Someone talk me into this...

[Doc]

I had a great time (diving the North Side) and would definitely return but that being said I was somewhat disappointed with the diving....in Roatan. I found a few of our dives to be a little boring with little fishlife. We did enjoy the wrecks and saw some interesting creatures (especially during those dives) but I personally feel like Cozumel has.....more fishlife and better coral....rather....than to think your going to see pristine teeming reefs and then be disappointed....and bored to boot.

At the risk of starting a North vs South War amongst the merchants who post here~ in that Christi is looking at diving out of the epicenter of the South side's most florid area, this is an entirely different experience than what you may have found on the North side.

It engenders a lot of anger and angst, but geography and nature alone dictate that these two distinct zones will be worlds apart, altho only separated by a three mile barrier.

..........

Each of the zones have their plusses and draw, but the features are absolutely not the same.

 

[CODMAN]

we are all watching our budget for this trip to CCV and trying to get the best of the best for the best price...

This is why I suggested, as Roatan man did, that if the airfare remains pricey (like 1200$), you would get better diving in Asia, such as the Philippines! Now if you can get cheaper airfare, that,s different... And if she wants this to be " a friends reunion trip", that also count for a lot...

It's a hard call! I understand what it's like to be making every diving dollar count!

 

[leadweight]

Yes, and the Newtons.

I was trying to remember that, Fiji Newtons. They give those out on the boat, right?

 

[John_B]

From a link in this thread, here is a better picture of what the shore diving at CCV is like. The long dark spot to the right of the blue CCV boat is the Prince Albert. CCV Wall starts just to the right of the wreck. In this picture, Newman's Wall angles away almost straight down from the wreck after a very short swim; you can usually see the wreck from the buoy (not shown) that marks the end of Newman's Wall unless vis is really poor from heavy rains, and then its a simple compass heading almost straight north.

Personally, I'm not big on shore dives (OK that's an understatement!) but I really liked the way this dive is setup. The drop off dives were great and the short haul back to the lockers at the dock was tolerable by everyone, and they have a bench with tank holders at the shore by the clubhouse if needed; I never saw anyone use them as its not much farther to the lockers. Even done as a night dive (i.e. as a shore dive out and back) it wasn't an issue, and as you'd expect the night critters turn the wreck and walls into a very different dive.

All this CCV talk got me thinking, so I just finalized reservations to go back again next month! W00t!

John_B

 

[Doc]

John- the Green Buoy that you reference is shown in the diagram (not the photo). Hard to spot, that's all. I drew that for my DM project. (No wonder it's all yellow)

I was trying to remember that, Fiji Newtons. They give those out on the boat, right?

The Banana Fiji Newtons are said to be bad luck on a ship.

 

[John_B]

John- the Green Buoy that you reference is shown in the diagram (not the photo). Hard to spot, that's all. I drew that for my DM project. (No wonder it's all yellow)

YOU drew that? Don at Underwater World has had a copy of that hanging in his shop at least as far back as 2004 when I got certified, I didn't really appreciate how well it was done until I finally went to CCV last November. Perfect! And yes, of course the buoy is there, I just overlooked it paying too much attention to the photograph. The nice thing about that buoy is that the attached slate with the heading to the PI (20 deg IIRC) is deep enough that you really can't miss it. By the second morning drop off I didn't need my compass, even though we had some pretty heavy rains (I was there the same week that Robin and Ron went). I can't wait to go back!

 

[Christi]

I really, really appreciate everyone's feedback, even those who really didn't read my posts thoroughly

I'm not considering a destination INSTEAD of CocoView this year...it's going to be CocoView or stay home this year. I used other destinations only as examples. This isn't my first dive trip away from Cozumel either.

This was a "due diligence" post if you will, since CocoView/Roatan is a place I have yet to visit, so I know nothing about it. I wanted to know where to set my expectations and I wanted to obtain feedback on the things that have been holding me back so that I can make an informed decision to go or not to go. If I've done my "research", then I have no one to blame if it's not my "best dive trip evah."

Of course, spending time with my friends IS priceless, but I still have to consider the finances among other things. I also am fortunate enough to see almost everyone on the trip at least one other time each year

With all of that said, I know what to expect and as I said in a previous post...it's all up to finding an airfare I can live with at this point. We cannot fly through the US because my significant other's US VISA expires next month and there's never a guarantee that it will be renewed. I found a good fare through a local travel agent today, but it's a horrendous route with Taca airlines:
Cancun - Mexico City
Mexico City - Salvador
Salvador - San Pedro

The arrival time in San Pedro would require us to overnight there and then make our way to CocoView the next day.

The return is the same, but we leave San Pedro at 7:00am which again would require us to overnight there.

 

[Martha]

Geez, you're not kidding... that route is horrendous. I probably wouldn't go anywhere if I had to fly routes like that. I've really gotten spoiled by the direct flights out of Houston. I hope you're able to find a decent flight/airfare.

 

[diveprof]

I really, really appreciate everyone's feedback, even those who really didn't read my posts thoroughly

I'm not considering a destination INSTEAD of CocoView this year...it's going to be CocoView or stay home this year. I used other destinations only as examples. This isn't my first dive trip away from Cozumel either.

This was a "due diligence" post if you will, since CocoView/Roatan is a place I have yet to visit, so I know nothing about it. I wanted to know where to set my expectations and I wanted to obtain feedback on the things that have been holding me back so that I can make an informed decision to go or not to go. If I've done my "research", then I have no one to blame if it's not my "best dive trip evah."

Of course, spending time with my friends IS priceless, but I still have to consider the finances among other things. I also am fortunate enough to see almost everyone on the trip at least one other time each year

With all of that said, I know what to expect and as I said in a previous post...it's all up to finding an airfare I can live with at this point. We cannot fly through the US because my significant other's US VISA expires next month and there's never a guarantee that it will be renewed. I found a good fare through a local travel agent today, but it's a horrendous route with Taca airlines:
Cancun - Mexico City
Mexico City - Salvador
Salvador - San Pedro

The arrival time in San Pedro would require us to overnight there and then make our way to CocoView the next day.

The return is the same, but we leave San Pedro at 7:00am which again would require us to overnight there.

With that air routing, I think I would seriously consider driving - It would be as safe and convenient Seriously, that air is pricey and not user friendly.

I have dove Coz many times (Alwas small boat, but not with you yet: need to remedy that soon) and Roatan several times now. Which is best? The answer is "yes". Both are great, but different. I have usually stayed at FI (across the channel from CCV). I've only had bug issues once and Cactus Juice took care of it. Of course, I avoid the rainy season there. I read so much about the variability of diving in Roatan and friends of mine also mention this. I've never had a bad trip. Do not know if this is luck or because I happen to go when there are not 20 people on my boat (last few times less than 8) or if I've just used the same dive guide each time at FI and have had great results. 7 seahorses in 6 days of diving, huge morays, nice schools of fish, schools of squid, a few turtles (not as many as Coz), healthier coral, huge octopus on the last trip (not sure what type, but more like the N. Atlantic size than the typical carrib octo, huge crabs, sharks (shark dive). Neat Macro stuff too. The shore dive is great. Nice wreck with macro stuff - go slow to see it all- stay on the surface (from FI/closer from CCV) until you are near the wreck to save air/bottom time). Night dives are special there. Frogfish, squid, lobster, huge crabs, tiger tails, eels. Last trip our group saw the "thing" (see reef creature book - large segmented worm thing). There was a 4' one near CCV. I've dove St. Lucia and saw that one, this was a little smaller. Still, I've only seen it twice.
We did a night dive in front of FI (Menagerie) two trips ago and I dove most of it without lights- the bioluminesence from the soft corals was just crazy. I refer to it as the Carl Sagan dive - You know "Billions and billions of stars".
I like the locals of Roatan. Coz is quickly becoming cruise ship haven and much of downtown is about separating the gringos from their dollars as soon as possible. The local flavor in Roatan is more like Coz 10 years ago.