Roatan or Utila

[puge12]

My girlfriend and I will be heading to the bay islands on May 25th-31st. I'm an open water diver with only 10 dives logged and am planning to do my advanced certification. She has never been diving before and will be doing her open water certification.

Originally I'd thought Utila would be the best option as it's supposed to be slightly cheaper for accomodation and food and the chance to see a whale shark put it over the top, however I've been reading a lot of stuff saying that the diving is generally better in Roatan and the certification course classes are smaller and generally better.

My diving experiences in the past have generally been average (I still loved every minute) due to poor visibility and lack of marine life to observe so I'm very eager to see some world class diving.

Can anyone confirm if there will be a decent chance to see a whale shark this late in May and also if the diving in Roatan truly has more marine life to see?

Thanks in advance!

[RoatanMan]

Can anyone confirm if there will be a decent chance to see a whale shark this late in May

No, but I guarantee you'll see one for $1,000. I'll give you your money back if you don't see one. Pay in advance.

and also if the diving in Roatan truly has more marine life to see

Only for the diver with better buoyancy skills. You can see the average Caribbean stuff, or you can look with a advanced observational skills and buoyancy along the lush, shallow walls of the South side. At that point, you may see what Roatan is truly best known for.

Go to either island. Learn and hone your diving. Be amazed at whatever you see. It will all come in due time.

[Bay Island Diver]

Virtually no chance of seeing a whale shark in Roatan, cost of certification will certainly be the same on either island. As for marine life, its a tough call, the two islands are extremely similar.

The biggest difference between the two is that on Utila you are likely to do most of your open water training dives on the south side, if you go to the west end of Roatan for your open water is north side diving meaning steeper drop offs and more impressive scenery, but less micro stuff. In my honest opinion, the north side diving is probably more rewrding to open water students that south side. As Roatanman says, you need advanced buoyancy skills before you can really appreciate the south side macro life.