Roatan AKR / July 7-14

[Klaus of Team Zissou]

Diving with AKR this week if anyone wants a heads up on conditions. Getting a lot of rain. Visibility is 50-70 on average, Seeing good numbers of fish, turtles galore. West End Wall was literally mind blowing yesterday. Complete sensory overload.

Diving Odyssey this AM.

 

[Klaus of Team Zissou]

Great week. Got in 17 dives and I’m spent. Eagle rays, couple dozen turtles, scorpion fish, rat fish, barracuda, black durgeon, mantis shrimp, huge permit, etc. Water clarity declined slowly throughout the week and was averaging 40-50 on some dives. Never a dull dive however. Lots of fish life. Dove with Hector and he was constantly finding something for us to ogle.

Saw only 4 lion fish during the week which was encouraging. Lots of juvenile fish on the reef.

Water was warm. Dove with a 1.5 mm top or nothing all week. Down to 110.

Food was excellent.

Staff was friendly and helpful with the exception of the American woman with the schnauzer who checked us in. Like a prison warden. Not the person you want greeting your guests.

 

[Klaus of Team Zissou]

Bugs were not a big problem. Few bites after a week but I only put on repellent a couple times.

Place runs like a well oiled machine. Dive boats leave on time and everything seems well maintained.

Rooms were clean and everything worked. Water is hot. AC Was cold and kept the room dry. All of the decks off our rooms already had clothes lines set up and clothes pins there.

Whole resort is neat and tidy. Pool was clean every day. Grounds were freshly raked every day.

Wives loved the massages at the spa.

Rental equipment was in good condition and of good quality. Dive shop came up with a mask when we needed one at no charge. They had no problem swapping out gear if we had an issue or needed to adjust weights.

 

[Klaus of Team Zissou]

Shark Dive:
Absolutely amazing and I would not miss it. We hit it on a day with no current and great vis. 12 -15 Mature sharks so close you could have reached out and touched them.

Dolphins:
Dolphin dive was off due to females in heat. My wife and kids did the snorkel experience instead and they all raved about it.

Random Thoughts:
A. Bring a light, even if you don’t plan to do a night dive. Saw a lot of things in swim throughs and crevices I’d have missed otherwise.

B. We all had some stomach issues but nothing that was debilitating. Bring Imodium AD and antacids. Bring neosporin and bandaids. We all had cuts of some sort by end of week.

C. Employees all seem to prefer tips in cash. Will bring small bills and tip wait staff as we go next time.

D. Prices on rash guards, dry bags etc are reasonable in the gift shop, but they nail you on bug spray and medicine.16.00 For Cactus Juice repellant.

E. A staff photographer dove with us on a random dive and on the shark dive. None of us brought a camera and we ended up buying stills and video. Great shots!

F. Saw recommendations to buy snacks for room. We found meals more than adequate and never ate the snacks we brought. Rythym is breakfast at 7:00, 2 dives, big lunch at 12, pool, third dive, dinner at 6:00, bed.

 

[Klaus of Team Zissou]

Summary:

AKR lives up to the hype. Smoothly run resort and excellent diving. We were able to just relax and have fun and worry about nothing. We all agreed the food was delicious and filling. Soups especially were excellent. Rooms are clean and comfortable. Grounds are well maintained. Staff was friendly and helpful. Boats are purpose built and spotless. The boat Captain (Ross) and Dive Master (Hector) we had were both pros. We had 8 brand new divers in our group as well as 4 experienced divers. We all had a blast. Plenty of non-diving activities to keep busy between dives.

Negatives:
They have only about 10 dive computers available. One group took them all. That’s about all I can come up with. Tipping system is a bit cumbersome.

At the 2 for 1 prices it’s a no-brainer!

 

[Klaus of Team Zissou]

 

[Klaus of Team Zissou]

 

[Klaus of Team Zissou]

 

[Norwegian Cave Diver]

Excellent review. Thanks for the info. Might need to go back and stay there next time

 

[BDSC]

We stayed there as a group last year I think it was and really enjoyed it. It had been a few years since I had been to Roatan and the diving was much better than I remembered. Their 2-1 special makes it the best deal on the island. Wouldn't hesitate to go back.