The optimum month this year for spotting Whale Sharks this year
is April according to Deep Blue Utila. They base their research program around it.
Deep Blue Utila - swim with whale sharks at our all inclusive resort. Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras
We were there a few years ago and they put us on 3-4 Whale Sharks every mid-morning for the first couple of days. Till the weather changed to flat calm and drove everything deeper - it's thought including their food source. We were there 3/28-4/3. Steve Fox, the owner, is considered one of the regional experts in the field. He'll also bring in an expert for evening lectures etc. And works with Ecocean - the whale shark database people.
I've never seen a shark on Roatan outside of the Shark Dive. Or Dolphins on the
North side - except the Dolphin dive at AKR. We did find an occasional big grouper, barracuda, or turtle - once at Spooky Channel all three were wating at the deep side of the reef.
We sometimes saw a shark or two off Utila. Mostly off the north side, it's deeper. That's where we saw all the Whale Sharks also. Once off Black Hills, a seamount on the south side, we saw six 3-4' Grouper, the same # of 2-3 Oceanic Triggers, about 100 barracuda and two sharks moving up the wall just as we were leaving.
We spent a week and did around 20-22 dives on each island.
You can stay cheap on Roatan in the West End - options courtesy of Coconut Tree Divers - I recommend them -
Roatán Accomodations Nightlife - bars, beach bars etc., shops and most restaurants are in that area also. West Bay has the better beach but is more commercialized - the cruise ships bring beach excursions there daily. The West End is 5mins. by cab from Anthony's Key if you stay there and need a change. You really don't need/want a car - there's a whole lot of liability issues if you hit something.
There's affordable accommodations in town in Utila also - only the AI's are more expensive since they're isolated by geography - and from what I've seen nicer. Utila is a backpacking mecca so there's a lot of cheaper options.
Factor in another $150 or less to fly to Utila from Roatan or from the mainland. You also have to arrive at either early enough in the afternoon to fly on during daylight hours. There's no lights at the Utila Airport - not much of an airport either...lol.
My personal opinion is that to see Whale Sharks you really need to get to Utila. I asked our DM/Instructor about it once on Roatan - he said he'd seen about a dozen in 10 years of daily diving. It's snorkel only when one is spotted on the surface.
For Sharks and Whale Sharks you might consider Belize also. Later in the year off Gladden Spit you can dive with Whale Sharks legally. But it's hit or miss and priced as an add-on from many of the dive resorts since they're not close to that area. Splash Dive in Plancencia is one option - my friends dove with several daily twice during the week. Splash lists these dates as optimal - before/after the full moon when the Cubera Snapper spawn - it draws the sharks there.
Scuba with Belize Whale Sharks|Scuba Diving & Accommodation|Splash Dive Center|Placencia Belize