Roatan Trip Report - Kinda LONG

[RicanDiver]

Well we (Miriela and Jose) just got back from a week on Roatan, one word will suffice WOW, but I will add a bit more in case someone would like to read what I encountered while on the island.

Getting to Roatan was an ordeal, TACA (take a chance airlines) lost our e-tickets and we had to fight at the counter until 5 minutes before departure, but we finally got on board

We got to San Pedro Sula and from there we went to La Ceiba/Roatan in what had to be the crappiest airplane I had ever been on. I mean you had to be there to believe it!

We were picked up on the Island by Mazie of BIBR (on time and witha great big smile!) and she helped expedite the Customs/Immigration process for us. From there it was a short ten minute ride to the resort.

BIBR, what can I say about the place? It was great experience for us. We were greated by BOB and th rest of the staff, had a complimentary rum runner and were taken through the sign in process, after about 15 minutes we were in our room. We had a direct ocean-front view and while the room was not luxurious by any means, it was comfortable and CLEAN! the bed was comfortable, the AC was working great and when we opened the curtains we were thrilled to see the Blue waters about 25 feet from our windows!

The staff at BIBR are simply the best, we were not treated like guests, we were treated as family! They catered to our needs and really made our stay a very comfortable experience. The food in the resort was very good (by my standards, although I will admit I am very partial to island type food as I come from one myself) very spicy, savoring meals were provided on a daily basis, with some Gringo cuisine thrown in for those less adventurous souls that need to have a hamburger available at all times.

Next morning at breakfast we got a briefing by the Dive Shop manager / Instructor Shane, (we went for our AOW/Nitrox certs while there more on this later) and he ecxplained how the operations worked.

We left for our first morning dives and after a percursory mask clear and reg retrieval excersize we were treated to the wonders of Roatan first hand. WOW, this place is awesome!!!

I have not much exprience as I have olnly dove the Keys, Caymans and Cozumel, but this place has them all beat. The animal life, the reefs, walls, canyons and swim-throughs were simply put AWESOME. What a varierty ! We were treated to 3 dives a day with an optional drop off at spooky channel which we did the first day but got totally lost WE also had a night dive and then an extra one in Spooky Channel that was a total blast.

WE went to Mary's Place, Spooky Channel, Hole in the Wall, The Aguila Wreck, the Prince Albert, Bears den to name a few. This was a totally incredible experience for me, the walls cover the whole island and there is simply soooo much to see. WE saw HUGE groupers, Eagle Rays, Moray's, Lobsters, King Crabs, Sea Horses, Turtles and yes Walter we saw Indigo Hamlets.

The dive masters Andy and Clay did not just simply go through the motions, they were like buddies on a dive. They were very aware of the reefs and knew the right places to go and were to find the critters we were seeking. The DIVE operation at BIBR is simply the best I have ever encountered. While the boats were not as big, new or fast as the ones as AKR, we were treated to a small group and it was more like a private charter than what I saw at AKR (15 to 20 divers per boat)

Sheane the instructor was great, patient and thourough. He got us through the courses without missing a dive. NICE!!!

BIBR offers 3 dives a day plus an optional drop off and unlimited shore dives on Spooky Channel. A word caution, Spooky Channel is NOT for novices, you could get lost in that place unless you get a guided dive first and even then, it is a serious dive. It was my favorite site.

The No See Ums are out there in full force, DEET is a MUST. They ate me up the only day I forgot to slather on the chemical protection. be advised or they WILL get you!

West Bay is a beautiful beach, cristal clear waters and white sand, but the resorts are one besides the other. the Mayan Princess that is considered on of the most costly resorts is right next to places like bananarama which offer cheaper accomodations. That is a bummer as there is no exclusivity, but if you like a lot of people along for your ride, then it may be for you. The italians can get very loud, of course they are topless and that helps out some, lol!

Personally I liked the solo nature and tropical feel of BIBR better.

West End is a little strip that offers the "Nite Life" of the island, strange but there is such a thing. Restaurants and bars are all over the place, nice place to go hand out at night, but certainly not the place I would want t stay. Cheaper, but you definitely get what you pay for. I found it to be a bit too third worldish for me, but hey I did get blasted at the Twisted Toucan

The dive staff, resort staff made this trip the best one I have ever taken. CocoView, AKR, FI are very nice HUGE hotels with tons of guest and if you are into maintaining a Gringo feel to your vacation then this is the ticket for you, But if you are looking for a true island experience I would suggest that you look into BIBR.

All in all Roatan and the people at BIBR made this stay one that I will not forget. Am I going back? You better believe it!

Shout's go out to Steve, Shean, Andy, Clay and Yolanda at BIBR. Thank you all for such a pleasant stay!

 

[Aeolus]

Wow, I guess that it depends on when you go somewhere. We were there in March at BIBR and it was not good. We had to change rooms four times the first day, due to scheduling snafus at the desk. Bob offered to buy us drinks for the inconvenience; but he never did. Our A/C did not work very well - uncomfortable the whole time - never got fixed, or even looked at that I could tell. The No-See-Ums devoured anyone who ventured out without protection and some who were wearing DEET or whatever. Other places on the Island spray the sandy areas so that you do not have to deal with that. Two of the boats broke down during the week; luckily not in a way to endanger anyone. They "misplaced" a diver from one of the boats and she swam to shore. This was partially her fault as well as her buddy and the group she was with - enough blame to go around. The dive shop nor the management never "officially" said anything to the rest of the people at the resort about the incident to help keep it from happening again. The food was only fair, and the entertainment was very poor and limited. Several people got ill during the week.

I go to Roatan 2 - 3 time a year and this has to be the most troublesome stay I ever had. I did like to look of the place and the location, but I would be hard pressed to justify staying at BIBR again.

 

[Kaos]

Grupo TACA is the worst airline I ever took. They have the monopoly on Honduras and they know it. I loved the rest of my trip to Roatan (Anthony's Key), but I'm not really warm to ever returning there just because of TACA

 

[Aeolus]

I have flown with TACA six times in the last 2 1/2 years and have not had any problems, that were their fault. The only incident was in January when the rainy season got us. It took three days to get there and two to return, but that could not be prevented due to the weather. I guess that the airport could take a big part of the responsibility, since they do not have operable radar or runway lights - makes it difficult to make an ILS approach.

From what I hear, most of the problems with TACA stem from changing planes and therefore missing baggage. That is why I always fly from Houston on the once weekly (Saturday) non-stop. They also offer a non-stop from Miami (Sunday) and I believe there is one from Dallas as well, but I am not sure on that. I know they fly from there but I am not sure if it is a non-stop.

The planes are almost new and the staff seems to care about customer service. Free drinks on the flight probably does not hurt either. Also, Sol airlines flys to Roatan from Dallas and Miami and is causing TACA to keep their fares lower. I am not sure, but I think that American also flys there as well.

Good luck on your next trip.

 

[RicanDiver]

Wow, seems like you had serious issues when you went to BIBR. I have nothing but positives for the place, other than making sure to let people know that Spooky Cahnnel is not a novice shore dive and perhaps a greater selection of menu items. Other than that I did not encounter any of the problems you mentioned.

Not sure what to say. I will definitely return based on my experiences there last week.

Dive On!=-)

 

[Aeolus]

RicanDiver once bubbled...
Wow, seems like you had serious issues when you went to BIBR. I have nothing but positives for the place, other than making sure to let people know that Spooky Cahnnel is not a novice shore dive and perhaps a greater selection of menu items. Other than that I did not encounter any of the problems you mentioned.

Not sure what to say. I will definitely return based on my experiences there last week.

Dive On!=-)

Going by your experience, I might just chalk it up to one bad time and give them another chance. It would be different if I thought that they would try to remedy the situation. I have talked to Cam nad Ted several times before the trip and they semed really great. I think that the problem was at the other end (Bob).

Good luck and good diving!