How things stand?
Therein lies a big part of the problem, surely on the West End where there are hundreds of Pod People standing on everything, certainly the reefs.
All reefs, everywhere, are in a downward slide.
Is Roatan still worth the bother and cost balanced against the experience? Yes, generally it is. Comparing it against other destinations that are easy to get to, have electricity, have a medical facility, that kind of thing? In the Caribbean? Yes, Roatan is still just fine.
Posters on social media often post “conditions” reports. These are merely snapshots, often heavily influenced by that week’s weather. One can find any number of just awful sea conditions and then you see their trip was to the Mar Caribe in November. Well, duh.
Reef health can be very difficult to judge by such poster’s reports. I have seen what appears to be a ghostly white reef, then... looking vibrant a year later. We humans have very short time frames that delude us into thinking...no, knowing we have the whole picture.
When the economy (your desire to spend larger sums drives locals to build dive infrastructure, as airlines are driven to react to the demand), when that comes to fruition, there are dozens of rocks waiting in the Caribbean to ultimately be deflowered by “eco adventure tourists” and finally...Club Dread. There is still phenomenal diving nearby...just not feasible to get there.
The few liveaboard itineraries ever offered ...have not accessed the remaining exotica of the Bay Islands. Too costly in fuel. There are several micro dive ops (Eastern 1/2) that can give you a very different experience. One guy took me on a night dive in sand flats 25fsw with dozens of sharks- diving out of a water taxi. The stuff is there, just not having a Discover Diving sign out front.
If you become disenchanted with (the diving of) a localized zone on Roatan, it’s a matter just moving over a bit. There is still remaining remarkable diving on Roatan, but you’ll have to give up that “jimmy Buffett island vibe” and get your socks dirty. Same, worldwide.
In general, when I hear such a query, the answer is “yes, it’ll be fine”. As soon as you realize that you want more and are willing to suffer the cost? That question disappears.
