looking for input on Utila

[Dan]

Deep Blue seems to be having financial issues at times. I don't know their recent status.

But they're on the same lagoon as LB - just a few hundred yards farther. So the bugs are just as bad. We did a dusk dive once and you could see swarms of sand flies in the sun around their dock which is on an even quieter part of the lagoon than LB's was. Also their beach, which fronts the reef on the other side, was full of biting bugs the one time we tried it w/o shoes. And one night we mistakenly left the screen door open - that night we had to "fog" the room with Deep Woods Off to sleep.

The last I read their boat was drydocked (a few years ago) and the captain had left. Shirley was buying boat services from LB - which is obviously no longer an option. Their shore dive was difficult also - entry off a rocky beach at the very south end of the resort (they offered to have someone carry tanks for us) and you had to find a small break in the reef to get out to deeper water. It's the Pretty Bush dive site.

Utopia is farther down the south coast so may not have the bug problem. Another possibility with a shore dive is Coral View - it's west of town about 10mibs but far enough before the lagoon that bugs might not be an issue there.

I believe those are the only resorts with a shore dive except for a couple in town that dive the harbor.

I think there's just a lot of bugs on Utila period. One of the divers staying at Deep Blue when we did went birdwatching around the lagoon - we were kidding her that she'd be quarantined on her return to the US - all bit up anywhere that was exposed.

We didn't do much better on Roatan either. I counted 35 bits on my arms/back on the flight home. And i was pretty careful to use Off all the time. Plus there it's a good idea to do the Malaria treatment before ou go. Anywhere in the region where the jungle fronts the ocean it's going to be a problem. Someone once posted West Bay was reclaimed from a swamp.

If shore diving is what you're looking for - the Caymans, St. Croix or the ABC's (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) are good options. Not so much Little Cayman but there's the Brac Reef Beach Resort AI on the Brac, Cobalt Coast or Sunset House on Grand Cayman or the Reef or Morritt's condos on the East End. Compass Point is almsot an AI out there also with their own restaurant and Ocean Frontiers on site.
No shore diving out there though - much of that is centered around Cobalt Coast or nearby.

Bugs aren't allowed on Grand Cayman...lol. And they spray.

I stayed in Deep Blue in 2008. Steve Fox, Shirley & Jasmin were in charge there then.

I got bitten badly by no-see-um then. It seems nothing has changed 11 years later.

 

[laurenceh]

I have been staying at Treasure Beach, which is west of Utopia resort, for several weeks a year since 2007 (stayed at deep blue the year before) and haven't had a bad problem with sand flies/fleas, a bit of bug spray around the ankles at sunrise and sunset if there's no wind has always worked for me.

 

[Kharon]

I don’t think so. Arthropods don’t fly. Sandflies do. I saw them flying around & landing on my legs when I was in Utila in 2008. I wasn’t concerned at the time as I didn’t feel anything. Later on in the evening, my legs were itching.

My mistake. Sand flies and sand fleas are different. And flies bite, fleas don't.

What's the difference between a sandfly and a sand flea?
A sand flea is a different kind of animal. Despite being called a flea, it's not even an insect. Instead, it's a kind of crustacean called an amphipod or hopper, and is more closely related to crabs and lobsters. These animals can't bite humans.

 

[Dan]

My mistake. Sand flies and sand fleas are different. And flies bite, fleas don't.

What's the difference between a sandfly and a sand flea?
A sand flea is a different kind of animal. Despite being called a flea, it's not even an insect. Instead, it's a kind of crustacean called an amphipod or hopper, and is more closely related to crabs and lobsters. These animals can't bite humans.

We are not talking about sand fleas. There is no sand flea problem in Utila. The problem is SANDFLY

 

[Kharon]

We are not talking about sand fleas. There is no sand flea problem in Utila. The problem is SANDFLY

Except that everyone Including "Doc R." said they were the problem when I was on Roatan at CCV. His talk covered Utila & Roatan and sandfleas were prominant in the discussion. I did say I was wrong. Guess that wasn't good enough for you. So ==> Ignore.

 

[Dan]

Except that everyone Including "Doc R." said they were the problem when I was on Roatan at CCV. His talk covered Utila & Roatan and sandfleas were prominant in the discussion. I did say I was wrong. Guess that wasn't good enough for you. So ==> Ignore.

My apology for misunderstanding your point.

I guess there are confusion out there about the difference between sandfly & sandflea. That’s why some people use the name no-see-um to avoid the confusion.

I have never been to Roatan, nor do I know who “Doc R” is, and not aware of “everyone” in Roatan referring sandflea and sandfly to the same tiny flying & biting bug.

After hearing the same no-see-um infestation in Roatan as bad as in Utila, it is another place that I’m going to miss.

Again, I’m sorry for misunderstood you.

 

[Kharon]

My apology for misunderstanding your point.

I guess there are confusion out there about the difference between sandfly & sandflea. That’s why some people use the name no-see-um to avoid the confusion.

I have never been to Roatan, nor do I know who “Doc R” is, and not aware of “everyone” in Roatan referring sandflea and sandfly to the same tiny flying & biting bug.

After hearing the same no-see-um infestation in Roatan as bad as in Utila, it is another place that I’m going to miss.

Again, I’m sorry for misunderstood you.

No worries. I misunderstand often and am somewhat socially inept.

 

[Damselfish]

When we stayed at Utopia many years back, I met someone who was using the bug patch (vitamin B1) and it seemed to work very well for them.

 

[laurenceh]

this thread just shows how peoples attitudes about a place can be so negatively impacted because of one bad no-seeum experience.
my wife and I traveled to anse chastenet in st.lucia 2-3 times a year for 6 years and always loved it. my best friend decided to go because we always raved about it and he hated it, both he and his wife got eaten alive by no-seeums, we had never had a problem.
they recommended we try vieques, their favorite place, so we stayed there at the w hotel (their favorite) and the no-seeums got us so bad the first 2 days that we stopped going to the beach. we felt it was way worse than anything we had experienced anywhere else.
the fact is that no-seeums are the caribbean tourist industry' dirty little secret because they can show up anywhere at anytime, due to the weather conditions.

 

[PatW]

There was some sort of concoction that was available at CoCo View in Roatan that many people thought was effective. I think it was referred to as “cactus juice”. Being a diptera, DEET should work on sand flies. I found that just walking fast worked well. I also found that board expanses were pretty fly free.

I think that Deep Blue is not really operating anymore. I really liked it.

Utopia Village does look good. There are some good dive sites down that way that can probably be shore dived.