Guy Carrier
Contributor
We try and schedule a family diving vacation every year and this year a total of seven of us (five divers) ended up in Utila. My wife and I were there for the entire period and the kids (all adults - well sort of) joined us for the last week. We did at least two dives every day and on some days there was an additional shore dive by some and a lot of snorkeling.
Accomodations: We rented both units of a place called Slumberland http://www.slumberlandutila.com/. It was very suitable for us since we needed four bedrooms and Slumberland has two two-bedroom cottages attached by a common deck with steps leading right down to a very good snorkeling/shore diving site. Its quite shallow out for about 50 feet and then starts to drop off so you can swim. We used the kitchen facilities and also ate out a lot so it worked well for us. Plus having two refrigerators in a place where they deliver (yes, I said deliver) beer by the case is almost a necessity. There is ample storage for extra gear and luggage in the lower level storage rooms (bodegas).
The only problems we encountered were that we were robbed on the second day my wife and I were there while we were out diving (portable dvd player, digital camera, cell phome and cheap watch) by what appeared to be some local kids. They went in through a window and removed the screen. The owner was quick to get a local guy out there with a machete who guarded the place anytime we were out (diving, shopping, dinner, etc.) for the rest of our stay. The kids that seemed to be running wild the first several days all vanished once the security was upgraded. The only other problems had to do with the bathrooms. In one unit the shower drained so slowly that even one shower resulted in standing in several inches of water and in the other unit the toilet stopped filling after it was flushed about four days before we left. The management company assured us a plumber was going to be there each day but when we left both problems remained as reported.
Food: As I said we ate some meals at home and went out for others. We ate at Piccolos (Italian place), RJ's (barbecue place), the Mango Inn (pizza and other), and several times at a place called Dave's (barbecue place). Dave's was particularly interesting because it is way off the beaten path down a winding alley and is known mostly by the divemasters and divemaster trainees since the food is good, plentiful and cheap. Our divemaster for the period took us there one night and we liked it so much most of us went back on another night. Ask your divemaster about it since I cannot describe the path there and would be lucky to find it if I was there again. We had good to very good meals at all of the restaurants we ate at.
Transportation: My wife and I were scheduled to travel from Dulles Airport to Roatan on Delta on Saturday, 17 March and the East coast was in the throes of a pesky mid-March snowstorm so we got a room at the airport hotel to avoid travel delays for a 6:30 am departure on Saturday. That worked well until we got to the ticket check-in counter at Delta Saturday morning and were informed that our flight had been cancelled. We were rescheduled on a flight to San Pedro Sula (mainland of Honduras) on Monday and eventually got to Utila by catching a couple of SOSA flights from SPS to La Ceiba and then to Utila on Monday afternoon. Going back we chartered the Roatan Air Aerocommander to make two flights on Saturday 24 March, from Utila to Roatan to get the seven of us to the Roatan airport to fly back home (expensive but effective). Rest of return was long and arduous, because that's what air travel is, but eventually everyone got home.
While in Utila we rented two golf carts for the seven of us to go back and forth to the dive shop and for the kids to run all over Utila at night enjoying the party scene. Apparently there is a law that you have to drink to drive a golf cart after dark in Utila. At least no one seemed to think it was out of the ordinary. My wife and I were usually in bed by 9:00 pm so I can't comment on the night scene but Humuhumunukunukuapua'a and Monkey Knife-fight from this board can tell you about it.
Diving: My wife and I did twenty dives and the kids did about 10 dives with Deep Blue Dive Center (not the resort but the dive training shop in town). I know that the captain of the Deep Blue Resort boat gets a lot of well deserved credit for finding whale sharks on this board but the captain of the Deep Blue Dive Center boat (Gringo) is also really good at it. We had four whale shark sightings in eleven days of diving and they were each awe inspiring. I would highly recommend Deep Blue Dive Center if you are staying in town rather than a resort. Tell Phil Phellan, the shop manager, I sent you.
The dives ranged from excellent to average IMHO, but each was fun and had its high points. We saw many spotted eagle rays, turtles, lobsters and all of the appropriate Caribbean tropical fishes including many drummers and a frogfish. The reef in Utila is in very good condition but the larger critters have been fished almost out of existence by the locals who make a living doing those things. Too bad! No sharks of any description. Both Humuhumunukunukuapua'a and Monkey Knife-fight took lots of pictures and they will be posting them as they find time.
I know this is long on stuff other than diving but there always seems to be a lot of questions about Utila and how you get there and what there is to do there, on this board so I thought I would also relay our experiences in things other than diving. Let me also say that what I describe above golf carts, lots of boat dives, privat villas is not the cheap way to do Utila, but it is cheaper than doing those things in other dive places I've been.
Hope you enjoy,
Guy
Accomodations: We rented both units of a place called Slumberland http://www.slumberlandutila.com/. It was very suitable for us since we needed four bedrooms and Slumberland has two two-bedroom cottages attached by a common deck with steps leading right down to a very good snorkeling/shore diving site. Its quite shallow out for about 50 feet and then starts to drop off so you can swim. We used the kitchen facilities and also ate out a lot so it worked well for us. Plus having two refrigerators in a place where they deliver (yes, I said deliver) beer by the case is almost a necessity. There is ample storage for extra gear and luggage in the lower level storage rooms (bodegas).
The only problems we encountered were that we were robbed on the second day my wife and I were there while we were out diving (portable dvd player, digital camera, cell phome and cheap watch) by what appeared to be some local kids. They went in through a window and removed the screen. The owner was quick to get a local guy out there with a machete who guarded the place anytime we were out (diving, shopping, dinner, etc.) for the rest of our stay. The kids that seemed to be running wild the first several days all vanished once the security was upgraded. The only other problems had to do with the bathrooms. In one unit the shower drained so slowly that even one shower resulted in standing in several inches of water and in the other unit the toilet stopped filling after it was flushed about four days before we left. The management company assured us a plumber was going to be there each day but when we left both problems remained as reported.
Food: As I said we ate some meals at home and went out for others. We ate at Piccolos (Italian place), RJ's (barbecue place), the Mango Inn (pizza and other), and several times at a place called Dave's (barbecue place). Dave's was particularly interesting because it is way off the beaten path down a winding alley and is known mostly by the divemasters and divemaster trainees since the food is good, plentiful and cheap. Our divemaster for the period took us there one night and we liked it so much most of us went back on another night. Ask your divemaster about it since I cannot describe the path there and would be lucky to find it if I was there again. We had good to very good meals at all of the restaurants we ate at.
Transportation: My wife and I were scheduled to travel from Dulles Airport to Roatan on Delta on Saturday, 17 March and the East coast was in the throes of a pesky mid-March snowstorm so we got a room at the airport hotel to avoid travel delays for a 6:30 am departure on Saturday. That worked well until we got to the ticket check-in counter at Delta Saturday morning and were informed that our flight had been cancelled. We were rescheduled on a flight to San Pedro Sula (mainland of Honduras) on Monday and eventually got to Utila by catching a couple of SOSA flights from SPS to La Ceiba and then to Utila on Monday afternoon. Going back we chartered the Roatan Air Aerocommander to make two flights on Saturday 24 March, from Utila to Roatan to get the seven of us to the Roatan airport to fly back home (expensive but effective). Rest of return was long and arduous, because that's what air travel is, but eventually everyone got home.
While in Utila we rented two golf carts for the seven of us to go back and forth to the dive shop and for the kids to run all over Utila at night enjoying the party scene. Apparently there is a law that you have to drink to drive a golf cart after dark in Utila. At least no one seemed to think it was out of the ordinary. My wife and I were usually in bed by 9:00 pm so I can't comment on the night scene but Humuhumunukunukuapua'a and Monkey Knife-fight from this board can tell you about it.
Diving: My wife and I did twenty dives and the kids did about 10 dives with Deep Blue Dive Center (not the resort but the dive training shop in town). I know that the captain of the Deep Blue Resort boat gets a lot of well deserved credit for finding whale sharks on this board but the captain of the Deep Blue Dive Center boat (Gringo) is also really good at it. We had four whale shark sightings in eleven days of diving and they were each awe inspiring. I would highly recommend Deep Blue Dive Center if you are staying in town rather than a resort. Tell Phil Phellan, the shop manager, I sent you.
The dives ranged from excellent to average IMHO, but each was fun and had its high points. We saw many spotted eagle rays, turtles, lobsters and all of the appropriate Caribbean tropical fishes including many drummers and a frogfish. The reef in Utila is in very good condition but the larger critters have been fished almost out of existence by the locals who make a living doing those things. Too bad! No sharks of any description. Both Humuhumunukunukuapua'a and Monkey Knife-fight took lots of pictures and they will be posting them as they find time.
I know this is long on stuff other than diving but there always seems to be a lot of questions about Utila and how you get there and what there is to do there, on this board so I thought I would also relay our experiences in things other than diving. Let me also say that what I describe above golf carts, lots of boat dives, privat villas is not the cheap way to do Utila, but it is cheaper than doing those things in other dive places I've been.
Hope you enjoy,
Guy
