Roatan compared to Cozumel

[oldmaninthesea]

I just got my OWD certification in Roatan at Henry Morgan Resort (TGIdiving). Needless to say the diving was pretty amazing but I have nothing to compare it to. Roatan has a healthy reef, many dives sites close to shore and usually only one boat per site. Not huge quantities of fish but a good variety. Viz was at least 60' and probably more but since I'm new to this I can't tell for sure.
How does this compare with Cozumel? Should I just go back to Roatan for my next trip? I'm also considering San Andres and Cuba. My wife snorkels but doesn't dive so easy access to snorkeling is important. Thanks

 

[Sherpa_fab]

Roatan vs Cozumel...

Roatan has way more fish, and live "reef" critters than Cozumel due to Coz getting
hammered by wilma.......

I think vis at Coz was better than roatan myself.

I like swim-thrus myself, Coz had more.

Coz is pretty much 100% drift diving.....no way around that one. Roatan has both

drift and stationary diving.

No know wrecks to dive on at Coz, there's a few at Roatan.

staying at Bay Island Beach Resort, our boat dives had a very short distance to

travel to good sites. stationary dive bouys abound near our resort. (Note: it's

very close to Anthony's Key's resort.

I liked Cozumel alot for super-clear water, the flea-market like little souvineir shops
in town to haggle for t shirts, and hats, etc... The condo we stayed at in Coz was
soooo damn nice I use it as a benchmark for 5+ star hotels.........

Roatan was nice for short boat rides, everything included, inexpensive overall costs,
etc. I should have convinced my freinds to go into town however, since there was
alot to do, but we never left the resort....... maybe next time...

--Sherpa

 

[Bay Island Diver]

Did you do the amazing swim throughs at Gibson Bight, Hole in the Wall, fish den, Canyon reef, Aquila Wreck and spooky channel while you were in Roatan Sherpa?

 

[halocline]

I'm pretty sure most people would say that Cozumel has more fish that Roatan. Having dove both places several times, I would. Cozumel also has typically better viz, but I think this is fairly seasonal. IMO, Roatan has nicer coral formations, and I prefer the profiles of many of the dive sites; in Coz, you tend to go a little deeper and stay that way for much of the dive. (Lots of exceptions to that) Roatan sites have true multi-level profiles in which the last third of the dive can be quite shallow. This makes for a very enjoyable dive with lots of variety and is great for off-gassing.

I don't know about snorkeling at Roatan but it's not great at Coz, or so I've heard. Never done it either place.

As far as the style of each place, Roatan, at least the west end, is a nice diver-soaked international blend, but there is very little Honduran culture. Cozumel has some Mexican culture, although it's only evident in town, so if you stay at a AI resort on the south side, you might never see it. Cozumel also is a MAJOR cruise ship destination, which I personally hate but others might enjoy.

As someone else posted, the drift diving in Cozumel is more advanced overall than Roatan diving, although you'd never know it by looking at many of the divers there.

It's definitely worth going to Cozumel if you've never been. You might decide after that you'd return to Roatan, but no way would you feel like you wasted a trip. For many, many people, Coz is a favorite destination. Try posting this same question on the Cozumel forum and see what happens!

 

[lmorin]

We just booked our second trip to Roatan; soon are going to Bonaire for the second time; will probably return to Curacao; but will probably never return to Cozumel, despite all its positive attributes. Everything everyone has said above is pretty much correct. It is a matter of taste. My wife and I are simply not interested in drift dives that are of such speed that they significantly hinder or prevent stopping and investigating. We liked the shallower, slower Coz dives a lot, but to our way of thinking, the faster, deeper dives are more like rollercoaster rides than we were interested in.

 

[ReefHound]

Much better shore diving at Roatan.

More dives per dollar in Roatan. The AI resorts include diving and you can do 4 or 5 dives per day. Most people in Coz do 2 or 3 dives per day, mostly a la carte.

Roatan is set up primarily for week long trips, Coz can be any length of trip. If you are looking for a shorter trip like 4 nights then Coz.

Cheaper airfare to Coz from most U.S. locations.

More land activities in Coz.

There are also a few wreck dives in Coz.

 

[cowdog77]

"So many islands.....so little time."
We'd go back to Roatan or Cozumel....but gotta get to the kelp forests in CA, the wrecks off the Carolinas, and San Salvador. and....................etc. etc. first.

 

[UnderwaterBumbleBee]

:bandit_2: I would also say that there is more fish life in Cozumel than Roatan. I loved Roatan and would definitly go back but initially I was a little disappointed with the lack of big fish we saw in Roatan. They are really different places though. Cozumel is nice for being cheap, quick and having a decent sized town to walk to. I really liked the diving there and while a lot is drift diving, it isn't ALL drift. A week's worth of diving ranged anywhere from virtually no current to slight and on our last dive we were moving so fast it was next to impossible to pull over to the side and check something out (fun though). We saw a good amount of turtle, lots of anemones, rays, nurse sharks... Also loved some of the swim throughs in Cozumel and the clarity of the water definitly seemed better than Roatan.

almtree:Roatan feels more like a "true" vacation, less americanized. We stayed at Anythony's Key and only left the resort once. It's much more lush and relaxing there. As I have come to learn now Roatan is all about the Macro life and small critters. I can't recall if I saw any turtles, few rays but I did see a lot of smaller creatures I haven't seen much of in other places. I loved the wreck dives in Roatan, especially the Aguilar (eel garden and those cool light purple parrot fish). Also had a great time on the shark dive and with the dolphins at AKR. Some of the corals there that were tall and billowy were incredible looking and the tallest I've seen anywhere. A perfect end to a day of diving was rocking back and forth in a hammock on the private covered deck adjoining our room and listening to the waves.

I have a really hard time going back to the same places because I want to compare it with other destinations. I'd love to go back to Cozumel on a cheap trip but I also really want to see Curacao. There's a lot of places to love out there!