WrmBluH2O
Contributor
Hey All,
I'm purposely posting this here in the "New Diver" forum rather than the Bay Island forum. If you all have researched possible good places to go as a new diver, you will undoubtedly have seen CocoView in Roatan, Honduras come up again and again.
Here is why CocoView was so good for me as a newbie with only one post-certification dive under my belt. My better half got ill early on and was unable to dive. I asked if there was a DiveMaster (DM) or Asst. DM who might be available and willing to be my buddy (for pay) that day. The DM who accompanied me was outstanding; he was kind, patient, and had an incredibly calming presence.
I bought a $17 Trident magnifying glass from the dive shop. We decided to shore dive the front yard and part of the CocoView wall. I would have had to be blind to not see the oodles of lobster, trumpet fish, barracuda, permit, flounder, garden eels, and the lone spotted eagle ray that swooped by us.
But thanks to him I saw cleaner shrimp, two different types of juvenile pipefish, sailfish blenny, scorpionfish, goby, the Mario Andretti of sea cucumber rolling at warp speed, a moray eel (under ledge), big crab (also hiding under different ledge), peacock flounder, two different "snakes" in shallows that apparently are actually eels, as well as what I thought was a sea horse (but is actually a type of sea horse look-alike).
Some of these creatures are so small and/or well camouflaged I never would have seen them without his guidance. He also helped me greatly with descents and buoyancy. My hubby was sick for three days total, and I am lucky and grateful that he dove with me each day.
That said, the people on our boat couldn't have been more lovely. They kept asking when I/we were coming back to the boat. They offered to let me buddy with them. Folks from another boat did the same. Divers are so very friendly and generous because, honestly, how many people truly want to buddy with the new guy on their vacation?
While I don't mean this as a trip report, I will say the food was quite good, so much better than I had expected. I particularly liked the soups. Good variety of nicely cooked vegetables. I think I'd read reviews that said meals tended toward the fried and fatty; I did not find that to be the case. Btw, the wine pours are a trough. Be careful.
Not one no-see-um bite, and those ba$tards usually love me. (My husband had two bites total for the week.) Granted it was windy last week and/or it may simply not have been that time in their life cycle? :shrug: I did wear long sleeve Permethrin-treated clothing and pants, as well as showered the salt water off the moment I took off my wetsuit.
Everybody at CocoView was cool. I think it would be a great place for any new divers or new single diver to choose.
I'm purposely posting this here in the "New Diver" forum rather than the Bay Island forum. If you all have researched possible good places to go as a new diver, you will undoubtedly have seen CocoView in Roatan, Honduras come up again and again.
Here is why CocoView was so good for me as a newbie with only one post-certification dive under my belt. My better half got ill early on and was unable to dive. I asked if there was a DiveMaster (DM) or Asst. DM who might be available and willing to be my buddy (for pay) that day. The DM who accompanied me was outstanding; he was kind, patient, and had an incredibly calming presence.
I bought a $17 Trident magnifying glass from the dive shop. We decided to shore dive the front yard and part of the CocoView wall. I would have had to be blind to not see the oodles of lobster, trumpet fish, barracuda, permit, flounder, garden eels, and the lone spotted eagle ray that swooped by us.
But thanks to him I saw cleaner shrimp, two different types of juvenile pipefish, sailfish blenny, scorpionfish, goby, the Mario Andretti of sea cucumber rolling at warp speed, a moray eel (under ledge), big crab (also hiding under different ledge), peacock flounder, two different "snakes" in shallows that apparently are actually eels, as well as what I thought was a sea horse (but is actually a type of sea horse look-alike).
Some of these creatures are so small and/or well camouflaged I never would have seen them without his guidance. He also helped me greatly with descents and buoyancy. My hubby was sick for three days total, and I am lucky and grateful that he dove with me each day.
That said, the people on our boat couldn't have been more lovely. They kept asking when I/we were coming back to the boat. They offered to let me buddy with them. Folks from another boat did the same. Divers are so very friendly and generous because, honestly, how many people truly want to buddy with the new guy on their vacation?

While I don't mean this as a trip report, I will say the food was quite good, so much better than I had expected. I particularly liked the soups. Good variety of nicely cooked vegetables. I think I'd read reviews that said meals tended toward the fried and fatty; I did not find that to be the case. Btw, the wine pours are a trough. Be careful.

Not one no-see-um bite, and those ba$tards usually love me. (My husband had two bites total for the week.) Granted it was windy last week and/or it may simply not have been that time in their life cycle? :shrug: I did wear long sleeve Permethrin-treated clothing and pants, as well as showered the salt water off the moment I took off my wetsuit.
Everybody at CocoView was cool. I think it would be a great place for any new divers or new single diver to choose.