Anyone been to Roatan?

[ostrow]

How is it for diving and/or snorkeling? Inexperienced divers here, no interest in wrecks only reef and not more than 45' or so.

Shore diving?

Better than Cayman? I read can't easily get around the Caymans (no ferry service that is regular).

Thinking of December and leaning Roatan but wonder what folks here think.

 

[rjallen]

How is it for diving and/or snorkeling? Inexperienced divers here, no interest in wrecks only reef and not more than 45' or so.

Shore diving?

Better than Cayman? I read can't easily get around the Caymans (no ferry service that is regular).

Thinking of December and leaning Roatan but wonder what folks here think.

If you have never dived in the Caribbean and want to shore dive, I think Grand Cayman would be your best choice. Its easy to get there, well developed and you could shore dive all over the island. You can spend two weeks there and dive a new place every day. Car rental is easy. December is somewhat iffy in most of the area (rain patterns/ wind] but better in Cayman than farther south. Bonaire is another excellent shore diving destination but it's much farther away [takes longer] but there are direct flights. Roatan does have some shore diving but does not compare to the above Islands. I am not sure if Roatan has any direct flights from the US. If so they are relatively recent. My last trip- many years ago originated in New Orleans. The plane made stops in Belize and in Hoduras's capital. Our third stop was La Ceiba. We then transferred to a DC 3 for the jump to Roatan. There were thunder storms in the area so we sat on the plane and waited for the weather to clear. Finally, the pilot declared it was too late to make the short trip due to the fact there were no lights on the Roatan strip. Finally got there the next day. This was in December so the days were shorter even that far south. I am sure Roatan now has lighted runways but I am not sure if it has been lengthened for jets. I am sure someone will chime in. Roatan is a great destination for longer length trips. It's very green, quite beautiful and rainy. This means visibs will vary from great to poor. Most all organized diving is done from boats with trips to dive sites of up to one hour or more. Cayman is know for very short boat rides.
Grand Cayman is very far away from the Brac and Little Cayman so multiple island trips are little problematic. But diving is available almost everywhere. You will not run out of shore dives in one trip.
Good luck and let us know where you go and how you liked it.

RJA

 

[G_Sanab922]

Been to Roatan, not for diving though. I imagine it's great. it's the border of the Mesoamerican reef. 2nd biggest if I remember correctly.
Beautiful island regardless.
If you want shore diving, I highly recommend the Turks and Caicos. Beautiful beaches and beautiful reefs literally 10ft from the shoreline.

 

[Dmorty217]

How is it for diving and/or snorkeling? Inexperienced divers here, no interest in wrecks only reef and not more than 45' or so.

Shore diving?

Better than Cayman? I read can't easily get around the Caymans (no ferry service that is regular).

Thinking of December and leaning Roatan but wonder what folks here think.

I was there 6 years ago but only went snorkeling. The far left side of the island when you get off the cruise ship (sorry only way I can describe it) had awesome snorkeling, tons of life and different species. I would imagine its much more developed now though

 

[Seths Dad]

My wife and I went in May of last year and really enjoyed it. It was our first dive trip after getting certified. Very easy diving, all of our dives were 10 min. boat rides or less. Our first dive was from the beach at a site called Mandys Eel Garden, 45' max depth. We stayed on West Bay Beach at a VRBO. We dove with http://westbaydivers.com/ and had a great experience with them, small boats and small groups which helped make us feel more confortable. They now have direct flights from the US, we flew out of either Dallas or Huston. Never been to the Caymans so I can't compare.

 

[acidblondie]

I haven't been to too many places & I don't dive since I blew out my ear. But I was in Roatan in March and the snorkeling was pretty good. Not as many fish as other places but there were some very large and colorful corals. We did see some rays, triggers, eels, lions and while a 10 inch sharksucker was trying to attach to us we almost swam into a 10 foot nurse shark. It was about 15 feet away when we noticed it on the bottom. The resort we were at offered 2 a day snorkel trips and we probably could have done more if we wanted to. There was a family staying there that had done a lot more diving than I have and they said the snorkeling was as good as the diving. Don't know for myself, but that is what they said. Also my dentist used to go to Caymen a lot and he said its gone down quite a bit, so now all he does is Roatan

 

[mayjong]

we had a very good dive experience at Cocoview resort. all inclusive, 4 boat dives a day. good stuff!

 

[ostrow]

We are going to Roatan. Mostly because, like Bonaire last year, we'd never heard of it before. I have Bonaire pics somewhere here. Search bonaire and my name....

 

[Bladeruner69]

I have been to Roatan several several times and have never dove there. It is such a beautiful island that I always choose to explore.
In the past I found it to be very natural and undeveloped but the last two trips I have been disappointed with how much is has grown. If is go back, I will dive there because there are many wrecks in shallow water just waiting to be explored. I hear that whale sharks migrate through the areas as well during certain times of the year.

 

[fishies7]

My husband and I got certified in Rotatan, and I can assure you that the diving is top-notch! Some of the easiest and best dive spots in the world. The island itself is pretty virgin and natural (which I love) and is insanely affordable! We dove with Sueno de Mar whose shop is built out over the water. I would highly recommend them! No shore diving, but short boat rides everywhere.

 

[BuffaloReef]

I was in Roatan with a cruise this spring. We took an excursion to a beach and were able to snorkel right from there. I think it was Tabyana Beach but I don't remember. It was great. They provided inflatable life vests and all the other gear. I really liked the vest because you could deflate it to dive.

The location was great. The reef looked a little stressed but there was still a lot of life. The highlight for us was swimming with a school of blue tangs for about 15 minutes.

If you can get dive certified before you go, do it. We SCUBA dived in Cozumel and the difference is huge. Wherever you go make sure if you wear sunscreen it's biodegradable.