Worth a trip to the North Side?

[jbird71]

I'm making my second trip to Roatan in October. I stayed in West End and was quite happy with the diving and shore life. But I'm wondering if there's enough variety to dive on the North (or further up the West) side. Or is it better to stay to the south because of the rainy season?

 

[RTBDiver]

I'm making my second trip to Roatan in October. I stayed in West End and was quite happy with the diving and shore life. But I'm wondering if there's enough variety to dive on the North (or further up the West) side. Or is it better to stay to the south because of the rainy season?

This is some trick post right? West end is what is considered the North Side of the Island, , There really is no "further up" the West than West End other than West Bay which is still considered North Side of the Island , Have you ever stayed on what is considered the South Shore? West End, West Bay, Sandy Bay, are all North shore

 

[Doc]

We have seen a very calm tropical storm season to date, but in general, at this time of year (Sept-Feb), the South side is a better bet in terms of weather.

As RTB alluded, the geography and areas served by localized dive ops are hard to noodle out unless you have a real handle on the map and what it means in terms of available sites they can service.

I would guess that maybe 10% of Roatan's dive visitors stay with South side operations, all could be classed as AI. North and West Ops may publish that they offer South side access, but I would venture that statement is a stretch. Offering dives at (the overhyped) South side Roatan "signature dive" is about the extent of much of it.

Of that above South side 10% of the total visitors, that's the group that generally logs 20-27 dives in a week. The bulk of visiting divers to Roatan (that other maybe 90% of total visitors) access their diving at West End dive day dive ops, usually booking 7 to 12 dives during a week's stay. There is a large AI resort that blends into that area, Anthony Key Resort, and visitors there range in the 18-23 dives per week.

South side dive-centric resorts would be Barefoot Key, CoCoView and Reef House. Fantasy Island is rumored to be restarting business, but you might me an alpha tester where there has been some real issues in the past. Media Luna is a resort that also offers diving.

Most West End dive ops run North around the point and dive what are technically a North side sites, this is why I used the label of West/North when referring to this zone of dive sites. The only true North side dive ops are located 2/3 the way to the East, Turquoise Bay and Paya Bay, both are not really dive-specific resorts.

South side diving is best for divers who have perfected their buoyancy skills and have excellent close-in observational techniques. Many newer divers are disappointed in this area which is considered a macro paradise that is unique in the Caribbean.

The West/North diving is deeper and darker, but because of the Marina Reserva, divers will see the more common Caribbean fish in larger sizes.

Depends on what you want, what you're ready for.

 

[zeppelindiver]

The north side of Roatan does include West Bay/ West End but there is also outstanding diving further east along the north shore. There are 3 dive operators in that area, Subway Watersports that operates out of Turquoise Bay Resort, Tropical Island Divers that operates out of Marble Hill Farms (they also provide the dive services for Paya Bay Resort), and Camp Bay Resort. All of these operators have websites, provide good services and have accommodations onsite, but they are remote and it's a long way to anything else on the island. Camp Bay Resort is the furthest east and provides good access inside the reef to the east end of the island & Morat island to dive Morat Wall.

Along with Reef House, which is located in Oak Ridge on the south side, those operators will provide you with access to sites that have much less diver traffic than anywhere else on the island and as a result are more pristine. To put it in perspective, during the high season the West Bay/West End area will have about 30 boats with an average of 12-15 divers per boat, which works out to around 400 divers per day and a total of 1200 dives per day on the reefs. I doubt that the east end of the island sees 400 divers per month based on our experience diving up there.

As far as the question is worth it to go to the north shore, in our opinion absolutely. All of the dive areas on Roatan have exceptional diving in their own right, they are just very different. Both the south & north (including West End) shores can be closed out due to wind conditions, it just depends on the weather when you are there. At this time of year so long as you don't have a system moving through the conditions are generally calm & light everywhere as the trade winds have died down.

Have a great trip, I'm sure you'll enjoy wherever you decide to dive!

 

[Mike]

The north side of Roatan does include West Bay/ West End but there is also outstanding diving further east along the north shore. There are 3 dive operators in that area, Subway Watersports that operates out of Turquoise Bay Resort, Tropical Island Divers that operates out of Marble Hill Farms (they also provide the dive services for Paya Bay Resort), and Camp Bay Resort. All of these operators have websites, provide good services and have accommodations onsite, but they are remote and it's a long way to anything else on the island. Camp Bay Resort is the furthest east and provides good access inside the reef to the east end of the island & Morat island to dive Morat Wall.

Just how different or better would you describe the diving on the north side heading east compared to the areas around West end / West bay?

 

[zeppelindiver]

The main differences between the West End area of Roatan & the eastern portion of the north side of the island stem from the health of the reef. While there are excellent individual dive sites in the West End, in general the health of the coral; number, size & variety of the fish life; and overall color is better on the eastern reefs. I believe that this simply due to the greatly reduced traffic that these reefs see. Any reef that has 1200 dives per day on it for 5 months of the year and maybe half that number for another 4 months, even though spread out over 6 miles of reef, is going to feel some pressure.

Both areas have an excellent variety of dive site topography including walls, swim throughs, soft & hard coral reefs, occasional visits by pelagics, turtles, etc but in my opinion the east end is just much healthier & more alive.

 

[Mike]

Makes sense. So basically you are just seeing a less troden, fished, stressed environment. I thought maybe there was something in regard to structure or unique features/dive sites out that way, or a unique nursery or spawning or some sort of situation, versus just less stress.

 

[zeppelindiver]

Generally that's correct. However, just like the West End area has some special sites such as Spooky Channel, the east end has its own as well & the local operators based up there know where they are & are much closer. Also, Morat Wall, while not technically on Roatan, is spectacular & it's much easier to access from one of the east end shops than from the western end of the island.

 

[RTBDiver]

. However, just like the West End area has some special sites such as Spooky Channel,.

Uhhh, Spooky Channel is of course on the Western Half of the Island, Yet so is French Harbor if you want to get technical about it, BUT No one Considers Spooky Channel, on the Eastern end of Sandy Bay, A West End Dive site

 

[zeppelindiver]

My comment said West End AREA, not specifically the West End, go ahead & split hairs about the exact name of an area if you like, BUT the entire area from West End Point through Sandy Bay is only 6 miles long on an island that is over 30 miles long along the northern coastline. It is at the western end of the island, and Spooky Channel is in this section, less than 3 miles from Half Moon Bay, unless of course you don't consider Half Moon Bay to be part of West End either.