Ironborn
Contributor
The Bottom Line Up Front
The quality of this first trip of mine to the Bay Islands exceeded my expectations and was one of my most enjoyable Caribbean dive trips so far. I found that the positive reputation and customer loyalty of CoCo View (CCV) is well-deserved. CCV runs a good resort and dive operation, although I might have preferred a few things differently. This trip yielded good value for the money but would have been even better in that regard if it were not for the overpriced, inconvenient, and poorly operated flights. The health of the reefs and the abundance and diversity of the mobile marine life, particularly of the smaller varieties, exceeded my expectations and was as good as I have seen anywhere else in the Caribbean. Strong surface chop and surge at depth, rain, and reduced visibility were factors but ultimately failed to detract significantly from the quality of my experience. I will return to CCV, but before I consider becoming a “CoCo Nut,” I want to visit Utila and other parts of Roatan, for the sake of variety.
Why Did I Go There?
I have been sampling different dive destinations and types of dive operations, in the interest of variety and broadening my horizons and experience, rather than “settling down” with my favorites (Bonaire shore diving and Philippines muck diving). Roatan is such a popular destination for North American divers that I decided to try it. Other factors included: the popularity and distinctiveness of the CCV “terrestrial liveaboard” or “dive camp;” CCV's shore diving and house wreck; the reputation of the south side of Roatan for macro; CCV's reasonable rates; and my general interest in Latin America. I researched other Roatan resorts but did not find any of them more appealing than CCV. I wanted to try more resorts, rather than liveaboards, but the often steep single supplements at many resorts have been a deterrent to this solo traveler. CCV has some accommodations for solo guests without a single supplement, but none of those accommodations were available for my week (the 4th of July week). I bit the bullet and paid the relatively reasonable single supplement for the next-cheapest room.
Why Do I Hate Airlines?
Flying to Roatan from New York was both expensive and inconvenient. I have had similar issues with flights to elsewhere in Central America (Belize and Costa Rica), but Roatan takes the cake. As with other flights to Central America, they tend to leave from Florida, Texas, or elsewhere in the South at times that must be very convenient for locals but require unusual departure times for those flying in from elsewhere for those connecting flights. I grumbled about flying out of JFK before the crack of dawn until I met a couple that flew overnight from Seattle in order to make their connection.
The narrow range of options was another issue. Flights on the three U.S. airlines that serve Roatan – United, Delta, and American – tend to leave or arrive around the same times and had nearly the same prices, which smelled like anti-competitive collusion to me. I went with American because I already had many rewards points with them and their connection via Miami would have yielded the shortest trip – if it had been on time; three of my four flights experienced delays. The Miami airport is a zoo; it took 45 minutes to get to the gate for my outgoing flight and almost two hours for my return flight, which I would have missed if it had not been late anyway. To top it all off, they damaged my checked suitcase that contained my dive gear on the way back in Miami. I had read many complaints about the Roatan airport that made it sound like something out of a Quentin Tarantino movie, but it was not that bad compared to Miami. Yes, the immigration line was long and took about an hour, but that only problem was due to the tendency of the U.S. airlines to schedule their arrivals at around the same time.
To top it all off, the airfare was overpriced. This inconvenient connecting flight cost more than my convenient non-stop United flight at a reasonable hour from Newark to Bonaire, which is notorious for high airfare. In fact, this connecting 7-hour itinerary to the Caribbean cost more than my 22-hour direct flight from JFK to the Philippines, which simply boggles my mind.
“Dive Camp”
The frequent use of the term “dive camp” to describe CCV is very accurate. Its look and feel are more like that of summer camp than the sometimes luxurious connotations of the term “resort.” I was there to dive five times a day and saw no need for fancy facilities. My room itself was larger and nicer than I had expected and more than adequate for my very limited purposes. I actually appreciated CCV's quaint, rustic vibe, including the omnipresent Jesus lizards, crabs, and hummingbirds (which make great subjects for macro photography enthusiasts). I had read horror stories about Roatan's sand fleas and mosquitos and thus came prepared with Cactus Juice. I applied it whenever I was out of the water for extended periods and had only a few minor bites over the course of the week in spots that I may have missed. I have had worse problems with the insects in New York than I did in Roatan. The meals were better than I would have expected from buffet service, including steak and lobster on Friday night.
“Terrestrial Liveaboard”
I did every possible dive, including the option to do the orientation dive for the house reef/wrecks/walls upon my arrival on Saturday afternoon instead of Sunday morning. I thus logged 27 dives in a week (they canceled one night dive due to water conditions), which, as far as I know, is only possible elsewhere in the Caribbean on Bonaire or liveaboards. It was easy to find buddies for night dives or other shore dives if necessary, typically on one's boat for the week, or in the dining/bar area. The crowd was quite friendly and sociable, in my experience. I paid for Nitrox and reserved Nitrox-compatible aluminum 100 tanks, which are available at no extra charge. Tank fills were always complete, and Nitrox blends were never off by more than 1-2%. Our guide limited bottom times for boat dives to 60 minutes; there were no time limits for self-guided shore or boat-to-shore “drop-off” dives.
CCV's boats were of above-average size, providing stability in the often rough seas that week. They were thus a bit slow, but only one or two of our boat rides were notably long. Water entries were giant strides off the stern or either side. The midship moon wells provide a safer water exit in rougher seas and were a good investment, as we used them for all but one or two of the boat dives that week. They do nonetheless require one to be more careful of hitting one's head on the hull as one ascends, especially in rough seas. The boats had camera rinse tanks. Those with complex or expensive camera rigs with which one would not want to jump into the water should be ready to receive them quickly from crew members after entering the water for the boat-to-shore drop-off dives. The crew does not moor the boat when dropping off divers for those dives, so the boat can quickly drift away. It is best in such a situation to jump off the side and drift to the stern, where one grabs it from a crew member.
My only significant criticism of CCV's dive operation concerns the size of the groups on each boat, with up to 10 or more divers per guide - notably higher than most other dive operations of this caliber. I imagine that they form such large groups in order to make more cost-effective use of their larger boats, but they could have added a second guide to each boat and broken us up into two smaller groups on-site. It could occasionally become a bit crowded when we found something interesting. The guides nonetheless managed such large groups about as well as one could have hoped.
Our guide for the week demonstrated remarkable wildlife spotting skills, including a sharp eye for macro. I would say that, in my experience, only the guides in the Philippines demonstrated stronger skills in this area. Finding a seahorse or a pipefish is hard enough as it is, but doing so while leading a group of up to 10ish divers in often sub-par visibility and strong surge was quite an accomplishment.
Paul on Instagram: “Seahorse, Roatan, Honduras. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #paditv #photography #underwaterphotography #uwphotography #macro…”
Other than the reasonable 60 minute limit for boat dives, CCV was flexible as an operator – there were no “scuba police” here. Among other things, they evidently allow solo diving, either from the boats or shore. One guest on our boat always went on his own separate dive plans by himself. The guide also allowed a tech and sidemount diver on our boat to dive his own significantly deeper profiles as he followed beneath us, sometimes below recreational depths. I did one drop-off dive by myself when no one else on the boat wanted to do one, and I also did a shore dive by myself when our boat had to abort the drop-off due to high winds and waves (shore diving conditions were fine though). The only significant restriction was when the night divemaster canceled one night dive due to a rip current in the shallow reef path to shore and unusually low visibility. I wanted to do a night dive on my first night after my arrival on Saturday, but the only other person who wanted to do one had already gone out by himself. The night divemaster advised me (correctly, in my opinion) against going out at night alone on a relatively unfamiliar site (the other diver who had gone out alone was a repeat guest). It did not sound like he would have prohibited me from going out alone if I had disregarded his sound advice, and I got the impression that I could have gone out alone at night later that week if I had wanted to do so.
(to be continued...)
The quality of this first trip of mine to the Bay Islands exceeded my expectations and was one of my most enjoyable Caribbean dive trips so far. I found that the positive reputation and customer loyalty of CoCo View (CCV) is well-deserved. CCV runs a good resort and dive operation, although I might have preferred a few things differently. This trip yielded good value for the money but would have been even better in that regard if it were not for the overpriced, inconvenient, and poorly operated flights. The health of the reefs and the abundance and diversity of the mobile marine life, particularly of the smaller varieties, exceeded my expectations and was as good as I have seen anywhere else in the Caribbean. Strong surface chop and surge at depth, rain, and reduced visibility were factors but ultimately failed to detract significantly from the quality of my experience. I will return to CCV, but before I consider becoming a “CoCo Nut,” I want to visit Utila and other parts of Roatan, for the sake of variety.
Why Did I Go There?
I have been sampling different dive destinations and types of dive operations, in the interest of variety and broadening my horizons and experience, rather than “settling down” with my favorites (Bonaire shore diving and Philippines muck diving). Roatan is such a popular destination for North American divers that I decided to try it. Other factors included: the popularity and distinctiveness of the CCV “terrestrial liveaboard” or “dive camp;” CCV's shore diving and house wreck; the reputation of the south side of Roatan for macro; CCV's reasonable rates; and my general interest in Latin America. I researched other Roatan resorts but did not find any of them more appealing than CCV. I wanted to try more resorts, rather than liveaboards, but the often steep single supplements at many resorts have been a deterrent to this solo traveler. CCV has some accommodations for solo guests without a single supplement, but none of those accommodations were available for my week (the 4th of July week). I bit the bullet and paid the relatively reasonable single supplement for the next-cheapest room.
Why Do I Hate Airlines?
Flying to Roatan from New York was both expensive and inconvenient. I have had similar issues with flights to elsewhere in Central America (Belize and Costa Rica), but Roatan takes the cake. As with other flights to Central America, they tend to leave from Florida, Texas, or elsewhere in the South at times that must be very convenient for locals but require unusual departure times for those flying in from elsewhere for those connecting flights. I grumbled about flying out of JFK before the crack of dawn until I met a couple that flew overnight from Seattle in order to make their connection.
The narrow range of options was another issue. Flights on the three U.S. airlines that serve Roatan – United, Delta, and American – tend to leave or arrive around the same times and had nearly the same prices, which smelled like anti-competitive collusion to me. I went with American because I already had many rewards points with them and their connection via Miami would have yielded the shortest trip – if it had been on time; three of my four flights experienced delays. The Miami airport is a zoo; it took 45 minutes to get to the gate for my outgoing flight and almost two hours for my return flight, which I would have missed if it had not been late anyway. To top it all off, they damaged my checked suitcase that contained my dive gear on the way back in Miami. I had read many complaints about the Roatan airport that made it sound like something out of a Quentin Tarantino movie, but it was not that bad compared to Miami. Yes, the immigration line was long and took about an hour, but that only problem was due to the tendency of the U.S. airlines to schedule their arrivals at around the same time.
To top it all off, the airfare was overpriced. This inconvenient connecting flight cost more than my convenient non-stop United flight at a reasonable hour from Newark to Bonaire, which is notorious for high airfare. In fact, this connecting 7-hour itinerary to the Caribbean cost more than my 22-hour direct flight from JFK to the Philippines, which simply boggles my mind.
“Dive Camp”
The frequent use of the term “dive camp” to describe CCV is very accurate. Its look and feel are more like that of summer camp than the sometimes luxurious connotations of the term “resort.” I was there to dive five times a day and saw no need for fancy facilities. My room itself was larger and nicer than I had expected and more than adequate for my very limited purposes. I actually appreciated CCV's quaint, rustic vibe, including the omnipresent Jesus lizards, crabs, and hummingbirds (which make great subjects for macro photography enthusiasts). I had read horror stories about Roatan's sand fleas and mosquitos and thus came prepared with Cactus Juice. I applied it whenever I was out of the water for extended periods and had only a few minor bites over the course of the week in spots that I may have missed. I have had worse problems with the insects in New York than I did in Roatan. The meals were better than I would have expected from buffet service, including steak and lobster on Friday night.
“Terrestrial Liveaboard”
I did every possible dive, including the option to do the orientation dive for the house reef/wrecks/walls upon my arrival on Saturday afternoon instead of Sunday morning. I thus logged 27 dives in a week (they canceled one night dive due to water conditions), which, as far as I know, is only possible elsewhere in the Caribbean on Bonaire or liveaboards. It was easy to find buddies for night dives or other shore dives if necessary, typically on one's boat for the week, or in the dining/bar area. The crowd was quite friendly and sociable, in my experience. I paid for Nitrox and reserved Nitrox-compatible aluminum 100 tanks, which are available at no extra charge. Tank fills were always complete, and Nitrox blends were never off by more than 1-2%. Our guide limited bottom times for boat dives to 60 minutes; there were no time limits for self-guided shore or boat-to-shore “drop-off” dives.
CCV's boats were of above-average size, providing stability in the often rough seas that week. They were thus a bit slow, but only one or two of our boat rides were notably long. Water entries were giant strides off the stern or either side. The midship moon wells provide a safer water exit in rougher seas and were a good investment, as we used them for all but one or two of the boat dives that week. They do nonetheless require one to be more careful of hitting one's head on the hull as one ascends, especially in rough seas. The boats had camera rinse tanks. Those with complex or expensive camera rigs with which one would not want to jump into the water should be ready to receive them quickly from crew members after entering the water for the boat-to-shore drop-off dives. The crew does not moor the boat when dropping off divers for those dives, so the boat can quickly drift away. It is best in such a situation to jump off the side and drift to the stern, where one grabs it from a crew member.
My only significant criticism of CCV's dive operation concerns the size of the groups on each boat, with up to 10 or more divers per guide - notably higher than most other dive operations of this caliber. I imagine that they form such large groups in order to make more cost-effective use of their larger boats, but they could have added a second guide to each boat and broken us up into two smaller groups on-site. It could occasionally become a bit crowded when we found something interesting. The guides nonetheless managed such large groups about as well as one could have hoped.
Our guide for the week demonstrated remarkable wildlife spotting skills, including a sharp eye for macro. I would say that, in my experience, only the guides in the Philippines demonstrated stronger skills in this area. Finding a seahorse or a pipefish is hard enough as it is, but doing so while leading a group of up to 10ish divers in often sub-par visibility and strong surge was quite an accomplishment.
Paul on Instagram: “Seahorse, Roatan, Honduras. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #paditv #photography #underwaterphotography #uwphotography #macro…”
Other than the reasonable 60 minute limit for boat dives, CCV was flexible as an operator – there were no “scuba police” here. Among other things, they evidently allow solo diving, either from the boats or shore. One guest on our boat always went on his own separate dive plans by himself. The guide also allowed a tech and sidemount diver on our boat to dive his own significantly deeper profiles as he followed beneath us, sometimes below recreational depths. I did one drop-off dive by myself when no one else on the boat wanted to do one, and I also did a shore dive by myself when our boat had to abort the drop-off due to high winds and waves (shore diving conditions were fine though). The only significant restriction was when the night divemaster canceled one night dive due to a rip current in the shallow reef path to shore and unusually low visibility. I wanted to do a night dive on my first night after my arrival on Saturday, but the only other person who wanted to do one had already gone out by himself. The night divemaster advised me (correctly, in my opinion) against going out at night alone on a relatively unfamiliar site (the other diver who had gone out alone was a repeat guest). It did not sound like he would have prohibited me from going out alone if I had disregarded his sound advice, and I got the impression that I could have gone out alone at night later that week if I had wanted to do so.
(to be continued...)
