Roatan

[gcarter]

Was that thru Air Transat out of Montreal?

Yep

 

[diversteve]

Jan 15 to 30th. Not sure what dive shops yet. Reading some other posts tells me that if we want variety that it might be easier to change shops then to ask them to go further then they like to. Will decide that when we are there. If you are headed there the same time and are staying near us then yes let's do some diving together.

Pick a shop with the ability to dive south during that timeframe since weather could be a factor then. The shops with the larger boats move them south and shuttle you over via van, the smaller panga-based operations often just shut down for the day.

Some of the former are:

Subway
Coconut Tree Divers
West End Divers
and I believe Native Sons
there's others also, just some I know.

Also there's sort of a range most shops from the West End will cover due to logistics/distance. Most will dive as far west as the west point of the island, IE Texas, Bucho's etc. but going around the point to a site like Mary's Place is often scheduled for once/twice a week. I believe Native Sons does it Weds. Some of the West Bay shops do also - they're only 2mi. from the West End by taxi/water taxi.

To dive Mary's Place once we used a shared van to go to Barefoot Cay and dive it with Barefoot Divers. Cost us $10pp. one way plus IIRC lunch was $12. I don't remember the dive cost but it was not excessive. Our 2nd dive was the Prince Albert off Cocoview.

To the East most shops will go about as far at the dolphin cave (they're all dead) or so. That means Spooky Channel, the two wrecks, Keyhole etc. are within most shops range. Skip Overheat, it's popular due to proximity to AKR but not the best. If you wanted to go farther east, find a shop in Sandy Bay (Octopus or Black Pearl) and see where they're going. Once you drive too much farther east the travel time cuts into dive time - it's a pretty long island with so/so roads.

I personally feel the Dolphin Dive at AKR was worth it also at about $130 for non-resort guests. It's not as much of a dolphin show as some of the others plus they're free to leave whenever they want.

My buddies liked the Shark dive, I didn't go. Either can be set up thru your dive operator also - the shark dive is only booked that way. It's off the airport so have them book a van also for you - or a cab depending on how many go. Often the shops consolidate groups to save you all a few $.

 

[hotshoe27]

Hey Scott. Tam and I stayed at Anthony key last year. The resort was nice and the diving was awesome. Awesome to bump into you on here

 

[flyboy08]

Second round for us in Roatan this December and we booked a 2 fer 1 at AKR. Been 10 years since we've been back as we have tried to hit all CA countries (some twice already) and we're now on our second tour around

AKR has a great offer till the end of 2017!

Airfare from NYC is ridiculous! Boardering around a grand. I guess if you factor in the diving is included in AKR, then it balances out....I've traveled to CA often and never paid more than $600.00....Cayman Air has fares just under 600, but one has to spend 6 hours under the tent in the parking lot....lol....such problems

 

[KathyV]

Airfare from NYC is ridiculous! Boardering around a grand. I guess if you factor in the diving is included in AKR, then it balances out....I've traveled to CA often and never paid more than $600.00....Cayman Air has fares just under 600, but one has to spend 6 hours under the tent in the parking lot....lol....such problems

Do you have to go through Cayman Customs and Immigration and recheck check your bags, and enter through security when you are traveling to Roatan on CA?

If the answer is yes, then there is a free shuttle from the airport every 15 minutes to the nearby George Town Yacht Club, which is a nice place to spend time waiting for a flight. Good food and drinks in a lovely setting and with free use of the pool. GEORGE TOWN YACHT CLUB

If the answer is no, it will be a lot less hassle, but I think you will be stuck in the airport for the duration, which as you know, is currently undergoing renovations.