Utilia-Trudy's Suites/Underwater Vision Dive Shop?

[laurenceh]

you jogged my memory stout,
if i was coming to utila with my wife, wanted to spend little but stay in a nice place i'd stay at lighthouse inn and dive with udc or deep blue divers.
you'd have a 5 mins walk to the dive center and 5 mins walk to bandu beach, plus nice ocean breezes and views on the balcony at lighthouse. could be a winning combo.
who needs tv when you can sit on the balcony at night looking at the stars and the ocean in a peaceful and romantic location ! beats having a tv at trudys but being around a group of partying kids from the gringo trail imho

 

[Stout]

Cheers laurence

For a week, I'd pick the Lighthouse too. From what I hear about Utila in September, I'd really want those ocean breezes.

I can see the desire for a TV however after the first week, I didn't even turn mine on. The internet kept me up to date and entertained.

I don't know how late they Party at UWV, I never actually noticed. They party at Alton's, but it's lights out by 10 pm and anyone who wants to continue on has to head "downtown"

 

[laurenceh]

yeah t.v. here is the pits anyway, all i seem to find is tele novellas and fox news, not exactly my cup of tea. after ten i too doubt trudys is a party place, i was thinking more about 1am-3am when everyone starts coming back to their rooms worse for wear after leaving treetanic, rehab, coco loco, la cueva etc. could be a lot of banging doors, loud drunken conversations and wandering from room to room ?

ps. september is one of my favorite months, the viz is amazing.

 

[Pillpusher]

Funny you say that... I was just looking at Lighthouse. And, it seems they DO have tv's there. Do you happen to know which dive shops are closest to there? The website says "5 of the top dive shops are within a 5 minute walk", but it didn't say much about which those five are.

 

[laurenceh]

udc, deep blue divers, altons and cross creek are all within a couple of minutes walk. given your needs i'd go with deep blue divers 1st or udc as 2nd choice. have fun, september is lovely, good chance of snorkeling with whale sharks and the lighthouse is the perfect combo of a small quiet water front hotel but within 10 mins walk of decent restaurants and the crazy nightlife, should you wish to partake .

 

[Pillpusher]

Perfect. Much appreciated. Oh, an sorry about calling you Lauren... You oughta capitalize that H, man...lol.

 

[laurenceh]

don't want to rub it in BUT my view at the moment as i sit on the veranda with the laptop

 

[Pillpusher]

Nice! Where is that? Yeah, I've gotta wait until September, but I'm heading to Bonaire next month to help hold me over till then.

 

[Robertcrockett]

As someone who has been to Utila several times for extended stays...including for 2 months starting June 1st...I can say its hard to make a bad decision. Utila is cheap, beautiful and engaging. If you allow her to slow you down and take your time...temper your expectations a bit...you will love the rock...the locals are great and will treat you like an old friend as long as you see them for the people they are. The nights can get loud, depending on where you are located....honestly in all the time that I've spent I only recall watching television once....when Honduras beat Costa Rica in football. I sat and cheered them on with a group of locals in Bushes....talk about loud..after Honduras won the place erupted! LOL I loved it. The food can go from ok to steller...the diving is the same. Explore and have fun...the dives shops all generally have good DMs and gear...I'm partial to UDC and CrossCreek, Captain Morgans, Utopia Dive Village and Laguna Beach...just from personal experience....
You could always look at doing your dives with a shop but renting an apartment to stay in. Cheap rates and usually larger more fitted accommodations.
Whale sharks....if you never plan to see them you won't be disappointed....you may but you also may not. Consider a sighting "Icing on the cake" but rest assured any dive center you choose will make every attempt to get you on site if one is spotted...word spreads around the boats like wildfire.
I hope you enjoy your stay...I'm pretty sure you will like it....I'll try to keep the Salva cold for you through June and July!

 

[Pillpusher]

Good news is that Lighthouse has availability for the week I'm going, so it looks like that'll be a go. Now just trying to decide on a dive shop between UDC, Deep Blue, and Alton's. I was fairly sold on Deep Blue, but the Trip Advisor reviews caused me to think again. The most recent review mentions how they kept making excuses every day for not going to the north side, which would have given the best change to see whale sharks. Of course, I realize this is just one review, but then I noticed that not a single Deep Blue reviewer mentions seeing whale sharks... Only reviews that mention wishing they had seen them. Interesting...

Thanks for the info Robert... I assume Salva is the local brew?