Best deal on the island?

[RaginCajun]

Who has the best deal on the island right now? Ok say in the next 60 days or so?

With the "low" season about to start I'm seeing the advertized prices at places like Fantasy Island fall about $50/month over the next few months. My brother is on Roatan this week working on the generator that got busted up in the last earth quake and I hear the island looks rather quiet. (It's a shame he's not a diver.... http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/images/smilies/dork2.gif

I recently did the math for a Texas to Florida road trip with diving and taking airfare out, it looks more economical do dive in Roatan.

Any ideas? I was hoping to get a week of diving in before the end of August.

 

[marcoa]

Happy Divers will hook you up with the best deals.

 

[Doc]

It largely depends on how much diving you actually want to do on any given day.

For a number of reasons, this dictates which "end" of the island is best for your schedule.

Where your brother is turning a wrench (you infer he is at FIBR) you could do 4 in a day with no stress. This is a common availability with most AI resorts.

Day dive ops, which you find on the West End, are more geared to two a day, with ease and no hurrying. They are also closer to a variety of restaurants and an array of bars for night life.

Because of the inaccurate reporting by CNN (and others), yes, the Island of Roatan is pretty quiet right now. Henry Morgan is empty as the usual Spanish and Italian clientele were feed a constant stream of horror stories. They cancelled en-masse for no valid reason.

Their loss could be your gain.

 

[robint]

I agree with RoatanMan. It all depends what you mean by "deal" and how much diving you want to do.
For me and my hubby/dive buddy, there is no better deal that CCV. But that is because of the style of diving we do (love shore diving, doing our own thing, no need for DM handholding), so we can do boat dives and shore dives 24/7 there and then just wander into the clubhouse and eat inbetween dives. It works very welll for us and is the best "deal' for us. It may not be the best deal for others, though. Plus it is a small resort, very quiet with only divers staying there.... we love the atmosphere.

robin
heading back to CCV in Feb or March!

 

[CajunDiva]

Who has the best deal on the island right now? Ok say in the next 60 days or so?

My brother is on Roatan this week working on the generator that got busted up in the last earth quake and I hear the island looks rather quiet. (It's a shame he's not a diver....

I recently did the math for a Texas to Florida road trip with diving and taking airfare out, it looks more economical do dive in Roatan.

Any ideas? I was hoping to get a week of diving in before the end of August.

Is your brother Matt??? If so, he sure looked like he enjoyed diving to me! We were there with him last week and when he had a day off he decided to try a "Discover Scuba" dive. He came up grinning from ear to ear...said he thought he might be hooked! After that he was so busy we hardly saw him again, but hopefully the two of you will have plenty of opportunities to dive together in the future.

We do the drive from Louisiana to Key Largo for diving on a regular basis. It is much easier and less expensive to do Roatan - especially if you are able to use miles or credit card points to fly there. We were at Fantasy Island, and $ 759 covered an entire week of eating, drinking, diving and if that's not enough...a gorgeous beach, swimming pool, resort and lots of fun monkeys and other critters to play with. Plus we were on a private island and not exposed to any public unrest that might have occurred. We have totally fallen in love with the place and would recommend it wholeheartedly.

 

[Cajuncru Diver]

Who has the best deal on the island right now? Ok say in the next 60 days or so?

With the "low" season about to start I'm seeing the advertized prices at places like Fantasy Island fall about $50/month over the next few months. My brother is on Roatan this week working on the generator that got busted up in the last earth quake and I hear the island looks rather quiet. (It's a shame he's not a diver.... http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/images/smilies/dork2.gif

I recently did the math for a Texas to Florida road trip with diving and taking airfare out, it looks more economical do dive in Roatan.


Any ideas? I was hoping to get a week of diving in before the end of August.

Hi RaginCajun; When you talk to Matt tell him the Louisiana delegation from Fantasy Island says hello .....hope he got the jacks over from the mainland so he can get his laser and fix that generator for RICO and get back home......buy the way, how come he can manage a "work" trip to Roatan and can't find a way to take his brother along as his helper!!!!!

 

[RaginCajun]

Hey Cajuncru & CajunDiva

Yes, Matt is my brother. I got the download from him yesterday afternoon on his stay at Fantasy Island and his dive on the Prince Albert & DC3. It's too bad he didn't have enough time to get certified although that would have only made me more jealous (I did my check out dives in a 65 degree spring, not the Carribean!)

I offered to be his helper when he returns in 2 weeks to do the other generator....I feel sooo sorry for him. Get him to tell you his Bahama taxi story next time.

I'm glad to know it's a really small world....ever notice how every time you leave Louisiana you can always spot someone from back home by ether the Bud Light in their hand and the tone of their voice from whatever story they're telling (or what lie they're telling...)


RoatanMan & RobinT,

Your points are well taken and thanks for the heads up on the Henry Morgan. I just checked the Henry Morgan website, but didn't see any price info. I suppose the heart of my question was around when do the "off season" rates kick in and if there are any specials available. Even Fantasy Island's website can be cryptic at times. It seems that the rates drop off in Aug-September with the decrease in demand and small risk of storms, I suppose, although it doesn't seem that Roatan is at much risk of direct impact from hurricanes. I am curious if there is anything especially worrisome about the weather this time of year (wind, bugs, heat, rain etc...), but from my preliminary research Aug-Sept isn't terribly rainy and this is Roatan in summer so some things should be expected.

I'm in the middle in terms of "diving requirements" i.e. # dives/day. It seems like CocoView is the hands down winner for ease of diving and most numerous dive opportunities with the best shoredive on the island which is shared by Fantasy Island albeit a slightly longer swim.

My wife & dive buddy is somewhere around dive #10-15 if you count the local lake at 20 ft max, so there's a good chance that she might bug out on me if I ask to go the CocoView route and ask to be dropped on the Prince Albert on the return of every dive. I love diving, she puts up with me if that makes sense.

I suppose I could do the math on the AI vs a la carte again taking into account only needing about 3 dives a day plus or minus some beach time for the wife. I've read several posts here on the subject.

Thanks to everyone for your many posts on the subject of Roatan, now and always. It really helps understand what to expect and how best to appreciate this wonderful paradise.


Now if I can just get out of work in a few weeks time....

 

[philmayer]

Personally, I love CCV and would never go anywhere else.

But if your brother is at FIBR, see if he can get you a deal. The websites are only going to show list prices. They won't reflect the deals you might be able to get due to all the cancellations.

Call the Henry Morgan directly, and have your brother ask the folks at FIBR. I'm sure you can find a deal, and you'll love Roatan.

 

[CajunDiva]

Hey Cajuncru & CajunDiva

My wife & dive buddy is somewhere around dive #10-15 if you count the local lake at 20 ft max, so there's a good chance that she might bug out on me if I ask to go the CocoView route and ask to be dropped on the Prince Albert on the return of every dive. I love diving, she puts up with me if that makes sense.

I wouldn't assume anything here...once she hits that gorgeous water and sees what's beneath the waves you may never stop her. That's the way it happened with me

 

[robint]

I wouldn't assume anything here...once she hits that gorgeous water and sees what's beneath the waves you may never stop her. That's the way it happened with me

I have to agree. Once she gets in that nice warm water with tons of fish to watch she may be thrilled with the diving opportunities at CCV. Or she may like the boat dives and be happy sitting in a hammock while you do the shore dives. Either way...CCV rocks!

deals at FI: http://www.bayadventures.com/honduras/rates.htm
looks like they have some nice package prices if that is where you want to go.

CajunDiva - I am trying to convince a couple of our friends to go with us to CCV next spring for that very reason. He is a dive dive dive nut. She wants to be but hasn't yet had one of those dives that pushed her over the edge... she is still a bit nervous and skips dives due to lack of enthusiasm. I think if they come with us to CCV, it will be a turning point for her, and also for him as a result!