You’ve done the pool dives. You’ve completed the requisite courses. Or maybe you are just want to get your feet wet for the first time. Where do you go? This guide will help you through the process of selecting a place with a budget in mind. Don’t worry, all of the places listed here offer easy diving with plenty to see in shallower waters. Later this week I’ll be posting some edited underater video from one of these locations, so stay tuned for that as well!
Know your budget
We present a few options, ranging from the cheap and rustic to the reasonably priced. The most important thing is,
pick your budget ahead of time – then pick your location. If you go the other way around, you’ll pick Fiji and then
you’ll realize your budget doesn’t include a return flight. Speaking of flights, I’m excluding those as they vary in
price significantly depending on season and point of origin.
Under $1000 per person/week
If you are looking for a good deal, there’s no place like Utila.
Utila is located off the coast of
Honduras. The smallest of the three major Bay Islands, Utila lies closest to the Honduran Mainland and is by far the
flattest of the islands. Utila is located approximately 20 miles from the coast and can be reached from La Ceiba
either by sea or air. Sea is cheaper, but the passage can be rough. It’s a small island with few to no beaches, few
frills and little night life, but if your big priority is to dive (on the cheap) this is a solid choice.
Utila Dive Center has packages for as little as $499, 7
nights, 2 dives daily. The dive center is well laid out and the cabins are
reasonable. Most importantly, if you come during the right month
(January) you will get to see Whale Sharks, the worlds largest fish – some over 50ft in length.
Don’t worry, they eat plankton, not humans. Alternatively, check out the Utila
Lodge which comes in a little higher at $825.00 per person but includes 3 meals daily, 3 boat dives daily, and 2
night boat dives, tanks, weights, belts, kayaks and canoes as you see fit, a welcome cocktail and airport
transfers.
The diving in Utila is mostly current-less and reefs start as shallow as 15ft. Be forewarned however, if you have
non-divers in your group they will not appreciate the lack of nice beaches on Utila. That’s right, there are
basically no beaches on the island. At least nothing you would consider a real beach. Small patches of sand can be
found if you look carefully, but as you might imagine, with only a few spots to go to, you won’t find a private beach
to yourself here.
That having been said, not all is lost when not diving. The choices for restaurants and bars are somewhat limited,
but there are a few gems – check out the Bundu Café which transforms into a social gathering spot at lunch and has
the most amazing breakfast food you will ever taste. For pizza check out Mermaids Corner which offers cheap pizzas
and spaghetti (for about $2). With prices like those, it’s often frequented by backpackers, which make up the
majority of Utila’s visitors. If you have a few hours to pass, try heading up to Pumpkin Hill to see a sunset but
bring a flashlight or you will be spending the evening on the hill.
In short, if cost is your primary concern, Utila is a great destination.
Under $1500/week
In the same area, but with a little more to do, is Roatan. Unlike Utila, Roatan has some bustling night life and
dangerous happy hour specials. Unfortunately, though the rates on Roatan are comparable to Utila, the food is more
expensive and pushes you above the $1000 mark. For beauty, there is simply no better option that staying on
West Bay Beach.
The sunsets in Roatan are fabulous and will leave you breathless. It’s said that if you are lucky you will see a
green flash in the sky as the sun crosses the horizon. If you see this, be sure to mention it to all your diver
friends as they will envy you to no end (including myself). Accommodations on Roatan’s West Bay Beach range from
disturbingly cheap to bank busting. In the middle of the price range is
Paradise Beach Club, centrally located in the middle of the
beach with a dive shop on site. Prices are a reasonable $724/pp per week, including diving. While these include full
board, you will likely stray and want to head into West End
Village. West End Village is essentially a long dirt road lined with restaurants run by expats from France,
Italy, Thailand, Spain, Argentina – you name it. You can take a cab to West End for about 10 lempiras, or you can
take a water taxi for a little
less, though you can get a little wet. Pick your water taxi’s well or the trip can take a long time. One taxi we took
was using a lawn mower motor to power itself which pushed as along at about half a mile an hour. Frankly, I’m
surprised the owner hasn’t been washed out to sea.
If meat is your thing, don’t miss out on the Argentinean
Grill. The food is always good, the bill is always remembered. The bars, on the other hand, are mostly run by
locals for locals and the prices reflect that. During happy hour, if the owner is in a good mood, expect the local
beer to run about $0.50 a beer.
If that sounds like your kind of prices, there is one other option on Roatan that is in a class of it’s own. It’s
called Valeries and, at $5 a night, it can’t be beat. The
accommodations, needless to say, are rustic at best. So if you really really want to do a dive trip on the cheap and
don’t mind the most basic of accommodations, Valeries is there for you. It’s not uncommon for people to end up at
Valeries late at night when they can’t find a way home.
No matter where you stay on Roatan, you will be treated to large schools of fish including dolphins, turtles, sharks
(if you ask), filefish, trumpetfish, millions of stoplight parrot fish, and my personal favourite: grouper (see image
below).
Under $3000/week
On the higher end in Roatan is St Mac’s, probably one of the nicest homes in all of Roatan. At
$1575 to $1925 a week, it doesn’t however, come cheap.
The location is superb, the
home is well
kept, and the
deck is a
great place to enjoy the sunset.
Don’t have a passport? Don’t despair….
If traveling all the way to Honduras makes you a little queasy, I recommend Puerto Rico. The diving is mostly shallow
and superb. Best of all, you don’t need a passport to go here and your US dollars will work just fine. Though you fly
into San Juan, some of the best deals can be found on the west side of the
island near Rincon and
Mayaguez. Dive prices tend to be a little higher this close to the United States, but remain
decent. Rates at nearby hotels are not
expensive, running anywhere from $70 to $150 a night. With a dive
package, a week in Puerto Rico will run you a little over $1000 plus food. Depending on where you live, you might
find flights to PR for as little as $200 making this destination a great deal. The
diving here is pretty fabulous and
not particularly difficult. Most reefs start at about 30ft and descend past 100ft, but with plenty to see above the
60ft mark. Visibility here can sometimes exceed 150ft, making for some breathtaking dives.
And if price is no object?
Just for fun, if you don’t care what you spend, check out Fuego Del Mar.
Very secluded and available at the not so bargain-basement price of $2,100 per week.
Other considerations
If price isn’t your primary concern – or you can’t differentiate on it alone, here are some other items worth
considering:
• Roatan and Utila have pelagic (big) fish – if you like
dolphins,
grouper, sharks, turtles and rays – this is a much better choice than Puerto Rico. You can come across these larger
animals in Puerto Rico, but they are not as common.
• If nightlife is important to you, Roatan’s West End will offer you much more to do than Utila and Puerto
Rico.
• Are you prone to bugs? Stay away from Roatan and Utila in the summer months as
no see ums come
out in droves, particularly on the beach on windless days. These little guys are ferocious and, as the name suggests,
you can’t see them.
• Is seclusion important? Roatan was recently the site of FOX’s Temptation Island show, so tourism there has
picked up significantly. You can even rent the house used in the show.
• Short on time? Consider Puerto Rico. Unless you like in Houston, Dallas or Miami, the flights to Roatan from
the US will take you an entire day of travel. Puerto Rico, on the other hand, is a short skip from
Miami.
What next?
Once you’ve picked your destination make sure to photocopy your C-card before you leave and bring a photocopy. If you
don’t have your certification with you, you won’t dive – and that makes for a really lousy dive trip. Also, if you
are considering Roatan and Utila, make sure you bring some insect repellent with
DEET.
Whatever you’ve decided, Utila, Roatan or Puerto Rico – you will have an excellent time! If you have any questions or
want additional advice, feel free to contact me. I’m always happy to help.
Also don’t forget – later this week I’ll be posting some underwater video, so stay tuned for that!