Trip Report Roatan Trip Report: CoCo View, July 2018

[KathyV]

Back in the day that Mike was the manager for Dave in Texas?
I enjoyed his little bit of paradise.

When we were there David (or Davit?) was the manager and also the owner (I think) and he was quite a character! Perhaps he is the father of the current manager?

He spent a lot of time digging up areas where native tribes had once lived and he showed us shards and pieces of pottery that he had found. I was interested in joining him for a dig until he told me about all the ticks he picked up while digging - I lost interest immediately.

Our divemasters were a married couple named Merritt and Ron and they were really nice people. They cared about Roatan and the local people and they were paying for the maid's daughter to receive an education. I wonder what happened to them, I hope they are well.

 

[UtopiaOnUtila]

For Further Discussion

This trip fueled my interest in future visits to CCV, other parts of Roatan, and Utila. I thus have a few questions for “CoCo Nuts” and other repeat visitors to the Bay Islands, the answers to which may be of interest to other users as well.

• If you have been to both Roatan and Utila, which one did you prefer, and for what reasons?
  
  
• What (if any) resort or operator on Utila would come closest to the “terrestrial liveaboard” or “dive camp” experience of CCV? Or, if you are a “CoCo Nut” that has also been to Utila, what resort or operator did you choose, and would you recommend it?
  
  
• If you are a “CoCo Nut,” at what other Roatan resorts would you stay, or what other stand-alone dive shops would you use, in the interest of variety and a different underwater environment?
  
  
• If you are a “CoCo Nut,” how do you add variety to the shore and drop-off dives?
  
  
• How bad is the rainy season on Roatan? I went at this time of year because I hoped that the weather would be most favorable; it was not, but I still had a great experience.
  
  
• Would you say that Roatan has, on average, stronger and deeper surge and lower visibility than other major Caribbean destinations, or were the conditions that week a random fluctuation?
  
  
• Have you to flown to Roatan on Avianca, and if so, how was it? A connection on Avianca via San Pedro Sula appears to be my most viable alternative to the three major U.S. airlines.
  
  
• Can you suggest anywhere else in the Caribbean that has higher proportions of soft coral?

Here is a link to a Scubaboard thread from 2016 where Giffenk reviews a Utila resort, but he also reviewed CCV. He visited both on the same trip. The first post doesn't have the CCV link, but if you scroll down just a bit it has links to both the review (UV on Utila and CCV on Roatan): Utopia Village...Luxury Valet Diving

 

[KevinG58]

Thank you for the suggestions.

Since I already did this trip in the middle of the year (July), is there another time of year that you would recommend as different but still a good time to visit?

RHR sounds interesting, and I cannot recall reading about them in my research. How would you compare the difficulty of their shore entry to the typical shore entries of say, Bonaire's west coast? What you described sounds quite a bit rougher than CCV's shore entry but not that unusual for some parts of Bonaire.

I've not done Bonaire myself but I've heard that comparison from others. There can be multiple days in a row when the trades push waves to break right over the jetty used for entry, and shut it down no matter a divers experience.

I did forget that RHR includes a night dive from their boat in the package.

March/April was when I used to go and maybe visibility was better, but there was usually a little less fish activity. Less to see but you could see further? Does that even make sense? I think later is probably (huge probably!) best and you've done that. Your best bet would be visiting new locations. IM very HO.

 

[Ironborn]

Here is a link to a Scubaboard thread from 2016 where Giffenk reviews a Utila resort, but he also reviewed CCV. He visited both on the same trip. The first post doesn't have the CCV link, but if you scroll down just a bit it has links to both the review (UV on Utila and CCV on Roatan): Utopia Village...Luxury Valet Diving

Thank you for the recommendation. I have heard/read others speaking/writing highly of Utopia Village before, so I will have to look into it further.

Does their "unlimited" shore diving include night shore dives (weather permitting, of course)? I have seen some places that have "unlimited" shore diving that they limit to daylight hours.

It sounds like Utopia Village and Anthony's Key might be my best bets for trips in the forseeable future, one to Utila and another to the north side of Roatan. I might save Reefhouse Resort for whenever I want a different experience on the south side of Roatan, rather than going back to CCV.

 

[UtopiaOnUtila]

Thank you for the recommendation. I have heard/read others speaking/writing highly of Utopia Village before, so I will have to look into it further.

Does their "unlimited" shore diving include night shore dives (weather permitting, of course)? I have seen some places that have "unlimited" shore diving that they limit to daylight hours.

It sounds like Utopia Village and Anthony's Key might be my best bets for trips in the forseeable future, one to Utila and another to the north side of Roatan. I might save Reefhouse Resort for whenever I want a different experience on the south side of Roatan, rather than going back to CCV.

Yes the unlimited shore diving, includes night dives.

 

[tridacna]

Great report and even better photos. I'm a Coconut and never had the bad luck with weather that you did when there. I once took 97 mins to drift back from the PA to the Dock (at @Doc 's suggestion). One of the most enjoyable solo dives I've ever done. Off to Sulawesi next then CCV again in June.

 

[birdman27]

The airline situation for Roatan is what it is. It's almost always a red-eye departure from California for me. There is the option to fly at a more human hour and layover at Houston and arrive somewhat refreshed the next day. The past two or three years UA schedules have forced a overnight layover in Houston on the return flight to California.

Hmmm, our flight back from Roatan in June didnt necessitate an overnight stay in Houston (going to SFO). They did make us miss our connecting flight, but had us on one two hours later, so we got home same day.

 

[Ironborn]

Off to Sulawesi next then CCV again in June.

Totally off topic @tridacna, but how are you getting to North Sulawesi from Jersey? I am also planning a trip there (a fellow macro enthusiast?), and it seems like the least painful option for a resident of the Tri-State Area is via the combination of Singapore Airlines to Singapore (either non-stop from Newark or from JFK with one refueling stop in Frankfurt), and then on their SilkAir subsidiary to Manado.

 

[tridacna]

Exactly that route @Ironborn When are you going? I’m planning JFK (cheaper than EWR) right now. I wish that I could do UA but most likely Singapore Air thru Frankfurt then Silk from SI to Manado. Trip is Murex Passport to Paradise. (Yes-fellow macro fanatic but nowhere nearly as good as you with a macro lens!).