Roatan vs Utila

[CryptKeeper]

Is there really a huge difference? I do wanna see some whale sharks so I may head over to Utila if I stay in Roatan for a day or two to test my luck. This is a last minute trip and most places in Roatan are sold out. There’s nothing left in west end I don’t believe but found a decent deal at Caribe Tesoro if anyone’s been there. Any recommendations on dive shops there? I haven’t settled on Roatan yet but I have read they have the better white sand beaches which I do value bc I like to spend time by the pool and beach when not diving. I also enjoy going to different restaurants so hoping this hotel is close to many places. Not sure how far west bay beach is from west end. But my main question is if I stayed in utila am I gonna miss out on much diving or beaches? It is much cheaper to get certified AOW as I’m only OW and want to continue on with training. Any advice would be great thanks in advance!

Oh also I read some bad reviews on the shark dive they offer on Roatan Wondering if anyone experienced that too. Read about dirty air and dangerous practices. Not sure how true they are. I do know they say you can’t use a go pro bc it’ll affect the sharks and could cause them to attack just so you have to buy their dvd they make. That right there angers me haha

 

[Gdog]

Difference in topside, or underwater? Topside, yes, quite a difference. Underwater, not as much. Debatable

 

[GreggS]

Caribe Tesoro is at the north end of West Bay beach. West Bay Beach is 1 kilometer long and is rather nice with resorts lining pretty much the entire length of it. It is a short water taxi ride from West Bay to West End. Personally, my wife and I like Half Moon Bay in West End better than West Bay Beach. While Half Moon Bay is smaller, it is very nice, has many shops and restaurants and other places to eat (Ginger's at the southern end is fantastic), and you can't throw a rock with hitting a dive shop. We dove last year with Coconut Tree Divers, located at the traffic circle in West End, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

We've never been to Utila so I can't comment on that island, but I understand it is rather nice but don't know about the beaches. I'm not sure I read your post correctly, but if you are planning on staying on either island and want to go to the other, you will most likely have to plan an overnight stay on the island you visit. If you stay on Roatan and go to Utila, the ferry leaves Roatan at 2:00 PM. Leaving from Utila to Roatan is at 11:20 AM. Even if you went from Utila to Roatan for a same day visit, you'd only have a little over 2½ hours in Roatan (the ferry ride between the 2 islands is 1 hour.) Here's the ferry schedule.

Good luck with your planning.

 

[CryptKeeper]

Difference in topside, or underwater? Topside, yes, quite a difference. Underwater, not as much. Debatable

Well was wondering about the resort I’m staying at caribe Tesoro and I’ve contacted some places all saying there’s no whale sharks on Utila so I’ll be staying in Roatan looking for a good dive shop with good deals on certifications for AOW/nitrox along with extra dives. This will be my first trip there.

 

[laurenceh]

I like to tell people that Utila is "a tale of two islands":-

1/ Utila Town - tons of dive shops, bars and restaurants. Lively nightlife. Not terribly attractive, can get noisy (music at night) and is small but busy. Lots of inexpensive places to stay. Only two small beaches, one that requires an entrance fee/food drink purchase. Visitors are a combination of older divers/dive clubs from North America and young international backpackers. My favorite hotels are The Lighthouse and Manurii Boutique hotel. This is where 95% of visitors stay.

2/ Utila South Shore - only served by two dive companies. Only two beach bar/restaurants. Boat access only (no road to Utila Town), transport by water taxi. Beautiful, miles of empty beaches with the reef just a few feet from shore, running parallel to the beach for 4 miles. No hotels, only beach houses for rent. Peaceful and private, not good if you want to be around other tourists and nightlife. This is where the 5% of visitors "in the know" stay. My favorite rentals are the Coral House and The Pineapple House on Treasure Beach and the private island of Sandy Cay.

I have been on Utila on and off for 17 years, I spent my first trip in town but have never stayed there again. I spend a month at a time on the south shore and rarely go to town more than once a week.

 

[bashaw77]

I like to tell people that Utila is "a tale of two islands":-

1/ Utila Town - tons of dive shops, bars and restaurants. Lively nightlife. Not terribly attractive, can get noisy (music at night) and is small but busy. Lots of inexpensive places to stay. Only two small beaches, one that requires an entrance fee/food drink purchase. Visitors are a combination of older divers/dive clubs from North America and young international backpackers. My favorite hotels are The Lighthouse and Manurii Boutique hotel. This is where 95% of visitors stay.

2/ Utila South Shore - only served by two dive companies. Only two beach bar/restaurants. Boat access only (no road to Utila Town), transport by water taxi. Beautiful, miles of empty beaches with the reef just a few feet from shore, running parallel to the beach for 4 miles. No hotels, only beach houses for rent. Peaceful and private, not good if you want to be around other tourists and nightlife. This is where the 5% of visitors "in the know" stay. My favorite rentals are the Coral House and The Pineapple House on Treasure Beach and the private island of Sandy Cay.

I have been on Utila on and off for 17 years, I spent my first trip in town but have never stayed there again. I spend a month at a time on the south shore and rarely go to town more than once a week.

Is there places to eat on South Shore or does a person need to bring all their groceries?

 

[laurenceh]

Is there places to eat on South Shore or does a person need to bring all their groceries?

There is a place called Neptunes which is a beach bar and restaurant, its very nice and open every day. Neptunes is on the south shore. On the west side there is a place called The Dive, its open Thursday - Sunday and has food and drinks on a lovely beach.
We have a home on the south shore and when we were building it we always stayed at Treasure Beach, it's on the south shore about half way between Neptunes and The Dive. Its a beautiful place, they would stock the house with food and drinks for our arrival and there was also a local couple who came to the house and cooked us dinner sometimes. We stayed there 5-6 times over an 18 month period and really loved it - we also really enjoy diving with We-Dive Utila, a great dive operation based on the Cays that picks up from the homes at Treasure Beach.
Here is a link to Treasure Beach - www.facebook.com/utilabeach
And We-Dive Utila - We-Dive Utila

Regards,
Dan

 

[Cara_NC]

Jumping in on this thread as I'm wondering about the dive conditions comparison. Planning a 5 day-ish trip to Utila next spring to get in some diving as prep for a much larger Australia trip later in the fall. Every time I've asked on other sites about dive shops recommendations for Utila, I get a bunch of people ignoring my questions and telling me to go to Roatan instead because the diving off Utila is terrible and not worth going. What's the reality?

What I'm looking for: a short, CHEAP trip where I can get in the water a bunch and possibly do a specialty cert if I don't have what I need done by then. Would love some wildlife and good coral.
What I'm looking for in a dive shop: small boats, a good variety of sites, not too wild & crazy at night.


Assuming I continue with my Utila plan: from what I've seen, Alton's Dive Center should be high on my list. Thoughts on Captain Morgan's? Caught my eye since I'm certified with SSI and would prefer to stick with them for my specialties. Not guaranteed I'll do one when I go, but depending on what I have time to fit in this summer I may need to knock one out. Thoughts? Thanks y'all!

 

[laurenceh]

Jumping in on this thread as I'm wondering about the dive conditions comparison. Planning a 5 day-ish trip to Utila next spring to get in some diving as prep for a much larger Australia trip later in the fall. Every time I've asked on other sites about dive shops recommendations for Utila, I get a bunch of people ignoring my questions and telling me to go to Roatan instead because the diving off Utila is terrible and not worth going. What's the reality?

What I'm looking for: a short, CHEAP trip where I can get in the water a bunch and possibly do a specialty cert if I don't have what I need done by then. Would love some wildlife and good coral.
What I'm looking for in a dive shop: small boats, a good variety of sites, not too wild & crazy at night.


Assuming I continue with my Utila plan: from what I've seen, Alton's Dive Center should be high on my list. Thoughts on Captain Morgan's? Caught my eye since I'm certified with SSI and would prefer to stick with them for my specialties. Not guaranteed I'll do one when I go, but depending on what I have time to fit in this summer I may need to knock one out. Thoughts? Thanks y'all!

As someone who has been visiting the Bay Islands for 3-6 months a year since 2004, I'd say that the diving in Utila is virtually the same as Roatan.
If you're staying in Utila Town (cheap, cheap), Alton's is good but recently Tank'd has been getting all the accolades.
Personally I dive with We-Dive Utila but they only serve people staying on the South Shore, not those in Utila Town.
I now spend 3-6 months a year on Utila and stopped diving in Roatan 2 years ago (West Bay and West End is too crowded for my taste now), these days I only go to Roatan to catch international flights.

 

[Cara_NC]

As someone who has been visiting the Bay Islands for 3-6 months a year since 2004, I'd say that the diving in Utila is virtually the same as Roatan.
If you're staying in Utila Town (cheap, cheap), Alton's is good but recently Tank'd has been getting all the accolades.
Personally I dive with We-Dive Utila but they only serve people staying on the South Shore, not those in Utila Town.
I now spend 3-6 months a year on Utila and stopped diving in Roatan 2 years ago (West Bay and West End is too crowded for my taste now), these days I only go to Roatan to catch international flights.

This is super to know, thank you!!