Advice for Beginners Heading to Anthony's Key

[Klaus of Team Zissou]

Hello,

We have a group of new divers heading to Roatan in July. Most will be freshly certified shortly before we leave. We have 10 divers so I plan to let the staff know so that we can avoid sharing the boat with advanced divers. We are renting equipment and packing light. There always seem to be some small things you wish you had brought in hindsight. Was hoping for some suggestions. Also any tips that might make us better prepared on the boat, or make the trip smoother and more enjoyable.
We know about the potential for bugs.

Thanks!
Don

 

[KatieMac]

Hello,

We have a group of new divers heading to Roatan in July. Most will be freshly certified shortly before we leave. We have 10 divers so I plan to let the staff know so that we can avoid sharing the boat with advanced divers. We are renting equipment and packing light. There always seem to be some small things you wish you had brought in hindsight. Was hoping for some suggestions. Also any tips that might make us better prepared on the boat, or make the trip smoother and more enjoyable.
We know about the potential for bugs.

Thanks!
Don

AKR is a great operation. In fact your concern about sharing a boat is unfounded. The dive sites are very close and a boat can drop a group of advanced divers at one site and novice divers at other ... and watch for the SMB for both at the end of the dive. This image doesn't show all the dive sites, just a selection of the most popular. Your boat can easily accommodate a group for El Aguila (advanced) and for Gibson Bight (novice) and pick up both groups within minutes of surfacing.

If the bus driver picking you up from the airport will allow it, ask him to stop at Eldon's (a large grocery store in Coxen Hole and on the way to the resort from the airport) in walking distance beyond the gift shop at the resort.

Bring good bug spray. AKR, and many of the places to stay in Roatan, are in the middle of a Caribbean jungle. There can be bugs.

 

[Klaus of Team Zissou]

Thanks for the info KatieMac. Glad to hear about the boat sharing. My biggest worry was getting assigned a boat with advanced divers and feeling like we were cramping their style all week. Both of my teenage daughters and my wife are getting certified this weekend and I'm a bit nervous about their first few dives.

Will Eldon's accept USD?

 

[diversteve]

ask him to stop at Eldon's (a large grocery store

good advice AKR is about 10mins. from anything not available there. I haven;t been in the new store but the old one was gifts, t-shirts etc. - I've read they combined it with the photo shop but if there;s more now?

The point is snacks/dringks etc. for your rooms are a decent ride away. There's one small market nearby but the others are in the West End - a 10-15 min. cab ride away. And there's only two there - Woody's or rhe Coconut Tree store. Lots of restaurants in all price ranges and most of the shops are there as well - worth a look on a non-dive afternoon.

We brought Deep Woods Off in a spray - it was pretty effective. The sand flies around their dock around dusk are merciless. It's not a problem once on the water.

You;ll see as you drive in - there's a tropical rain forest behind the resort so standing water, humidity etc. I probably had 2 dozen bites on my legs that week but I'm not good about re-applying spray after dives - in fact Deet will damage some rubber/plastics so they won't want/allow it on the boat.

I haven't stayed there but we did have to use their chamber once. And we did the dolphin dive plus ate there one night.

I've not been to Eldon's specifically but everywhere we went they took USD. I did buy some food items once at the other big grocery store in Coxen Hole, Even credit cards are accepted at larger places but some have a fee?. The ATM in the West End is suspect to being hacked - another we used was at the airport.

Just about everybody will give you change back in Lempira.

 

[KatieMac]

good advice AKR is about 10mins. from anything not available there. I haven;t been in the new store but the old one was gifts, t-shirts etc. - I've read they combined it with the photo shop but if there;s more now?

I've never known it as anything except a full supermarket although I have only been going to Roatan for 6 years.

The point is snacks/dringks etc. for your rooms are a decent ride away. There's one small market nearby but the others are in the West End - a 10-15 min. cab ride away. And there's only two there - Woody's or rhe Coconut Tree store. Lots of restaurants in all price ranges and most of the shops are there as well - worth a look on a non-dive afternoon.

There is about 8 now, grocery or convenience stores - none of them large though. The best selection is Eldons.

And thanks for bringing up the cab ride. @Klaus of Team Zissou you can get a cab from AKR to West End and it will cost you about $15. You can negotiate with the cabbies though. When returning, if you are comfortable taking the local bus, it's about $1/person (20lp) to get back to AKR on the bus that says "West Bay - Sandy Bay - Coxen Hole". Just tell the driver to stop at AKR. The tourist buses are much more expensive.

Also, there is a pharmacy in West End. My friend picked up prescription drugs for very cheap without a prescription.

I haven't stayed there but we did have to use their chamber once.

Another good point. The clinic there is excellent and they are well versed in problems that divers have - like ear problems. I went to get my ears checked because I had been having problems equalizing on planes for about 9 months. I'm still on a wait list to see a specialist here in Canada, but the problem is now dealt with. A quick visit to the clinic, $70 which included 3 prescription medications (the pills not the paper), and everything is now fixed. I left a nice tip.

 

[kelemvor]

Packing list: Bugspray, sunblock, extra bugspray.

The gift shop at the resort does sell both.

I remember seeing one couple that had apparently forgotten to use bugspray when I was there. I felt very bad for them, they looked miserable. They had obtained their own by the time I saw them but the damage had already been done. I live in Florida, so bugspray is something I've used almost daily since I was but a wee tyke. Don't forget to bring and use bug spray. I like the "off familycare". It's got less DEET, but it's still perfectly effective. I think it smells and feels better on your skin. It will work just as well, but there's no particular need for regular or deep woods off.

I also agree, the operation will be very easy to deal with on the skill level groupings. AKR has a lot of boats, and when I was there they weren't trying to maximize profits by filling them to capacity or anything like that. I think things like arranging suitable skill level groups is critical to having a good week, and I really had the impression that all the staff at this resort were interested in ensuring you had a good time.

We did go to town when we were there, just hired a cabbie. The resort staff arranged the ride, and the cabbie waited for us outside of every place we went. We went to a local grocery store and bought school supplies for the local public school on our offgas day. If we hadn't done that, we would not have wanted or needed to leave the resort for anything.

On the resort, all the staff - even cleaning crew - spoke good English. Off the resort we didn't find anyone who spoke English. Luckily, my wife speaks passable Spanish. I would have been SOL on my own.

There were only two things we wanted and couldn't buy from the resort. 1. Batteries for my dive camera's strobes. Someone else in our group had bought all the onsite camera shop had to sell. 2. Immodium. The resort has a gift shop with some medicines, and they have an onsite clinic which is renowned. However, the manager took us around to both one evening (after both had closed, she let us in to search for immodium). We struck out. Luckly, another diver (thanks @mermaid0sea ) had some and saved our bacon!


Give the resort a call and tell them about your grouping concern. I bet they'll quickly put your mind at ease. 1 954-929-0090

 

[KathyV]

In addition to insect repellant, also bring some anti-itch cream for times when the mosquitoes and sand fleas bite you anyway. I like Allegra anti-itch ointment the best. It doesn't work as instantaneously as some of the other creams I've used, but it does a good job and it lasts - since there are 10 of you, bring a few tubes along!

Allegra.com

Has your family visited your doctor, or health department, or travel medicine clinic for travel medicine advice? Before our trips to Roatan, we got boosters on our immunizations as needed and were immunized against Typhoid and Hepatitis A - and we took anti-malarial medication immediately before, during, and after the trip.

I know a lot of people don't bother with travel medicine precautions, and they are usually just fine and don't have any problems, but I take them seriously - and I surely wouldn't take any chances with my family and malaria! The good news is that the strain of malaria that is the most common in the Bay Islands is the least resistant strain - and the medicine is pretty mild and usually doesn't have any side effects.

Mosquito-borne Dengue Fever is also present in Honduras, but it is more prevalent in urban areas - but it is another good reason to try and avoid mosquito bites.

From the CDC Travel Advisory for Honduras:

Malaria
Areas with malaria: Present throughout the country and in Roatán and other Bay Islands. None in San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa.

Estimated relative risk of malaria for US travelers: Moderate.

Drug resistance: None.

Malaria species: P. vivax 93%, P. falciparum 7%.

Recommended chemoprophylaxis: Atovaquone-proguanil, chloroquine, doxycycline, mefloquine, or primaquine


Most travelers
Get travel vaccines and medicines because there is a risk of these diseases in the country you are visiting.

Hepatitis A
CDC recommends this vaccine because you can get hepatitis A through contaminated food or water in Honduras, regardless of where you are eating or staying.


Typhoid
You can get typhoid through contaminated food or water in Honduras. CDC recommends this vaccine for most travelers, especially if you are staying with friends or relatives, visiting smaller cities or rural areas, or if you are an adventurous eater.

 

[diversteve]

I've never known it as anything except a full supermarket although I have only been going to Roatan for 6 years.

I meant the onsite AKR store/gift shop...

If you have extra room in your luggage - see if there;s anything you can bring down for Clinica Esperanza which is on the main road near AKR. Contact them first to see what they need - we brought bandages, creams, non-prescription drugs etc. most of us packed our 2nd free bag with stuff.
Donate - Clinica Esperanza

 

[Klaus of Team Zissou]

Thanks for the responses! Very good info. I just happen to have a garage full of excess medical supplies I gathered for a charity I have been involved with in Kenya. I'll contact Clinica Esperanza to see if any of it would be useful to them.

My wife and daughter finished their pool work today and will be certified in two weeks. Can't wait for them to catch their first glimpse of the reefs in Roatan!

Regards,
Don

 

[glennster]

you may want to take a bottle of pepto bismol tablets with you. when we stayed at akr several years ago, my daughter and i both had stomach issues. more of a sharp cramping pain in the abdomen. my wife did not have any problem. as akr is rather secluded, better to pack it than have to go find some. up at the bar, they make a lime drink, its really tart, that will help with any stomach issues. its non alcoholic. we stayed up in the "jungle" as opposed to the island rooms, it was nice and quiet. dont keep food in your room, it will attract ants!! they had coffee on at 5 am when i was there.