The "Must do" Roatan dive sites are?

[Doc]

Muck in paradise isn't for digging, it's for gawking.

Frog Fish are the golden goose. They come in a surprising number of flavors... errr... colors, and some really odd patterns and shapes. How about a Bat Fish, the Red Lipped critter rings my chimes.

Upside Down Jellyfish, odd critters that have no sting. Usually a great place for all sorts of Eels, Octopus and Crustaceans not normally seen on the open reef... Look for the Box Crab for starters.

Easily seen but rarely noticed are Garden Eels.

Things that hat go bump in the night. Creepy cool kinda stuff.

 

[Kharon]

Lionfish? My anecdotal report, after 27hrs BT out of CocoView in May 2015 on the South shore, I saw 3 of them. CCV DMs believe something is eating the eggs or the juveniles, they're only seeing occasional adults. Nature seems to be finding it's equilibrium, even after the end of the world was noted on the internet.

WOW!!!!! This is such good news. BTW - didn't the world end Sept 1, 2012?

 

[greg11]

agree, only saw a few lionfish, no juvies

gold chain reef, and some others are good dives. Mary's Place and Calvins have way too much dive pressure and are not doing well at all.

 

[KevinG58]

Well, I totally forgot to get back to this thread. But I was at Reefhouse 6/26-7/4 and on that end (south side) of the island you can still see plenty of lionfish. An ex-pat instructor was on the boat a few days working with a couple of the other guests and said the DMs and sport spearos do a fair job of sweeping the more often visited sites and areas, but the less trafficked an area is by humans, the more lionfish are to be found there. Purely anecdotal but I know I saw plenty (unfortunately).

Staying at that end I did not get back to Mary Place. Calvins crack was in good shape though. The trade winds were booming all week and the shallows were very stirred up and viz was crappy until about 40 fsw mostly. Some changes at the Reefhouse I wasn't thrilled by, but I'll cover that somewhere else.

 

[sarterfish]

We're staying at the Parrot Tree in mid december... I heard they have a new dive shop, is anyone familiar with it, any good? Is there any good shore diving near there?
-J&L

 

[Yoda-X]

We are staying at TBR. My wife is newly certified and nervous that most of the dives are over 60'. I am assuming there are plenty of dives above that.

---------- Post added August 1st, 2015 at 11:38 AM ----------

I should say we will be there 8-16

 

[CajunDiva]

We're staying at the Parrot Tree in mid december... I heard they have a new dive shop, is anyone familiar with it, any good? Is there any good shore diving near there?
-J&L

Yes...this is the dive operation:

Aqua Adventures Roatan, Daily Diving, Padi Scuba Courses, Bay Islands Tours & Sport Fishing

They are great people and run a good operation. We have enjoyed 5 week-long dive packages with them at Media Luna Resort and their West Bay location. Parrot Tree is just getting underway, so I'm not familiar with what the set-up will be yet. They have a base of operations next door at Media Luna Resort, so they will take good care of you.

I heard the shore diving is not bad there, but it's not the best. The staff at Aqua Adventures have been exploring there to see what might be appealing for divers from the shore. They will be able to tell you more by the time you get there. Please come back and let us know about your trip when you return

 

[Doc]

We are staying at TBR. My wife is newly certified and nervous that most of the dives are over 60'. I am assuming there are plenty of dives above that.

Assuming that most dives you'll be able to option from TBR will be North side dives. These are, by geography, mostly deep dives. The good stuff that the North side is known for (Apex pelagics) are going to be out in the 60-100fsw range. This kind of stuff is what the largest percentage of guest divers want to see, so that's what they will focus on. The North side results in average dive depths of 60' when boiled down mathematically. The South usually ciphers out to 42'.

In re the above question regarding shore dive access from PTR, which is a South side resort, there is really no shore access. The nature of the promontory it lies upon, combined with the very shallow inshore coral structure (underwater iron shore), the sea conditions on the Oceanside will usually be pretty rough. This likeliest of shore entry points is a considerable distance from their actual resort infrastructure...and I don't believe they currently have in-site gear to execute this, nor will they likely ever.

Just down from PTR is CCV and MLR, either of which are viable shore dive access, that close, but geography and geology dictate what is possible.