Roatan vs Utila? 1st trip to Honduras

[JHenthorne]

Although I have been diving all over the world, for some reason I have yet to dive Honduras (I live fairly close?). Time to scratch it off my list and planning a trip as we speak. I was hoping for some input from people that have been diving in both places(Roatan and Utila).

I wanted to hear which one you liked best and why? Also, any recommendations for dive operators that run smaller boats. I can not stand to do the cattle car thing.

Thanks in advance,

Jason

 

[JHenthorne]

Anything fellow divers??? Buehler??

 

[itsjustme0770]

JHent-

This topic has been discussed in depth in earlier posts. Run a search for lots of discussion. That said, Roatan and Utila are very different places. Roatan is much more developed than is Utila. Good or Bad? Depends on what you like. The Bay Islands are known for their macro life. Some consider this a good thing and others don't. Its advanced diving of anothe type. Want to get the most out of your trip? Perfect your buoyancy control. Of course, there are larger creature encounters to be had on both islands. The Shark dive on Roatan gets good reviews and snorkling with Whale Sharks isn't to be missed (in season).

As for operators, I can really only speak to Utila. There are (at last count) 16 dive shops on the island, plus a couple of resort ops. If you like fast boats and northside diving when available, take a look at Utila Lodge and their Pro 42 or Utila Water Sports and their Newton 36. I don't mean to denigrate any dive shop on the island though, they all have their benefits and good points. You can visit them all in a morning and make a good decision with any.

Don't know if this helps, but I am happy to answer specific questions if you have them. I have more experience on Utila than Roatan.

 

[reefdiver1]

Jason!
Since you are close, just pick one. Then you can opt for the other one next time!
I have my eye on Utila. It will be my first time to that area as well.
When are you planning to visit the Bay Islands?

 

[diverrick]

i know this has been said before, but CCV in Roatan is top of the list. FIBR BIBR, Reef house, and anthonys keys are all good. There are many more but i have yet to go too hem, so I cnt say either way.
On Utilla, hands down, Laguna Beach IMHO, I have heard Deep Blue is also good. I didn't like The combo that they had at The mango Inn, but they might have improved since I was last there.

 

[SoSiouxme]

It is hard to make a recommendation either way unless we know more about you.

How old are you? Single or traveling with a significant other? What is it you like to see while down under? Do you like all-inclusives or do you prefer to travel the independent route where you pick your lodging, restaurants and dive op? How much diving do you want to do vs. other activities. How important is night life? What is your budget? Are you a flash packer/back packer or do you enjoy your creature comforts? When are you planning on going?

If you could give us some details as your preferences, we could be a lot more helpful.

Simply saying you don't like cattle boats doesn't help - I mean, who likes cattle boats?

--Sioux

 

[georoc01]

It is hard to make a recommendation either way unless we know more about you.

How old are you? Single or traveling with a significant other? What is it you like to see while down under? Do you like all-inclusives or do you prefer to travel the independent route where you pick your lodging, restaurants and dive op? How much diving do you want to do vs. other activities. How important is night life? What is your budget? Are you a flash packer/back packer or do you enjoy your creature comforts? When are you planning on going?

If you could give us some details as your preferences, we could be a lot more helpful.

Simply saying you don't like cattle boats doesn't help - I mean, who likes cattle boats?

--Sioux

I know my dive buddy likes a boat with shade and a head. Hence we dive cattle boats a lot. I have dove with Anthony's Key and while the boats are certainly large enough to be considered cattle boats, they split us into groups of 8 to a dive master and the boat is spacious enough that we didn't find it to be a problem. They were also single tank dive trips, so we weren't doing SI's on the boat where a bathroom was a necessity.

 

[leadweight]

Rotan is a lot easier to get to as there are direct flights from Houston. To get to Utila one lands at San Pedro Sula on the mainland and then takes a somewhat expensive (for the distance) flight the rest of the way, unless you have a lot of time to go to La Cieba and take the ferry.

Personally, I prefer staying in West End on Rotan to all of the possibilities that either Utila or Roatan have to offer. Utilla, in the town, has a dive school mentality. You could actually be told you need to have an instructor with you on a night dive if you never bothered to take a PADI advanced, even if you have 100+ logged dives. The town itself is a bit primitive.

Some other ideas:

Laguna Beach: I have been there twice. It was great when Liz (now manager of CoCo View on Roatan) ran it, and the second time it sucked with younger managers. Its isolated.

Utila Town: Despite the dive school mentality, I enjoyed 2 weeks of diving with UDC and staying at Ruby's. Its cheap, but a bit primitive. Its a very young backpacker scene in town.

CoCo View: Expensive, but a great place to go if you want to pack a lot of dives in and only have one week. Its possible to do a shore dive whenever you want. Its a bit isolated, and pretty much lights off by 9PM. I was there once when Mr. Bill ran it. We could not leave the island due to bad weather and he gave everyone 2 free nights with meals.

Fantasy Island: Priced attractively, I have been there 3 times. The last time I thought the crowd was a bit rough. Not as Isolated as some of the other all inclusive dive resorts.

West End: Reasonably priced hotels, cheap diving ($25 per tank if you do 10 or more dives). Decent social life, lively bars and several good restaurants. Not as cheap as Utila town, but much less expensive than just about anywhere else in the Caribbean. Its my new home away from home, with 4 trips in the last 18 months.

Anthony's Key: Expensive but very nice, fairly close to West End. Still the lights tend to go off early as in most of the other all inclusive dive resorts. I have not been there in about 8 or 9 years.

West Bay: Avoid, its overbuilt and expensive, although there were some great deals offered to Canadians a while back.

During ther summer especially the bugs bite like crazy, and I really think they are worse on Roatan.

 

[Rule62]

I would not even put Coco View on the list for the following reasons

IMHO Coco View ratings on a 1-10 scale (1 worst-10 best):

Dive Op - 10
Diving compared to a rock quarry - 7
Diving compared to anywhere else in the Caribbean - 3
Lodging compared to camping in a tent - 7
Lodging compared to Motel 6 – 3
Food compared to MREs – 7
Food compared to most all-inclusive Caribbean resorts – 2
Beach – 0
Things to do when not diving if you’re 80 – 9
Things to do when not diving if you’re under 80 – 2
Nearby activities/amenities for Third World Country – 5
Closest activities/amenities for non- Third World Country – 0

 

[Joe Seven]

I recently took a 2 week trip to Roatan and Utila. Was on Roatan for about 9 days, spent a week at Anthony's Key Resort and loved it. Such a great place, hard to describe in words, but it's like a big elaborate tree house with it's own little island. Cabins are really comfortable, etc etc...

Utila was cool in it's own ways. The comfort level went down quite a bit (accomodations are quite modest, and there isn't much in the way of beaches), and there wasn't as much to do on the island, but the diving was very good. We did about 10 dives - did Willy's Hole, Airport Caves, etc. I was very impressed.

If I had a choice to go back to either, it would be Roatan. But if you've got the time check out both.