So what's the deal with Fantasy Island?

[bkpix]

My wife and I did our first Roatan trip to Fantasy Island; that was 6 years ago. We had a good time, but were still fairly new to diving.

We went back to Roatan this year in August and stayed at the Reef House Resort, this really was very good.

Quite rustic, old Roatan style I should think. Very small, only 11 or 12 rooms total so you don't have to worry about too many divers on the boat. 3 true boat dives a day, from what I understand FI was going out for the first dive, doing a drop off dive as your second dive, then doing another close in dive in the afternoon. We did 3 locations a day and the house reef right in front of the resort is a great shore dive!

Food was three meals a day from their rotating menu. Food was good and there was always home made dessert; not to mention home made donuts, cinnamon rolls cookies and the like waiting for you after the 3rd dive of the day.

Their prices may not match the deals at FI, but contact them and see what they are offering.

They dive locations that nobody else goes to, so the health of the reefs are much better then what we saw the one day we went to a few locations around the FI area.

Most dives were walls, so you can stay as shallow as you want for the most part, just so Davit, the divemaster, can keep an eye on you.

 

[BTravlin]

SNIP ... from what I understand FI was going out for the first dive, doing a drop off dive as your second dive, then doing another close in dive in the afternoon. ... SNIP

Just to clarify, FI does three boat dives per day plus one night boat dive per week package. Daily dives are at roughly 9 am, 11:15 am and 2:30 pm. If you ask ahead of time, they will bring an extra tank for you and drop you off in the lagoon on the way back in from the afternoon dive.

 

[CajunDiva]

Wow! Thanks to all of you for following-up. Sorry, I'm still a newbie at this and will look at filling out my profile.

Here are some of my concerns based on reading others' trip reports. I guess I'm wondering if these are isolated incidents or more the norm.

(1) upwards of 19 divers per dive master
(2) very little surface interval between dives 1 and 2
(3) water bottles on the boat being filled with tap water
(4) gear getting 'lost' or stolen

Other questions:

How conscientious are the DMs? My sister and I are both AOW (me with over 100 dives and her with about 40). So I don't need someone checking my air every 10 min., but I want someone that will point out 'cool' stuff, be readily available if one of us has a problem our buddy can't solve, and get us back to the boat.

Does the crew set up your equipment or do you?

Are the boats truly dive boats? Do they have tank holders and easy re-entry after the dive? Is there enough room to gear up? Do they have fresh water for cameras/computers? What do they supply in terms of snacks drinks? Is there a head on board?

I have made numerous trips to Fantasy Island, absolutely LOVE the place, and consider myself highly qualified to answer these questions:

(1) Absolutely not. We have never seen more than 15 divers on a boat, and that was a
rare incident. We have spoken to current management about this subject and this
certainly does not match their philosophy.

(2) The surface interval is 45 minutes to 1 hour and sometimes more, depending on what
dive site you visit. The boats return to the dock after each dive. If it is your choice
to bring an extra tank and do a drop-off dive, that is certainly an option for you.
Of course that will reduce the duration of the surface interval.

(3) The water bottles on the boat are filled with purified water that is perfectly safe to
drink. I have NEVER had a problem with the drinking water on the boat.

(4) In all of our trips to Fantasy Island, we have never had any gear stolen. Now, I must
admit that it's pretty hard to keep up with all of our gear sometimes. It's so easy to
forget something on the boat or in the rinse tank...will have to admit to doing that on
numerous occasions. But every single time, one of the dive shop crew has found it
and locked it up in the locker room for the night so that it was there waiting for us in
the morning. They are VERY conscientious people and I love and trust them all.

Regarding your other questions, the divemasters are incredibly conscientious. Your safety is paramount to them. They try to cater to your desires. If you feel that you need more attention be sure to point that out to them. If you are an experienced diver and you & your buddy want to dive your own plan, be sure to let them know that as well so they can focus more on others. I have been diving with all of the FI divemasters but one, and I would recommend any of them highly. In fact, we just spent 8 days at FI and then moved over to AKR for the following week. The divemasters at FI are still unrivaled in my book.

As far as setting up your equipment, the crew will happily do that if you ask them to but most divers I know prefer to do their own. I am one who sets up my own gear and checks my buddies set-up before the dive...call me old-fashioned.

Yes, the boats are truly dive boats. They are custom built and take the waves much better than the newer fiberglass boats used by other operations. They have tank holders (and they make sure to leave an empty holder between each diver so you are not too crowded) and two large ladders to make re-entry quick and easy. The divemaster and boat captain are there to assist you if needed.

There is a camera tank and a mask tank...be careful not to confuse the two as camera owners do tend to take offense at this While you are diving the boat captain is on board slicing up fresh pineapples, watermelon and even papaya! They also include apples if that is your preference. If not, we throw them to the poor children in French Harbour as we go by...

There is no head on board, but there are facilities at the dive shop.

Any more questions, please feel free to ask...we love the place and are happy to help.

 

[DiveMaven]

We looked at FI and CCV for a Roatan trip next spring, and the lack of children at CCV clinched the deal for us. We aren't "anti-kid" for trips normally, but when when faced with a small, "liveaboard on land" type experience, the last thing we wanted to add to it were children. We were also a bit swayed by both friend's previous experiences at CCV and Robin's trip report and private PMs about CCV.

The way I look at it, you really won't go wrong with whatever you choose. Pick one and have a great time!

 

[farsidefan1]

I was at FI a yr ago in December and never had more than 10 on a boat. Worst thing about the place is the icecream. Darn stuff made me gain 5 lbs. Awfull! We stayed in the older section next to the boats. It wasn't shiny new but I liked the convenience. The room was clean and functional. Food is, in my opinion a bit better than that served at CCV. I've been to CCv a couple of times and will be returning there in June. Due to the pricing I recommended FI to my daughter. You will have a great time!

 

[Ed L.]

What you are looking for is Coco View. I'd goto to Fantasy island in heart beat as long as I could keep all my gear in a locker at coco view and free style swim across the way and hop on one of their boats for my day of diving and swim back at the end of the day!

 

[Chi-Diver]

Wow CajunDiva -- thanks for the detailed information. Sounds like the new owners are really turning things around. We are planning on going there in low season too (end of August), so it sounds like I shouldn't be concerned with experiencing over-crowded boats.

 

[Chi-Diver]

DiveMaven -- I appreciate your feedback on the kid aspect of each resort. I found Robin's trip report extremely helpful as well. Thanks!

 

[Sirto]

I have been to Fantasy Island three times and am sure it will give you everything you are looking for.

I'd like to specifically comment on items being stolen. Of course this can happen anywhere but on my last trip I forgot to bring my camera back to the room before lunch and when I returned I found it waiting for me in the dive shop.


Be sure you look at the rates shown on Roatan.com at
Roatan Charter presents Honduras and Belize.: adventure and scuba travel in Central America.
They have the best rates for Fantasy Island. The current deal is $979 for TWO divers, good till Dec 26.

They also have great rates for 2010 if you book by Dec 1.

 

[CODMAN]

This is a very accurate description on how it is at FI! Exactly as it was when I went in 2006. For the money, very hard to beat! Not perfect... But for the price a bargain! Only disapointing things were 1- food (I'm very hard to please on food), 2- Washrooms shower( sometimes there wre problems with the shower).

I'll probably be going back some day... When I'm not heading back to the Philippines...

I have made numerous trips to Fantasy Island, absolutely LOVE the place, and consider myself highly qualified to answer these questions:

(1) Absolutely not. We have never seen more than 15 divers on a boat, and that was a
rare incident. We have spoken to current management about this subject and this
certainly does not match their philosophy.

(2) The surface interval is 45 minutes to 1 hour and sometimes more, depending on what
dive site you visit. The boats return to the dock after each dive. If it is your choice
to bring an extra tank and do a drop-off dive, that is certainly an option for you.
Of course that will reduce the duration of the surface interval.

(3) The water bottles on the boat are filled with purified water that is perfectly safe to
drink. I have NEVER had a problem with the drinking water on the boat.

(4) In all of our trips to Fantasy Island, we have never had any gear stolen. Now, I must
admit that it's pretty hard to keep up with all of our gear sometimes. It's so easy to
forget something on the boat or in the rinse tank...will have to admit to doing that on
numerous occasions. But every single time, one of the dive shop crew has found it
and locked it up in the locker room for the night so that it was there waiting for us in
the morning. They are VERY conscientious people and I love and trust them all.

Regarding your other questions, the divemasters are incredibly conscientious. Your safety is paramount to them. They try to cater to your desires. If you feel that you need more attention be sure to point that out to them. If you are an experienced diver and you & your buddy want to dive your own plan, be sure to let them know that as well so they can focus more on others. I have been diving with all of the FI divemasters but one, and I would recommend any of them highly. In fact, we just spent 8 days at FI and then moved over to AKR for the following week. The divemasters at FI are still unrivaled in my book.

As far as setting up your equipment, the crew will happily do that if you ask them to but most divers I know prefer to do their own. I am one who sets up my own gear and checks my buddies set-up before the dive...call me old-fashioned.

Yes, the boats are truly dive boats. They are custom built and take the waves much better than the newer fiberglass boats used by other operations. They have tank holders (and they make sure to leave an empty holder between each diver so you are not too crowded) and two large ladders to make re-entry quick and easy. The divemaster and boat captain are there to assist you if needed.

There is a camera tank and a mask tank...be careful not to confuse the two as camera owners do tend to take offense at this While you are diving the boat captain is on board slicing up fresh pineapples, watermelon and even papaya! They also include apples if that is your preference. If not, we throw them to the poor children in French Harbour as we go by...

There is no head on board, but there are facilities at the dive shop.

Any more questions, please feel free to ask...we love the place and are happy to help.