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1 - it depends on what you define as a good/great dive site. The South side is the nursery.
2 - West Bay has the "best beach" if you are looking for tourist type beaches/resorts/etc.
3 - personal preference - we have done both and you can save money and experience the local culture by doing the condo and renting a car but I recommend doing some research before choosing this option.
4 - yes - one dive op I know of that does small groups in small boats is Reef Gliders
I understand you don't post much here, but will help a lot.
West/North: Deeper diving. Darker, as it lies in the shadow of the Sun, thus comparatively a stark and sparse Coral concentration. Near Roatan Marine Resrve, you will see larger specimens of Apex pelagics (Baracuda, Parrotfish, etc). It is the "windward storm" side, so the eons of heavy Sept>Feb wave action has caused interesting shapes in the Coral. (chutes and canyons) Some of the more "textured" reef shapes (swimthoughs) are located a bit too far East along the North shore for many lesser dive-ops to offer with any regularity. The actual fringing reef is located quite far off shore, quite outside the scope of shore diving. During the months of March>August it can be delightfully dead calm and flat. Deep Vee hulls are the choice in this environment. Placed wrecks are deep in the 100fsw range and are in tatters, they attract some of the larger creatures. Night diving is usually offered as a "once a week" and only if there are enough takers.
Terrestrial: During Summer months, due to the W/N being in the regular lee side, it can get pretty hot and sticky. More vegetation on steeper terrain, pockets of ground water, thus a higher incidence of bugs in this loam type soil. It is the general area of greatest development so there is easy close-in access to after-dive activities. The vast majority of dive ops are day dive offerings, the notable exception is AKR. West will give you good Sunsets over water, neither from the North.
South: Shallow diving, Coral breaks do present closer than 50yds from shore. Walls begin in 2-30fsw and drop straight down to 90-110fsw, the first sand shelf. They are Sunlit all day long, thus there is remarkable florid soft and hard Coral growth. Lots of micro/macro, lesser incidence of pelagics. The wall is, when looked at for unique shapes, is largely devoid of variation- just straight vertical. The exceptions are Mary's Place (for some inexplicable reason a huge favorite) and the lesser known Calvin's Crack. It is the windward side, so most days count on a minimum of a 1-3 foot running sea. When the North/West side is shut down from a "Norther", there is still diving on the South- better equipped W/N dive operations (again, AKR) are found here instead. On the South, CCV and FIBR have designed dive boat hull shapes that are best suited for this environ. (Ultra heavy keels, round bottoms) Placed wrecks are shallow (35-70') and intact, mostly attracting the micro/macro due to the high phototropic layer of water that they lie within. There are very few dive-ops, all AI, although BFK and FIBR will accept day-divers. Roatan's only (in reality) shore dives (on Coral reef structures) is from either FIBR, CCV, and if the weather is cooperating, RHR. You can shore night dive as much as you want from these three aforementioned AI resorts.
Terrestrial: Not a whole lot of diversions nearby, a cab ride to West End will be about 40 minutes. The Earth itself here is quite sandy, gently sloping and is largely agricultural. Not heavily forested and little standing water to be found. In that it is the windward side of the island (except for storms), the constant wave action mentioned above does also come with a gentle and constant breeze, knocking down what comparatively few bugs there are. South will often give you unobstructed Sunrises.
I do appreciate your mathematical decision process. If you want more than 2 dives per day, it only makes monetary sense to go with an AI.
Other thoughts: Driving any vehicle on Roatan is ill advised. Again, here for more. There are 1,000 happy people who have done it, but I can tell you of a dozen or so who are no longer able, or didn't want to tell you their costly horror stories. Carry a rabbit's foot or better yet- hire a driver for the day.
In reference to your desire for "small dive boats"... I assume you are saying you don't want the "cattle boat experience", however you may define that. Just know that picking a smaller boat, just like avoiding a larger one- that may not fulfill your wishes. I would instead advise you to avoid any operation that accepts cruise ship divers (AKR being the exception as they keep them segregated), but be wary of specific West End day-dive ops, as they have limited resources on cruise ship days. In general, I would not fear larger boat type ops (AKR, CCV, FIBR), nor would I hang all my hopes on a 6pax type charter. This island is simply not Cayman.
You will indeed find many argumentative posts on SB bashing horns over this-or-that zone or option. This is largely due to an overall limited perspective or breadth of experience. Many people come to Roatan and spend a week or do several trips to just one zone, maybe even with only one dive operator, but this does not an expert make. We know what we know.
For being such a small island, it sure is a big place.
Thanks, Doc! yes, i did use the search and it seemed i was digging through all the pissing matches to get to the meat, which is why i started my own thread.
Right now, I am trying to decide between AKR and FIBR. The difference in cost is about $130 for the week, AKR does not provide bottled water, soft drinks or any alcohol. I'm not a big drinker, but you know how women are - they'll order four $7 fru-fru drinks to my four $3 cold beers... At the end of the week i'll feel as raped as a carnival cruiseline alcoholic with that bar tab.
I am a fan of both the large and the small stuff, and I do like the option of a shore dive or a night shore dive. I will say however, I have been a diver so long, I consider myself spoiled, and I know what I like, so I hope they don't put a huge # of us on a boat. I know people here bashed Sandals diving, but Sandals Negril did great last year for us and that says alot coming from me.
Thanks again for your input man... I am interested to read about driving on the island, but I won't attempt it based on your warning - I am envisioning similar conditions as Jamaica or Dominican, which is scary...
You asked about diving, but now you have broached the subject of comparing properties: AKR vs FIBR.
AKR is doing a BOGO. It's hard to pin down what FIBR is charging, that's nothing new, and that is commonly reported to become even a more ill-defined quantity upon your arrival.
i prefer the diving just offshore of FIBR, but even with your perceptions of the Bay Islands Forum being rife with contention, if you add up the many threads that reference FIBR, you really have to believe what is being said at some point. Great dive op, the resort is a disaster. They only survive by their heavily and oft discounted price structure, cruise ship visitors, the obtusely defined reality of their offer of "free alcohol", and their great dive crew. Unfortunately, many of their DM stalwarts have recently jumped ship, so that is now an unknown.
The manager, who many thought of as the owner, got into it with his father ( the real owner ), so he very recently departed. It could only improve, but again- more turmoil and uncertainty after 20 prior years of foundering.
You may have read another recent thread in regards to FI's shore dive Gazebo being observed to be falling into the Ocean. In the last two weeks, it has been stabilized and to some extent, reconstructed. There's one update, anyway. Otherwise, the resort as a whole would be charitably described as "spotty and inconsistent" in the extreme.
To to get access to this particular type of diving, I always stay at CCV, a premium product, no excuses.
AKR always has a consistent quality of service and attention to detail. I would highly recommend AKR over FI, no matter what the cost difference.
Some follow up answers might help other people familiar with Roatan help you.
1.) Is shore diving important to you? If so, that'll narrow it down. CocoView and Reef House Resort, for example.
2.) Do you want frequent access to West End, or are you content to stay on the reservation (resort)?
3.) About how many dives do you want to do that week? CocoView has a rep. for heavy diving, such as 2 boat dives, plus the option to get dropped off on the way back & 'dive to shore' adding 2 more dives, and you might want a night shore dive...
4.) What else do you want to do? Anthony's Key Resort's web site has some non-scuba excursions people can book.
If I were planning a Roatan trip, these are some of the questions I'd be trying to answer.
I call this the emancipation scuba trip and it's booked. We decided on doing the buy one get one free at Anthony’s Key Resort. We’re getting a $6400 trip for $2500 because of flying on miles (direct flights too!) and buy one get one @ resort. I have a bungalow over the water facing north with a private deck... Let the good times roll
PS: Meanwhile, i get a 1000/mo raise, my ex takes a 1000/mo decrease... And she's fat, looks like her mother and has 18 years left to finish raising the new kids.
Hallelujah LMAO, karma is coming baby
---------- Post added March 5th, 2015 at 12:59 PM ----------
Thank you to all that contributed, I really appreciate it!!!
You even get a slight discount on the dolphin dives being a guest. And I believe a free encounter one day. There is a shore dive there as well - it's just a long wade out from the Key. You can also muck dive in the channel between the resort and the key - we did a mask clear there and it looked interesting enough.
If you tire of the food, the West End is 5mins ($6) by cab away. Almost all the better restaurants on Roatan are there or in West Bay two miles farther west. The nicest beach on Roatan is in West Bay also but Half Moon Bay in the West End is decent also. Sundowners Beach Bar (Facebook) is popular with divers. Also any souvenir shopping is done in the West End - or at AKR's store.
If you want to buy alcohol you'll probably have to get that at Woody's or the Coconut Tree store in the West End - IDK if Emily's sells it. We bought ours at the CT store. Popular Grocery Stores on Roatan Island - the big stores listed are all in Coxen Hole/French Harbor on the south side.
But there's all those steps to the shoreside bar....going up sober isn't the problem. LOL
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will help a lot.
