West End Dive Shop v Coconut Tree divers?
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We used Coconut Tree Divers a couple of years ago, and they were excellent, with good boats and crews. Unfortunately no recent experience with them because last couple of trips to Roatan have been to the south side. If you wind up on the south side for a day, I highly recommend Barefoot Divers.
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zeppelindiver
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Check out Sun Divers, also in West End next to Sundowners Bar. New shop this year but the staff have all been on Roatan for years working at various operations. Brand new boat & equipment, excellent people, very professional. I'm an Instructor & I sent my 2 sisters, nephew & his girlfriend to them for courses & diving.
Zznola
Registered
Dove with West End Divers in February for a week. Well run operation. Good large boat. Varied dive sites. One thing that I liked, (and Im a beginner, 25 dives then, 50 now) Was the team approach where there are a good handful of DM's and Trainees on staff and you get to dive with different styles of leaders and helpers. Some lead one day, some taught classes, some were extra hands. As a solo beginner they always had someone available to help or keep an eye on me if I needed them while at depth. A couple of times one of the trainees surfaced with me ahead of the rest of the group when I hogged my air. The largest group with one leader was 6 and most of the time it was less. They all gave pointers when I asked so you got varied points of view.
Now, Ill also be down there in two weeks, Aug 23-30 and I will diving this time with SunDivers. Im doing my AOW Cert. and got a recommendation that their training was a cut above. if not for that I would have gone out with WED again.
Now, Ill also be down there in two weeks, Aug 23-30 and I will diving this time with SunDivers. Im doing my AOW Cert. and got a recommendation that their training was a cut above. if not for that I would have gone out with WED again.
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Coconut Tree is great. We have had two week-long trips with them and have enjoyed every minute. They are the right combination of professional and laid back. I trusted them enough from the first trip to bring my 15 year old son there for his open water certification. He had an excellent instructor and the end result is a confident, knowledgeable diver.
---------- Post added August 3rd, 2014 at 07:45 AM ----------
Off topic, but, if you're looking for a good meal on the West End, look for Roatan Oasis. Great food!
---------- Post added August 3rd, 2014 at 07:45 AM ----------
Off topic, but, if you're looking for a good meal on the West End, look for Roatan Oasis. Great food!
beth_castroll
Contributor
We have been to Roatan 3 times and will be returning in November. We have only dove with Coconut Tree Divers and can't think of a reason to change shops. When we were beginners they held our hands and really taught us how to dive after we got our OW in Maui. One of my first dives I was out of air about 20 minutes into the dive. Their DI Monty let me share his tank of air while swapping out my tank for an extra one he had under water with him. I had to carry my own tank back with me (only fair) and I could complete the dive with the rest of the group. Later as AOW divers they have taken us to some pretty fun sites including Mary's Place one day when we were washed out due to bad weather in West End (a day I truly felt like Anthony Bourdain). Or Hole in the Wall or Texas Drift which are slightly more technical, (only slightly). They are very concerned with safety and very concerned with having fun. We trade off yearly between Cozumel and Roatan. We have yet to settle on a shop in Cozumel which must speak volumes for CTD.
I can't speak to the Original Poster's comparison dive shop but I have to think if you have a dive shop in West End that has been open for more than a year it has to be highly competitive in safety and all the great amenities that CTD has otherwise they would surely be out of business in this dive centric local.
I can't speak to the Original Poster's comparison dive shop but I have to think if you have a dive shop in West End that has been open for more than a year it has to be highly competitive in safety and all the great amenities that CTD has otherwise they would surely be out of business in this dive centric local.
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And a great dining experience: Ooloonthoo Indian Cuisine | Please Call: 504-9936-5223 | Roatan Honduras
Colo Hippie
Contributor
A little late but wanted to share our experience from April 2014.
We dove with both Coconut Tree and West End. For CT we forgot to ask for EA before hand and when we asked the first morning (we arrived 1 hour early) the staff told us we needed to ask in advance, no problem, our fault and we asked to have EA for the next day. Then the owner asked one of the staff to fire up the compressor and get us some EA tanks. The staff member got pissy about it. He did it but grumbled and was giving attitude the whole time. I see that the owner tried to accommodate us and we appreciate it, we did not appreciate the attitude from the staff. Also, the staff did not carry our tanks or gear on or off the boat. I don't expect the staff to carry my gear but they should carry the tanks. Finally the staff did not set up any of the divers gear on the boat, ours or other divers. I am fine with this as I don't like people I don't know setting up my gear but I know allot of other divers are ok with having their gear set up for them and expect it. CT also seemed disorganized, we had to ask about overnight gear storage, etc.
West End was the complete opposite, they carried the tanks, offered to carry and set up our gear and in general provided a better experience for us.
On a similar note we also dove with Barefoot and had no complaints with that operation.
We dove with both Coconut Tree and West End. For CT we forgot to ask for EA before hand and when we asked the first morning (we arrived 1 hour early) the staff told us we needed to ask in advance, no problem, our fault and we asked to have EA for the next day. Then the owner asked one of the staff to fire up the compressor and get us some EA tanks. The staff member got pissy about it. He did it but grumbled and was giving attitude the whole time. I see that the owner tried to accommodate us and we appreciate it, we did not appreciate the attitude from the staff. Also, the staff did not carry our tanks or gear on or off the boat. I don't expect the staff to carry my gear but they should carry the tanks. Finally the staff did not set up any of the divers gear on the boat, ours or other divers. I am fine with this as I don't like people I don't know setting up my gear but I know allot of other divers are ok with having their gear set up for them and expect it. CT also seemed disorganized, we had to ask about overnight gear storage, etc.
West End was the complete opposite, they carried the tanks, offered to carry and set up our gear and in general provided a better experience for us.
On a similar note we also dove with Barefoot and had no complaints with that operation.
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