keesmon
Contributor
Last week my family and I took a week plus trip to Utila to get some diving in and get certifications for several of us. Due to the Lunar New Year school holiday we had 10 days to travel. I was last in Utila in 2010 when I did my rescue certification with Alton's. That went well so they got my business again.
Getting there:
It's not that easy to get to Utila on the cheap. We booked our flights way in advance ($400 pp) and were supposed to be on a non stop 2AM Avianca flight to San Pedro Sula, arriving at 6AM. Unfortunately that flight cancelled and we were rerouted through San Salvador, from which we would arrive in San Pedro Sula at 9AM. That flight was cancelled too, leaving us with a rescheduled flight with an arrival in San Pedro Sula at 4PM. That necessitated an overnight stay in San Pedro, for which we chose Metrotel, approximately 10 minutes from the airport by prearranged transfer ($13). Metrotel was fine for an overnight stay. The pool was wet, the restaurant on site was adequate, and there were two beds in the room. We got picked up at 5AM by a prearranged minivan for the transfer to La Ceiba harbor ($150) for the 9AM ferry to Utila. We arrived in Utila by 10AM.
Diving with Alton's:
The reason for diving with Alton's again was that I had a good experience there in 2010 and it's one of the few ways we can reward good service. From early on in the planning process, Alton's manager Steve assisted with the logistics of the trip, and he helped think through the possibilities when the flights kept changing on us. My family consisted of my open water certified wife, and my two non certified sons, aged 12 and 10. Since we arrived on Saturday morning instead of Friday night, I had arranged afternoon dives for the afternoon for my wife and myself, and the start of the open water class ($275 pp) for my sons. My wife got a refresher as it had been over 6 months since her last dives. My sons instructor Karl was fantastic with them throughout the course, took his time, and got assistance from DM and DMT's when he requested it. For a shop that is busy with new students every day, it was great to see that no corners were being cut, and that attention was being payed to everyone individually. I had my kids complete the entire open water manual with me and had gone through the videos with them stateside, in order to familiarize them with the concepts of the course. This proved to be valuable for them, as the course deals with vocabulary that is easier for adults to comprehend. I wanted them to take the full course on site though, so they could immerse themselves in it. They completed the course in 4 days. Bonus for us parents was when the boys were busy with instruction in the afternoon, leaving some time for us to walk to nearby Bando Beach for a beverage and some chill time in the sun.
My wife took her advanced certification (also $275), so that she could gain some additional diving skills before we set off on potential trips with the four of us in the future. The class runs every day, with two dives on one day, and three dives on the other, so that you can start the course any day and complete it on your own schedule. There were the usual knowledge reviews and briefings. Again, no shortcuts were taken.
I did 7 consecutive days of two tank dives ($65 per day), playing around with a new macro lens for my pocket sized Intova Sport HD camera. The winds did not allow us to go to the north side most days unfortunately, but I was pleasantly surprised with the health of the reef, focusing on the smaller things. Over the course of 14 dives, I saw 3 daytime octopi, 2 pipe fish, a juvenile sea horse, a few turtles, rays etc, and many worms, blennie's, and other little things that I personally never knew to look for. Dive masters varied from the young, few hundred dive, newly minted type, to seasoned dive masters with thousands of dives, and good eyes for the smaller things.
My last memory of Utila had been that it was an OK diving destination, with less then average fish life (compared to Bonaire, Curacao, and Cozumel), but interesting reef structures. I had forgotten how shallow and lush the top of the reefs were, which was a pleasant surprise. On a typical dive, there would be a wall dive to 30 minutes, with a return of 30 minutes at the top of the wall. I thought the second part of the dives was more interesting in general. The soft corals were more abundant than I have seen elsewhere in this part of the world. Though I brought my own gear, all gear is included on all diving. I was cold in my 3MM and used a 3MM shorty over top to take care of that.
Staying at L.A. Apartments:
L.A. Apartments is a 20 minute walk from Alton's, near the Mango Inn, in a residential neighborhood. A two bedroom apt. with access to pool was just under $500 for the seven nights we were there. It is perfectly clean and served our purposes fine. Decor is a bit sparse, but we don't need much more than a place to sit, a place to cook, and a place to chill. We could have stayed for free in Alton's dorms (in a 4 bed dorm room), but we decided that we didn't want to subject the rest of the dive shop to our family for a whole week 24 hours a day. That turned out to be a good choice. We walked to the shop every morning, and walked home at night, though there are now tuk tuk's all over the island which cost about $1 per ride within town. We did have one night time driver get us for $5 worth of lempira's once, but everyone else on the Island was honest and kind.
Utila Island:
We mostly spent our week diving, walking to lunch, diving, and walking back to the apartment. Food is just OK. We did rent a golf cart for a half day to cruise around the island. Besides the main strip and a few arteries in town, a lot of the island is made up of dirt roads and walking trails. We had a ball giving my 12 year old his first "driving lesson" and ended up in some fun places to have a beverage and a snack. A special shout out to fellow NY'er Zach, who has opened up a 4 seat bar on a pier. Perfectly low key and good times all around.
Getting home:
7AM ferry to a 10AM bus to a flight from San Pedro to San Salvador to NY was about 20 hours door to door. Uneventful, but obviously time consuming.
Utila is still a backpacker's Island and did not disappoint. We wanted a budget friendly place where my kids could get certified in a good learning environment. The atmosphere on the island, and at Alton's specifically is very welcoming. My boys moved freely around the shop, along the strip, and on the boats. We came and went as we pleased, and were greeted everywhere we went. Unfortunately, for the second time, the whale sharks were out of reach for me again. That was not the reason to be there, but it'll be a reason to return in the future. My conversations with Alton himself (ex three term mayor, now owner of Alton's again) both on land and around dives were fantastic. It'll be a few years before I return again, but I now have a certified family with a love for the sport with many destinations ahead.
.
Getting there:
It's not that easy to get to Utila on the cheap. We booked our flights way in advance ($400 pp) and were supposed to be on a non stop 2AM Avianca flight to San Pedro Sula, arriving at 6AM. Unfortunately that flight cancelled and we were rerouted through San Salvador, from which we would arrive in San Pedro Sula at 9AM. That flight was cancelled too, leaving us with a rescheduled flight with an arrival in San Pedro Sula at 4PM. That necessitated an overnight stay in San Pedro, for which we chose Metrotel, approximately 10 minutes from the airport by prearranged transfer ($13). Metrotel was fine for an overnight stay. The pool was wet, the restaurant on site was adequate, and there were two beds in the room. We got picked up at 5AM by a prearranged minivan for the transfer to La Ceiba harbor ($150) for the 9AM ferry to Utila. We arrived in Utila by 10AM.
Diving with Alton's:
The reason for diving with Alton's again was that I had a good experience there in 2010 and it's one of the few ways we can reward good service. From early on in the planning process, Alton's manager Steve assisted with the logistics of the trip, and he helped think through the possibilities when the flights kept changing on us. My family consisted of my open water certified wife, and my two non certified sons, aged 12 and 10. Since we arrived on Saturday morning instead of Friday night, I had arranged afternoon dives for the afternoon for my wife and myself, and the start of the open water class ($275 pp) for my sons. My wife got a refresher as it had been over 6 months since her last dives. My sons instructor Karl was fantastic with them throughout the course, took his time, and got assistance from DM and DMT's when he requested it. For a shop that is busy with new students every day, it was great to see that no corners were being cut, and that attention was being payed to everyone individually. I had my kids complete the entire open water manual with me and had gone through the videos with them stateside, in order to familiarize them with the concepts of the course. This proved to be valuable for them, as the course deals with vocabulary that is easier for adults to comprehend. I wanted them to take the full course on site though, so they could immerse themselves in it. They completed the course in 4 days. Bonus for us parents was when the boys were busy with instruction in the afternoon, leaving some time for us to walk to nearby Bando Beach for a beverage and some chill time in the sun.
My wife took her advanced certification (also $275), so that she could gain some additional diving skills before we set off on potential trips with the four of us in the future. The class runs every day, with two dives on one day, and three dives on the other, so that you can start the course any day and complete it on your own schedule. There were the usual knowledge reviews and briefings. Again, no shortcuts were taken.
I did 7 consecutive days of two tank dives ($65 per day), playing around with a new macro lens for my pocket sized Intova Sport HD camera. The winds did not allow us to go to the north side most days unfortunately, but I was pleasantly surprised with the health of the reef, focusing on the smaller things. Over the course of 14 dives, I saw 3 daytime octopi, 2 pipe fish, a juvenile sea horse, a few turtles, rays etc, and many worms, blennie's, and other little things that I personally never knew to look for. Dive masters varied from the young, few hundred dive, newly minted type, to seasoned dive masters with thousands of dives, and good eyes for the smaller things.
My last memory of Utila had been that it was an OK diving destination, with less then average fish life (compared to Bonaire, Curacao, and Cozumel), but interesting reef structures. I had forgotten how shallow and lush the top of the reefs were, which was a pleasant surprise. On a typical dive, there would be a wall dive to 30 minutes, with a return of 30 minutes at the top of the wall. I thought the second part of the dives was more interesting in general. The soft corals were more abundant than I have seen elsewhere in this part of the world. Though I brought my own gear, all gear is included on all diving. I was cold in my 3MM and used a 3MM shorty over top to take care of that.
Staying at L.A. Apartments:
L.A. Apartments is a 20 minute walk from Alton's, near the Mango Inn, in a residential neighborhood. A two bedroom apt. with access to pool was just under $500 for the seven nights we were there. It is perfectly clean and served our purposes fine. Decor is a bit sparse, but we don't need much more than a place to sit, a place to cook, and a place to chill. We could have stayed for free in Alton's dorms (in a 4 bed dorm room), but we decided that we didn't want to subject the rest of the dive shop to our family for a whole week 24 hours a day. That turned out to be a good choice. We walked to the shop every morning, and walked home at night, though there are now tuk tuk's all over the island which cost about $1 per ride within town. We did have one night time driver get us for $5 worth of lempira's once, but everyone else on the Island was honest and kind.
Utila Island:
We mostly spent our week diving, walking to lunch, diving, and walking back to the apartment. Food is just OK. We did rent a golf cart for a half day to cruise around the island. Besides the main strip and a few arteries in town, a lot of the island is made up of dirt roads and walking trails. We had a ball giving my 12 year old his first "driving lesson" and ended up in some fun places to have a beverage and a snack. A special shout out to fellow NY'er Zach, who has opened up a 4 seat bar on a pier. Perfectly low key and good times all around.
Getting home:
7AM ferry to a 10AM bus to a flight from San Pedro to San Salvador to NY was about 20 hours door to door. Uneventful, but obviously time consuming.
Utila is still a backpacker's Island and did not disappoint. We wanted a budget friendly place where my kids could get certified in a good learning environment. The atmosphere on the island, and at Alton's specifically is very welcoming. My boys moved freely around the shop, along the strip, and on the boats. We came and went as we pleased, and were greeted everywhere we went. Unfortunately, for the second time, the whale sharks were out of reach for me again. That was not the reason to be there, but it'll be a reason to return in the future. My conversations with Alton himself (ex three term mayor, now owner of Alton's again) both on land and around dives were fantastic. It'll be a few years before I return again, but I now have a certified family with a love for the sport with many destinations ahead.
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