Mary's Place

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Barefoot is right there so good shop to choose for Mary's Place. We always dive with a shop in West End but when going to the south side, we dive out of Barefoot. It is worth the cab ride to go to Barefoot rather than another place.

Now back to the original question, is it worth the 1/2 hour ride? If you want to dive anywhere on the island, Barefoot is as good as any and worth the cab ride. But you may be able to book a package directly with Barefoot and have them take care of the transport. You should check with them.

Mary's Place would be the first dive of the day - 116 feet was my depth the last time I was there. The second dive is then open for discussion. I like Mr Bud's Wreck and I love Anka's Place. I haven't dove Prince Albert Wreck yet but will when I got there this year - max depth is 60 feet.
I wouldn't go out of your way to dive the Prince Albert unless you are staying at Coco View and it is your house reef. The 2 wall dives adjacent to it (Coco View Wall and Newman's Wall) are both great dives. The wreck itself is not worthy of a 60 minute dive given the other options nearby. IMHO
 
Barefoot is on the south side - probably the closest fixed operation to Coxen Hole. One factor to consider is congetsion around the cruise port since it is sort of in town. However your cab will be waiting if you set it up thru Barefoot - or there will be a line of them on the street outside the port. Drivers are pretty aggressive so walk to the head of the line before picking a cab - otherwise you may site there a few minutes waiting for the line to clear.

You can literally see the dive boats at Mary's from the upstairs deck at Barefoot's restaurant - it's that close.

Two issues - Mary's is considered an advanced dive. Also they dedicate their 2nd boat to the cruise operation so if your fellow pax (or those from the other ships in port that morning) aren't qualified to do it, they're likely not going there.I agree with the previous poster - they're likely more flexible if you're most of their business that morning. The DM told me a large percentage of their villa guests don't dive - or very often.

It's not likely most of the West End/West Bay operations would work within your cruise schedule - it's a solid 30min drive from Coxen Hole - although cabs will be waiting on the street outside the port - plus the dive op would have to ride back around to the south side for the dive and back.

You might check with Native Sons - they go there once a week so might be an option. They dock in the West End - affiliated with Chillies.

We had cruise divers on our Coconut Tree boat a couple times mid-morning but did nearby north side dives. They actually shuttled us over by van to dive with Barefoot one morning for Mary's and the CCV wreck.

AKR likely is the cruise operator. They won't go there being on the NE side. Subway Watersports also has a cruise program and picks up - that's all I know about it. I've read West End Divers does also if you show up there.
 
Awesome - thanks for all the information. This is really helpful. We will probably go with Barefoot. Just need to verify if the ship time on our itinerary is US eastern time bc if it is then we should be able to get there by 8:30 for their first five as they told me they usually go to Mary’s Place on the first dive of the day and since that is what I really want to dive I want to make sure we can make it in time. I will check out the other two places KatieMac recommended for a second dive. Any other site recommendations for me to read about is appreciated. Thanks.
Lot's of options. What kind of dive do you like? Anka's place is a pleasant dive but some find it boring. Mr. Bud's is a shallow small tug boat wreck. There's other places to dive on the south side.

Let us know what you like to dive and someone who dives the south side regularly can make some recommendations. Have you seen the Roatan dive site map? It's got so many good dives!
 
I wouldn't go out of your way to dive the Prince Albert unless you are staying at Coco View and it is your house reef. The 2 wall dives adjacent to it (Coco View Wall and Newman's Wall) are both great dives. The wreck itself is not worthy of a 60 minute dive given the other options nearby. IMHO

What's wrong with the wreck? Checking for me. I'm in Roatan every year and haven' dove that one yet.

It's not likely most of the West End/West Bay operations would work within your cruise schedule - it's a solid 30min drive from Coxen Hole - although cabs will be waiting on the street outside the port - plus the dive op would have to ride back around to the south side for the dive and back.

Many dive shops in the west End do this ... but not to do dive sites on the south side. As you mention - 30 minute drive from the port then 30 minute ride back to the south side (with drop-off usually at Barefoot Cay :)) to dive Mary's Place.
 
Hi All,

I am probably getting a little confused because I do not know all the posting board acronyms - I am not very techy. So basically we are coming in via cruise ship and would like to do Mary's Place. We are advanced certified. I am not sure if we are the only ship in port that day, will have to do some research. We are on one of the megaships though (Allure of the Seas) so there are a lot of people on the ship. I actually have spoken with four other dive shops and they all were willing to take us diving, but they are on the West End/Bay so they don't go to Mary's Place. I just decided about Mary's Place a week or so ago because I heard good things about it and it is somewhere different as we have dived one other time in Roatan with Banarama (when we came via cruise ship) and it would be the same area as the other four dive operators I have contacted. I do know that Royal Caribbean does dock at Coxen Hole.

As far as what kind of diving we like, we are pretty open. I love to see big stuff, like sharks, rays, turtles, etc. but I also like the unusual stuff like frog fish, sea horses, etc. I like to see healthy coral. We also like wrecks. We have dived the Vandenburg and Eagle in the Keys, Hilma Hooker is Bonaire and of course other "wrecks" in the Caribbean (I use this word lighly because they are not always large wrecks). We dive in Cozumel quite a bit so we are good with drift dives and we have also dived in Hawaii were we had live drop offs and pick ups (in the open blue as there was no mooring buoys for the boat to tie up to - volcanic rocks and crashing waves prohibited this). We have about 130 dives or so under our belt. We will also be diving in Cozumel, Nassau and Costa Maya on this cruise - so if anyone has been to these places and believes there is something in Roatan that is unique and we shouldn't miss it, let me know. So fire away with site recommendations.

Thanks everyone!
 
Mary’s Place can be done with a max depth of 85fsw if you want to go under/thru the final bridge-swim through, about a 6’x6’ transition just at the end of the standard tourist route.

You can enjoy the dive by ghosting above the bunny hopping line of divers by staying at anywhere from 45’ to 60’ instead. There is no “reason” to go beyond that 85’ final exit depth as you make your way over the middle section which offers a 115’ hard bottom.

Mary’s Place popularity is a function of its former “closed to divers” status and the nattering l.c.d. adverorials in the dive rags. It is, for the majority of visitors, a picturesque dark, narrow fissure in the reef structure....a bleak, shadowy architectural canyon. Most divers will note nothing alive to either side through the transition- largely blinded by their camera viewfinders which divers May or me not be advised as a prohibited act...but never enforced. When you are on the ‘standard route”, you will be within 150’ of an intricate overhead environment (hidden in plain sight at 45’ just to the East of the MP entry point) that most DMs do not know of, but they will (to the West at 65’, after your 85’ exit) lead you right past another, even more interesting crevice, that one they will eschew because of most diver”s air reserve. I mention all this for the week-long visitor who might have other options than the standard tour, notably from Coco View where we sometimes do a total of three dives from the mooring, but all quite different.

It is called “advanced” because it can be a rough surface, some current atop the shallow reef mooring, the bogey of the “beyond 60’ depth/death limit”, and here’s the big one: increased air consumption due to the way tours are led- forcing divers to wait and hover (or more likely scull and paddle) at 70’ waiting for the DM to cue buddy teams to enter and begin the tour. Lotta air being burned, not unusual to see divers at 2,000 psi at that very early point. Most groups do a 35-40 minute BT.

Big Stuff? That’s not really what Roatan is about. But...if you exit MP and as you slowly ascend, look into the blue. With the Cara a Cara Shark Dive just next door, guess who’s coming to dinner?

The standard MP tour is memorable, certainly more worthwhile than the similar holy grail of the Caribbean, the Belize Blue Hole. It is the single best sales tool Roatan has for dragging divers off a cruise ship for instead spending a weeklong stay.

Using a dive op that uses boat landings on West or North is a bad idea if you can access from a South side cruise ship operator like Barefoot Key (BFK). Why endure a 45+ minute thrash each way? BFK will be just fine. AKR (a West/North operation) also keeps a stable of boats adjacent to the RTB airport on the South side.

Nearby are two other very shallow placed wrecks that are quite intact. Wrecks are best seen as structures for critters, but most divers see ships, nothing more. Slow down, have a closer look. Be very amazed. The two:

Mr Bud is an 85’ shrimp boat resting in 65fsw. It is crawling with micro/macro life. The rest of the dive can get quite deep.The wall 250yds to the East is spectacular but very rarely dived, lying offshore of Little French Key (LFK).

Prince Albert is a 140’ oil tanker placed in 1984, also quite intact. It tops out in 22’ with its nose in 35’ and tail in 65’, Due to its shallow Sunlit repose, it is no longer “just” a steel hull, it is a living pulsing organic structure that looks like a ship. I can and do spend hours on her with a magnifying glass. If all you see is a ship, you’ll enjoy that for a few minutes , too.

There are other South side wrecks that do exist but as for those extant in 2019, they are not very inviting. The South side is shallow, Sunlit and macro oriented. Go with that.

Come, dive Mary’s Place, but plan a return, week-long trip. Roatan is much more that this one “log book” dive.
 
@Doc - it seems I really need to dive Mary's Place "your way". Sounds interesting.

@cruzbound ignore Mr.Bud's for your second dive. It's a tiny tug. Ask about some of the great wall dives on the south side. I'm sure Doc has a few he can recommend.
 
What's wrong with the wreck? Checking for me. I'm in Roatan every year and haven' dove that one yet.
There is nothing wrong with it per se. It is a very small wreck that can be experienced in about 10-15 minutes and not worthy of an entire 60 minute dive. What you could do, if your boat operator allowed would be to dive Newman's Wall or Coco View Wall and make your way slowly over to the wreck and finish the last 10-15 minutes of your dive there. That would be an outstanding dive.
 
I did not mean to confuse things re Barefoot and diving Mary's it's likely the simplest option to get there. My group used them. Was merely suggesting other options if they weren't diving it the day you were there.

They arrange a cab to pick you up at the port (you pay - should be overpaid around $20), do the dive then provide lunch included in the price. It's a nice upscale resort setting. I'd go with them first if possible.
 
Hi diversteve,

When was the last time you used Barefoot? I ask because they did not say anything about lunch and they just told me to get a cab to them, so they don't arrange one for us.

All,
I also found another dive operator called Tobri Divers. Has anyone used them? They are over that way and they will do Mary's Place and will provide the transportation to and from the port.

It appears to do Mary's Place I will need to choose one of these two dive shops. Neither was a 100% guarantee they will go to Mary's Place but these two are my best (and only) options, from what I can tell in my research, of having a chance to dive Mary's Place when we are there via cruise.

I really wish now I could turn back time and instead of going to Utila a couple of years ago for a week, we should have stayed on Roatan. We were very disappointed in Utila, especially the dive shop/diving. The original manager I dealt with when we booked was wonderful and I believe we would have had a very positive experience if she would have been there still but she left and the new manager we dealt with was not very accomodating as he would not take us to the north side per our request (since most days it was just the two of us diving and he would not make any money - but the first manager believed we could get to the north side at least for two out of five of our days of diving but no, the new guy only took us once). Oh well, live and learn.

Thanks everyone!
 

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