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I am looking for a place to stay for a week of diving in the bay islands. We do not like Roatan (it was too crowded for us in the 1980s so I cant imagine it now). We are at 1000+ dives and like a small quiet place with no night life. TVs and other amenities are not required and, in fact, we would prefer a place that is not connected. Any ideas?
There's 10 rooms/20 guests max. It's on the south shore of Utila on the other side of a lagoon channel so the only access is by boat. Really quiet at night. The main building is the lounge/bar/dining room and there's 2 other buildings. It's one of those places where you only lock the door to keep it from swinging open. We actually left our key in the door all week. Food was really good, there's several choices at every meal. Rooms were large, bathrooms were large, there's a full closet and mini-frig. Each has a deck that faces the water - the beach is 50' away. Rooms were kept clean and have A/C and ceiling fans. Like Roatan expect some bugs - we made the mistake once of leaving the screen door open. A little OFF sprayed into the ceiling fan took care of that.
The video on the website gives an accurate picture of what to expect. Due to cancellations we were 2 of 4 guests that week. They do have slow Internet access and WiFi that is accessible in the lounge or from your deck if you have one of the rooms near the main building.
I don't dive Nitrox but my buddy did - it's $125/wk. They dive 3 dives per day and two night dives. The night dives count as 1 of the 3 on those days. There's also shore diving just in front of the resort - there's 3 sites you can get to once you swim out through a break in the coral. I liked Labrynth the best but the resort is directly in front of the Pretty Bush dive site.
It's also a great place to go if you're interested in Whale Sharks - esp. during the spring when they host research weeks. Experts are brought in and you go looking for whale sharks after diving daily. You also can do minor participation in the research - we participated in an attempt to get a small sample of DNA - the whale shark didn't like it much though - I think the tagger was glad they don't have teeth...lol. We snorkeled with 6 over 3 days in late March. Mostly smaller males in the 18' range but one was the size of a bus.
If you can get to Roatan by noon, you can take 2 ferries and be on Utila by 5. Details are on the website. I mention it as it would have cost us $1200 plus 2 connections to Utila if we flew, Roatan was about $600 r/t and the ferries were exactly $100 r/t more. There will be a lot of 20 something backpackers on the ferry to Utila but don't worry, they all stay in town.
You mention Roatan? I'm thinking Reef House Resort is what you are really describing. It's a real live dive resort that feels like they did in the Roatan of the 1970's.
I wouldn't write off Roatan as being too commercialized- even for a Luddite.
why not stay at a private villa on the south/ southwest shore of utila? boat access only homes with beautiful coral reefs right in front for snorkeling and have the rental agent arrange a local divemaster pick you up in a boat each day for private dives, centered around your interests. the two that i like best are about 20 mins from town by boat, are on empty beaches, have no tv or internet and are the perfect escape from the cruise ship hoards by day and the would be jimmy buffet/bob marley karaoke crowd at night (you know who i'm describing). check out the pineapple house on treasure beach and the cabana at big rock, both are lovely.
Ann COCO VIEW JUNE 9 - 16 2012 http://www.roatanchildrensfund.com/
I've got a Caribbean soul I can barely control and some Texas hidden here in my heart. JB
Utila south-east shore (Tradewinds area) private villas which can be with road access to the small town of Utila (20 to 40 minute walk away from town depending on property so golf cart or bicycle hire recommended) or more isolated along the south shore requiring boat access to town.
If you are looking resort diving but quiet, away from town, etc then I would say Deep Blue Utila or Cayos Cochinos Plantation Beach Resort would both be good options.
Once you arrive in La Ceiba, there is a short boat transfer to the islands. The transfer is completed in a standard launch, lasting from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours.
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Originally Posted by parrotheaddiver
