Anybody been to Turquoise Bay Resort?

[pelagic_by_nature]

Sure. I probably won't be going until January or February, though.

 

[Doctorfish]

Please do a report. It will be interesting to know if I just ran into a bad week at Subway vs. a bad operator.

 

[pelagic_by_nature]

Can anybody tell me, is the reef within easy snorkeling distance from the beach? I'm looking to bring my wife, who is a non-diver, but likes to snorkel if it's close. Looking at the pics it looks like the reef is a good distance from the beach, as I'd heard was typically the case on the north side of the island.

 

[scuba_guy62]

My wife and I spent 5 nights and 6 days at TBR a little over a year ago. I had some issues with the operator (they were having boat problems then as well) and was less than impressed with some of the dive interns. The boat man was excellent (local guy who worked his butt off) but you need to be really on top of setting up your gear. The room we had was nice, the food was okay but could be a bit boring after a week. The property was nice but watch out for the bugs down by the dock (I got over a hundred bites in the space of a few minutes while waiting for some cruise ship diver who showed up late so we waited by the dock in the boat).
The set up is user friendly but the diving was just so so compared to CoCo View. I'd go back to CoCo in a heart beat or stay in town and dive from West End. We never left the resort while at TBR but did stay in west end after being on the mainland for a week but didn't dive from there.
I don't think the reef is close enough for a swim out but the beach area is nice.
You are very far from everything.
I'd really look at something in West End and dive with one of the many operators there, book one of the great spots in and around the area and hit one of the many fine eateries.
I think I'd prefer West End over CoCo view unless I was just going to max out my diving...then CoCo view is a great deal.
If you have any questions I will be happy to respond based on our experience. There is a ton of good Roatan info. on here (Bay Island Diver has a great web site). Best of luck.

 

[pelagic_by_nature]

Thanks, scubaguy62. I think I'm gonna book FIBR. I was there in March and had no complaints and the reef is right there.

 

[scuba_guy62]

Well it is closer to things and on top of some great shore diving and snorkeling, just watch the monkeys. I hope you do a trip report to catch us up on the latest! Have a great trip.

 

[pelagic_by_nature]

I'm hoping the monkeys will help keep Mrs. Pelagic entertained.

 

[ScubaRafiki]

I realsie you have already decided to go to FI, but think that some of the points that scuba guy made need to be addressed.

The management at the Subway Watersports Turquoise Bay shop changed back in January. They do have divemasters in training there who are not paid members of staff, but paying guests. They are learning about the job of a Divemaster whilst they complete their training. They do get marked on their professionalism so if ever you encounter bad DM interns (no matter where you are) you should always speak up about your experience at the time so any problems can be resolved.

As far as setting up your gear, Subway will do that for you, and break it down and rinse it - unless you want to do that yourself.

I was chatting with a recent guest from TBR a couple of weeks ago and they said that the food was great and if you want to eat lobster every day you can.

The reef is too far to swim, but snorkellers can go out on the dive boats or their own boat if they wish.

Cruiseship guests do not go out on the same boat as resort guests any more.

No matter where you stay you will get eaten by sandflies at some point - this is not a localized problem.

Enjoy Roatan!

 

[rtbmediver]

The reef on the northside of Roatan is a fringing surface barrier reef. The reef lagoon is an eighth to a quarter of a mile wide. You have to snorkle or swim across it to reach the reef. The bottom of the lagoon is mostly sea grass with some patch coral.

You can go to Google Earth and measure the distance from the shore to the reef crest in front of TBR.

 

[paragliderdiver]

Just got back from there. Subway is on site with dive shop, loading dock, boats, showers, restrooms and evrything else you need. It is a 30 minute ride from the airport and Turquoise Bay provides to and from transportation via Edwin, who speaks zero english. So, brush up on your Espanol. The diveing was super. Be sure to do the wreck dive, the night dive, the swim throughs and cave dives and don't miss the shark dive. The restaurant did a buffet style for all of us and you will get all the lobster you can handle. Tons of fruits, veggies and other goodies that will have your palate going wild. The musical entertainment in the evenings was mucho Reggae and you will really enjoy the fire dancers. You will love Julie, one of the servers in the restaurant as well as all of the guys. The bar guys know what they are doing as all drinks were especially good. The diving was very good with 100 ft visability every day and H2O temps bouncing off 84 to 85 degrees. A light dive skin was all I needed and even did one dive with just my trunks. No problems with jellies or any other critters but be advised, there are Lion fish and Honduras requires you pay $50.00 for a short course and a license before giving you a pole spear if you want to be a hunter. Like many other dive sites in those waters, the Lion fish is an invasive species and the locals want them removed. The government does too but is going to make a buck or two off of it. Only thing I can add is take some good bug repellant as the sand fleas and mosquitos will greet you as well and make sure the repellant contains deet. You can go to their web site and email Jesus Reyes. He runs things there and will take good care of you.