We tagged along with the Pennyroyal Scuba Center (and Kris Tapp) for their annual trip to Turquoise Bay. This is a very nice group of people who clearly have developed great relationships diving together through the years. It was nice to be welcomed into their circle. This is why I love ‘dive people’.
We had the fortune/misfortune of arriving on the island shortly after hurricane Ian decimated parts of Florida and it was still stirring things up on the north side of the island of Roatan (along with Julia brewing). This meant we didn’t get to dive on the north side for the first three days – a hassle as we had to be bused over to the south side. This was also very good, because there are some great sites that we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to dive. The reef on the south side – in my opinion – is in better shape than on the north side. The dive site Mary’s Place is absolutely beautiful. We dove it three days straight and I would have happily done a double dip on it each of those days.
Roger and I honestly prefer shallow dives so we can look for macro, so there were a couple of days that we felt were boring as the lion fish folks did their thing. There’s not much to do when you’re NOT lion fish hunting and just hanging out at 40’ with an 80ft+ bottom. Not a lot to see, and I didn’t want to bump up to my NDLs to help spot lion fish. I guess, more than anything, this is a reminder to find out what your boat is planning to do ahead of time so you can plan accordingly. We might have preferred to linger over coffee and hang out at the pool – but that doesn’t mean the lion fish folks shouldn’t get to do what they have been planning for the last year. This was their tradition and we were on their trip. Don’t be us – check to see what the plan is.
The resort is really pretty and well kept. We had a great room (#18), and it was at the top of the hill so it was quite a hike – not everyone liked the hike, to be honest. But we had SUPER water pressure and lots of hot water; great a/c; and comfortable beds. If you want a room without that hike request it in advance. Our room had one bar of soap (hard to use it for hand washing and in the shower!), one small bottle of shampoo and one small bottle of conditioner (fine for my thin hair). We were also provided with one gallon-bottle of fresh water at the beginning, and they replaced it when we finished it. I did hear about people in the rooms closer to the main area where they had very little hot water – one woman had to turn on the hot water to get wet, turn it off to soap up, and turn it back on to rinse. Another room had a toilet that didn't consistently flush and the staff couldn't get it to function properly. I think we won the room lottery! Oh, and there are horses on the property, as well as a donkey named Molly who will greet you every morning for breakfast (feed her at your own risk - she is hard to shoo away!).
Keep in mind that I love diving Cozumel so everything will be a comparison to that kind of diving - and eating. I don’t think the reef on the north side is in as good shape as Cozumel overall. The topography – walls, swim throughs, coral heads – is stunning. But there was a lot more rubble and red algae than I had anticipated – I didn’t see a ton of parrot fish, and wonder if the islanders harvested too many and the result is more algae? I also wonder if more lion fish equals fewer other juvenile fish and degrading of the reef? Not a marine biologist, just wondering …
The dive shop was great. Very well organized. The dive masters we had were Osmond (Os) and Miguel (I forgot the name of the boat captain – nice guy too – just my aging memory). They were attentive but didn’t hover. R and I like to take care of our own gear and while they wanted to assist, they respected that we wanted to do it ourselves. I never got the feeling they didn’t want to help.
We did three dives a day. Two in the morning (came back to the dock between dives) and one in the afternoon, after lunch. There was a night dive offered but I didn’t do it. My dives averaged an hour long. After each dive they will ask you your max depth, length of dive, and your ending psi. If you’re diving nitrox, they will have you sign after watching them analyze it for each tank before you leave the dock or on the way out to the dive site. The dives are guided, with one dive master typically in the front and one in the back. Most dives were on mooring balls, but we did a couple of very gentle drift dives.
DRRich, I know you’re going to ask about whether the place is kid friendly … I have no idea!!! Surprise! I was told I should have gone down to the palapas and the beach, but never made it. Someone else will chime in, I’m sure.
Take some OFF for the bugs. I got eaten alive by the no-see-ums. I spoke with a gal who has lived there for 9 years and she joked the local perfume is OFF. I don’t remember having this issue at Anthony’s Key in February of 2020, but that may be because February isn’t as bad a time for the bugs or it could be they spray more? Turquoise did fog the property one day while we were there.
The resident photographer, Robert Herb (Bob) is a wealth of information and will be around to welcome your group and answer questions. Nice guy.
FOOD – not a fan. There were very few healthy choices at any meal. Most resorts will provide some sort of porridge/oatmeal and plain yogurt for breakfast at least. Nope. Though you could usually get fresh fruit at every meal. Lots of fried foods and rich sauces. And just because I used the word ‘rich’ don’t assume that also meant flavorful. A lot was pretty bland (IMO). Warning for anyone who wants to drink soda from a can – that’s an up-charge. If they can pour it out of a 2 liter bottle into a cup of ice it’s considered ‘on the plan’ – but anything in a can is not. I guess I understand the logic of that, but they do not make it very clear at the outset.
If you happen to have the opportunity to go to the south side to dive you will be docking at the owner’s personal dock. They cook lunch and serve it there – very nice! As you enter the property you will see their menagerie of animals, including lions! Certainly an interesting treat.
I kept trying to practice my (very poor) Spanish on the staff and they kept answering me in English, so when I had a conversation with an expat who has lived there a long time she explained that Roatan is an English speaking island, and the mainlanders are Spanish speaking. Some may actually take offense at you speaking Spanish, as if you think they are uneducated, and they want to work on their English skills MORE. I certainly meant no offense – I was looking for an opportunity to practice, but it’s good to know – and how would you find out something like that without asking? (This is based on a conversation with one expat – others may not agree.)
Going in October meant going during the rainy season. While we didn’t get rained out, we had very little sun. I would recommend going during a drier season when you can get more sun and color in the water. It actually felt gloomy … a weird thing when you’re in the tropics with sand and palm trees.
Travel stuff - we flew American (no complaints). We were on a 2:47 flight out of Roatan and it got delayed. The incoming aircraft circled the airport FIVE times trying to land but couldn't because of the rain/fog/wind. It diverted to Belize to refuel and eventually returned for us a couple hours later. Of course we had to spend the night in Dallas - paid $200+ for a room for 4 hours of sleep. Here's the thing I DID NOT KNOW. We could have rechecked our checked bags coming out of immigration/customs, but we thought we had to take them with us to the hotel and recheck them in the morning. In fact, before we left I asked an AA clerk and she said I had to check them the same day as the flight. Evidently I asked the wrong question or asked it the wrong way. When I tried to check my bag this morning for our 5 a.m. flight the agent asked me where my bag tag was (in the trash right behind me, thank goodness) and she said we didn't need new tags and stapled it back on. So ... there's that!
All in all, good trip!
We had the fortune/misfortune of arriving on the island shortly after hurricane Ian decimated parts of Florida and it was still stirring things up on the north side of the island of Roatan (along with Julia brewing). This meant we didn’t get to dive on the north side for the first three days – a hassle as we had to be bused over to the south side. This was also very good, because there are some great sites that we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to dive. The reef on the south side – in my opinion – is in better shape than on the north side. The dive site Mary’s Place is absolutely beautiful. We dove it three days straight and I would have happily done a double dip on it each of those days.
Roger and I honestly prefer shallow dives so we can look for macro, so there were a couple of days that we felt were boring as the lion fish folks did their thing. There’s not much to do when you’re NOT lion fish hunting and just hanging out at 40’ with an 80ft+ bottom. Not a lot to see, and I didn’t want to bump up to my NDLs to help spot lion fish. I guess, more than anything, this is a reminder to find out what your boat is planning to do ahead of time so you can plan accordingly. We might have preferred to linger over coffee and hang out at the pool – but that doesn’t mean the lion fish folks shouldn’t get to do what they have been planning for the last year. This was their tradition and we were on their trip. Don’t be us – check to see what the plan is.
The resort is really pretty and well kept. We had a great room (#18), and it was at the top of the hill so it was quite a hike – not everyone liked the hike, to be honest. But we had SUPER water pressure and lots of hot water; great a/c; and comfortable beds. If you want a room without that hike request it in advance. Our room had one bar of soap (hard to use it for hand washing and in the shower!), one small bottle of shampoo and one small bottle of conditioner (fine for my thin hair). We were also provided with one gallon-bottle of fresh water at the beginning, and they replaced it when we finished it. I did hear about people in the rooms closer to the main area where they had very little hot water – one woman had to turn on the hot water to get wet, turn it off to soap up, and turn it back on to rinse. Another room had a toilet that didn't consistently flush and the staff couldn't get it to function properly. I think we won the room lottery! Oh, and there are horses on the property, as well as a donkey named Molly who will greet you every morning for breakfast (feed her at your own risk - she is hard to shoo away!).
Keep in mind that I love diving Cozumel so everything will be a comparison to that kind of diving - and eating. I don’t think the reef on the north side is in as good shape as Cozumel overall. The topography – walls, swim throughs, coral heads – is stunning. But there was a lot more rubble and red algae than I had anticipated – I didn’t see a ton of parrot fish, and wonder if the islanders harvested too many and the result is more algae? I also wonder if more lion fish equals fewer other juvenile fish and degrading of the reef? Not a marine biologist, just wondering …
The dive shop was great. Very well organized. The dive masters we had were Osmond (Os) and Miguel (I forgot the name of the boat captain – nice guy too – just my aging memory). They were attentive but didn’t hover. R and I like to take care of our own gear and while they wanted to assist, they respected that we wanted to do it ourselves. I never got the feeling they didn’t want to help.
We did three dives a day. Two in the morning (came back to the dock between dives) and one in the afternoon, after lunch. There was a night dive offered but I didn’t do it. My dives averaged an hour long. After each dive they will ask you your max depth, length of dive, and your ending psi. If you’re diving nitrox, they will have you sign after watching them analyze it for each tank before you leave the dock or on the way out to the dive site. The dives are guided, with one dive master typically in the front and one in the back. Most dives were on mooring balls, but we did a couple of very gentle drift dives.
DRRich, I know you’re going to ask about whether the place is kid friendly … I have no idea!!! Surprise! I was told I should have gone down to the palapas and the beach, but never made it. Someone else will chime in, I’m sure.
Take some OFF for the bugs. I got eaten alive by the no-see-ums. I spoke with a gal who has lived there for 9 years and she joked the local perfume is OFF. I don’t remember having this issue at Anthony’s Key in February of 2020, but that may be because February isn’t as bad a time for the bugs or it could be they spray more? Turquoise did fog the property one day while we were there.
The resident photographer, Robert Herb (Bob) is a wealth of information and will be around to welcome your group and answer questions. Nice guy.
FOOD – not a fan. There were very few healthy choices at any meal. Most resorts will provide some sort of porridge/oatmeal and plain yogurt for breakfast at least. Nope. Though you could usually get fresh fruit at every meal. Lots of fried foods and rich sauces. And just because I used the word ‘rich’ don’t assume that also meant flavorful. A lot was pretty bland (IMO). Warning for anyone who wants to drink soda from a can – that’s an up-charge. If they can pour it out of a 2 liter bottle into a cup of ice it’s considered ‘on the plan’ – but anything in a can is not. I guess I understand the logic of that, but they do not make it very clear at the outset.
If you happen to have the opportunity to go to the south side to dive you will be docking at the owner’s personal dock. They cook lunch and serve it there – very nice! As you enter the property you will see their menagerie of animals, including lions! Certainly an interesting treat.
I kept trying to practice my (very poor) Spanish on the staff and they kept answering me in English, so when I had a conversation with an expat who has lived there a long time she explained that Roatan is an English speaking island, and the mainlanders are Spanish speaking. Some may actually take offense at you speaking Spanish, as if you think they are uneducated, and they want to work on their English skills MORE. I certainly meant no offense – I was looking for an opportunity to practice, but it’s good to know – and how would you find out something like that without asking? (This is based on a conversation with one expat – others may not agree.)
Going in October meant going during the rainy season. While we didn’t get rained out, we had very little sun. I would recommend going during a drier season when you can get more sun and color in the water. It actually felt gloomy … a weird thing when you’re in the tropics with sand and palm trees.
Travel stuff - we flew American (no complaints). We were on a 2:47 flight out of Roatan and it got delayed. The incoming aircraft circled the airport FIVE times trying to land but couldn't because of the rain/fog/wind. It diverted to Belize to refuel and eventually returned for us a couple hours later. Of course we had to spend the night in Dallas - paid $200+ for a room for 4 hours of sleep. Here's the thing I DID NOT KNOW. We could have rechecked our checked bags coming out of immigration/customs, but we thought we had to take them with us to the hotel and recheck them in the morning. In fact, before we left I asked an AA clerk and she said I had to check them the same day as the flight. Evidently I asked the wrong question or asked it the wrong way. When I tried to check my bag this morning for our 5 a.m. flight the agent asked me where my bag tag was (in the trash right behind me, thank goodness) and she said we didn't need new tags and stapled it back on. So ... there's that!
All in all, good trip!
