Dive site reviews/faves Roatan

Does anyone know of a site that reviews the different dive sites around Roatan? Or, can any of you tell me the name of and briefly describe some of your favorites? We will be there for a week (Yippeee!) starting next Saturday. We're staying at AKR, but if there is a "don't miss" dive offered by another operator I will certainly check it out. I can find lists of sites, but am not having much luck with descriptions (I have found about 8 sites described). I like to know what to expect, and which sites to make a point to see while I'm there. Thanks.

lsudive:

Does anyone know of a site that reviews the different dive sites around Roatan? Or, can any of you tell me the name of and briefly describe some of your favorites? We will be there for a week (Yippeee!) starting next Saturday. We're staying at AKR, but if there is a "don't miss" dive offered by another operator I will certainly check it out. I can find lists of sites, but am not having much luck with descriptions (I have found about 8 sites described). I like to know what to expect, and which sites to make a point to see while I'm there. Thanks.

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The unfortunate thing about any AI (all inclusive) is that you're pretty well locked into their dive op.

I am a huge fan of night diving. The only place I know of on Roatan to easily do my schedule of 2 per night is the night shore dive at CoCoView. It's easy for us, as I am now writing this to you from CCV (on day 10 of two weeks) to do this great night dive and access both the Prince Albert (a 140' placed wreck in 55-35fsw) as well as two very nice walls (starting at 5 feet and down to 115).

A walk-in at CCV is all but impossible for night dives. A better option would be to arrange with Fantasy Island which also offers the dive in a slightly different way. They "drop" divers over the PA Wreck off of a small pram work boat, and sometimes they moor one of their dive boats over the wreck for night dives. (CCV is just a short snorkel away, FIBR is quite a hump as a shore dive).

I would call FIBR and specifically arrange a night shore dive, and arrange for either aq moored boat or a drop off. Do not bother to shore dive from their Gazebo. You would probably do well to also hire a DM as your experience will be enhanced dramaticaly. It will ease the fear of being 'lost at night' and he will know wher the cool stuff lives.

AKR will take you to the South side when you dive Mary's Place. This is a Roatan 'signature dive' but doesn't really live up to its reputation. The South side offers miriad other dives that are cerainly more interesting, but few dive ops service them, and those that do are South side ops and serving their AI guests.

A nice change can be arranged thru SubWay Watersports. They can take you to Cayos Cochinos.

I wouldn't worry about diving 'other places', I would glue my nose to my DM's flippers, carry a magnifying glass and flashlight, and pay close attention. I have maybe 1000+ dives in Roatan and I just found three new critters this week... plus three pipe fish... all at dive sites I've been at 100 times.

Go to Roatan for the little stuff.

RoatanMan:

The unfortunate thing about any AI (all inclusive) is that you're pretty well locked into their dive op.

I wouldn't worry about diving 'other places', I would glue my nose to my DM's flippers, carry a magnifying glass and flashlight, and pay close attention. I have maybe 1000+ dives in Roatan and I just found three new critters this week... plus three pipe fish... all at dive sites I've been at 100 times.

Go to Roatan for the little stuff.

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RoatanMan, do you know anything about the dives down by the Reef House Resort? We will be there in a few days and wanted to get any info available. We basically will have the resort to ourselves for the week and with 6 divers in the group, should be able to get to where ever we want to go...

We're ready for the small stuff, got my magnifying glass, multiple lights and have been working on my observation skills by playing countless hours of "Where's Waldo" and "I spy" with my daughter.:1book:

Some in our party want to go visit the "shark dive" at the other end of the island...I would rather just run across a couple naturally on the reef if the opportunity presented itself.

Thanks in advance for your advice and information.

Squashie

Roatanman - You've mentioned a magnifier in several posts and I'd like to know what size, shape, brand, etc. so I can get one before my upcoming trip.

Squashie:

RoatanMan, do you know anything about the dives down by the Reef House Resort? We will be there in a few days and wanted to get any info available. We basically will have the resort to ourselves for the week and with 6 divers in the group, should be able to get to where ever we want to go...

We're ready for the small stuff, got my magnifying glass, multiple lights and have been working on my observation skills by playing countless hours of "Where's Waldo" and "I spy" with my daughter.:1book:

Some in our party want to go visit the "shark dive" at the other end of the island...I would rather just run across a couple naturally on the reef if the opportunity presented itself.

Thanks in advance for your advice and information.

Squashie

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Squashie,

NONE of the dive sites we visited using the crew at Reef House Resort were 'bad' sites in our opinion, and since their big boats were both well serviced just as we were leaving, you should have the opportunity to hit Morat Wall or Barbareta, which we didn't get to visit.

Mary's Place was nice, but I agree there are other spots much closer to Reef House Resort we liked better. Church Wall was our first dive site, and my wife saw the ocellated frogfish along the deeper part of the dive along the wall and got a pic of it while I found the harlequin pipefish in the shallows but didn't get a pic of it. This was the stage that was set for the rest of our week there. David, the divemaster, was GREAT at pointing stuff out - like a tiny neck crab on a sea fan right on the lip of the wall at 'Silent Spring' if I remember right. Sponge Garden was a nice non-wall site that had a lot of variety for a nice, leisurely what-have-we-here dive.

The Reef House house reef wall was a great dive, day or night, available any time we wanted to suit up & go. We got pics of both the brown and the yellow-orange seahorses that lived there, among other things.

I think one could do 2 shore dives per night at Reef House if one wanted to, but the second one would be without a guide most likely. Or earn a really good tip for the DM & Boat captain who helps with the gear if he stays over to do that, especially if after a full day of 3 boat dives. The DM has a 30 minute bicycle ride home after getting back to the main island from the caye Reef House Resort is on, and that's where his supper etc. is.

You can see my details of our shark dive experience in the thread started by Bombero Diver. The shark dive operator isn't all the way at the other end of the island from Oak Ridge, but rather closer to where the airport is if I remember correctly.

We got the CD's with our pics back, so if you want to PM me with your external e-mail address, I could mail a few your way. Nothing fancy, just a Sealife Reefmaster 35 mm with strobe etc. I got for my wife a few years ago, but nice 'fun' pictures.

Thanks for the info about FIBR and Subway, RoatanMan. I'm very envious that you are there for 2 weeks!