jdiverhenley
February 2nd, 2009, 08:00 PM
So here is my try at a trip report.
This was our first trip to Roatan so we were pretty inexperienced to the area.
Lets start with customs, In previous post I heard customs was very slow to get through, this was not the case at all. It was actually the easiest of any of the destinations we have been to so far. Very quick and smooth.
Day 1:
We arrive at the airport on time, but have to wait for the shuttle from FIBR for 45 min before pickup, and then we were picked up by the employee shuttle, so we got a tour of the island before we ever got to the resort. We found the employee's very nice, and wouldn't have minded except we had already been traveling for 24 hours and had a serious case of the sore butt :sigh_2: but this was a very minor inconvenience.
When we did get to the lobby the staff was courteous and had us get lunch because the room wasn't ready yet, but soon we were off to the room to relax and get some sleep for our big day of diving the next day.
Day 2:
Breakfast: All meals at FIBR are a buffet. We found the food to be decent and filling, definitely not 5 star, but we were definitely not paying 5 star prices to be there. So we were happy with the quality. Previous post have talked about the poor quality of the food, and while not great, it was good. I think Americans in general should understand we have the best and safest food supply in the world, with good refrigeration a standard. But when you go to some of the smaller countries, they have a much harder time, so the food is packaged differently. Milk taste funny cause it comes in a box, etc. If we ate the same things we ate in the states I was disappointed in the flavor, but if I ate local items I found it to be very good. You couldn't go wrong with an omelet in the morning and chicken and seafood during the day, plus the Pasta was very good.
I see what people were saying about the waiters or staff not being to helpful, but we found if you get to know them, they were better and more attentive. "Franklin" during the evening is the best waiter of the place, nice and helpful from day 1,
but enough about food and on to the diving.
Orientation: We were told 8 am but no one showed up until 8:30. I don't think they expected us to dive the 1st trip out, but we insisted, so they did a quick orientation and off we went.
This is the 1st time we dove on a "cattle boat" and it wasn't too bad. There were only 3 dives during the week that felt really crowded(19 divers) but for the most part their were between 12-15 divers on each dive. We had a boat captain (Moses):D and our Dive Master (Miguel):cool2: I felt both were capable and did a good job. The only problems we had was that Miguel was hard to understand, so we would listen for key words(Reef is on the left shoulder) etc. Also When you have a large group it is hard for a dive master to keep track of everybody, but he did alright. I didn't find them overly friendly or more importantly, over protective. We are both relatively competent divers (wife and me) 75 dives, not a lot but enough to get along, and with the exception of a few times, we did what we want and came up when we want.(plan your dive and dive your plan)
On our fist dive vis was about 60 to 80 feet, I know some of you complain about the poor visibility, but when we dive, its usually in Oregon and Washington and we loved the visibility . This is probably the best dive for my wife because we got to see our 1st Sea Horse:shocked2::biggrin: (pictures to follow later, slow internet connection)
and we proceeded to dive 13 more times during the next 4 days for a total of 17 dives over 6 days. I know some of you are scoffing, about how few this is, but I'm fat and out of practice and I was tired every night after diving.
Some of the highlights that I would recommend for anyone diving there.
"Mary's Place" dramatic features and and lots of life, the same can be said for "Calvin's Crack" on the Crack we got to see our 1st ever "Frog Fish" :yeahbaby:
but I think the most enjoyable dive was "Gold Chain Reef" this is also the location for our night dive. The 1st part of the dive is entertaining but at the end we got to spend 2o to 30 min in the shallows on top of the reef, and the amount:crazyeye: of life is staggering. This is definitely great for the people who love "Macro"
the night dive was very cool Lots of Crabs and Lobster and we saw 2 medium size Octopus, very pretty, and colorful.
"The wreck of MR Bud" was also an exceptional dive, but we like the wrecks, and the shore dive from FIBR is an absolutely must do. It is easy, and fun. The DC-3 is still recognizable, and the wreck is very large and cool with easy penetration without extra risk. Not much in the way of large coral or life on the shore dive, but an abundance of juvenile's and small coral is forming. Just make sure you don't surface around either because it is the main channel where the boats come out from FIBR.
Their are also a couple of wall dives from the same location, but we didn't get to do any of those.
Some of the great things we saw were, Green Moray Eals, we actually saw quite a few of these. Sea Horses (2) Lobster, Crabs, Frog Fish, Spotted Moray's(I think), Lizard Fish(?)beautiful reefs (probably the best I have seen) Octopus, Barracuda and just a wide variety of reef fish.
Disappointments: We didn't get to see a Whale Shark(wrong time of year and wrong area) and any real large fish. I think the largest was probably a 4.5 foot long Barracuda.
The amount of trash and garbage in the water and on the reef, while not a lot, it wasn't uncommon to see plastic bags, cans, plastic bottles, etc. at least once a day down on the reef, and along every shore.
Sum up:
We found FIBR to be almost what it advertised. It is definitely a dive resort, and I hope the new owners take some time and money to fix the place up. I think the previous owners had to be idiots, because you can see where they took so many short cuts, in the rooms (Laminate floors):dork2: :confused: Warped and not sealed. You can feel where the floor is week and sags when you walk on it. Plumbing (showers) with the water faucet barely holding on, etc.
Don't misunderstand, we thought the rooms were fine, but they would get much better reviews, and have happier customers if they just cleaned up the rough edges a little. Plus they advertise 2 bars and (I think) 3 restaurants, but we only saw the 1 restaurant and bar the entire time we were there.
But these are small things compared with the the overall experience of the week.
We had a week of great diving, nice people, warm weather and hardly any bugs until the last day.(and then WOW)
Would I recommend FIBR to new divers or People who are accustomed to 5 star resorts.........Absolutely not. But to anyone else looking to dive, have a nice time, and who is not to interested in night life this a a great place to stay.
Thanks for listening
Jason and Dorothy Henley
This was our first trip to Roatan so we were pretty inexperienced to the area.
Lets start with customs, In previous post I heard customs was very slow to get through, this was not the case at all. It was actually the easiest of any of the destinations we have been to so far. Very quick and smooth.
Day 1:
We arrive at the airport on time, but have to wait for the shuttle from FIBR for 45 min before pickup, and then we were picked up by the employee shuttle, so we got a tour of the island before we ever got to the resort. We found the employee's very nice, and wouldn't have minded except we had already been traveling for 24 hours and had a serious case of the sore butt :sigh_2: but this was a very minor inconvenience.
When we did get to the lobby the staff was courteous and had us get lunch because the room wasn't ready yet, but soon we were off to the room to relax and get some sleep for our big day of diving the next day.
Day 2:
Breakfast: All meals at FIBR are a buffet. We found the food to be decent and filling, definitely not 5 star, but we were definitely not paying 5 star prices to be there. So we were happy with the quality. Previous post have talked about the poor quality of the food, and while not great, it was good. I think Americans in general should understand we have the best and safest food supply in the world, with good refrigeration a standard. But when you go to some of the smaller countries, they have a much harder time, so the food is packaged differently. Milk taste funny cause it comes in a box, etc. If we ate the same things we ate in the states I was disappointed in the flavor, but if I ate local items I found it to be very good. You couldn't go wrong with an omelet in the morning and chicken and seafood during the day, plus the Pasta was very good.
I see what people were saying about the waiters or staff not being to helpful, but we found if you get to know them, they were better and more attentive. "Franklin" during the evening is the best waiter of the place, nice and helpful from day 1,
but enough about food and on to the diving.
Orientation: We were told 8 am but no one showed up until 8:30. I don't think they expected us to dive the 1st trip out, but we insisted, so they did a quick orientation and off we went.
This is the 1st time we dove on a "cattle boat" and it wasn't too bad. There were only 3 dives during the week that felt really crowded(19 divers) but for the most part their were between 12-15 divers on each dive. We had a boat captain (Moses):D and our Dive Master (Miguel):cool2: I felt both were capable and did a good job. The only problems we had was that Miguel was hard to understand, so we would listen for key words(Reef is on the left shoulder) etc. Also When you have a large group it is hard for a dive master to keep track of everybody, but he did alright. I didn't find them overly friendly or more importantly, over protective. We are both relatively competent divers (wife and me) 75 dives, not a lot but enough to get along, and with the exception of a few times, we did what we want and came up when we want.(plan your dive and dive your plan)
On our fist dive vis was about 60 to 80 feet, I know some of you complain about the poor visibility, but when we dive, its usually in Oregon and Washington and we loved the visibility . This is probably the best dive for my wife because we got to see our 1st Sea Horse:shocked2::biggrin: (pictures to follow later, slow internet connection)
and we proceeded to dive 13 more times during the next 4 days for a total of 17 dives over 6 days. I know some of you are scoffing, about how few this is, but I'm fat and out of practice and I was tired every night after diving.
Some of the highlights that I would recommend for anyone diving there.
"Mary's Place" dramatic features and and lots of life, the same can be said for "Calvin's Crack" on the Crack we got to see our 1st ever "Frog Fish" :yeahbaby:
but I think the most enjoyable dive was "Gold Chain Reef" this is also the location for our night dive. The 1st part of the dive is entertaining but at the end we got to spend 2o to 30 min in the shallows on top of the reef, and the amount:crazyeye: of life is staggering. This is definitely great for the people who love "Macro"
the night dive was very cool Lots of Crabs and Lobster and we saw 2 medium size Octopus, very pretty, and colorful.
"The wreck of MR Bud" was also an exceptional dive, but we like the wrecks, and the shore dive from FIBR is an absolutely must do. It is easy, and fun. The DC-3 is still recognizable, and the wreck is very large and cool with easy penetration without extra risk. Not much in the way of large coral or life on the shore dive, but an abundance of juvenile's and small coral is forming. Just make sure you don't surface around either because it is the main channel where the boats come out from FIBR.
Their are also a couple of wall dives from the same location, but we didn't get to do any of those.
Some of the great things we saw were, Green Moray Eals, we actually saw quite a few of these. Sea Horses (2) Lobster, Crabs, Frog Fish, Spotted Moray's(I think), Lizard Fish(?)beautiful reefs (probably the best I have seen) Octopus, Barracuda and just a wide variety of reef fish.
Disappointments: We didn't get to see a Whale Shark(wrong time of year and wrong area) and any real large fish. I think the largest was probably a 4.5 foot long Barracuda.
The amount of trash and garbage in the water and on the reef, while not a lot, it wasn't uncommon to see plastic bags, cans, plastic bottles, etc. at least once a day down on the reef, and along every shore.
Sum up:
We found FIBR to be almost what it advertised. It is definitely a dive resort, and I hope the new owners take some time and money to fix the place up. I think the previous owners had to be idiots, because you can see where they took so many short cuts, in the rooms (Laminate floors):dork2: :confused: Warped and not sealed. You can feel where the floor is week and sags when you walk on it. Plumbing (showers) with the water faucet barely holding on, etc.
Don't misunderstand, we thought the rooms were fine, but they would get much better reviews, and have happier customers if they just cleaned up the rough edges a little. Plus they advertise 2 bars and (I think) 3 restaurants, but we only saw the 1 restaurant and bar the entire time we were there.
But these are small things compared with the the overall experience of the week.
We had a week of great diving, nice people, warm weather and hardly any bugs until the last day.(and then WOW)
Would I recommend FIBR to new divers or People who are accustomed to 5 star resorts.........Absolutely not. But to anyone else looking to dive, have a nice time, and who is not to interested in night life this a a great place to stay.
Thanks for listening
Jason and Dorothy Henley