Trip Report Trip Report: Alton's Dive Center, Utila. Late May 2019

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Ironborn

Contributor
Messages
390
Reaction score
409
Location
Miami, Florida
# of dives
500 - 999
Summary

This first trip of mine to Utila, which was also my second trip to the Bay Islands, exceeded my expectations, was just as or more enjoyable than my first trip to Roatan last year, and fueled my interest in further exploration of the Bay Islands. The underwater environment of Utila was highly rewarding for: its rich reefs, with high proportions of soft coral; the number, diversity, and novelty of its macro critters; its good number of medium-sized animals; the opportunities to snorkel with big animals during surface intervals; and its very easy and nearly ideal diving conditions. Alton's Dive Center exceeded my expectations as a dive operation, particularly its very knowledgeable, skilled, and dedicated divemasters. I found that Utila's reputation as a hub for partying youths in training had no major impact on my experience, and it should not deter older, more sedate, or more experienced divers from visiting Utila. The other guests on the boat were younger and relatively new divers, but these differences had no significantly negative impact on my diving experience. Another advantage of Utila is that it is very cost-competitive; this trip was one of my most affordable Caribbean trips thus far, and also one of my most rewarding, yielding exceptional value for the money. The main downside of Utila is the inconvenience of traveling to and from there, compared to other Caribbean destinations.

Why I Went There

My trip to Roatan last year, when I went to CoCo View, impressed me enough to fuel my interest in further exploration of the Bay Islands. In the interest of novelty, I decided to try another island, and Utila was the most obvious choice. I had gotten the sense that the smaller, more remote, and less developed islands in a given island chain usually offer better diving experiences (e.g. Little Cayman vs. Grand Cayman, Bonaire vs. Curaçao, Lighthouse Reef vs. Turneffe Atoll). I found that this observation turned out to be true in this case as well. The underwater environment of Utila struck me as similar to that of the south side of Roatan, but better in its marine life and diving conditions. Those that enjoy the underwater environment of Roatan would probably enjoy that of Utila even more. The biggest distinction between the two islands was topside, as they seemed to attract different demographics of divers, and their dive operation markets are different too. The stand-alone dive shops seem to dominate the market on Utila, whereas Roatan has a mix of resorts and stand-alone dive shops. Utila had a younger and more diverse crowd, whereas Roatan had an older and more American crowd.

(to be continued on this thread)
 
Why I Chose Alton's and Why I Would Recommend It

In a perfect world, I would have gone to an Utila version of CoCo View, which does not exist. The closest approximation seemed to be Utopia Village, which was also the most highly regarded operator on Utila among those divers that write reviews here and on Undercurrent. I contacted them and started the booking process. I was waiting for an invoice to pay for my booking when they suddenly informed me that they would be closing the resort for that week, without explanation. They asked me if I wanted to book a different week, but I declined because I had already booked my flight when they said that they would be sending me an invoice. It did not occur to me that such a highly regarded operator would suddenly change its mind in the middle of the booking process, and I had seized an opportunity for unusually good airfare. I also wanted to go that week because of Memorial Day and the lead-up to the full moon. More generally, this abortive booking attempt did not inspire my confidence enough to justify spending nearly twice as much money there as I would have with most other operators on Utila.

My next choice was Utila Cays Diving, which has also received very positive reviews on this forum and elsewhere online and has more moderate prices and a good location. Their website does not list prices for solo travelers like me, so I contacted them in order to learn those prices. Their response was to send me the same price list from their website, even though I had explained that this same price list only listed prices for two or more people. This response did not inspire my confidence in their communication skills or their receptiveness to solo travelers, but the showstopper for me was that they did not have Nitrox or larger tanks, e.g. aluminum 100s. Perhaps I could have done without bigger tanks, which would have enabled me to make the most of their “dive your tank” policy, but Nitrox is important to me, so I passed (I am one of those people who feels great with Nitrox but tired with air).

Utila Lodge seemed to be the most popular and reputable resort/lodge operation after Utopia Village among those divers writing reviews on this forum and Undercurrent. While the dive operation itself seemed good, many reviewers seemed dissatisfied with the food and the lodging, which would defeat one of the purposes of choosing a resort/lodge operator over a stand-alone dive shop. In other words, I did not see how or why Utila Lodge would be any better or different than the neighboring stand-alone dive shops in town, many of which also provide on-site food and/or lodging but do not brand themselves as lodges or resorts. This observation led me to consider the stand-alone dive shops in town, which I had been hesitant to do at first because of their emphasis on training and post-dive festivities.

Alton's immediately stood out to me as the most suitable choice among the stand-alone dive shops in town as I researched them in this forum and elsewhere online. Its key selling points for me included: its emphasis on actual diving over post-dive festivities, to include keeping the area quiet at night; the number of dives per day that it offers (up to four instead of three); its separation of divers into groups on the basis of their certification levels; its more frequent trips to the north side, which many believe has better diving than the south side; their ability to provide both aluminum 100 tanks and Nitrox; and the strong reputations of its staff for wildlife spotting in general and macro in particular. They also provide on-site lodging (including private rooms with air conditioning) and provide two meals on-site, yielding much of the convenience of an “eat, sleep, and dive” experience without the branding or pricing of a resort/lodge. Prices were moderate, except for Nitrox, which seems to be relatively expensive and/or hard(er) to obtain on Utila. Their prompt and thorough response to my initial booking inquiry inspired my confidence, so I booked with them, which required a small deposit via PayPal.

Alton's met and in some key ways exceeded my expectations as a dive operation. I would be happy to dive with them again, and I would recommend them to others. Tank fills were always complete, and all but one of my 24 Nitrox fills were accurate (32%), and even that one was just slightly off. The boat was comfortable and in good condition. My only gripe about the boat was that there were no tank slots for their aluminum 100s, which made it harder to store and don my gear securely, but the divemasters assisted with that. It had built-in rinse tanks for cameras, which were big enough for my compact rig (SeaLife) but might be too small for some DSLR rigs. The divemasters were professional, knowledgeable, and skilled in dive planning, briefing, and execution, but they really knocked it out of the park with their exceptional wildlife spotting skills and knowledge of the local marine life and reefs. The only places where I have encountered similar or better skills in that regard were in the Philippines and Indonesia, where the richer Indo-Pacific fauna may provide more opportunities for them to hone and demonstrate such skills. They also demonstrated exceptional stamina and work ethics, leading as many as four or five dives per day with no discernible deterioration in their performance. My only critique would be that the surface intervals were shorter than I had seen elsewhere, but perhaps shorter surface intervals are more feasible in Utila because most of the dive sites are so shallow.

One detail that deserves documentation here is the rescue of a dolphin by Alton's staff during a surface interval. Captain Eric received a call from a fisherman who had spotted a dolphin trapped in someone else's illegal shark fishing rig. The fisherman had tried to free the dolphin himself but had been unable to do so and thus contacted Captain Eric. (On a small island where everyone with a boat seems to know everyone else with a boat, his decision to contact Captain Eric, out of all the people he could have chosen for this purpose, is noteworthy). Captain Eric drove us to the scene, where two divemasters jumped in the water to free the dolphin from the hook and line and retrieved the illegal rig.

One of my reservations about diving with stand-alone dive shops in town had been their emphasis on training and their high proportions of relatively new divers. Alton's did seem to cater to this market, but it was hardly a factor in my experience there. They adhered rigorously to their policy of separating divers on the basis of their training, to the point that I often had a divemaster to myself, even when they could have conserved labor by consolidating me into another group. Even with that separation policy, as far as I could tell, I was the most experienced guest that week, but even the less experienced members of my group were quite competent and in no way detracted from the quality of my experience, e.g. we did not have to end any dives prematurely because of a gas-guzzler consuming a tank in half an hour. Indeed, I have had more problems elsewhere with more experienced divers who should know and dive better. The divemasters were attentive but evidently did not feel the need to babysit us. One divemaster was more regimented than the others, but he was also the most adept at spotting wildlife and probably wanted that greater regimentation in order to focus on wildlife spotting. The divemaster with whom I spent most of the week eventually gave me the freedom to dive a deeper profile if I wished, but there was little or no reason to do so, as most of the sites were quite shallow, and I wanted to benefit from her strong wildlife spotting skills by staying closer to her.

The other aspects of staying at Alton's were convenient and adequate for my purposes and good enough for the modest prices. I stayed in a private room with air conditioning. It was of reasonably good quality and comfortable enough for one person but might be a bit small for a couple. My only gripe was that I could have used a desk or a table to work on my camera at night. There was some socializing and moderate consumption of adult beverages around happy hour in the on-site cafe area but no noticeable noise after bedtime (9-10ish), and no raucous festivities at any time. The on-site cafe serves breakfast and lunch, but not dinner. The breakfasts were quite good and filling – I recommend desayuno ranchero. Lunch was adequate, but I would have preferred larger portions and often bought a snack or two to go with it. For dinner, there is a restaurant across the street that will deliver food to the cafe area at Alton's. Its food was good, but I found that the best food in town was at the Argentinian restaurant Che Pancho, which the office manager at Alton's recommended and had exceptionally high-quality food at modest prices. I recommend the steaks and the grilled tuna filet sandwich at Che Pancho.

(to be continued)
 
How I Got There

One downside of the Bay Islands is the often high cost and inconvenient timing of flight itineraries into Roatan (RTB) from the U.S. on U.S. airlines, particularly for those that live outside the South. Onward travel to Utila by ferry or charter flight further complicates and can add costs to these itineraries. Some North American visitors take more than one day to reach Utila, particularly if they arrive via ferry from the mainland. I nonetheless found an American Airlines itinerary that would have enabled me to come and go from Utila in a day each way at nearly half the price of what I had paid to fly to and from RTB the previous year, which was a remarkable deal for a U.S. holiday week (Memorial Day). Flying out of New York at the crack of dawn, the connecting flight from Miami got me to RTB early enough in the morning to ensure that I could board the 2pm ferry to Utila. The return ferry trip from Utila got me back to RTB in time for an afternoon flight to Dallas, which landed early. I had been concerned about the risk of the tight connection in Dallas causing me to miss my flight home to New York. The irony was that I would have had more than enough time to make that connection easily if the airline had not canceled my flight to New York, forcing me to spend a sleepless night in the Dallas airport. They refused to provide lodging or even a meal voucher. After waiting in line for 2-3 hours, they put me on standby for the first flight to New York the next morning, which worked out but also caused a delay of more than 24 hours in the delivery of my checked bag, which someone had damaged by the time that I received it. Suffice it to say that my next trip to the Bay Islands will probably be on Avianca, with which I have never had any problems in my previous non-diving travel elsewhere in Latin America.

Diving Conditions

I knew when I chose to visit Utila that its dive industry focused largely on training, but I did not know why. In retrospect, I imagine that the reason for this focus on training is that the diving environment there is so easy to handle and thus ideal for training, particularly with new(er) divers. Of course, the very easy and comfortable diving conditions can also enhance the experiences of other divers visiting the island for fun rather than training, as in my case. I would say that, in my experience thus far, only the Cayman Islands had similarly easy and comfortable diving conditions. I also found the diving conditions on Utila easier and more comfortable than those of Roatan, although that difference may have been due to weather conditions the week of my stay at CocoView.

Water temperatures were in the low-mid 80s. Except for a few silty spots near town, visibility was excellent, perhaps a notch or two below typical visibility in the Cayman Islands or Cozumel. There was, however, more ambient light than anywhere else that I have been, perhaps because of the shallower depths. There was so much ambient light that I might bring a glare shield for my camera viewfinder when I return. It was hard for me to see how my video lights worked because of the low contrast, and I was able to use unusually small apertures and fast shutter speeds because of the abundant ambient light. Most of the dive sites were shallow, either allowing shallow dives along the tops of walls, or with slopes that hit the sandy bottom at relatively shallow depths, e.g. one could not go deeper than 60 feet or so without a shovel. The water was calm, with negligible chop at the surface and hardly any surge underwater, even at shallow depths. There was hardly any current at any of the sites except for one, which the divemasters knew had enough current to plan it as a mild drift dive.

(to be continued)
 
Marine Life

The reef growth on Utila was similar to and perhaps somewhat healthier that of the south side of Roatan, with high proportions of soft coral and sponges. It was quite dense and rich and often looked like a jungle as much as a reef. The reef growth was often so dense that it prevented me from getting into a good position to photograph some of the smaller animals. A few spots closer to town seemed to have quite a bit of sedimentation and silt build-up on the reef, to the point that I would attribute it to proximity to town or other, larger-scale factors, rather than inexperienced divers kicking up sand.

Paul on Instagram: “The coral reefs of Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

Paul on Instagram: “The coral reefs of Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #photography #underwaterphotography…”

Paul on Instagram: “The coral reefs of Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

Paul on Instagram: “Diving the coral reefs of Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #scubadiving #diving #photography…”

Paul on Instagram: “The coral reefs of Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

When I was researching Utila, I read that many divers considered the dive sites on the north side of the island to be the best. The greater frequency of Alton's morning boat trips to the north side had been one factor in my choice of Alton's. In retrospect, I did not see that big of a difference between the north and south sides of the island, except for the few siltier spots on the south side near town. One divemaster explained that whale shark sightings are more common on the north side because they follow the walls there, but we did not see any whale sharks that week, so it was a moot point. Indeed, it seemed to me that the main difference between the north and south sides was topography, rather than marine life.

The reputation of the south side of Roatan for good macro (by Caribbean standards) had been one of the reasons for my trip there last year. I liked the macro at CoCoView, and what I read about the marine life on Utila in reviews and trip reports had led me to believe that the macro there would be even better. The macro on Utila exceeded my expectations and may be the best that I have seen in the Caribbean thus far. The macro subjects included an abundance of typical Caribbean critters, such as arrow crabs, banded coral shrimp, flamingo tongue cowries, blennies, filefish, fireworms, and lettuce sea slugs.

Paul on Instagram: “Blenny, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography #underwaterphotography…”

Paul on Instagram: “Blenny, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography #underwaterphotography…”

Paul on Instagram: “Flamingo tongue cowrie, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

Paul on Instagram: “An arrow crab on a sea fan at night, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving…”

Paul on Instagram: “Banded coral shrimp, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

Paul on Instagram: “An arrow crab inside a barrel sponge, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving…”

Paul on Instagram: “Filefish, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

Paul on Instagram: “Fireworm, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

Paul on Instagram: “Lettuce sea slug, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

More interesting were the critters that were unfamiliar to me from prior experience or even from books or photos, or that I would tend to associate more with richer Indo-Pacific or cold water fauna. It was unclear to me if Utila is unusually rich in this regard, or if the exceptionally skilled and knowledgeable guides simply managed to show us creatures that I have been missing elsewhere in the Caribbean (including Roatan). For example, one guide repeatedly showed us juvenile reef squid, which I have never seen anywhere else before. Surely there must be juvenile reef squid elsewhere in the Caribbean, but this guide could point out creatures that were hardly more than large plankton.

Paul on Instagram: “Juvenile squid, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

I saw several seahorses throughout the week, including two in a row during one dive. The only other places where I have seen more seahorses were in Indonesia and the Philippines, and the only other place in the Caribbean where I have seen seahorses at all was Roatan. I also saw pipefish and two pipehorses, a cross between a seahorse and a pipefish whose existence had been unknown to me.

Paul on Instagram: “Seahorse, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

Paul on Instagram: “Seahorse, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

Paul on Instagram: “Seahorse, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

Paul on Instagram: “Pipehorse, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

Paul on Instagram: “Pipefish, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

A divemaster pointed out this snake eel as I was photographing a stingray nearby. I had only seen these before in Indonesia and the Philippines and had thought that they were an Indo-Pacific animal.

Paul on Instagram: “Snake eel, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #scubadiving #diving #photography…”

Teardrop crabs, which seemed to come out mostly at night, were unknown to me even from photographs before I went to Utila. I also saw a few neck crabs, which I had only seen before in Indonesia and the Philippines and had mistakenly believed to be an Indo-Pacific animal.

Paul on Instagram: “Teardrop crab, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography #underwaterphotography…”

Paul on Instagram: “Teardrop crab, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

Paul on Instagram: “Neck crab, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

Paul on Instagram: “A neck crab at night, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

Paul on Instagram: “Neck crab, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

Also totally unfamiliar to me where these flower-like solitary gorgonian hydroids, which one of the guides seemed to have a particular knack for finding.

Paul on Instagram: “Solitary gorgonian hydroid, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

Paul on Instagram: “Solitary gorgonian hydroid, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

Paul on Instagram: “Solitary gorgonian hydroid, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

(to be continued)
 
A divemaster found this creature, which neither of us nor the other divemasters could immediately identify. It reminded me of the sea hares that I had seen in California, which are much larger and live in cold water. I researched it further when I got home and confirmed that it is a dwarf sea hare.

Paul on Instagram: “Dwarf sea hare, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

A divemaster found this small octopus (perhaps the size of my thumb) in a sandy area and later indicated that it is a species that burrows in the sand. I am aware of an Indo-Pacific species of sand-burrowing octopus, but this one looked different and was smaller. Can anyone identify it?

Paul on Instagram: “Fireworm, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

One of the other guests, who had just completed his advanced certification, pointed out this bearded toadfish hiding under a ledge, which I almost certainly would have missed and was totally new to me.

Paul on Instagram: “Bearded toadfish, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

One of the highlights of my trip was also unique to the Bay Islands and very small: the bioluminescent plankton known as the “string of pearls,” which I saw on one of my two night dives. I had read that the nights leading up to the full moon were the best time to see this phenomenon (and whale sharks – I wonder if they eat this plankton) and timed my trip accordingly. It was not feasible to photograph this phenomenon, and the only way that I can describe it is as a cross between the Seeds of Aywa from Avatar and the source code from the Matrix. This experience is definitely worthy of a bucket list entry and is a must-see for anyone visiting Utila, even if night dives are generally not your cup of tea.

I also saw a good number of medium-sized animals, such as moray eels, spotted eagle rays, southern stingrays, and barracudas. The eagle rays here were notably larger than those that I have seen elsewhere (I thought one of them was a manta ray from a distance), but also notably shyer, so I did not get any presentable images of them. Curiously, though, I did not see any turtles all week, or any sharks either.

Paul on Instagram: “Barracuda, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

Paul on Instagram: “Goldentail moray eel, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

Paul on Instagram: “Green moray eel, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

Paul on Instagram: “Spotted moray eel inside a sponge at night, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography #underwaterphotography…”

Paul on Instagram: “Southern stingray, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. From a dive with @altonsdivecenter. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #photography…”

I did not see any whale sharks, despite timing my trip to include the days leading up to the full moon. We did, however, have two snorkeling encounters with pods of dolphins and one with a pilot whale during surface intervals. I had never seen dolphins in the wild before, or a pilot whale anywhere, so Utila's opportunities to see big animals still filled big gaps in my experience with marine mammals.

(to be continued)
 
Conclusion

I greatly enjoyed this trip to Utila as much as Roatan and probably more. Utila had better diving conditions and marine life than Roatan. It is nonetheless hard to beat the setup, business model, and atmosphere of CoCoView, as much as I liked Alton's. I hope to return to Utila in the future, but I will probably try Guanaja or Cayos Cochinos before returning to either Roatan or Utila, as this trip validated for me the notion that the smaller and more remote islands generally have better diving. I would be happy to return to Alton's but still have a preference for resort/lodge operations and might also like to be further from town – for diving reasons, not because of any distaste for the town per se.

I have a few questions for further discussion, the answers to which may also be of interest to others.
  • What if any options are there on Guanaja and Cayos Cochinos that do not involve high single supplements? One resort/lodge operator there had a single supplement that increases the price by a whopping 40%. Is there any way to get to Guanaja other than charter flights?

  • If you have traveled to the Bay Islands on Avianca or via the mainland, how well did those itineraries work out for you, and would you recommend them?

  • Did you find, as I did, that Utila has a lot of distinctive and exotic macro by Caribbean standards, even more so than Roatan, or is it just that Alton's has unusually skilled guides?

  • Did you find, as I did, that Utila's north side was not all that better or different from the south side, if you factor out the silty spots near town? Does going west along the south side, away from town and toward the Utila Cays, also yield better diving? In other words, is the difference between west and east just as or more significant than the difference between north and south?

  • Why is Nitrox harder to obtain and/or relatively expensive on Utila? I understand that it is a remote place, but there are other remote places where it seems to be less of an issue.
 
What if any options are there on Guanaja and Cayos Cochinos that do not involve high single supplements? One resort/lodge operator there had a single supplement that increases the price by a whopping 40%. Is there any way to get to Guanaja other than charter flights?

First of all, thanks for another great and detailed trip report @Ironborn -- I do not take for granted the amount of time and effort it takes for you to do this and all of us frequent dive travelers really appreciate it. I know that I do. I had never heard of Alton's Dive Center, so that was awesome to learn about them and your positive experience.

I think you are correct in wanting to consider Guanaja and Cayos Cochinos. Here is what I can tell you.

Guanaja: I have plans to go there and based on the personal experience of friends that I trust, I will definitely stay at Scuba Diving Trips & Snorkeling, Guanaja Clearwater Divers - knowing what I know of you from your trip reports, you will just want to check with them and make sure you can get in as many dives per day as you prefer to get. I know you won't be disappointed with the hospitality, food and accommodations. They are also the only dive operator on that side of the island, which is as far as I can tell, one of the most pristine and least touched in the Caribbean.
Here is the report from my trusted sources, but I also have read similar reviews from others: https://www.atabardivers.com/clearwater
According to my friends and the Clear Water website, you need to factor in a $200 RT flight from RTB to Guanaja and then coordinate the flight with your other flights.

Cayos Cohinos: I have also been planning to go here and there are only two options that I know of. One is on the Aggressor, but conditions have to be right for them to go there, so nothing is guaranteed. The other is Turtle Bay Eco Resort. However, I now have my misgivings about Turtle Bay. After various positive older reviews, the most recent review I have read has given me huge pause and now their website is not even accessible. So, for now, .... ???

Again, thanks for the trip report!
 
First of all, thanks for another great and detailed trip report @Ironborn -- I do not take for granted the amount of time and effort it takes for you to do this and all of us frequent dive travelers really appreciate it. I know that I do. I had never heard of Alton's Dive Center, so that was awesome to learn about them and your positive experience.

I think you are correct in wanting to consider Guanaja and Cayos Cochinos. Here is what I can tell you.

Guanaja: I have plans to go there and based on the personal experience of friends that I trust, I will definitely stay at Scuba Diving Trips & Snorkeling, Guanaja Clearwater Divers - knowing what I know of you from your trip reports, you will just want to check with them and make sure you can get in as many dives per day as you prefer to get. I know you won't be disappointed with the hospitality, food and accommodations. They are also the only dive operator on that side of the island, which is as far as I can tell, one of the most pristine and least touched in the Caribbean.
Here is the report from my trusted sources, but I also have read similar reviews from others: https://www.atabardivers.com/clearwater
According to my friends and the Clear Water website, you need to factor in a $200 RT flight from RTB to Guanaja and then coordinate the flight with your other flights.

Cayos Cohinos: I have also been planning to go here and there are only two options that I know of. One is on the Aggressor, but conditions have to be right for them to go there, so nothing is guaranteed. The other is Turtle Bay Eco Resort. However, I now have my misgivings about Turtle Bay. After various positive older reviews, the most recent review I have read has given me huge pause and now their website is not even accessible. So, for now, .... ???

Again, thanks for the trip report!

@Trailboss123 Thank you for the positive feedback and for the recommendation of Clearwater. It sounds like a good place to stay and dive, and their base rates and single supplement are reasonable. Do they have Nitrox? Aside from my personal preferences, the review to which you included a link mentioned some deep diving there.
 
Also, where are you headed next? Do you have any firm plans?

@Trailboss123 I will be on the Turks & Caicos Explorer II the week of the 4th of July.

After that, I will put dive trips on the back burner for much of the hurricane season and focus instead on local diving. I found a dive shop that does guided shore dives of Long Island, in order to indulge my interest in macro and my newfound interest in cold water diving. I have already done two local shore dives on Long Island - the pictures are on my Instagram account, below/before the latest pictures from Utila.

I hope to have another dive trip on the Pacific coast of North America later in the fall, after the summer plankton blooms clear up. Could be Southern California, Sea of Cortez, or British Columbia. Not sure yet.

I hope to return to Southeast Asia (the Philippines or Indonesia) in the dead of winter (January-ish).
 
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