Who to dive with in West End?

[KLSanford]

Hello Roatan divers. We are planning a dive vacation with another couple for next Spring and are planning on renting a condo in the West End. Now the question is who to dive with. Two suggestions have been Coconut Tree Divers and Sueno del Mar. Just wondering if you could give me some feedback for these two dive shops - which one you recommend and why. We are also open to any other suggestions as well.
Thanks!

 

[godive19]

Definitely coconut tree divers. I originally started diving with Sueno about 12 years ago and switched to Coconut tree about 10 years ago because of some things that I won’t go into since staff has changed and I cannot comment on Sueno now. But in the 10 years I have been with Coconut tree I have not had any reason to look at other shops. The professionalism shown and the fun that I have had with them cannot be surpassed. Another sign is that dive masters move quite a bit in the industry and I believe that CT has had the same core staff since almost the beginning. I think that that shows thru as well.

 

[diversteve]

Agree with the above, my group dove (and some stayed at) CTD all week. They were serious when they needed to be, fun when not and went out of their way - even handling booking for us at several competitors when we wanted to do some non-West End dives. Gay and PJ run a great outfit, all of their staff seemed genuinely interested in making sure we had a great experience all week. One dive I had a problem with my reg, 20 mins. after we returned to the shop Tree had it fixed. I would go back to them in an instant if I'm ever in that area again. And often recommend them here.

Gay is also a great source of non-dive suggestions - she told us about a couple of really good local restaurants we likely would not have found.

That is supposed to say dive in the title!

It does now..

 

[KLSanford]

Thank you diversteve and godive19. Sounds like the kind of dive outfit we like! Anybody ever stayed at Villa Isla Bonita? (it is part of Sunset Villas) The pictures and reviews look awesome, even the owner has been prompt about returning information. But, I always like to get opinions from a non-biased person. I guess my main concern is the distance to the dive shop. It is hard to tell, but it looks like it might be a bit of a hike with our gear. Thanks again for any input!

 

[diversteve]

From there Sueno Del Mar would be closer.

Google Earth tells me it's 2/10ths of a mile from the first Sunset Villa to Sueno Del Mar. It's 6/10ths of a mile from Sunset Villas to Coconut Tree Divers.

I looked at Sunset Villas also - instead we rented a house on the east side of Half Moon Bay since we wanted to be on the water. Our house was 4/10ths the other way - we walked all our gear over the 1st day and left it at Coconut Tree all week. After the day's dives we would hang it outside then CTD's staff would move it inside once dry. More than once they offered to clean it but I did my own. Coconut Tree's boats are docked just in front of the shop.

Here it is on a map. I believe Woody's is the closest food market (think big 7-11 with produce and meat) from Sunset Villas also. The other one is in the Coconut Tree complex. Near Woody's is Argentinian Grille, a good place for steaks. I can't place it on the map but Rotisserie Chicken should be just about where the SV road meets the main road at the beach.

 

[KLSanford]

Awesome information...Thanks a lot!

 

[Cudabait]

Hello Roatan divers. We are planning a dive vacation with another couple for next Spring and are planning on renting a condo in the West End. Now the question is who to dive with. Two suggestions have been Coconut Tree Divers and Sueno del Mar. Just wondering if you could give me some feedback for these two dive shops - which one you recommend and why. We are also open to any other suggestions as well.
Thanks!

Hello KL,

We are going to West end for a month on May 24th. We were there last in October, having stayed 4 months in a condo at Sunset Villas. Over the past three years, depending on length of stay, we have stayed at the condos or at www.roatansplashinn.com. We have opted for Splash Inn this time because we will be joined by at least 11 other divers and stay is too short (for us) to grab a condo.

The Sunset Villas have a number of very nice units in which we have stayed. They just refinished the pool in September. Caution!! I do not recommend renting a condo that is any farther up the hill than the level of the pool. We did it ONCE. Never again. PM me if you want more particulars re: the condos.

Coconut Tree is a great dive op and I know some of the people personally. Also Splash Inn is a 12 minute walk from the condo pool. They are close to many good inexpensive restaurants and also have a restaurant on site, as does Coconut Tree Divers. As I've said, you can PM me with any other questions. Too bad ya'll are not going when we go. Whatever you decide you are going to have a great time diving the West End Marine Park! It is the best!!