We want whale sharks! (and a little luxury)

[HappyHonu]

As always, because I do not work 60+ hours per week, planning vacations falls to me. This time I am planning a dive trip for my sister, our friend, and myself. We are trying to plan our trip between April and May, depending on the best chance for WS sightings. We'll miss whale shark season in Mozambique (plus it would suck if we flew halfway around the world and didn't see anything), my sister isn't big on Mexico, and our friend doesn't want to go to the Phillipines.

So I think I'm left with Utila, Roatan, or Placencia. If you have any advice regarding dive resorts, local scene, quality of dive shop and boats, food, visibility, marine creatures, reefs, etc., please let me know! My sister is incredibly picky and I will hear about it for the REST OF MY LIFE if she hates it. (My husband and I keep an ever-updating list of "Francesca's Top Ten Vacation Freakouts.")

So a little about our group: We are all 41 and don't like to go to clubs or bars. I am the most advanced diver, with a whopping 43 dives (35 in the last two months), but I feel very comfortable in the water, at depth (90-110 feet), on wrecks, and in larger caves. Fish are pretty, but I tend to like big things and little, tiny things. I have all my own gear excepts for tanks. My wish is to have somewhere safe and secure to store my stuff near the boats so I don't have to haul my gear back and forth, although I will just to make sure it is safe and not going to be attacked by rodents or anything else that likes neoprene.

My sister is next in terms of experience. She will have to rent gear and wear a 7 mil wetsuit with a hood unless the water is 85 degrees. (Seriously, she is always freezing.) She requires as close to luxury accommodations as we can get as she will throw a fit about dirt, bugs, sheet feel, and mattress quality. She doesn't really eat, so food is not an issue for her.

Our friend is the least experienced diver and has also had the longest "surface interval" of all of us. (10 years?) She is going to do a refresher course and then I will check her out in the pool and in open water. (She tends to give up when we are doing group activities and can't keep up, so I want to make sure she is really comfortable.) A good divemaster would be especially helpful.S he is rather overweight, so renting a wetsuit might be a problem. Should she buy her own?

Let's see, what else? 3 separate beds would be good, maybe a small kitchen for keeping drinks and snacks not provided by the resort, lack of bugs, a clean beach (we're used to beaches on west Maui which get groomed every morning), maybe a pool, prefer more suite-style than hotel room-style so we're not falling over each other all the time, fairly direct routes from Seattle and San Francisco, and... less than $2,000 per person (not including air fare).

Am I hoping for too much?

Mahalo for your help-

Alexandra and her Happy Honu

 

[robint]

You aren't going to like this.... but don't go to Utila or Roatan. These places are rustic, not what your sister will enjoy at ALL. Bugs are bugs and they live in the jungle destinations, sand fleas "noseeums" in particular and your sister will not be happy. Placencia I think has these, too, but I hear mostly about the mosquitos there. Sorry.

Also, the dives or snorkels with whale sharks are in deep water most likely. I really don't know if your diving companions are up to this and the DMs are not going to take them out if they are uncomfortable with their skills.

If your friend is overweight, she needs to buy her own wetsuit at home before she goes. Otherwise she may not find a rental, and who wants to wear a rental that some stranger has peed in anyhow?

So which thing are you the most set on --- whale sharks or April/May or luxury?

You have a chance to snorkel with whale sharks and mantas off Cancun/Holbox Mexico in July/August. They have luxury hotels in Cancun that would suit your sister.

Maybe since your group members are all basically NEW divers, you should rethink your goals for the trip. The two friends are going to be working on basic skills, getting comfortable in the water and relaxing, they don't need the task-loading of trying to fight current or deep water issues, too. Why not go somewhere with easier diving this trip and that way you can ALL work on getting better as divers. I think you will enjoy the trip MUCH more.

April/May is a great time to go to Cozumel. There are a few luxury resorts there, like the Cozumel Palace. Grand Cayman is also a good choice for you, and less buggy than Central America. Little Cayman Resort and Cayman Brac Reef resort would be nice for your group, too. You might even see sharks or mantas, but no guarantees.

Just my 2 cents.
robin

 

[Damselfish]

Am I hoping for too much?

Probably, you're trying to please 3 very different people and have too many constraints.

Aside from the Cancun/Holbox idea (though it breaks the no Mexico thing - why does your sister not want to go to Mexico?) you may have a much better chance of keeping everyone happy if you bag the whale shark idea right now. As said, this might not be the best thing for a group of largely inexperienced divers. The 2 places we have been on whale shark dives involved mostly hovering in deep blue water with not great viz, usually with nothing to see except tiny things in the water column. Might not be the best place for people without good buoyancy control or air consumption, people likely to be cold without more movement, those that don't yet find amusement from little stuff in the water column, people that aren't comfortable in blue water, or the hard to please - especially if you get skunked on the sharks.

And yes - Utila, Roatan, Placencia - even at what passes for luxury resorts in these places, they're still in fairly rustic places where there's lots of bugs, the power might go out, travel to and around can be rather interesting, and stuff happens. If your sister won't see this sort of stuff as part of the fun you'll never hear the end of it.

 

[farsidefan1]

Another vote for Cancun/and either Holbox or Isla de Mujeres. Both can be reached from Cancun and if you go in July/August your chances of a whale shark snorkel are probably the highest in the world. That fulfills 2 of your 3 criteria (luxury, whale sharks) and from your remarks it sounds like the date you picked is based upon whale shark likelyhood. Only problem is Mexico. Tell her it ain't a border town (if fear is her issue) and to get over it. but if this is a trip to snorkel with whale sharks you are about 100 times more likely there (ok, yes, I pulled the 100X out of thin air)than the other place. Utila-placentia if you spend a week you are quite likely to see one. You have to spend the time on the water and hope. In Isla de Mujeres or Holbox you hope you don't run over one on any given day. Last time I was there it was "Which whale shark should we join" out of many.

 

[Doc]

There is the famous Whale Shark Guarantee

For an extra $1,000 per diver on board
they will guarantee that you see a Whaleshark
if not, you will get a refund in cash
at the end of the week.

You in?

Whale Sharks seem to be the artificially manufactured holy grail of sport diving. I've seen a few, but I've been underwater now for a total of maybe 8 months of my life.

Whale Sharks are best observed while snorkeling, after being dumped in the water from the boat of a very smart captain. Whale Sharks, and as a matter of fact... any pelagic Shark... is likely to avoid the noisy bubbles of SCUBA divers. It is a snorkeling (or rebreather) kind of endeavor.

All good things shall come in time. I was much more impressed when I saw an Octopus eat another Octopus.... and then there was those cannibalistic Squids with the same result.

Exotic sights such as "good diving & nice reefs", an often specified requirement for many post queries in search of vacation delights... those things simply do not ever go together with "luxury". (At least not for long, and not in the realm of affordability by we mere mortals who habituate the internet looking for dive info) Think Oprah money, cubic metric dollars.

So, if that aforementioned extra $1,000 seemed a lot, you might want to refocus your aim.

The dive magazines are sometimes the porno of the sport- unrealistic idealized images. Relax, do some diving, you'll see more than you ever imagined.

 

[diversteve]

Whalesharks are hardly ever spotted on Roatan. We dove a week there during an optimum time (full moon) 3 years ago - our diveshop told us to book a day trip to Utila to maybe see one. Several resorts do them now - we had booked one for $500 total - not pp. - but they canceled because conditions would be too rough coming back.

There's lots of sand flies on the beaches - they bite. Not to mention lots of Mosquitos - Malaria and Dengue Fever are concerns - Anti-malarials were suggested. Something attacked us under the tablecloths at two restaurants and once at our rental house. Otoh I did spend an hour or so playing with the diveshop owners kids on Half Moon Bay Beach one afternoon w/o getting bit once.

It's a tropical island that's mostly rainforest - so bugs are a given. It's also really humid in the spring and rains often - you did mention that your sister was fussy...areas with standing water often smell also.

On Utila, the three upscale AI's are Utopia Village, Laguna Beach or Deep Blue. I believe Utopia is the place for your sister - they have a world class chef, nice suites etc. Most of the accommodations in Utila town are "rustic" - they cater to a lot of backpackers and DM/Instructor trainees so even the nicer places try to hit a modest price point. And some are fairly old also - and well-worn.

I've never been to Laguna Beach but we rode by it daily. It seemed pretty nice, pool, beach etc. All three places are on the opposite side of a lagoon channel from Utila town so a boat is the only way to get to them - makes them a little safer. During a week at Deep Blue, the only reason we locked the door was to keep the sand flies out - we left the key in the lock all week.

We dove a week at Deep Blue two years ago during an optimum whaleshark research week. Snorkeled with 6 over 2 days then saw nothing else all week - it turned hot and flat calm which drove them deep. Rules state only certified researchers can dive with them. A lot of diveops in town do snorkel trips.

Deep Blue is not the place for no bugs. I was bit about 40-50 times even using Deet. There's small crabs you crunch on the paths at night. And a lot of tarantula holes on the path to the dive dock - only saw one but they hunt at night afaik. We also stored our softgear in a mesh bag - to keep roaches off it.

Both it and Laguna Beach back up to the Mangrove Lagoon in the center of Utila so I'm guessing sand flies are a similar problem at Laguna Beach - maybe worse as their cabanas are overwater on the lagoon side. Deep Blue's buildings are all oceanfront.

Nice resort, great people, rooms are clean, comfortable but just average - 2 double beds, avg. furnishings etc. Everything there is at the lodge, meals, relaxing, pool table, wireless internet access etc.

Steve the owner is passionate about whale sharks so their research weeks involve guest speakers, presentations, actively looking for them - both to photograph for the Ecocean database and also for research purposes. We had an expert DNA researcher on our trip who works with them and the Shark Research Institute - she follows Whalesharks around the world.

We were considering a whale shark dive trip to Belize this spring. As mentioned above it's a deep water hover off Gladden Spit to see them. You can either stay in Placencia, just north of there in several nicer resorts or offshore at several cays/atolls that do special trips there - at extra cost.

Some options that were more upscale - never been to any of them:

Hamanasi
Inn at Roberts Grove
Blancaneaux Lodge

Isla Marisol - offshore

One place that might work for you - Laru Beya - it's an AI just north of Placencia on the beach. Splash Divers bundles a trip with them - includes diving, daily pickup etc. local flights and airport transfers from BZE etc. Avadon Divers has a big Newton dive boat - they would have been my pick.

 

[tarponchik]

If I had a sis like that, I'd probably won't take her anywhere further than 5-star Hilton in NY City, and even there she'd complain that TP isn't soft enough and 15 towels on their bathroom rack are too few. She'd most likely ruin your vacation no matter where you go, so I'm tempted to say "Dump her and go some place you can enjoy!" Wooops, did I really say that?!

 

[parrotheaddiver]

so you are all used to the beaches in Maui?!!in the good old USA...then don't go to the Bay Islands...one of the last Banana Republics....and I think everyone has just about covered why

 

[dmoore19]

Well then if you demand to see whale sharks, go to the Atlanta Aquarium and see whale sharks, I am sure you could find some luxury in Atlanta. Then take a trip to Key West FL and do some dives. I am sure you could find some luxury there too. That would keep you out of Mexico, give you a whale shark view and keep the luxury and give you some diving. Not sure you could do it on your budget but you could check it out.

 

[HappyHonu]

There is the famous Whale Shark Guarantee

For an extra $1,000 per diver on board
they will guarantee that you see a Whaleshark
if not, you will get a refund in cash
at the end of the week.

You in?

Whale Sharks seem to be the artificially manufactured holy grail of sport diving. I've seen a few, but I've been underwater now for a total of maybe 8 months of my life.

Whale Sharks are best observed while snorkeling, after being dumped in the water from the boat of a very smart captain. Whale Sharks, and as a matter of fact... any pelagic Shark... is likely to avoid the noisy bubbles of SCUBA divers. It is a snorkeling (or rebreather) kind of endeavor.

All good things shall come in time. I was much more impressed when I saw an Octopus eat another Octopus.... and then there was those cannibalistic Squids with the same result.

Exotic sights such as "good diving & nice reefs", an often specified requirement for many post queries in search of vacation delights... those things simply do not ever go together with "luxury". (At least not for long, and not in the realm of affordability by we mere mortals who habituate the internet looking for dive info) Think Oprah money, cubic metric dollars.

So, if that aforementioned extra $1,000 seemed a lot, you might want to refocus your aim.

The dive magazines are sometimes the porno of the sport- unrealistic idealized images. Relax, do some diving, you'll see more than you ever imagined.

2 RoatanMan: I know there are many things in the ocean that are just as fascinating, or more so, than whale sharks. I just want to see them because they are beautiful, old (I respect things that have survived for millions of years), and the biggest fish in the ocean. I probably won't get to go on another diving vacation for about five years due to repairs on our house that are essentially as costly as buying a new house, and I just hoped it would be slightly epic. Yes, I know that is an oxymoron.