Dive Shop in Isla Roatan, Honduras?

[Specter]

Hey guys-

I am looking for a dive shop in Isla Roatan. The Coconut Tree Divers shop is not willing to wait for us if our cruise ship is late. We'll also lose our deposit. They only give us about 30min to get off the ship and take a taxi- too close for my liking. Can someone recommend another shop in the area, willing to work with us?

Thanks

[CRUISERTN]

Check Anthony's Key resort.

[DEwoman]

Subway sports- they'll pick you up, too

[tombo]

If you have enough time, go to CocoView resort. There is decent shore diving and snorkeling and also AM and PM boat trips.

[kwfl]

we wnt with subway in feb. they picked us up and brought us back. everyone was great and the diving was awesome. we did marys place and mr bud

[Specter]

I've been trying to get Coconut Bay (or whoever they are) to book a trip, but it's like pulling teeth to get them to respond and give me info. They're horrible over email. Looks like they're missing out on 5 divers chartering a private boat trip.

 

They wanted a deposit from us- but said if the ship was late, we miss the trip and lose the deposit. I have no control over the cruise ship schedule, so I won't give them my deposit. Everyone says they're great and wonderful- but my experience is that they're pretty crappy to work with- and that's just trying to get them booked!

 

I'll check out some of these other dive shops- hopefully, they're close to the ships.

[shanenurse]

We booked our dives there through Carnival and they put us with Anthony's Key resort. It is awesome. check out their web site. Service was top notch. picked us up in vans drove across the island to their resort (which is awesome and we can not wait to go back and book one of the over the water cabins for a weeK!) They then spit us into two smaller groups and put us on two boats. Super people all around. Highly recommend them. Can also find them in any Dive magazine.

shane

[Crafti2750]

we are going in Aug 9 on the legend, hubby is the scuba diver not me we are thinking of booking the ships dive for him, was there any problem with the dive from the ship , everything go good for you guys?? any info is appreciated thanks.

[jakz2fun]

Hey guys-

I am looking for a dive shop in Isla Roatan. The Coconut Tree Divers shop is not willing to wait for us if our cruise ship is late. We'll also lose our deposit. They only give us about 30min to get off the ship and take a taxi- too close for my liking. Can someone recommend another shop in the area, willing to work with us?

Thanks

 

I am going on Roatan on June 3 via the Carnival Valor and am going out with Sueno del Mar, We do not arrive until late and they have no problem waiting for us. They only take 6 - 8 divers out on their boats.

 

JoAnn

[markstudy]

Hi folks,

 

I'm taking the Dream in January 9th 2010.

 

I'd really like to preview a resort (for a future trip back to Roatan to spend a week). We want to snorkel this trip, and see the best shore reef....since we just have 10am to 6pm

 

My wife and I, are the kind of divers, who would rather snorkel from shore for 3 or 4 hours at a time, instead of diving from a boat that wants everyone back in 60minutes. So I hoping Roatan is a good place for us? How is it compared to Bonaire? (I hear they have the Best shore diving?)

 

Can anyone help with a recommendation? Are some of the cool resorts with-in driving distance of the port? ...or are we looking at to much drive time? ...and better-off just going to a close tourist beach for a nice shore snorkel?

 

I've done some basic research, and heard brief mention of the top 4 or 5 tourist dive spots & resorts. But haven't got out a map and started writing things down yet :)

 

Thanks

[georoc01]

Hi folks,

 

I'm taking the Dream in January 9th 2010.

 

I'd really like to preview a resort (for a future trip back to Roatan to spend a week). We want to snorkel this trip, and see the best shore reef....since we just have 10am to 6pm

 

My wife and I, are the kind of divers, who would rather snorkel from shore for 3 or 4 hours at a time, instead of diving from a boat that wants everyone back in 60minutes. So I hoping Roatan is a good place for us? How is it compared to Bonaire? (I hear they have the Best shore diving?)

 

Can anyone help with a recommendation? Are some of the cool resorts with-in driving distance of the port? ...or are we looking at to much drive time? ...and better-off just going to a close tourist beach for a nice shore snorkel?

 

I've done some basic research, and heard brief mention of the top 4 or 5 tourist dive spots & resorts. But haven't got out a map and started writing things down yet :)

 

Thanks

 

First of all, outside of the atolls in Belize, I haven't found anything close to Bonaire thus far in the Caribbean. And since its designed around shore diving (heck, drive up tank fills is part of the system), its hard to beat.

 

Back to Roatan. If you are looking to check out a nice resort, Anthony's Key is tough to beat. they have a snorkeling key and the dolphins. No real shore diving though. I think I did one during the week, currents on the front of the resort were such that they didn't allow it.

 

But for die hard divers, CocoView would be the way to go. They have great shore diving where you can go as much as you want in addition to 4 boat dives a day.

[Specter]

Just got back from the Liberty. Booked a 2 tank dive thru Carnival- they went thru Anthony's Key. It was the 2nd best dive I've ever done! AK was great- great service, incredible dive- safe Masters, dive sites were 5 min from the shore. It was AWESOME. I HIGHLY recommend Anthony's Key!

[dtchem1]

Like many before me have said now, Anthony's Key is a great place to dive with. We did the Carnival dive with them from the Valor in 2008 and stayed at Anthony's Key for a week this year, which I highly reccomend for divers. Good dives, excellent equipment, nice boats and very good dive masters that have respect for the reef and love to show you the good stuff.

[markstudy]

First of all, outside of the atolls in Belize, I haven't found anything close to Bonaire ........

 

But for die hard divers, CocoView would be the way to go. They have great shore diving .

 

 

Thanks :D Very helpful and detailed info :)

 

Anyone know how close CocoView is to the port? Drive time? Taxi?

I'd like to take a look at it, before booking a weeks stay, for me next trip.

And I'd like to get a little snorkel in, before having to get back to the ship.

Is this possable?

[WaterFaery]

I did my Advanced OW in Roatan in Jan 2009. It is very easy to do shore diving from a few places in Roatan. One is from Fantasy Island where you can snorkel off the reef wall, or you can dive.

Amazing sites to be seen

[scuabacruiser]

Hey guys-

I am looking for a dive shop in Isla Roatan. The Coconut Tree Divers shop is not willing to wait for us if our cruise ship is late. We'll also lose our deposit. They only give us about 30min to get off the ship and take a taxi- too close for my liking. Can someone recommend another shop in the area, willing to work with us?

Thanks

Another choice might be to get a cab to the west end and take your pick of dive ops. Most do only 1 tank dives since it is so close to shore go out 3 to 4 times a day. AK is also a great place as others have said.

[Roatanfans]

There are many good dive shops in the West End- our favorite is Native Sons. Bay Islands Beach resort in Sandy Bay will pick you up from the dock, and they have a very nice snorkel trail as well. CocoView is a great resort to stay at, but it is further east and I don't know about diving with them just for the day. I do know that they have a web cam if you want to check it out- people seem to love them (they do have a nice shore dive/wreck). The website www.roatanet.com has links to many of the dive shops on the island. Check them out, there is something for everyone!

[092306]

I am glad to hear about how great Anthony's Key resort is. I am on the Valor this Sept and I cna't wait to go. I am not a not the most experienced of divers, (about 5 dives) and I can't wait to go to Roatan. 43 days to go and counting!!!

I have asked a couple of questions on the SCUBA board and I just want to thank any and all who helped me out with my questions Thanks

[092306]

sorry for double post

[BlueC5Kitten]

Glad to hear good things about AK, as a good friend of mine keeps trying to talk me into diving with CoCoView while in Roatan this coming January. Having dove in Utila, I am familiar with what to expect to see, just always wary of dive ops that the Cruise ships book (like Sand Dollar in Cozumel, needless to say I will be booking on my own there).

[jimw]

Thanks :D Very helpful and detailed info :)

 

Anyone know how close CocoView is to the port? Drive time? Taxi?

I'd like to take a look at it, before booking a weeks stay, for me next trip.

And I'd like to get a little snorkel in, before having to get back to the ship.

Is this possable?

 

We did this a few years ago on a cruise and have stayed at CCV many times in the past. I contacted the US office and they arranged for pickup, etc at a reasonable price. There are new owners since, so things may have changed. It can be a great shore dive, but sometimes the viz sucks. We are divers and snorkelers. Try here, but also try Bonaire sometime.

[Roatanfans]

Glad to hear good things about AK, as a good friend of mine keeps trying to talk me into diving with CoCoView while in Roatan this coming January. Having dove in Utila, I am familiar with what to expect to see, just always wary of dive ops that the Cruise ships book (like Sand Dollar in Cozumel, needless to say I will be booking on my own there).

 

Are you going to Roatan on a cruise or staying at a resort? If you are staying at a resort in January I would advise you that it is rainy season and I would make sure whoever you dive with is willing to take you to the other side of the island if it is raining (diving conditions on Roatan can vary greatly when it rains- one side will be amazing, while the other will be horrible. Several operators will move boats or bus you to a boat on the other side if this happens, and I believe both CoCoView and Anthony's Key will, but I would check in advance!)

[underseahunter]

Agree with everyone about Anthonys Key dive operation. The dive sites are so close they come back to shore to fill tanks during your surface interval. The main advantage to booking from the approved shore ecursion list offered is that they will not leave you behind. This became an issue on our visit there. There was a missing person in the head count, turns out she bailed and skipped her second dive. We waited like 45 minutes at AKR until they were satisfied that this knucklehead woman was accounted for. They even called the Valor, and confirmed that she had made it back aboard. We were virtually the last people to board the Valor before she pulled away from Roatan. You should have a safe and fun time with these guys.

[tootsiescurly]

Subway sports- they'll pick you up, too

 

We used them last November when we were on the Legend. It was raining out and windy. We booked a private dive which we did not get because they had people who had been there all week who could not dive on the side of the island by their shop. They neglected to leave a boat on the side of the island which would have been conducive to a nice dive. They did not charge us for a private dive.

 

The trip to the dive site was dangerous. There were 3-4 ft swells. I have never been seasick until that day. (I grew up sailing.) The divemaster asked us if we wanted to put our BC's on in the water. We all looked at him like he was nuts.

 

Our consolation for not having a private dive was a private divemaster in training. This was supposed to be a wall dive. We get in the water with surge and current. She has no clue what she is doing. The surge is knocking our masks off and the regulators out of our mouths. We were supposed to make our way back to the boat. Needless to say the boat picked us up. They also take you back to their dive shop to refill the tanks. We decided not to do the second dive because the dive conditions were so bad.

 

We would like to return to Roatan. Will not use Subway.

[lusoamerican]

one question i have is: if three of us want to dive and two just want to hang around the beach... is there a resort we could book through Carnival without having to pay the scuba price for everyone? Should I book a day pass at a resort and just ferry myself and the fam in a cab??