Trip Report - ReefHouse Resort, Roatan

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Stoo

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Trip Report – Reefhouse Dive Resort, Oakridge, Roatan, Honduras

Roatan Diving, Honduras Roatan Diving, Honduras Scuba Diving, PADI Scuba Courses, Shark Dive, Scuba Diving, Night Dive, Night Diving, Reef House, Reef House Resort, Reefhouseresort, Reef Dive Sites, Scuba Vacations, Dive Vacations, Roatan Dive Resort

If any of you have read my more recent Trip Reports, you will know that Mrs. Stoo and I prefer to get off of the “beaten path” when we travel. After several fantastic trips to Turneffe Island Resort and Huracan Diving, both on the outer cayes of Belize, we decided to squeeze in an extra trip over Christmas this year.

I have been pondering a trip to Roatan for several years, and ReefHouse seemed like an interesting alternative to the busy West End of the Island. We have enjoyed vacations at Anthony’s Key in the past, as well as Fantasy Island, but my recollections of the diving there was that it was “ok” but not spectacular. Reviews I’d read of the diving further east looked promising. As what is essentially the only dive operation in the area, it made sense that the reefs would have seen less traffic, than in the more commonly dived areas. (During our entire week, we saw one boat from CoCo View and one from Fantasy Island when we were at the furthest western end of our range).

Another appealing factor was the very reasonable price. Our current favorite, Huracan Diving, “suffered” a significant price increase last year under new ownership. At the same time, our Canuck Buck has dropped in value adding insult to injury. Our booking was somewhat last minute, but effortless. Emails were answered promptly and they were happy to “pencil” us in for a few days while we confirmed flights and so on. When we arrived, we were met by a driver who quickly had us underway. The drive to Oakridge was perhaps 40 minutes and the scenery became more impressive the further from the airport we went. He dropped us at a small dock, where our bags were quickly moved into a panga and 10 minutes later, we were at the Reef House dock, which is across the laneway from the lodge itself.

First impressions of the lodge… clean, well maintained, basic… and essentially empty. We were greeted by Davey the boss (the son and/or partner of the owner). He immediately struck as being very laid back… which can sometimes be a problem as “laid back” can sometimes translate into “not giving a damn”… which was not the case at all, it turned it out.

We were given a welcome drink of our choice, a brief orientation, and directed toward our room. The room was older, and basic, but appeared to be clean and well-maintained. We met our room-mate, Norman, who was a four-pound wood-roach. (OK, I’m exaggerating, but he was a good size.) I’m not bothered about local bugs, and since he eluded capture, we made friends and he lived in our bathroom all week.

After unpacking a bit, we decided to check out the house reef, which is widely reported to be one of the best dives in Roatan. Staff delivered a couple of tanks and a stack of lead to the dock and we got suited up, in spite of being up all night and travelling all day from Toronto. The entry was a bit tricky, since it was essentially dark by the time we entered the water. It took a few minutes to navigate out to the wall, but we were rewarded with a very pleasant wall dive, with lots of critters. We soaked for about an hour, before climbing out and having a light dinner, a couple of drinks and off to bed.

Now compared to Huracan, Reef House is in a “big city”… actually a tiny caye with a dozen little houses… and lots of barking dogs, fighting cats and crowing roosters etc. I’ve been carrying a bottle of sleeping pills in my toilet case for two years…. We decided to open it that night… and every night. But I digress…

Breakfast came early and was delicious. Meals throughout the week were “family style” (Eat it or go hungry!) and very good for the most part. Mrs. Stoo, who judges all vacations on the quality of the food first and foremost, was not overly impressed with the meals. Basic fare, nicely prepared, but somewhat ordinary. This is where you do well to remember the low price of the place!

Diving begins at the dock across the laneway. For the first two days, there was only four of us diving, so we took the same panga that ferried us out from the main island. Subsequent days were on the Captain Morgan which is an older, wooden boat which proved to be perfect for our needs. Captain Choco and DM Davit were great guys and very accommodating. Our “style” of diving is to dive independently, away from the group, after earning the right to do so. By Day 2, Davit was calling me AquaMan, and he was happy to have us meet him back at the boat when we finished our dive.

Most of the dives were moored dives, out and back, along a nice wall. Overall, I would describe the diving as “nice”, although there was a distinct lack of big stuff, of any kind. We saw one small Hawksbill, but other than that, small fish prevailed, crustaceans and pretty nice corals. The diving was not nearly as nice as the outer cayes of Belize, but then I feel that's the best diving in the Caribbean. I was surprised to see some large areas of dead coral in the shallower areas, as well as areas of algae overgrowth. For the most part it was quite nice though and certainly beat shovelling snow!

The dive staff was excellent and very obliging as I mentioned. The guests that wanted to be shown around raved about Davit’s skills. He speared lionfish on every dive and there was no shortage of targets. I suppose that’s the one downside of being away from the other dive ops… only one guy trying to eradicate the poor things. Our DM, somewhat to my surprise, willingly lent his pole spear to guests who wanted to try their hand at spearing. It was mostly two teenaged girls that stepped up. They managed to maim a few sadly, resulting in their Mother being stung on her hand. Karma is indeed, a bitch!

We managed three dives daily, plus a couple of shore dives, so we were suitably waterlogged, which left us happy. All in all, a nice little spot, especially for those on a budget. We would return I think, but Belize is next month, so it will be easy to compare!

One thing I should mention, is that if you are used to travelling in touristy areas, Oakridge will be a bit of an eye opener. We didn’t spend anytime there, (since it required a boat ride to get there...) but riding past the local houses by boat each morning, this place is obviously pretty poor. Sanitation systems are absent (most houses seemed to have outhouses on the end of their docks, so you know where “stuff” is going!) There was unbelievable amounts of garbage and especially plastic, piled everywhere. I suspect there isn’t a municipal dump near by, so garbage just piles up until the next storm surge takes it out to sea. We had a couple of big rains two nights, and it was really sad to be driving the boat through a plastic island that was perhaps 30 years wide, and 150 yards long. It was so dense that Choco reversed his engines a couple of times as we transited, to clear any plastic from the water intakes on the engine. Davit explained that there was a dump up the coast that was on the edge of a river and after a big rain, tons of plastic washes into the water, and makes its way down to Oakridge. I’m skeptical of this, but it might be true. As a result, we saw large amounts of plastic on the reef and over the wall. Obviously we picked up all we could… although with no place to recycle it, I suspect it was a pointless exercise. We also collected hundreds of yards of abandoned fishing line and hooks that had been snagged on the reef and lost. Clearly this area is not protected.

I normally try to avoid projecting my first world values when I’m down there, but I spoke at length to Davit about the need to get people to start looking after “their” ocean, especially since they rely on it for sustenance and income. The government clearly has priorities other then protecting the ocean from these huge plastic garbage islands. I didn’t see this near West Bay, so I assume that the Oakridge area just isn’t a priority for “pretty-ing”. Oakridge is a commercial fishing centre, where I believe shrimp is a main harvest. Inevitably, this fishery will decline and if the area is going to try to develop tourism, they will need to address this huge problem. It saddened us knowing that sea turtles often eat plastic bags, mistaking them for jellyfish. We spotted a juvenile trunkfish using a piece of colour-matched plastic as a home as it drifted along, mid water. :-(

Anyway, apart from that, it was a great little spot for the budget-minded traveller. The diving was pretty decent, although I am anxious to get a few dives in again at West Bay for comparison.

If you do go, leave your North American standards behind, and replace them with a good sense of humor, and you'll have a great time!
 

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Any pix of dive op and boats?
 
Good to see another review of Reef House Resort. Interesting about the noisy rustic neighborhood; that's the kind of detail that's important to some and not always mentioned.

Richard.
 
Thanks so much for writing such an extensive review. I was happy to read your comments about expectations. Unfortunately, many people travel to a 3rd world country with expectations of a vacation paradise not based on reality. Roatan is, indeed, a vacation paradise. But it is a vacation DIVING paradise. The island is beautiful, but the island NATURE is beautiful - not necessarily the populated areas. The island FOOD, to me, is quite delicious. But it is island food, not always what we are accustomed to. That's what's so wonderful about traveling to different countries - we get to experience something DIFFERENT...not what we are accustomed to. Roatan offers stunning contrasts in many areas. That's one of the things I so love about the place.
 
Doc, I rarely take pics topside... I should try to fix that. The panga was a typical Central American open boat... I"d say about 22', with a 150 HP. Very fast but hard ride in more exposed water.

The main boat was an older boat... wood, with a roof/sundeck. Nothing fancy, but it started without a fuss, and didn't sink, so that's what matters. Entry/exit was from a platform on the stern. There was a decent ladder for getting out, and crew were helpful with camera handing and so on. The boat is slow, but the dive sites are close by. In my case, my second favorite thing to do on a dive trip is chug along on the sea in a boat...

I always note the so-called safety equipment on these trips... in this case, there were no obvious life jackets, and while there was a VHF radio, there was no antenna, so I guess the radio was for show! Mind you, were were rarely more than 200 yards off-shore, and I suspect cell coverage was decent there. (After a double near sinking day many years ago, I keep a handheld VHF in my divebag!)

Hope this helps!
 
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Stoo, I really enjoyed your trip report because it brought back lots of memories. We went to Reef House 17 years ago in 1998! :amazed:

The owner was named David and it sounds like his son is now the manager and his partner? We didn't stay in the lodge, we were in a small building on the property with newer guest accommodations; there were 2 of these private rooms or buildings. They were a little more expensive as I recall, but they were nice, clean, free of vermin, with good AC. Do you know if those private little out-buildings are still available for guests?

Your descriptions of the family style dining room and meals, and the diving and boats are just as I remember them. There were a large number of German divers staying there and we met some very nice people.

The terrible poverty of the surrounding neighborhood is also a strong memory. We were not bothered by noise but then we were staying away from the main buildings. I do remember piles of rubbish around the houses in the neighborhood but not the giant rafts of plastic that you mentioned - that's terrible! It will ruin the greatest natural resource of a developing country.

I took a look at the traveler's photos on trip advisor for Reef House after reading your report and everything looks so familiar. I remember sitting in the beach bar and watching a mother hummingbird tending her babies in a nest in the rafters above. It was a layed back place to relax, meet people and enjoy the seaside and the reefs.

I've just checked my log book and the best dive we had was at Mary's Place but we enjoyed several other sites and also the drop off shore dives on House Reef. Our divemasters were a married couple named Merritt and Ron and they were terrific. There were no lionfish anywhere in the Caribbean back then.

I also remember a 7-armed octopus named Oscar that showed up next to the pier most nights to be fed crustaceans by David, the owner. He was a character and an amateur archeologist and liked to dig for pottery shards and native artifacts (David that is, not Oscar!) He showed us some of his "finds" and I was eager to join him on a dig until he mentioned all of the ticks!

Did you take a gondola trip through the mangrove forest? It was one of the coolest things that we have done in Central America. The canals were originally cut through the forest centuries ago by native Indians who used them to escape raids by the Spanish invaders and slavers.

You drift along through narrow waterways under a dense canopy of trees. In places it is a very tight fit and it's amazing that the boaters can navigate their way through the confusing canals.

So, we also had a trip that was "off the beaten path" when we visited the Reef House all those years ago, we are glad we did it once but we haven't been back. It was a fun experience but nothing extraordinary IMO; but thanks for sharing and bringing back happy memories.

---------- Post added February 11th, 2015 at 08:31 PM ----------

Any pix of dive op and boats?

If you check out Trip Advisor there are around 300 traveler's photos including some of the boats and dive op:

Reef House Resort (Roatan, Honduras - Bay Islands) - Resort Reviews - TripAdvisor
 
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Kathy, my guess is that the place hasn't changed a lot since you were there. Overall, we enjoyed the stay, and given the decent price of the place, we might very well return, especially since our Canuck Buck has taken a dive again.

The garbage is always a bit disturbing, but it's not at all unusual either. My daughter lived in Utila for a while, so when I went to visit, I stayed near her apartment in town. Many homes had huge piles of garbage and plastic especially, around them. Plastic water bottles are everywhere it seems, no matter where you go. They'd be all over the place here too, if it weren't for our better recycling and garbage programs.
 
We love Reef House, and are returning soon for our 4th time. All of your observations seem in line; it is a very third world type of place, but that is part of the charm. I agree that it would be nice to see more large critters, but sadly, there are few places in our hemisphere where they are seen regularly. The reef structure at the east end of the island where Reef House is located is, for the most part, quite nice. Lots of corals and large sponges. Also great for macro photography!

The Panga was just being built last time we were there so we are looking forward to doing some diving from it although we really like the Henry Morgan alot. Like you said, slow but steady.

If we had a complaint last time there it was the food. We were there for 14 days and had some form of chicken for

11 dinners. We kept making suggestions and Davey would say they were good ideas, but dinner would yet again be chicken.

Doc, I will take pix of the new boat and post some. I sent you some shots of the boats on a trip out there a few years ago and the Henry Morgan is the one of the two boats that remain. Word is that Mike, the former manager, bought the other boat and is using it elsewhere on the island.

I'll post some pix when we get back, not for a while yet though.
 
If you check out Trip Advisor there are around 300 traveler's photos including some of the boats and dive op:

I am seeing some very outdated images, one showing a boat that was lost. It's Trip Advisor.

Doc, I will take pix of the new boat and post some. I sent you some shots of the boats on a trip out there a few years ago and the Henry Morgan is the one of the two boats that remain. Word is that Mike, the former manager, bought the other boat and is using it elsewhere on the island.

Thanks for that promised update. The boats and dive deck (locker) at any dive-op are part of the key in a decision making process.
 
...One thing I should mention, is that if you are used to travelling in touristy areas, Oakridge will be a bit of an eye opener. We didn’t spend anytime there, (since it required a boat ride to get there...) but riding past the local houses by boat each morning, this place is obviously pretty poor. Sanitation systems are absent (most houses seemed to have outhouses on the end of their docks, so you know where “stuff” is going!) There was unbelievable amounts of garbage and especially plastic, piled everywhere. I suspect there isn’t a municipal dump near by, so garbage just piles up until the next storm surge takes it out to sea. We had a couple of big rains two nights, and it was really sad to be driving the boat through a plastic island that was perhaps 30 years wide, and 150 yards long. It was so dense that Choco reversed his engines a couple of times as we transited, to clear any plastic from the water intakes on the engine. Davit explained that there was a dump up the coast that was on the edge of a river and after a big rain, tons of plastic washes into the water, and makes its way down to Oakridge. I’m skeptical of this, but it might be true. As a result, we saw large amounts of plastic on the reef and over the wall. Obviously we picked up all we could… although with no place to recycle it, I suspect it was a pointless exercise. We also collected hundreds of yards of abandoned fishing line and hooks that had been snagged on the reef and lost. Clearly this area is not protected.

I normally try to avoid projecting my first world values when I’m down there, but I spoke at length to Davit about the need to get people to start looking after “their” ocean, especially since they rely on it for sustenance and income. The government clearly has priorities other then protecting the ocean from these huge plastic garbage islands. I didn’t see this near West Bay, so I assume that the Oakridge area just isn’t a priority for “pretty-ing”. Oakridge is a commercial fishing centre, where I believe shrimp is a main harvest. Inevitably, this fishery will decline and if the area is going to try to develop tourism, they will need to address this huge problem. It saddened us knowing that sea turtles often eat plastic bags, mistaking them for jellyfish. We spotted a juvenile trunkfish using a piece of colour-matched plastic as a home as it drifted along, mid water...

Here is the link for a report on The Weather Channel about the vast amounts of plastic in the ocean:

http://www.weather.com/series/uncha...astic-will-be-in-the-oceans-10-years-from-now

 

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