Utila & the big 3-oh

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Vagabonding

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As a birthday present to myself for turning 30, I am looking at visiting Utila during the whale shark season. I've narrowed it down to either staying at Deep Blue or Laguna Beach. Chime in if you have another suggestion though.

I've researched the two resorts on this board and elsewhere and from all appearances they seem to be evenly matched in terms of service-- just on opposite sides of the island.

So here are my questions: Does Deep Blue have more readily available dive sites due to its location -- able to visit dive sites easily in the north or south than Laguna?

For the peak whale shark season. I just talked with Jasmine about Deep Blue's setup with fewer divers and a spotter boat out looking for the sharks, while we continue with a normal dive schedule. Does Laguna Beach have similar plans? Has anyone actually been here during these prime weeks that can comment?

Thanks for helping me make this big birthday an even bigger one. My dive buddy and I were in Roatan last year and met a lot of great people. We look forward to visiting the region again.

Cheers
Ben

p.s. Can someone point me in the direction of info/research on how the lunar cycle corresponds to the whale shark migration? Sounds fascinating
 
I've narrowed it down to either staying at Deep Blue or Laguna Beach. Chime in if you have another suggestion though.

I've researched the two resorts on this board and elsewhere and from all appearances they seem to be evenly matched in terms of service-- just on opposite sides of the island.

They're right next door to each other!

If you wan to stay in town as well, and have evening choices, you can check out Mango Inn/UDC.

Regards,
Andy
 
They're right next door to each other!

If you wan to stay in town as well, and have evening choices, you can check out Mango Inn/UDC.

Regards,
Andy
so much for my top notch research skills. Knowing that they are right next door to each other takes me back to square one. Thanks for the reply.
 
VagaB,
Hey, It's your burthday. What do you want to do with it? Do you want to dive and relax or do you want to dive and party? Andy is right and wrong....they are situated (DBR and LBR) at different locations on a small point at Blue Bayou channel. Both af their operations take approximately the same amount of time to get to the north side. Deep Blue's boat, the Walnut, has just been retrofitted with a pretty fast turbo- charged diesel. I know all the people in volved the ops......Mango Inn, which is associated with Utila Dive Center, DBR &LBR. All the people are top.notch. Party or Dive? DBR is at the forefront in whaleshark research on Utila. Captain Swinn is most patient and great at locating them. DbR does not adhere to a strict schedule when to get back, particularly when all the divers want to see whaleshrks. UDC and LBR tend to runs schedules that are more inflexible. LBR runs newer Newton boats and UDC runs a fleet of classic dive boats. Food......Jasmine personally oversees preparation of all meals, LBR meals are buffet style, Mango Inn has restaurant with menu and outdoor pizza oven. The food at all is very good.

Dive or Party? Dive & relax? It's your birthday!

Regards,
 
p.s. Can someone point me in the direction of info/research on how the lunar cycle corresponds to the whale shark migration? Sounds fascinating

"whale shark""lunar cycle" - Google Search

and don't forget Jackass the Movie:

Whale Shark Gummer

The skit opens with Steve-O and Pontius 'staring each other down', then walking into the ocean. Pontius and Steve-O then put shrimp in netting trousers whilst wearing them. They go into the Japanese Sea where 30 foot whale sharks eat the shrimp from their swim trunks.

Pontius exhibits some nervousness before the skit begins. Knoxville or Tremaine tries to reassure him that "Whale Sharks resemble big puppy dogs." Pontius wonders aloud, "Sometimes puppies bite."
 
I just got back from Utila last week (Oct. 13th - Oct. 20th 2007) and we stayed at Laguna Beach Resort. Here's the scoop.

Both resorts are right next to eachother on the south side. IMO Laguna Beach is the nicest resort on Utila with bigger, faster dive boats to get you around the island quicker. Our captain's name was Wagner - he was born on Utila and has captained a boat for over 20 years on the island. He said if he can't find the whale sharks no one can. I believe him. Also, Wagner is really funny! On the island most of the locals know eachother - Wag's buddy drives the boat for Deep Blue.

There is something else to know about the local flight from San Pedro Sula or Roatan. Atlantic Air is the local carrier. They cancel flights frequently. The owners of Laguna Beach have a private plane to pick you up from the mainland or Roatan, if the local carrier cancels or you arrive early. We met a Deep Blue guest that got stranded on Roatan. The Laguna Beach pilot, Harry, picked us up on Roatan and flew back to get the stranded Deep Blue guest. When we departed Roatan, on the private plane, the Deep Blue guest was stranded again by Atlantic Air upon his departure and flew back with us.

I did ask the Deep Blue guest how he liked his resort, he was very, very pleased. The owners of LBR also know the owner of Deep Blue, Shirley, and say she is very nice. But the local flight is something to consider.

Bernardo is the local chef at LBR, which the food for an all inclusive is very good. The owners, Troy and Edith, were terrific. They were always around at breakfast, lunch and dinner to chat with the guests and answer questions. They even invited us to their home on our departure day. Our dive master, Al, did a great job as well. On our last day, after diving, Al and Wag invited us to their local bar. Harry, the pilot, was very polite and personable.

Upon our departure, I felt that I was leaving not only a beautiful island with good diving, but I was leaving friends and family behind. I've never had that feeling leaving a resort before. LBR really stands out in customer service and personal attention. We didn't see any whale sharks this trip - it wasn't high season. But when we go back in high season it will be at Laguna Beach or maybe on the Utila Aggressor (Troy and Edith own that too).
 
Scuba Monster, we're going to LBR on Utila in the Spring--we decided to pay the extra money for the private charter so we wouldn't have to spend so many hours in Sula. After reading your post, I'm glad we did!

Also good to know you were so pleased with the resort and its operations.

A shame you didn't get to see any whale sharks, but what did you think of the rest of the diving?
 
Forgot to add a "Happy Birthday!" to Vagabonding! What a terrific way to celebrating your big day!
 
Just a side note: SOSA Airlines has recently (as in this past Saturday) begun Saturday service from Roatan to Utila. So more options are becoming available.
 
Wow, really Erin? Do the flights coincide with the international arrivals? How many flights, just one? What time is the Utila to Rotan flight? What's the cost?

Sounds like Roatan Air Service has prompted SOSA to realize that there is a demand. This is really great news.

:D
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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