Diving in Roatan Tips

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What are some good Roatan dive resorts and Bay Islands dive resorts?

Anthony's Key Resort in Roatan

Anthony's Key Resort (AKR) is the oldest dive resort in Roatan. Built on a hillside overlooking the water, with additional bungalows set on a small key (island) just offshore, AKR is designed from top to bottom to cater to scuba divers and snorkelers. In addition to Roatan scuba diving, it offers a variety of Roatan activities including hiking and horseback riding. AKR was one of the first dive resorts in Roatan to develop a great summertime kids program and is also home to a "Dolphin Research Center."

   
What are some good Roatan dive resorts and Bay Islands dive resorts?

Roatan Diving

Roatan is the best known of the Bay Islands, and it features a number of well-established dive resorts. Best known are Anthony's Key Resort on the north shore and Coco View Resort on the south shore. While each property has its own distinct character and assets, both offer scuba divers excellent value and considerable diving freedom.

   
When is a good time to travel to the Bay Islands and Roatan?

Roatan Weather and the Bay Islands

For Roatan weather and the Bay Islands, scuba diving conditions are good late March through November. There can be some rain at any time of the year, but these months are relatively consistent for good weather. During the winter months, strong winds can come from the north, so if you are going to Roatan for Christmas or New Year's, you will be better served selecting a dive resort, such as CoCo View, located on the south side of the island.

   
What are some Roatan activities to do?

Dolphin Research Center

Anthony's Key Resort is home to a captive dolphin program, which they call a Dolphin Research Center. Scuba divers and snorkelers are invited to enter the water and interact with these dolphins. Guests of any of the Roatan dive resorts may participate, but advance reservations are required. Availability is limited, so if you would like to visit with the dolphins at AKR, have your dive resort make the reservation as soon as you are on Roatan Island.

   
What can I expect from Utila Island in Honduras?

Utila Island in Honduras

Utila Island in Honduras has long been known as a place for dive instruction, with a number of dive stores offering basic certification classes through many advanced, specialty, divemaster and instructor training courses. More recently, the Utila Bay Island is gaining renown as a place that provides divers a good chance to swim with whale sharks. March through May is prime whale shark season at Utila Island, and Laguna Beach Resort is the best of the dive resorts to make use of there.

   
What are some good Roatan dive resorts and Bay Islands dive resorts?

CoCo View - Roatan Dive Resort

Built on its own private key just off the south shore of Roatan, CoCo View Resort is great for those divers who want maximum scuba diving time during their holiday. Though it recently changed ownership, CoCo View dive resort still reflects the casual down home touch of the Evans family who built it from the ground up. The dive resort is simple and comfortable, while offering competent divers good boat diving, very easy shore diving in Roatan, and a very high level of diving freedom. If you believe that "bottom time is the bottom line," then CoCo View Resort may well be the place for you.

   
Where can I go shore diving in the Bay Islands?

Shore Diving Bay Islands

The best shore diving in the Bay Islands is to be found at Coco View Resort, Laguna Beach Resort, and Plantation Beach Resort. Their house reefs begin relatively shallow and close to shore, so in conjunction with their boat diving packages, each of these facilities is set up to offer complimentary unlimited beach tanks. Coco View offers capable divers an added bonus with a program called "drop off." After each regular morning or afternoon boat dive, they will provide an additional tank for those who wish to drop off the dive boat and swim along the wall and back to the dive resort. Just remember to keep it shallow and the drop off option makes for easy, enjoyable, extra bottom time.

   
Can I go live-aboard diving in the Bay Islands?

Live-Aboard Diving in the Bay Islands

Aggressor Fleet operates the Bay Islands Aggressor, sailing from Roatan, Honduras. This is not Aggressor's newest vessel, so don't sign on expecting great luxury. What you will get with the Bay Islands Aggressor is the opportunity to visit the best dive sites of Roatan Island, Utila Island, and Cayos Cochinos. It's a good value and a great way to see the best diving in Bay Islands.

   
Where are the Bay Islands of honduras located?

The Bay Islands of Honduras

The Bay Islands are located in the Caribbean Sea off the east coast of the Central American country of Honduras. The largest of the Bay Islands, Roatan Island, is a popular diving destination and may be reached by direct flights from the USA. The other major scuba diving island, Utila Island, is reached via commuter fights from the mainland Honduran city of San Pedro Sula.

   
What is diving in the Bay Islands like?

Diving in the Bay Islands

Bay Islands Weather
Daytime highs average 85 degrees Fahrenheit and cool down to an average 65 degrees Fahrenheit at night year round. The rainy season, November through January, bring frequent, but brief rainstorms. You will rarely miss dives because of rain.

Scuba Diving Levels in the Bay Islands
Diving levels in the Bay Islands vary from reefs starting at 15 feet of water to sea mounds that slope down 200 feet. Underwater canyons, caves, caverns, walls and reefs abundant with coral abound in what is believed to be the second, if not the largest living coral reef in the world.

Bay Islands Water Temperature
Water temperatures in the Bay Islands are in the low 80's Fahrenheit in the summer and high 70's Fahrenheit in the winter.

Visibility
Visibility averages 80 feet in the Bay Islands, but can peak at 100 feet or more. Visibility does decrease with storms or when plankton cloud the water.

   
What are some Roatan activities to do?

Dolphin Research Center

Anthony's Key Resort is home to a captive dolphin program, which they call a Dolphin Research Center. Scuba divers and snorkelers are invited to enter the water and interact with these dolphins. Guests of any of the Roatan dive resorts may participate, but advance reservations are required. Availability is limited, so if you would like to visit with the dolphins at AKR, have your dive resort make the reservation as soon as you are on Roatan Island.

   
What is diving in the Bay Islands like?

Bay Islands, Honduras

Imagine a group of relatively unknown islands sculpted by white sand beaches and swaying palm trees, a place where orchids grow wild and fresh water flows from natural mountain springs. Tucked in the Western Caribbean 840 miles southwest of Miami and 30 miles off the coast of Honduras lie the Bay Islands: an archipelago of seven islands and 50 small cayes which stretch for 70 miles in a northeasterly arc.

Scuba Diving Highlights: Visibility throughout all of the Bay Islands ranges up to 150 feet, with little current and very calm seas. Roatan Island includes 85 species of coral and over 800 species of fish. Guanaja's dive sites include everything from shipwrecks to underwater volcanoes. And the seamounts of Utila Island attract great pelagics.

Bay Islands Weather: The rainy season runs from May until October. The rest of the year, the interior and Pacific coasts are relatively dry. The lush Caribbean coast gets more average rainfall year round.

Average Bay Islands Air Temperature:
Day: 80° F Night: 67° F

Water Temperature:
78° - 84° F

Bay Islands includes:
Roatan Island - Only 33 miles long and three miles wide, Roatan is the largest of the island group. This is an island which caters to sun worshippers, nature lovers, adventurers and those seeking the diverse pleasures of her warm, clear waters. This is the place to visit if your goal is to be blanketed in quiet tranquility, in a very natural setting, on the edge of the world's most incredible unexplored dive sites and watersports environment!

Guanaja Island - From the pages of a Robinson Crusoe adventure, Guanaja island has something few destinations can offer. If you want to escape to natural beauty and great scuba diving, Guanaja has both in abundance. There are 35 moored dive sites, featuring everything from shallow reefs to wrecks, caves, canyons, underwater volcanoes, and walls plummeting from 20 feet to 6,000 feet. Turtles, eagle rays, Jew fish and literally hundreds of tropical fish species abound. Indigenous toadfish, octopus, and huge coral crabs are visible at night. Dolphins, whale sharks, reef sharks, black tips and hammerheads can also be spotted.

Utila Island - The smallest of the three Bay islands, Utila is only eight miles long and three miles wide. Ultra laid back, this island offers true barefoot living and excellent scuba diving. It is not uncommon to see schools of jacks, snappers, spade fish and every species of grouper found in the Bay Islands at just one dive site. Look for resident hawksbill or green turtles, spotted, green and goldentail moray eels, and balloon, porcupine and webbed urrfish puffers. The largest fish in our oceans, whalesharks feed year-round off the coast of Utila Island. Growing as long as 60 feet, an opportunity to swim with this animal is definitely a unique experience.

   
What are some good Roatan dive resorts and Bay Islands dive resorts?

Laguna Beach Dive Resort

Located away from the town of Utila, on its own private island, Laguna Beach Resort has proved itself to be an excellent dive resort. Operated by Utila-born scuba instructor Troy Bodden, Laguna Beach reflects a great deal of planning and investment in offering divers a quality lodging and diving experience. In addition to daily boat diving, their program includes complimentary shore diving and a meals-inclusive package. Divers visiting Laguna Beach Resort in the spring have a good chance of swimming with whale sharks.

   
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