I just got back from seven nights at AKR in Roatan, Honduras. There dont seem to be many reports on this resort on scubaboard, so I will make this fairly detailed.
First, I won this trip by entering a drawing at Our World Underwater in Chicago. All I had to pay for were the taxes and airfare, it was an AWESOME deal.
Getting to Roatan Both TACA and Continental fly to Roatan. We ended up getting to Miami and then flying TACA, stopping in Nicaragua and El Salvador. Continental had only one stop for me from Omaha, but was $800 a ticket compared to the $268 on TACA. TACA was alright, but not nearly as smooth to deal with as flying a domestic airline. Also, none of the foreign airports we stopped in had clocks or screens saying what flights were at what doors and when, so we had to manage communication with people to figure out what was going on.
Arrival in Roatan Wonderful! After getting through the passport check line (5 or 10 min) we saw a lady holding an AKR sign and we received a very warm welcome from her. Another resort worker grabbed all of our bags while we chatted with other AKR customers and the rep. We then boarded a nice shuttle and took the short ride to the resort. The island is beautiful, and so was the air conditioning on the bus.
Resort Arrival At AKR, everyone goes to the lobby while they bring welcome drinks and have you sign a few forms. They also explain what activities are available to you.
Accommodations we made our way to our Key Standard room (no A/C). It was very nice, clean and private. We had screens and windows on three sides and the bathrooms were in a back room. There were two double beds, and of course running water. They supplied soap and shampoo, but we had brought our own just in case. Outside our cabin we had an attached covered deck with two hammocks and two chairs. There was also an attached sun porch with a sun chair. Throughout the week we had seven cockroaches; we think they came from under the sink. The bug spray we brought just made them mad, so dont bother bringing any, just your shoe. However do bring one can of deet per person, we brought Sportsman 40% deet and it did excellent keeping the no-see-ums off of us. Not having a/c wasnt a big deal, it cools down significantly at night and there are good breezes and a ceiling fan.
We found that they do have a very nice pool and bar on the Key. There is also small beach with canoes and kayaks, plenty to go around. Although some on here have mentioned that the water taxi to the key is a pain, this was not the case. It runs 24/7, takes about 1 minute to get to the island and they are always watching for you.
Food food was good. There were usually several selections. Breakfast was always the same, a fresh fruit/cereal/croissant bar, coffee/orange juice, made to order omelets, bacon, eggs, and hash browns. It was very good. Lunch and dinner consisted of two entrée selections, rolls and desert. I consider myself a picky eater and I was able to find lots of good food, especially the homemade potato chips. Coffee, water and tea were always free.
Diving We did 11 wonderful dives (I probably could have done 20 or so if I wanted). Dives are at 8:30a, 10:30a and 2:30p. Tuesday and Thursday there is a night dive at 6:20p. It is mostly very nice reefs. They also take you to two different wrecks, and you welcome to dive the plane wreck in the channel at the resort an evening. We saw a nurse shark, spotted eagle ray, tons of lobster, crabs, and eels. We lightly penetrated the Odyssey wreck, it was neat at about 110. Most dives were at 50-75. I recommend going to Marys Place the day your boat goes. You have to leave at 7:15am because it is further away, but it is worth it. There are tall columns of coral that you swim between, very beautiful. I also enjoyed looking at the plane in the channel, the vis was pretty good even though it gets bad at times I guess. Unless you are very quick, they dive master will have your gear on and off your tank before you can blink, kinda nice.
Other Activities On Monday we dove West End Bay. It was a nice reef, and after we had a beach picnic. You could either do a Canopy Tour ($35) or hang out on the beach (there are some vendors there). We did the Canopy Tour, but it was just ok. There was a lot of waiting and I entirely missed hanging out on the beach.
Friday we flew to La Ceiba for white water rafting. The rafting was fun and there was a short jungle hike. Dont go unless you are up to climbing over rocks and walking in a jungle, it is a lot of work. The scenery is very different and beautiful, large boulders in the river and mountains beside. The planes to and from La Ceiba were awful. Atlantic Airlines, scary. They were tiny propeller planes. One was leaking a clear fluid (hmm??) out of the wing and they both smelled like exhaust inside. One of the pilots opened a window while flying to get rid of the exhaust smell. We didnt need any ID at the airports, just showed them a faxed copy of a handwritten ticket and we were on. On the way back our ticket was ruined by the rafting and they just had us write our names on a piece of paper and gave us tickets. The resort said we didnt need to bring any money, but we did for tips anyway. It was a good thing we did because we needed departure tax of about 1.25 per person each way, bring exact change in bills because they wont have it. The rafting was $128 a person billed to your CC, and there is an exchange fee your CC will charge.
Island Fiesta night was fun at the resort, they cooked very good BBQ ribs and did dances and games.
One day we took a taxi to West End for some shopping. Good view, some neat places. Actually, the resorts gift shop was a better deal than almost anywhere we looked. Some other people ate in West End a couple times, but we never got around to it. Unfortunately, between West End and our room we lost the digital camera, probably left it in the taxi.
At the end of the week, we sadly checked out. Everything was itemized, and all correct. Paid with travelers checks and put cash tips in envelopes for employees. We would DEFINITELY go again, it was a wonderful trip and resort and not busy jam packed with people. The reef diving was great. We made some nice friends from Florida, California and Tennessee. When I get the pictures uploaded (from the disposable cameras) I will post a link.
First, I won this trip by entering a drawing at Our World Underwater in Chicago. All I had to pay for were the taxes and airfare, it was an AWESOME deal.
Getting to Roatan Both TACA and Continental fly to Roatan. We ended up getting to Miami and then flying TACA, stopping in Nicaragua and El Salvador. Continental had only one stop for me from Omaha, but was $800 a ticket compared to the $268 on TACA. TACA was alright, but not nearly as smooth to deal with as flying a domestic airline. Also, none of the foreign airports we stopped in had clocks or screens saying what flights were at what doors and when, so we had to manage communication with people to figure out what was going on.
Arrival in Roatan Wonderful! After getting through the passport check line (5 or 10 min) we saw a lady holding an AKR sign and we received a very warm welcome from her. Another resort worker grabbed all of our bags while we chatted with other AKR customers and the rep. We then boarded a nice shuttle and took the short ride to the resort. The island is beautiful, and so was the air conditioning on the bus.
Resort Arrival At AKR, everyone goes to the lobby while they bring welcome drinks and have you sign a few forms. They also explain what activities are available to you.
Accommodations we made our way to our Key Standard room (no A/C). It was very nice, clean and private. We had screens and windows on three sides and the bathrooms were in a back room. There were two double beds, and of course running water. They supplied soap and shampoo, but we had brought our own just in case. Outside our cabin we had an attached covered deck with two hammocks and two chairs. There was also an attached sun porch with a sun chair. Throughout the week we had seven cockroaches; we think they came from under the sink. The bug spray we brought just made them mad, so dont bother bringing any, just your shoe. However do bring one can of deet per person, we brought Sportsman 40% deet and it did excellent keeping the no-see-ums off of us. Not having a/c wasnt a big deal, it cools down significantly at night and there are good breezes and a ceiling fan.
We found that they do have a very nice pool and bar on the Key. There is also small beach with canoes and kayaks, plenty to go around. Although some on here have mentioned that the water taxi to the key is a pain, this was not the case. It runs 24/7, takes about 1 minute to get to the island and they are always watching for you.
Food food was good. There were usually several selections. Breakfast was always the same, a fresh fruit/cereal/croissant bar, coffee/orange juice, made to order omelets, bacon, eggs, and hash browns. It was very good. Lunch and dinner consisted of two entrée selections, rolls and desert. I consider myself a picky eater and I was able to find lots of good food, especially the homemade potato chips. Coffee, water and tea were always free.
Diving We did 11 wonderful dives (I probably could have done 20 or so if I wanted). Dives are at 8:30a, 10:30a and 2:30p. Tuesday and Thursday there is a night dive at 6:20p. It is mostly very nice reefs. They also take you to two different wrecks, and you welcome to dive the plane wreck in the channel at the resort an evening. We saw a nurse shark, spotted eagle ray, tons of lobster, crabs, and eels. We lightly penetrated the Odyssey wreck, it was neat at about 110. Most dives were at 50-75. I recommend going to Marys Place the day your boat goes. You have to leave at 7:15am because it is further away, but it is worth it. There are tall columns of coral that you swim between, very beautiful. I also enjoyed looking at the plane in the channel, the vis was pretty good even though it gets bad at times I guess. Unless you are very quick, they dive master will have your gear on and off your tank before you can blink, kinda nice.
Other Activities On Monday we dove West End Bay. It was a nice reef, and after we had a beach picnic. You could either do a Canopy Tour ($35) or hang out on the beach (there are some vendors there). We did the Canopy Tour, but it was just ok. There was a lot of waiting and I entirely missed hanging out on the beach.
Friday we flew to La Ceiba for white water rafting. The rafting was fun and there was a short jungle hike. Dont go unless you are up to climbing over rocks and walking in a jungle, it is a lot of work. The scenery is very different and beautiful, large boulders in the river and mountains beside. The planes to and from La Ceiba were awful. Atlantic Airlines, scary. They were tiny propeller planes. One was leaking a clear fluid (hmm??) out of the wing and they both smelled like exhaust inside. One of the pilots opened a window while flying to get rid of the exhaust smell. We didnt need any ID at the airports, just showed them a faxed copy of a handwritten ticket and we were on. On the way back our ticket was ruined by the rafting and they just had us write our names on a piece of paper and gave us tickets. The resort said we didnt need to bring any money, but we did for tips anyway. It was a good thing we did because we needed departure tax of about 1.25 per person each way, bring exact change in bills because they wont have it. The rafting was $128 a person billed to your CC, and there is an exchange fee your CC will charge.
Island Fiesta night was fun at the resort, they cooked very good BBQ ribs and did dances and games.
One day we took a taxi to West End for some shopping. Good view, some neat places. Actually, the resorts gift shop was a better deal than almost anywhere we looked. Some other people ate in West End a couple times, but we never got around to it. Unfortunately, between West End and our room we lost the digital camera, probably left it in the taxi.
At the end of the week, we sadly checked out. Everything was itemized, and all correct. Paid with travelers checks and put cash tips in envelopes for employees. We would DEFINITELY go again, it was a wonderful trip and resort and not busy jam packed with people. The reef diving was great. We made some nice friends from Florida, California and Tennessee. When I get the pictures uploaded (from the disposable cameras) I will post a link.
