Utilia-Trudy's Suites/Underwater Vision Dive Shop?

[Pillpusher]

Hey everyone,

I'm planning on spending a week in Utila the beginning of September, and have been shopping places to stay and dive with. I came across Trudy's and am hoping to get some feedback on the place, aside from the Tripadvisor reviews. The suite rooms look nice (I can only find one pic online, though, so I'm not sure), and the place is unbelievably inexpensive ($45/night), as is the diving ($225/10 dives), so I'm trying to figure out "the catch". From the pics I've seen, the entire staff seems very young. Not that I'm old (IMO...lol) at 36, and, nothing against the staff since I've dove with several outstanding young DM's... I just want to make sure they are experienced and know the reef well enough to find the good stuff. Has anyone stayed here and/or dove with them? I want to get in as much diving as possible while I'm there (hopefully 3-5 dives per day), so I want to make sure I'm picking the right spot. Another thing is that they seem to only have one dive boat, and quite a few divers staying there... How many divers typically go out on one boat? I'm not a huge fan of cattle boats, especially when it's a lot of new divers. I am also considering the Mango Inn/Utila Dive Center as well as the Utilia Dive Lodge. Also, while I realize Sept isn't peak whale shark season, does this crew at least make an effort to see them? I noticed most other websites mention whale sharks, while UWV's doesn't.

Thanks in advance!

 

[laurenceh]

utila attracts a predominantly young back packer crowd, lots of ow certifications and instructor training going on at most places. i think deep blue divers may be more your scene, a fun group but serious and a bit less of a party scene than some places. udc is very good as well and has a couple of boats. expect to dive with 8-12 people on a boat but september can be quieter. i hate to jinx you but september has been really good for whale sharks in recent years.

 

[Pillpusher]

Thanks, that would certainly explain the prices. Actually, Deep Blue was the first place I looked at. It would be PERFECT, but there are no TV's in the rooms. I know, I know... We're on vacation. But, I'm just the type who likes to watch a little TV in some of my downtime and to wind down before going to sleep... So shoot me... If they had TV's it would have been no contest. I'm still considering it because I really like that there is quality shore diving available there as well, but it looks like Trudy's is literally half the price of these other places I'm looking at... Which still has me wondering, "What's the catch?"...lol. Oh, and awesome to hear about the whale sharks... Hopefully ya didn't jinx me...lol.

 

[laurenceh]

i think you're confusing deep blue resort with deep blue divers, same owners but deep blue divers is their cheaper in town place. if a tv is important and trudys has one in the room, go for it. mango inn has them as well. many dive places will give you really cheap accommodation if you're doing a course. when i did my divemaster a couple of years ago at cross creek my room with a/c, no tv and a shared bathroom was $2 a night. fyi. trudys is not in the same league as resorts such as deep blue, utopia and laguna beach, its a nice backpacker hotel, it will be a bit noisy at night with a younger party atmosphere.

 

[Stout]

There's no catch, that's just normal Utila pricing, one of the best dive deals on the planet. There is the opportunity to spend way more, as you've seen but bang for buck Utila gets my vote hands down.

One big difference you'll find between the resorts and the in town dive schools in the experience level of the dive master. In the resorts, you're pretty much guaranteed and experienced pro who can spot the critters whereas in the dive schools you may end up with a DN whose pointing out things like lobsters, green morays and boxfish.

Conventional wisdom says don't book anything, land on the island, check into a hotel ( it doesn't matter whether it's attached to a dive operation or not ) then spend the next morning shopping dive shops to see who's offering what and, if possible, have a chat with the DM who'll you be potentially diving with.

I went with Deep Blue, the in town shop, not the resort as I'm an old fart for Utila and wasn't up to partying my face off every night, something UWV is geared toward, and just rented myself an apartment, a quiet apartment so nobody was keeping me awake with their hootin' and hollerin'.

Deep Blue may only have one trip a day though, meaning only two dives. That was the scenario when I was there earlier this year and if they're still doing that, you won't be able to get your 3-5 in.

Here's the deal with whale sharks. Every body looks for them, the boat captain gets a big tip, $10/person if he can get snorkelers ( no scuba ) in the water with one so you can rest assured that since these guys are yakking on the radio with each other, if there's a whale shark in the vicinity the captain is going to put the pedal to the metal and hightail it out to wherever one is spotted.

There's a guy who posts on here, Henry, goes by the handle of Slober. It might be worth hooking up with him and wherever he's diving as he's a critter spotter par excellence. I'm embarrassed to admit the number of times he called me back to see something I'd just swam right past.

TV on the island sucks. I couldn't find a guide so it was a matter of channel surfing for longer that I wanted to because everything is so loaded with commercials that trying to find something worth watching was a chore. You're better off with a laptop and DVDs so maybe take another look at Deep Blue resort.

 

[Pillpusher]

Lauren, yes, I was confusing the two. Thanks. And thanks for the info Stout. Yeah, I'm thinking that Trudy's isn't what we'll be looking for. My wife doesn't have a lot of experience diving yet, so I'd rather not be grouped in with a bunch of students led by someone not very experienced. Maybe if I were single and flying solo, but that's not the case. And JUST as I about to say that I decided on the Utila Dive Lodge, I just noticed they made the week we are heading there one of their whale shark weeks. Which means, by the looks of the schedule, we'd spend a lot more money (rate hike to over $1700 per person after tax!) and half of our time in a classroom... No thanks. I could swear that wasn't on the website when I looked last night. Oh well, now I'm back to square one...lol.

I had scratched off Mango's since it's not near the water, but it looks like that's back on the board again, even though they charge and arm and a leg for Nitrox. I wouldn't mind using a place that wasn't partnered w/ a dive shop, but my wife has a bad back, so it would have to be somewhere extremely nearby and that can store our gear. I guess that'll just take some more research.

 

[laurenceh]

no tv's in the rooms (but they have a big screen in a tv lounge room) but utopia is the nicest resort on the island for couples. utila lodge is definitely not worth $1700 a week, the rooms and location are not much better than trudys. utopia has pretty rooms, a nice beach with a beach bar and serves some of the best food on the island imho. plus anke their divemaster is one of the most experienced in the bay islands and they do all the work, wash gear, lug tanks, set up your gear on their boat each morning etc. etc. you know, like a real resort.

 

[Pillpusher]

Utopia IS much nicer, but only 2 dives per day, over $1600 per person, and, as you said, no tv. So that won't work either. If I end up doing Trudy's Suites, are there any good dive shops within the immediate vicinity?

 

[laurenceh]

udc, deep blue divers, cross creek and several more are within 3 mins walk from trudys.
utopia only does two boat dives per morning but you are allowed unlimited shore diving and their house reef is great. they also do a night dive.
afternoon boat dives from town are virtually always on the south shore, meaning you'll be driven by boat to dive in the vicinity of either utopia or deep blue resort.
fyi trudys, like utila lodge, is in the middle of town and despite being on the water is a ten minute walk to a beach.

 

[Stout]

The mango Inn/UDC has a van so maybe some sort of pick-up service may be offered. Dunno what the noise factor with the Mango is, being so close to the Treetanic bar. Damn, I remember those days of the bucket of blood bar when I was staying at the Mango, good thing it wasn't open every night.

There's also the Lighthouse Hotel and Lazy days at the Bay, both within easy walking distance of Trudy's. Neither are connected with a dive shop although they'll give you recommendations and both are at the mellow end of town. I can't remember about the Lighthouse, but I did see a flatscreen in one of Lazy Days room's.

If you go with a dive school rather than a resort, you'll be diving with a group of "fun divers" as they like to call us divers. You'll be going to the same site as the students however it's doubtful you'll be diving with them.

As an inexperienced diver, your wife will love Utila. Warm water, no current to speak of and no need to "go deep" as most of the interesting stuff is in the shallows.