decide if she wants to do it or not, more time with an instructor in the pool learning how to clear her ears and masks skills, etc. That is VERY very very important.... if you want to get certified, you want to be comfortable with ALL your skills in the pool before you venture into the ocean.

Also, I am sure your 12 year old is excited, but not all kids are ready for the responsibility at that age. Kids usually do very well on all the written tests but when they get in the water they are sometimes unsafe as they get so excited and don't understand fully the risks involved (like zooming to surface, holding breath, etc.). I am not saying your child isn't ready, but I am saying that doing the classroom and pool sessions at home is a better place to evaluate that rather than on a vacation where you have already paid $$$$ and the instructor just wants to rush you along so he can get paid. Also, some kids just get exhausted very easily and diving is very stressful for them. (Our daughter got certified at 12 and although she was mentally in it and very safe, her body wasn't quite up to it and she spent much of our first vacation napping and eating! A year later she was much better, and by 14 she was fine with no exhaustion problems.) Another concern for your child is how physically developed they are - there are no definitive studies on how diving affects them. Some people feel it is no big deal, others say a kid should be close to their adult size regarding heart, lungs, air passages, etc. You and your instructor can make those assessments in the pool sessions. Remember, the Junior certification is the same certification as adults (but with restrictions on depth and need for DM with them to dive) - the kid still has to do all the same skills, carry gear, set up gear, everything for themselves to prove proficiency!

I am not trying to discourage you from getting you, your wife, and son certified - I am just trying to get you to do your classroom/pool sessions at home BEFORE your vacation. You will probably get much more out of your classroom sessions and the pool sessions won't be rushed so all 3 of you can learn the skills and be comfortable before you need to use them in the ocean. Then when you get to Roatan or Utila, all the instructor has to do is take you in the water, have you perform each of the skills you already perfected back home, and check them off.

~~Just the 2 cents of an instructor's wife who spends alot of time with students, their families, and discussing ALL these issues with them often. ~~~

robin

 

[aeronca]

First of all many thanks to all the responses, I really appreciate everyones responses.
RTBdiver, Diversteve, and Robint that sounds like excellent advice, it was one of my first thoughts as well to do the basic stuff here before we go down. Would also give them a chance to see how well they liked everything. However I'm not sure yet I will be able to do that, no where convient for us to go to. I am still working on doing that but like I said it may not be possible.

And thanks Deepblue Divers, Kathydee, and jamesbond boatentry, for the recommendations, Captain Morgans and Utila Dive Center are our first 2 choices so I really appreciate you comments on them.

Its great to find a place with this kind of information and I'm sure I'll have more questions.
Thanks again
Allan

 

[diversteve]

fwiw, having been to both sides of Roatan and Utila in the last 2 years, we thought the shallow diving was much better off Utila. When you certify, you'll have a recommended limit of 60' initially, your sons may be 40' - I'm not sure where PADI cuts off their jr. cert.

Off Utila there was a lot of good diving in about 25' of water or less. Corals piled on corals with fish everywhere. Roatan seemed to be better deeper - it was kind of hit/miss shallower. A really good dive you'll both be able to do on Utila is Black Hills (if the current is light) it's only about 35' down to a seamount that's surrounded by deep water. The big fish come up to feed there. We saw a school of Barracuda, about 1/2 dozen big Grouper and 4 or 5 big Oceanic Triggers hovering nearby. I've never seen more than 2 and they're pretty skittish - I got within 10' of these. One of my best dives was just under the boat, I came up early and found myself in a sand channel that led to the most brightly colored coral patch I've seen in years. Just off the west part of town. Filmed about 40 Black Durgons in the shadows under the boat. They'd loosely school around me as I went thru them. And Steve mentioned to us that Whalesharks have been seen in Utila every month this year. Snorkeling with them was one of the highlights of my dive life.

 

[robint]

fwiw, having been to both sides of Roatan and Utila in the last 2 years, we thought the shallow diving was much better off Utila. When you certify, you'll have a recommended limit of 60' initially, your sons may be 40' - I'm not sure where PADI cuts off their jr. cert.

PADI - age 10-11 depth limit is 40', age 12-15 is 60' depth limit. Both are required to dive with an instructor or DM. However, as my daughter was certified at age 12, she was never once restricted by any dive op on her depth or anything. They never once made any comment about it either and at age 13 we were actually taken on dives 80' deep! She got very angry about it and shook her finger at the DM and pointed at her dive computer. LOL She would refuse to go that deep and spent the dives hovering over us at her proper depth. The DMs didn't like it, and would tell her back on the boat it was no big deal. She stuck to her guns though. After another year though she was getting more adventurous and would venture down deeper. My husband was a DM by then and always watching her, too. (She is now 21 and a fantastic diver.)

aeronca - please check around your area and see about doing the classroom and pool at home. YOu can do most of the classroom stuff by CD-Rom now but you still need an instructor to teach you the pool skills in a pool. The pool time is essential for you and your wife and child to get comfortable with the gear and skills. Learning to clear a mask is usually something that takes the longest and one of the most important skills! There aren't many dive shops in our state, so we have had people come into town and stay at a hotel in order to do the course. You may have to do the same but it will be worth it.... remember, it is your LIFE and SAFETY.

Just my 2 cents.

robin