Roatan Best Diving/Best Resort

[ScubaRafiki]

Just to let you know a bit more about Turquoise Bay - there is a beach, pool and the dive shop (Subway Wayerports) is a PADI 5* IDC Centre. They have several boats which can hold between 6 to 10 divers (depending on the boat). You can also do 3 dives a day, night dives and wreck diveson the Monster Wrecks Roatanman mentioned.

Like you've read in the other posts, most of the nightlife is in the West End which is about an hours drive from Turquoise Bay. It all depends on what you absolutely must have from your wish list! I would guess from what you've said that you will probably be more comfortable in a resort. I think all the main places have been listed, to be honest all of them will be fine, you just need to weigh up what you would like.

Someone mentioned about doing a trip off a cruiseship - I know Subway Watersports caters for cruiseships as well.

 

[Bay Island Diver]

was there 2 weeks ago
best place for diving is CoCo View, boat dives, shore dives, night dives, good dive shop, all about diving
Fantasy Island is going down hill, letting the "upkeep slide"
If you want upscale, pools and gift shops, etc., Antoneys Key Resort
I go do dive, so it's always CoCo View

Just wondering how many of the different Dive operators YOU dived with and how many dives YOU did with each in arriving at your opinion that Cocoview tops the list? Sorry to ask but so many people on forums make statements about who's best without even trying the rest!

Regards

Will

 

[leadweight]

Will, I think I know how you feel. The internet is full of unsubstantiated opinions. For that matter, what happens to be best varies from person to person. There is definitely a lot of knee jerk bad advice in this world. Stay healthy, because you are going to be seeing me again soon.

 

[marcaumarc]

I've noticed people on this board really like some of the all-inclusive resorts, particularly CoCo View. I'm sure they're fine, but we stayed at the Posada and dove with Coconut Tree Divers, both of which I would recommend and it is much less expensive than the resorts, maybe not half as expensive, but close. Walking a few hundred feet to the dive shop each day is no big deal (especially when you leave your gear there all week), and being able to eat wherever you want was pretty nice for us.

Which is basically to say that there are lots of options in Roatan in addition to the resorts, that are convenient, nice, cheaper and allow lots of diving.

 

[Dannybot]

I've noticed people on this board really like some of the all-inclusive resorts, particularly CoCo View. I'm sure they're fine, but we stayed at the Posada and dove with Coconut Tree Divers, both of which I would recommend and it is much less expensive than the resorts, maybe not half as expensive, but close. Walking a few hundred feet to the dive shop each day is no big deal (especially when you leave your gear there all week), and being able to eat wherever you want was pretty nice for us.

Which is basically to say that there are lots of options in Roatan in addition to the resorts, that are convenient, nice, cheaper and allow lots of diving.

I agree, I like AI's simply because I like to walk off the boat and eat, then go to my room. I have also done the alacarte approach, and for me the extra work was not worth it.

 

[leadweight]

What extra work? There were days where CTD ordered out lunch for anyone who was interested, for something like $5 and we ate on the patio at the shop. West End is the ultimate in lazy. However, its more for those who are looking for two good dives a day plus some night life.

 

[Doc]

What extra work? There were days where CTD ordered out lunch for anyone who was interested, for something like $5 and we ate on the patio at the shop. West End is the ultimate in lazy. However, its more for those who are looking for two good dives a day plus some night life.

Versus an AI where people should be looking for 4 + a Night Dive each day.

It's a never ending discussion that is easily settled by mathematics as well as the actual desire of the vacationer. A dive trip? Or a vacation with diving? There is nothing wrong with either- one is not a mark of macho, nor is the other a mark of shame.

Gotta decide what you came to do... and be honest (to yourself, at least) about it.

 

[marcaumarc]

All I know is that it is easy and convenient to do four dives a day staying at a hotel and going to a dive shop. Plus you can do night dives when they do them, which is probably once or twice a week. You carry your gear over once at the beginning of the week and back once at the end and it's pretty easy to find a nice hotel within 5 min walk of the shop.

To me, that's a lot of diving. In reality, I would probably take an afternoon off here or there. If I wanted to night dive every night and I would have to go to different dive shops each night depending on who was doing a night dive, and that would be a hassle.

I think RoatanMan's comparison is a little misleading. The difference is more or less doing a maximum 28 dives in a week versus 32. No one should think they have to stay at an all-inclusive if they want to do a lot of diving. You probably need to if you want to do the absolute most possible diving, but the difference is not very big. Definitely not the difference between a dive vacation and a vacation with diving.

Also, the reason why I am writing this is that I was on this board before I went to Roatan and so many people here like the all-inclusives that I was worried that you had to go that route to do a lot of diving. We went the other route and it was great. For people that like the all-inclusives, more power to you, I'm sure they are better for some people. If you are the kind of person who might want to hang out in town or go to different restaurants, or if you are on a budget, don't worry about not getting to dive as much unless you want to do a night dive every night, which is about the only difference.

 

[ronscuba]

IMHO, the biggest difference between Cocoview and the other places is the house reef. Cocoview has a great house reef that is open 24/7 with extremely easy access. Your gear and tanks are available whenever you feel like going. Walk 30 seconds from your room to the gear area. Walk another 30 seconds and you are in the water.

Cocoview is about dive convenience. Not much else to do but dive. It's not for everyone, but for those that like it, they love it.

 

[marcaumarc]

Good point. I should add that my shop/hotel description is specifically if you are staying in West End. On other parts of the island there I would guess there are not nearly as many hotel/dive shop options, so it may not be possible to find something with the convenience/value I experienced. When I was there, we dove everywhere from West End Point to Sandy Bay, which includes probably 30 or more sites, but there are lots of other areas of the island.