Roatan - what's your favorite boat dive?

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Don't waste your nmoney on Roatan,,go to Belize. Was in Roatan last year and I would not go back again
 
I could give you a list of five at either place.

Problem is- on Roatan, my favorite type of diving is on the south side. All of it is reachable from CoCoView.

Belize is an entire country- lots of it are little islands. When you go to Belize, unless you are on a liveaboard, you will be going to the dive sites that are closest to that resort. None of them lie at the resort's shore- most require a bit of a ride to get out to.

So I can't say "the Drop Off Dive"? I probably would have.

Many people enjoy Manageri, because this is the only dive site where the fish are fed. They are highly localized and this behavior seems to stop within predictable geographic limits, but you are swarmed by fish. People get a kick out of it. There is also a regularly spotted free swimming Green Moray that entertains predictably as he threads downward through little passageways in the reef. He swims below the invading divers, then when you are atop the reef, he just as predictably re-appears. Cat like behavior.

My favorite dives are a little different because they are the common ones, but I always try to look for something different.

One of the few resorts that goes to Calvin's Crack (East way down to Oak Ridge). It is exciting in and of itself YouTube - Calvin's Crack, Roatan, Honduras. We dive the regular profile, but upon the exit we go up and explore the other very tight dead end chimney. Once the group has past, we back track and dive "Calvin's Crack Up and Back"~ this time finding and exiting through a very tight slit in the floor of the ocean. Not for everyone, but as I said- usually people find Calvins Crack enough fun just as it is presented. It's fairly shallow on average. Then there's the resident Toadfish.

Valley of the Kings and Doc's Dive are many's favorite. I kind of like Two Tall Two Small with it's large blind hole grotto and tight chimney through the reef.

My favorite dive, since you did cut out the Drop Off dive, is simply the Front Yard which also contains the Prince Albert Wreck Why is this? Because not only is it a great dive, but it is available 24/7 as a shore dive from CoCoView. I love NIGHT DIVING !

Hard to compare Roatan's CCV to a country of Belize. Diving wise, it's pretty similar in terms of reef character and critters. CCV is just closer to the diving than any resort in Belize. Liveaboards throw an entirely different light upon Belize, putting it upon a par in terms of variety and access with CCV.
 
Cara a Cara and the Insidious reef area have some great drift diving.

The south western point of the island where you will find West End Wall and Pablos place are nice.

Hole in the Wall has some great swim throughs, it is close to shore, but being ironshore still requires a boat.

Spooky channel usually puts a big smile on my divers faces, but this could be done from shore as well.

Mary's place is a pretty attractive dive though overated in my honest opinion.

Then there are dives such as Dolphins graveyard and Big Bight going further East which are nice as well.

These different dives would show you some great variety but as with any dive site, they can be great on their day and pretty average on others.
 
yes, Roatanman, I was talking about doing Belize by liveaboard (see my previous post regarding that) vs. doing Cocoview. No one answered it though. :shakehead:

Yes, I know the dropoff dive (PA and walls) are great, I was just looking for more of a reason to pick Roatan for this trip. We like variety - spur and groove, walls, swim-thrus, wrecks, deep, shallow... I am just trying to find out names of "don't miss" dive sites and why there are great. The only boat dives I ever hear mentioned are Calvin's and Mary's. Both sound great, but I know there must be other great dives.

robin:D
 
doing Belize by liveaboard (see my previous post regarding that) vs. doing Cocoview.

I believe you also like the Nekton, as do I.

The Belize Nekton vs CoCoView? It's a draw.

I can't remember (any) dive site name, much less the ones off of the Nekton, but I found their Belize itinerary to have very similar diving. Because of the moorings, for many divers, the Belize dives invite you to dive deeper. Most folks look at the mooring pin and dive the wall below. I almost always went up & shallower from there. The bubble watcher laughingly remarked that they thought "we were making a beach head landing" as they watched our lights at night. Many divers have limited deep 50 minute BT's, we poked around for 70+ BT's.

We like variety - spur and groove, walls, swim-thrus, wrecks, deep, shallow...

They took us to only one Belize dive sight of remarkable architecture approximating a spur and groove, but on a huge scale. Although they do now occasionally do the Blue Hole which I see as of limited interest, the rest of the diving was architecturally unremarkable. There is certainly great drama in the Belizian walls and sloping sand fields, but spur and groove- not so much.

Swim throughs, I'd give it to CoCoView. Mary's Place, Calvins, Two Tall, Hole in the Wall (South side) and more. There are chimneys at Doc's Dive that you'll have to search for and do on your own- they are extremely advanced (snug) and they are not guided. On a similar note, Mary's Place is not just the guided tour- there's lots more to explore there if you have the itch. Scutt's Slot and Lita's Hole lie nearby.

I think the Nekton might suffer from it's one strength. Local resorts and their DM's know every nook and cranny. They know where the holes and swim throughs are. The Nekton may not make you sit through a thirty plus minute ride out to dive a reef, but their internal knowledge of the the many reefs that you will likely see is slightly less. Is that a real downside? Never bothered me.

Wrecks? Roatan South side wins again. Not only is the intact 140' tanker lying in 35~65fsw calling out to you, but there's also a boat dive to "Mr Bud", and intact Shreimp boat placed in 55~65fsw near French Key. It sits in a sandy basin atop a vertical wall.

Deep? Well, you can do it either place, but I think that due to the way the Nekton pins are situated, you'll have better access in Belize. Both islands feature the same South side structure... they are the exact same continuous geological reef structure, after all.

Any of these islands have fringing reefs that begin near shore. They break in a very shallow 10~40 feet and drop vertically to sandy plateaus in 70~90fsw. The next wall breaks at that depth a ways seaward. That second ledge is the place that Nekton drills it's mooring pins- likely at 70fsw. The Roatan South system is set upon the first of the two breaks, so most are in 35fsw.

In Roatan, you have to intend to get deep, in Belize (from the Nekton pins) you have to plan to dive shallow. Both destinations offer either.

In life, if you can, one should do both of these excellent choices.
 
thanks Roatanman, I figured it was pretty much the same sort of diving. I am really torn as to which one to do next.
I am concerned that the Nekton may be pulling out of Belize next year... but from a recent discussion with office staff, it seems that might not be the case after all (looks like the Cayman itinerary is up in the air and so they might not go back there, staying in Belize for fall/winter seasons). We have a couple of groups of friends who have done the Belize trip on Nekton and thye absolutely rave about it. We just keep putting off doing it. We also have several groups of friends who go to Cocoview year after year - same thing. :D

So that leaves us wanting to do both and not wanting to put either destination off any longer. So $$$ comes into play and Cocoview is less expensive. We just did the Nekton in Bahamas so maybe we should do a land-based trip next. Nekton may be more relaxed and easier overall though. Decisions, decisions!

I guess it isn't a matter of IF........ it is just a matter of WHEN. Fall seems to be when things are falling into place for us. The Nekton has room on boats still for most of November. Since it is the off-season, I would expect Cocoview has room for us, too. :confused:

uggghhhh. So many dive destinations, so little $$$.

robin:D
 
I am really torn as to which one to do next.
I am concerned that the Nekton may be pulling out of Belize next year... but it seems that might not be the case after all

I feel your pain.

I believe the only way to see Belize- as much variation as you can- is via liveaboard. At the same time, I know that this reef's treasure is in the details. You don't really need great mobility, but liveaboard offers some distinct advantages.

As an aside, the Belizian island resorts are a great relaxing choice for many, but if you want to crack out 5 a day, liveabaord is the only way. And in my (our) book, Nekton is the only way to go.

My most memorable Belize moment involved finding a dead Parrotfish (an ex-parrotfish;)) and feeding it to a 10'+ long Green Moray. I know they don't grow that big, but we measured it and you can argue that with him. This Parrotfish measured 18". The Moray swallowed him in one gulp.

My wife is a fairly experienced diver with 200 dives from the Caribbean to Galapagos and Philippines- yet was scared of liveaboards due to seasickness. After talking at every dive show and DEMA with Nekton staff, she sees that this aboard the Nekton SWATH, for her, is a non issue. Still, it is impossible to get her to dive anywhere in the Caribbean except at CCV. We're wired in for April 2009 "Dive Camp" and have a Philippines and Red Sea in between, but all she can think about is CCV.

If this were truly a last chance shot at Belize aboard the Nekton- I'd grab it in a heartbeat. CCV will be there next year. I have done the Belize Nekton twice and each time I found amazing things to gawk at.

Same with CoCoView.

Can't really help you! I've done both. Nekton Belize twice, CCV 30 times. It's really a toss up, but for the price.

Flip a coin?
 
thanks, I think all your information will help us make a decision. :D

too bad you can't get the wife to try the Nekton. We really do think it is the way to go and wish they had boats everywhere! Ron made the statement recently that he will go on a trip anywhere they go........ that says alot coming from him. :D Ron didn't miss a single dive this trip, and if the nitrox had been working we would have been underwater +1hr ever dive (not just 6 dives like this trip.) :D

On our trip to Bahamas last month, we took along a couple who had never done a liveaboard (with the exception of overnighter in Calif). They loved it. In fact, the wife says she can't imagine going back to land-based after that trip. :D

There was one couple on the boat, he had been diving awhile and wife was newbie. She was afraid of everything underwater, definitely not a dive dive dive person. I doubt she will ever do a liveaboard again. She had a great time and made lots of friends, but she was happy doing only 1 dive in am, 1 dive in pm. Some people just aren't the liveaboard types.

We definitely both love being underwater and the Nekton trips give us the opportunity to dive on our own (without a dive guide, yeah!), relaxing topside time and great food, and also lots of night dives. Liveaboards are really the way to go for us.

I just wish I knew what the Nekton was planning for Belize. On our first trip with them in 2006, several other couples onboard told us we had to do the Belize trip for all the reasons you mentioned. Another couple we know here locally has done Belize Nekton 3 times. I think we might have to pick Belize for this Nov, and then plan on Cocoview in the spring of 2009. I must do Belize and I really don't want to do it land-based or another liveaboard boat! I am too spoiled.

thanks!

robin:D
 

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