Utila diving and whale sharks

[CODMAN]

Hey all, having been to Roatan, I'm starting to think that Utila would be a good spot for a next dive trip, especially since seing whale sharks ranks high on my to do list!

I was just wondering a bit about the utila whale shark experience and how dive OPs actually go about integrating this into diving activities? Do they cancel dives in order to search for them? Or do they simply keep a lookout for signs on the way to the dive sites and during surface intervals, and then let you hop in if they find one? In other words I wanted to know if the whale shark aspect of diving utila actually cuts into your diving time?

Also, are there ever any chance encounters while diving? Or only when a captain specifically brings you in search of them for snorkeling purposes? Are there better OPs out there for having whale shark encounters during your week of diving?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[ZenDiva]

Nope, well Deep Blue doesn't cancel dives, normally you'll spend your interval between dives looking for the whale sharks....or start off doing t hat....but you still get your full 3 dives/day in....they just saw one yesterday! lucky buggers!!!

They are generally in the deeper waters, where th eir food is....not sure about the % of ch ance encounters, but Swin is great at finding them.....

 

[CODMAN]

Thanks for the info Diva! Hmm... trip to Utila is sounding better by the minute... Unfortunately, if want to see the sharks, I'll have to wait till next year for the peak season...:huh: Oh well...

Yeah, it makes sense that most sighting are in the deeper water off the north side. So I take it a typical dive day, when weather permist you getting to the north side, you do 2 dives on the North, then a third on the south closer to the resort/dive center?

Thanks again!