Get comfortable, this will probably be long- Just returned from a week in Roatan, our second time there, and all went well...mostly.
Getting There-
Delta pulled it off without any travel drama other than canceling our Saturday flight several months ago requiring us to fly in to Atlanta on Friday night, stay at a hotel, and on to Roatan on Saturday. Mysteriously, our original Saturday flight reappeared but we were never offered back on that flight. We flew out of OKC to Atlanta, stayed the night at a Hilton by the airport, (be warned-there are 2 Hiltons by the airport so you need to know WHICH Hilton) and on to Roatan Saturday with no issues. Turquoise Bay has a bus to meet you there and a van for luggage (there were 22 of us). Customs was easy but we landed with two other planes so it took about 45 minutes to clear. They had lots of agents working and the line moved quickly.
There is a pre-arrival form that must be filled out on line. The site did not work correctly and the English translation did not always work. Between my Spanish and their form....we got it done. You upload your negative test result for approval by their doctor. We uploaded our vaccination cards instead and were fine. We went ahead and got tested the day before we left just in case, but those weren't necessary.
Turquoise Bay Resort-
The resort is about 40 minutes away. It only has 26 rooms and Subway Water Sports is onsite. They have spent the last year building over water palapas, beach beds, overwater swings, hammocks, and generally improving everything since we were there in 17 or 18.
Three meals a day are served starting at 7am, 12, and 7pm with a snack at 5 pm. Our package included drinks the bartenders are very talented. Salva Vida is the Honduran beer and its actually very drinkable, although I prefer a darker beer. It is the perfect beer for a michelada. Food was always good and never got old. They serve your plate and masks are required when in the buffet line.
Rooms are typical and cooled by a mini-split ac. The resort switches from island power to generator at 5 pm and 10pm and the ac will quit cooling when that happens. You just have to turn it off and wait a few seconds and turn it back on to reset the unit. There was always plenty of hot water and the beds were very comfortable. The rooms had a refrigerator and coffee maker and they provide you with a gallon jug of drinking water. Toilets require the typical Caribbean practice of paper in the trash can.
There was a friendly kitten at the resort they called Bojagles. She adopted us one night and slept in our room. My wife is a cat person as well as several other people in our group so the kitten was a little taste of home. A donkey named Molly roams the grounds and may meet you at your door depending on your room.
Staff was wonderful and most knew our names within a day. Kareem, Kirvey, and Robert were all great.
Subway Water Sports-
I did a review of them in 17 or 18 and had nothing but good things to say. That has not changed. Newer large boats with heads and shade, plenty of room to gear up, we had 2 boats with capable divemasters, one even worked with a newer diver for 3 days working on weights and buoyancy. Giant stride entry with 2 fins off ladders on the rear. A DM will remove your fins if you want. They have a membrane system and 32% nitrox is an option. Testers are on the boats and always tested within 1%.
Roatan offers a reef structure like I have never seen anywhere else. Large reefs will have natural cuts in them like swim through's with no overhead. Some reefs will have large holes you could drop in with multiple levels. I would have like to have spent some time exploring the holes but I had to keep up with the group.
Three dives a day most days. Boats leave at 8:15ish and either come back to the resort for the SI or will do it on the boat depending on how far the first dive was away. Third dive is usually about 1:45 unless it is night dive day which left at 5:45p.
Other than Rockstar, the reefs were typical Caribbean reefs. Rockstar started as a wall and then ended up with the ravines. We had great visibility for Rockstar so that helped. The Vis in Roatan is my only complaint. There were times that the dive site was changed but it was never the crystal clear blue water you find in other places. I suspect the hurricane that hit Cozumel when we arrived and the one that hit New Orleans the day we left didn't help much either.
More in Part 2-
Jay
Getting There-
Delta pulled it off without any travel drama other than canceling our Saturday flight several months ago requiring us to fly in to Atlanta on Friday night, stay at a hotel, and on to Roatan on Saturday. Mysteriously, our original Saturday flight reappeared but we were never offered back on that flight. We flew out of OKC to Atlanta, stayed the night at a Hilton by the airport, (be warned-there are 2 Hiltons by the airport so you need to know WHICH Hilton) and on to Roatan Saturday with no issues. Turquoise Bay has a bus to meet you there and a van for luggage (there were 22 of us). Customs was easy but we landed with two other planes so it took about 45 minutes to clear. They had lots of agents working and the line moved quickly.
There is a pre-arrival form that must be filled out on line. The site did not work correctly and the English translation did not always work. Between my Spanish and their form....we got it done. You upload your negative test result for approval by their doctor. We uploaded our vaccination cards instead and were fine. We went ahead and got tested the day before we left just in case, but those weren't necessary.
Turquoise Bay Resort-
The resort is about 40 minutes away. It only has 26 rooms and Subway Water Sports is onsite. They have spent the last year building over water palapas, beach beds, overwater swings, hammocks, and generally improving everything since we were there in 17 or 18.
Three meals a day are served starting at 7am, 12, and 7pm with a snack at 5 pm. Our package included drinks the bartenders are very talented. Salva Vida is the Honduran beer and its actually very drinkable, although I prefer a darker beer. It is the perfect beer for a michelada. Food was always good and never got old. They serve your plate and masks are required when in the buffet line.
Rooms are typical and cooled by a mini-split ac. The resort switches from island power to generator at 5 pm and 10pm and the ac will quit cooling when that happens. You just have to turn it off and wait a few seconds and turn it back on to reset the unit. There was always plenty of hot water and the beds were very comfortable. The rooms had a refrigerator and coffee maker and they provide you with a gallon jug of drinking water. Toilets require the typical Caribbean practice of paper in the trash can.
There was a friendly kitten at the resort they called Bojagles. She adopted us one night and slept in our room. My wife is a cat person as well as several other people in our group so the kitten was a little taste of home. A donkey named Molly roams the grounds and may meet you at your door depending on your room.
Staff was wonderful and most knew our names within a day. Kareem, Kirvey, and Robert were all great.
Subway Water Sports-
I did a review of them in 17 or 18 and had nothing but good things to say. That has not changed. Newer large boats with heads and shade, plenty of room to gear up, we had 2 boats with capable divemasters, one even worked with a newer diver for 3 days working on weights and buoyancy. Giant stride entry with 2 fins off ladders on the rear. A DM will remove your fins if you want. They have a membrane system and 32% nitrox is an option. Testers are on the boats and always tested within 1%.
Roatan offers a reef structure like I have never seen anywhere else. Large reefs will have natural cuts in them like swim through's with no overhead. Some reefs will have large holes you could drop in with multiple levels. I would have like to have spent some time exploring the holes but I had to keep up with the group.
Three dives a day most days. Boats leave at 8:15ish and either come back to the resort for the SI or will do it on the boat depending on how far the first dive was away. Third dive is usually about 1:45 unless it is night dive day which left at 5:45p.
Other than Rockstar, the reefs were typical Caribbean reefs. Rockstar started as a wall and then ended up with the ravines. We had great visibility for Rockstar so that helped. The Vis in Roatan is my only complaint. There were times that the dive site was changed but it was never the crystal clear blue water you find in other places. I suspect the hurricane that hit Cozumel when we arrived and the one that hit New Orleans the day we left didn't help much either.
More in Part 2-
Jay
