Take a look at Roatan, Utila & the Bay Islands. With regard to cost there are few places in Central America or the Caribbean where the diving is as affordable as the Bay Islands. From what I have seen, Roatan & Utila have the lowest cost per boat dive anywhere in the Caribbean, and possibly all of North & Central America. Almost all of the diving is boat dives to sites within 10 minutes of the shop or resort. There are over 120 dive sites with moorings around Roatan alone & any of the resorts have typically 20 to 30 sites within a short boat trip. Water temps early in the year will be around 80F and the air around 84F, rainy season ends in January & it's generally warm & sunny from then until July.
There is a wide variety of accommodations available, from hostels to all-inclusive high-end resorts to boutique hotels & B&Bs. There are also over 30 dive operators, both independents & attached to resorts, and you can find pretty much any size & type that you like. You should be able to find great deals on accommodation & diving packages. A good place to look for deals & info about Roatan & Utila dive shops, hotels etc. is actually on Facebook, many of the resorts & dive operators, especially the smaller ones, primarily use Facebook to communicate and do not keep their websites very current. The Facebook pages however are often current right up to that day.
As far as diving Roatan is concerned, like many places you have to know where to go to get the best diving. The diving on the south shore & east end of Roatan is better than in the West End/West Bay area in our opinion, however that is a matter of personal preference, the diving around the west end of the island is also terrific. There is not much in the way of large marine life, this is not where you come to see that. However the coral reefs are beautiful & the fish life is incredible at the right dive sites, at times totally surrounding us. The whale sharks are here in May through July & are often sighted daily off both the south & north shores & Utila has even more of them than Roatan. The reefs are very healthy and the coral off the south shore of Roatan is outstanding, dramatic walls full of color that plunge from 30 feet to over 140, with overhangs, swim throughs, canyons and chimneys. Roatan's reputation is built on the vibrancy of its coral reefs & they are the main reason divers come here.
The island is beautiful & once you get away from the touristy western end much of it is untouched. There is a mixture of cultures that is quite fascinating and areas like Port Royal, Henry Morgan's old stronghold, are full of great history as well as terrific diving on pristine reefs. There are few places to go on islands that have the variety of things to do in addition to diving that Roatan offers. The biggest challenge our guests face is trying to balance diving with sailing, exploring, relaxing, and taking part in the many activities available. Many people come here for a week & leave with no idea that 2/3 of the island is still undeveloped jungle and once you leave the tourist zone in the West End of the island you can spend days exploring the East End of the island, where much of the area does not even have roads & is only accessible by boat. The locals commute from village to village through channels cut through the mangroves, it is a complete contrast to the modern resorts of the West End of the island.
There is a lot of info from many posters in the threads under the Bay Islands sub-forum of the Central America forum. If you take a look at our website
Zeppelin Dive & Sail | Roatan Live Aboard Sailing & Diving Charters and our Facebook page they will also give you a good starting place for information about Roatan & all the island has to offer. Even if you have no interest in our services please feel free to contact us with any questions about Roatan & the Bay Islands at
zeppelinsail@gmail.com. We are more than happy to help anyone with questions about the area. Good luck with your decision & if we can help with any questions about Roatan & the Bay Islands just let us know!
