Looking for Utila Feedback

[UtopiaOnUtila]

We're looking at the possibility of a Utila trip in March or April 2017 and looking for input. We've been to Roatan and had a great time except for the sand fleas. They were an minor nuisance for most of the trip but my wife got hundreds of bites on her back on the second last day. This made the trip home miserable.

Our objectives are whale sharks and a nice (upscale) resort. Based on our research so far, we're considering Utopia and Deep Blue.

Can anyone give us feedback on:

• the quality of the rooms, food and service at these resorts
• quality of their dive operations
• best time for a high probability of whale sharks
• what is your experience with the sand fleas

All help much appreciated!

We don't know if you ended up making a decision and whether you have already booked your trip. But if you have any questions about Utopia Village or Utila please feel free to contact us at reservations@utopiautila.com or charlene@utopiaonutila.com. We still have availability for select weeks in March and April. Many of our reviews on TripAdvisor cover the topics you list above: Utopia Village (Utila, Honduras) - UPDATED 2016 Resort Reviews - TripAdvisor

Although whale sharks have been spotted year-round around Utila, March and April are generally considered the best months to see them. But for example, in just the last 10 days there have been at least 8+ sightings around the island in December, so we always feel like we have a chance to see them.

 

[laurenceh]

utopia village is without doubt the nicest resort on Utila.
another alternative would be to rent the coral house or the pineapple house on treasure beach (3/4 mile west of utopia), they are lovely

 

[DangerousDan64]

I dove with Deep Blue several years ago before their troubles began. it was not upscale by any means but it was extremely convenient to have all meals prepared so that my chief concerns were getting to the dining room on time and getting to the boat dock on time. The dive masters were some of the best I have known and their house reef was excellent. I would be SO happy if they got back on their feet and returned to serving DIVERS. We were there the week after the shark research week and where they had not seen a single whale shark the duration of the event, we saw them each of the 4 times we went looking for them (in other words, we just got lucky). To this day, Utila has overall been my favorite dive experience in the carribean- I love the extensive spur and groove canyon formations and the coral was very healthy. Sand fleas are definitely a problem there but I found that by not lounging on the sand and certainly not walking on the sand at dawn or dusk, I was safe from them. I did not get any bites until the very last day and I think it was not sand flies but something else while waiting on the tarmack in the early AM for Sosa airlines (NOT recommended).

Utopia village is a beautiful place and it would be a great place to stay if money is not a concern. I will be keeping my eyes and ears open for a renaissance at Deep Blue- I don't care to be pampered, i just want great diving!

 

[reefduffer]

We're tarting to think about a first trip to the Bay Islands, and reading the reviews, Utopia Village might be what we look at first.

I have a very specific query: What type of water entry is used on the boats? Giant Stride?
We went to San Pedro in Belize a number of years ago, and they used back rolls from rather high gunwales.

My wife can't do back rolls. it's a real, medically diagnosed inner ear problem, not a phobia or discomfort.
Giant stride is fine. So, specifically for Utopia Village for starters, but more generally, are there any places in Roatan or Utilla where boat diving requires back roll entries?

Thanks for any guidance.

 

[lthomas132]

We're tarting to think about a first trip to the Bay Islands, and reading the reviews, Utopia Village might be what we look at first.

I have a very specific query: What type of water entry is used on the boats? Giant Stride?
We went to San Pedro in Belize a number of years ago, and they used back rolls from rather high gunwales.

My wife can't do back rolls. it's a real, medically diagnosed inner ear problem, not a phobia or discomfort.
Giant stride is fine. So, specifically for Utopia Village for starters, but more generally, are there any places in Roatan or Utilla where boat diving requires back roll entries?

Thanks for any guidance.

The dive resort that comes to mind for me is Anthony's Key Resort in Roatan. Most of their boats are large with a transom platform allowing a giant stride. They have a BOGO going on right now too! My one experience on Utila was with Bay Islands College of Diving (Bay Islands College of Diving - Dive Shop Utila) but we did back rolls. Check out AKR (Anthony's Key Resort | Roatan | Honduras)

 

[Damselfish]

It's been a bunch of years since we were at Utopia, and a lot has changed since then. But I recall them having a pretty good size boat and not doing backrolls.

Like AKR, Cocoview on Roatan would be another option, I don't think they had anything small. (Though CCV is nothing like Utopia amenity & food-wise.)

It's definitely something you need to check into there if it's an issue. I couldn't make a list, but there were lots of smaller dive boats operating out of west end/bay of Roatan that would have been backroll types. We purposely avoided many like that on our last trip there, though more to avoid the getting back out on a crappy ladder part, as well as the nuisance of dealing with a big camera rig on some of those boats. I think there were at least one or 2 ops that had a mixture, so even if they have a bigger boat you'd want to make sure if you can be guaranteed that and it will go where you want.

 

[laurenceh]

utopia uses giant stride entries from the rear of their boat
its definitely the nicest hotel on Utila, it always was but the new owners have made numerous improvements

 

[KeithG]

We're tarting to think about a first trip to the Bay Islands, and reading the reviews, Utopia Village might be what we look at first.

I have a very specific query: What type of water entry is used on the boats? Giant Stride?
We went to San Pedro in Belize a number of years ago, and they used back rolls from rather high gunwales.

My wife can't do back rolls. it's a real, medically diagnosed inner ear problem, not a phobia or discomfort.
Giant stride is fine. So, specifically for Utopia Village for starters, but more generally, are there any places in Roatan or Utilla where boat diving requires back roll entries?

Thanks for any guidance.

Utopia village does giant strides, or will pass your gear to you in water if needed. If you check out their website Best Utila Dive Shops - Utopia Village | Udive you can see a bunch of pictures of the dive boat.

 

[UtopiaOnUtila]

Utopia Village has a large and comfortable dive boat - the Miss U. Giant strides off the back is the default entry method. See photos below