Where to Live and Teach...Roatan or Utila?

[Taskmaster]

thanks for the good info, is the resort work mostly DMing divers on trips, or can you make a living teaching courses at resorts?

 

[Cudabait]

thanks for the good info, is the resort work mostly DMing divers on trips, or can you make a living teaching courses at resorts?

It's gonna depend. Big difference in "Resort" & "Dive Op"....for the most part the resorts do turn key work specifcally for traveling divers. some incidental specialty teaching involved. For the most part the "DM's", which are to a large degree, are Instructors working as dive masters because the tips involved make it worthwhile.

On the other hand, a dive op usually will will have a full blown divers training program thru divemanter or higher. Coincidental with the teaching they will probably run a combination of 'fun dives' and educational dives on their boats. In this case, Instructors or divemasters will be either teaching a class or guiding a group of fun divers. If one has the chance, it would be best to take a look at the various operations. Utila and Roatan have both. Roatan has a higher number of Resorts and dive ops. Utila is much smaller and is known world wide for the training that is offered there at very reasonable rates. Lot of traveling divers on Utila combine training with relatively inexpensive fun diving, enhance their certifications and move on. In reality, it will depend on You. If you are a good diver, a better instructor, and do not mind working your buns off ( 4-5 dives a day) lugging gear, tanks, etc....drumming up a lot of your own students, then the amount of $$ you make will be relative to the above and your ability to manage on whatever you earn. It wll be more or less from time to time. The choice has to be yours.

Regards,