First trip to Roatan

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me_diver

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Messages
51
Reaction score
4
Location
Portland, ME
# of dives
50 - 99
Hi, Probably a lot of these questions have been asked before. We are thinking of going to Roatan this winter and going to CCV. About us: relatively new divers, about 50 logged dives, most from Buddy Dive/Bonaire, which we have been to 3 times. Enjoy boat diving, most dives were boat dives. Don't like to go deeper than 60', OW and Nitrox certified, don't like drift diving (we like to go slow and take pictures).

1) We enjoy Bonaire/Buddy Dive - relaxed, low-key, 2-3 dives/day, lots to see , usually good vis . Will we like Roatan/CocoView?

2) Seems like limited flights into Roatan, is United through Houston the way to go? (We live in Maine). Is it normally sat-sat or do people come/go any day of the week?

3) No interest in shark diving, can we avoid them? Seems like there are special "shark dives", if you don't go on them, will sharks be around?

4) Best time of year to go (that is between Nov and May)?

5) Any shots/medications before travelling there?
 
I've been to CCV lots of times (it's our favorite Caribbean Resort) and Buddy more than a few. Shallow diving is highly recommended. That's where the good stuff is.

1) The ownership of Buddy Dive was good friends with Mr. Bill, the guy who built CCV. BD folks visited a couple of times and said, "you mind if we copy that?". True enough, Buddy has its own innovations, but you're likely to see the same specific diver-friendly mods at CCV that you already noticed at Buddy. The localized diving is similar in the way that you already approach it- going slowly is the key. Most dives are moored, to call the other free boat entries "drift diving" would be a stretch, more done as convenience.

2) CCV will try to accommodate other week days than Sat/Sun changeovers, dependent on other previous bookings.

3) Sharks are very elusive. They will avoid you. Shark dives occur because of baiting. Don't bring a pork chop in the water. Will Sharks be around? Yes, it's the nature of the Ocean. Will you see them? Unlikely. If you are fearful of Sharks? I would be worried more about microbial critters searching for a break in your skin.

4) April through August for me. Other times of year have their allure, however.

5) I just get the usual for an adventurous life, but I skip the Dengue and the Malaria. That's just me, others have strong opinions. None of us are you, no one here is your Physician. SCUBA advice, we got lots of.

Everybody has a different view and opinion of diving. This is pretty good diving for the Caribbean, most agree. Some divers who have not yet learned to appreciate macro/micro walk away disappointed. Those who know how to observe and go slowly- they love this very specific South side reef structure.

That said, once you look at the infrastructure of the resort itself, you're going to have to plead a pretty hard case to find any better offering in the Caribbean. It's nothing fancy, just fun rooms overt the ocean, quiet isolated cay, good food, 24/7 diving, a great shore dive with a 130' wreck, physically designed and executed always with a bias towards divers. Nothing else like it in the Mar Caribe.
 
Does a direct flight out of Newark help you? I believe United has them once a week,tat least in season. I always fly through Houston cuz I'm on the other side of North America, and may not be current on Newark departures. Westjet used to have a direct charter out of Toronto too, if that's of any benefit.
 
4) Best time of year to go (that is between Nov and May)?

Closer to May, further from Nov. Winter is the rainy season there and you might go days without sun and diving can get blown out. Prices are lower during the rainy season for a reason.
 
Some additional thoughts from a fellow New Englander (greater Boston). I've been to CCV twice (both in March = 2012, 2013) and am booked again for March 2014. Both trips were with my daughter (15 on first trip; she'll be 17 when we go in 2014). She was newly certified in 2012 and did her OW check-out/cert. dives at CCV at the beginning of our first trip. I've been diving since 2000, with about 350 total dives.

If you like relaxed....CCV delivers that in spades, both above and under water. You can dive as much or as little as you want....boat, shore, night, day, etc. The dive logistics are great = well organized, secure storage; self service tanks available for shore diving 24/7; great quality shore diving located about 100 yards from where you gear up inside the dive "locker rooms" (sort of like open air garages where all your gear is kept during the week); some of most easily navigable shore diving you'll ever find without sacrificing quality (with "yellow brick road"-like navigation aids directing you to the wreck on the house reef and the 2 adjacent walls); 2 mooring boat dives and 2 drop-off boat dives offered each day; great place for trying night diving (my daughter is hooked on night diving after trying it at CCV); well-run boats with great captains and in-water DMs (all with long tenure at CCV). We've had GREAT experiences with the DMs and instructor staff at CCV..I felt like they were always keeping an eye on us.....without being over-involved babysitters. They seem to do a good job assessing your dive abilities and giving you the requisite attention :)

Currents = have experienced only very mild current in my "vast" 2 trip experience. Shark dive is available, but provided via a non-CCV operator well away from CCV boat sites....otherwise shark sitings seem to be rare.

Above the water, 3 bathing suits and enough t shirts for a week is about all you need. Very relaxed "dive camp" atmosphere. Buffet meals - nothing gourmet, but wholesome and plenty of food. Daughter is a vegetarian and the kitchen staff has always taken good care of her. Lots of like-minded divers...met so many nice folks there. You are somewhat captive at the resort and CCV is completely dive/snorkel oriented (no TVS, pool, etc.)....so if you are looking for non-dive distractions, CCV will not deliver that.

Diving depths = My daughter has never been deeper than 60 feet at CCV...never a problem given that almost all of the boat dives are wall dives, with the top of the reef in 15-25 feet of water. You can safely choose any depth you want.

Flights = we've used BOS-ATL-RTB on both of our trips and we'll use this route again in 2014 (Delta). As with any airline trip, pricing from Logan really depends on time of year and how far in advance you purchase. In March we've paid $650-$800 per person. We've always traveled Sat-Sat. Not sure if you can find better rates from Portland or Manchester, NH.

We've chosen March since it is when daughter has school vacation. We've been blessed with good conditions, a little rain in 2013. Water temps were 79-80F both years.

Medications = we've taken Malerone for malaria on both trips and will do this again in 2014. Malaria is not a high likelihood, but better safe than sorry and felt confident taking it since we had taken Malerone during trips to Africa with neither of us experiencing adverse side effects (touching wood). Bug spray is a MUST!!!
 
Thanks all for your answers, especially the tip on Delta through Atlanta! We can get there in 2 hops (Portland->Atlanta->RTB) for < half the price it takes us to get to Bonaire! yay! Looks like for various reasons we will go there the end of March - hopefully late enough to miss the rainy season.

What would you recommend for a wetsuit that time of year?
 
3mil, full suit if you get cold easily. Many dive in shorties and others actually just go in their suits (I think they are nuts). It's all up to personal tolerance and maybe stingers in the water. Water temp doesn't usually go through drastic change there. You can expect 77-79 at depth. Some days after a series of dives or cool weather on the surface, I add a hood with my full suit.
 
Depends on your cold tolerance and how many dives a day you are doing. We've worn 5mm fulls on both March trips and were completely comfortable, but we were doing 4-5 dives everyday without fail. Most of our dives were boat dives...easy to wait until last minute to don the suit or just get the legs on before the boat leaves the dock. The DM on our boat wore board shorts and a rash guard...but DMs are typically only doing 2 dives/day (moored boat dives). There were some folks on our boat that were also wearing just bathing suits/bikinis and rash guards. On the sunny/hot days they looked comfortable. On the one day when we had some rain/wind...they were pretty cold (I think that day was more the exception than the rule...they served hot chocolate on the boats that day!). In 2012 we had an older couple from Oregon (cold water divers).....they wore 3mm fulls with beanies and they commented that they were feeling the cold by the end of the week. Other guys on our boat from CA in 2013 wore 3mm shorties...did almost every offered dive...they said they were never cold.

During our 2 March trips I would guess that the most common exposure protection that I saw people wearing was a 3mm full.

FWIW, I also like to hover and stay in one place a lot with minor frog kicking....taking pics.

Some people will say 5mm is a little overkill...I never felt too hot :) YMMV

Chris
 
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