KC_Scubabunny's Roatan Report

Sorry it has taken me so long to file this report since my return on the 27th. Unfortunately the KC area was covered in a blanket of ice and we were without power until yesterday evening. Enough about bad weather and back to diving!

We were in Roatan, Honduras from January 19th - 26th. We stayed at Fantasy Island resort. For the cliff notes version this is how I would rate the resort. Details in paragraphs below.

Dive Shop/Operator: A
Diving: A
Food: A-
Room/Accomodations: B-
Weather: A+

I logged 15 dives in the 5 days that we dove. My husband logged 18 so if you in for some power diving this is a good place to go. The resort has boats that leave at 9 am, 11 am and 2:30 pm each day and there were two 5:45 pm night dives while we were there. There is also unlimited shore diving off the gazebo.

The dive shop staff, boat captains and divemasters were first rate. They were helpful but not pushy. They guided but did not parade a conga line on the dive. They were flexible to the type of dives and interest of the group on the boat. Our boat had 6 couples and one solo diver most of the week. The boat was not over crowded and there was plenty of storage space. The divemaster briefed each new divesite which included passing around a laminated drawing of each site so you could visualize the site and the turns of the reef before entering.

My two favorite dive sites were Mary's Place and Carl's Place. Mary's is a beautiful swim through. Carl's was a fairly shallow dive on the west end that was full of life including three sea turtles. Overall the reefs were very healthy and the aquatic life was plentyful. We ran into some strong current on a few dives that was unusual for Roatan. Our DM said that it was some of the worst that he had seen there. January is the month when they experience the most current according to our boat captain. March is suppose to be the best for weather and calm seas.

The air temps were in the mid 80s the whole week and water temp was 78.

Food at the resort was good the first 4 days but then I got sick of the repetition and the buffet lines. I wish we had gone into French Harbor mid week for dinner instead of waiting until our last day. That might have broken up the feeling of eating the same thing meal after meal. Also only water and tea were included in the package deal and coke and other sodas were $2 a can. This might not be a big deal to some but I had a $50 soda bill at the end of the week.

Room/resort was nice and clean but not very modern. They were renovating the divers area which is closer to the dive shop and boats so we stayed in the main building. They told us that the divers rooms would be open this spring so if someone is looking at staying here in the spring or summer then you might want to ask for a divers room. They should have more modern facilities. It might be part of the island charm but we received notes on our doors two days that the power would be out for two or three hours each time. These power outage corresponded with the afternoon dive time so we didn't personally experience an inconvienence.

This was my first trip as an underwater photographer so please watch for my additional post later this week of some of my photos in the Underwater Photography forum. I will be looking for constructive feedback.

All in all an excellent trip. Please feel free to PM me or post additional questions and I will be happy to answer.

KC_Scubabunny

Your report makes me eager for March to get here! We'll be next door at CoCo View the 23-30. I'm glad to hear Fantasy Island is making some improvements. When we were there last year in March, they were having some serious trouble with their dive boats.

I don't think I've dived Carl's Place but Mary's Place is one of my favorites. Calvin's Crack (I've GOT to find out how it got it's name!) is also a really good dive.

Hurry up with those photos!

Great report! Thanks for sharing. One of these days I'll make it back to Roatan.

Glad you had a great time.

I was a first timer in Roatan in Nov. Right after Michelle. We still managed 17 dives. We stayed at AKR and loved it. For the money you cannot beat it. I also enjoyed Mary's Place!

Laine

Thanks for the report.
Glad you had a good time.
Looking forward to seeing your pics!

Hi KC

I read your report about FI on Roatan. I tried to get a spot at CCV but they were booked and was thinking about FI? I had read so many negative reviews about FI that it scared me off . No one likes dive boats that breakdown all the time or sink. Your positive report gives reason to look again at FI. I had a couple of questions that I hope you can help me with. What is their quality of rental equipment? Do they allow drop off dives on the way back after the boat dives so you can explore on your own instead of just starting from the shore. Do they have a mini-frig in the rooms so you could have some cold drinks there?
Hey I think we could be neighbors? We live in Lenexa,KS. Hope to hear from you soon.

Thanks, Ron
ronmarney@aol.com

Hey Heather:
Great report. I haven't been to Roatan since 1999. Your report brought back some good memories. Thanks for sharing.
Next trip: Wreckmania here we come!

Ron,

We are almost neighbors. We live in Mission. Always nice to meet another Kansas diver.

To answer your questions, not sure about rental gear. We brought all our own. My husband did rent a dive light when his flooded but that was it. I was pretty impressed by the whole dive operation at the resort. Hank is the dive shop manager and he seems to run a pretty tight ship. I would expect the gear would follow suit. I do know one couple on our boat had rented their gear and they didn't seem to be having any problems with it.

They will definitely drop you off on the way back in on either CoCo View or Newman's wall. We did both wall dives this way and our night dive. You just have to ask your boat captain and make sure you bring enough empty tanks when you go out.

Our room had a mini fridge that was stocked with pop, beer and water. As I said in my report, pop and beer are kind of expensive. We did find that pop was $.50 cheaper at the gift shop so we started buying there towards the end of the week. If I had to do it again, I would buy a few six packs at the airport in San Pedro Sula and bring them out with me. It was only $.80 for a 20oz bottle there. Instead of $2.00 a can on the island. There is also a full fledged grocery store in Coxen Hole if you go there to souvenier shop. We didn't end up going there until the last day so we missed out of stocking up on snack food.

Another recommendation if you go to Fantasy Island. On the day that they take you around to the West End and you eat lunch down there. Ride the boat over in the morning. It is about an hour and a half boat ride but we saw many dolphins and turtles on the ride. Also beautiful way to see the island. Most of the people on our boat rode the bus around and it missed out.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

KC_Scubabunny

KC Sb.

Thanks for the info on FI and the dive operation. I hope to be posting a positive report when we get back. I'll be in touch if I have any more questions. Thanks again!!!

There's no place like home, there's no place like....

Ron