Thinking of Roatan

"Billy Winter" <jberner@> wrote in message
news:1106273189.ed4c2a382d9806e3ab5e62dadad24425@t eranews...
> I am planning a dive trip for this spring. My last few trips have been to
> Curacao
> because I like the mix of easy diving (drive anywhere for execellent shore
> dives, where
> I dont have to get up at dawn to make it to the boat) and descent night
> life. Will Roatan
> fit this bill? According to shorediver.com there are only 9 shore dives,
> but between this and
> a few afternoon boat dives should fill my week. How is the nightlife? Is
> there a particular
> part of the island where both the shore dives and night life are? Any
> experiences or suggestions
> would be appreciated.
> Thanks!

Hey, "doIhavetobackhome" girl. Do you want to take this one?

"Billy Winter" <jberner@> wrote in message
news:1106273189.ed4c2a382d9806e3ab5e62dadad24425@t eranews...
> I am planning a dive trip for this spring. My last few trips have been to
> Curacao
> because I like the mix of easy diving (drive anywhere for execellent shore
> dives, where
> I dont have to get up at dawn to make it to the boat) and descent night
> life. Will Roatan
> fit this bill? According to shorediver.com there are only 9 shore dives,
> but between this and
> a few afternoon boat dives should fill my week.

Most of the ops out of West End depart at 9, though the op I went with
departed at 8:30. They offer 3 dives a day. Two in the am and one in the
afternoon. If you want to shore dive, check out Native Sons at Halfmoon
Bay. They have good boats as well as shore diving in the Bay.

>How is the nightlife?

We had a blast.

> Is
> there a particular
> part of the island where both the shore dives and night life are?

West End.

>Any
> experiences or suggestions
> would be appreciated.
> Thanks!
>
>
>
>
>

Billy Winter wrote:

> I dont have to get up at dawn to make it to the boat) and descent
night
> life.

The second dive for the day with Sueno del Mar and Pura Vida (the two
ops at West End)is at 11:30 AM and the third dive is at 2:00 PM.
Normally it is less than a 5 min boat ride.

Will Roatan
> fit this bill?
Oh, yeah

>How is the nightlife?

The nightlife is awesome. Most bars are open till midnight and then
there are the "after hours" spots. Everything is open air and very
Caribbean. The food is fabulous. If you decide to go there we can give
you some good tips on bars, restaurants and resorts. The prices are
very reasonable. This place is cheaper than Curacao.

Is
> there a particular
> part of the island where both the shore dives and night life are?

I agree with Chilly - I would not stay anywhere else but West End. We
drove around the island a bit and checked out a couple of other
towns/resorts. Nothing was as nice in terms of full package. West Bay
has a nicer beach but it is a $2, 10 min water taxi away and there is
not much of a nightlife there.

"doihavetogobackhome" <kalinakapina@m> wrote in message
news:1106362079.454166.276300@f14g2000cwb. o...
> Billy Winter wrote:
>
> > I dont have to get up at dawn to make it to the boat) and descent
> night
> > life.
>
> The second dive for the day with Sueno del Mar and Pura Vida (the two
> ops at West End)

Just a little correction here. Sueno del Mar and Pura Vida are "two of the
ops at West End", not "the two". There are a mittfull of them. I'll
probably not get them all but there is WestEnd Divers, Ocean Connections,
Tyll's and Native Sons. There are a few more too, but the ops that I can't
remember are probably not worth remembering. :^)
(snip)

When we were there, Pura Vida and Native Sons were the only shops that had
big boats that didn't have mechanical problems. We ended up diving in
pangas.

I tried to find some other shops that were running big boats so that I could
get out to some of the sites, further a field. For personal reasons, I only
went out with Pura Vida one day. I checked into it but didn't have time to
go with Native Sons.

As it turned out for me, the close-in diving was pretty great even if diving
off the panga wasn't all that. My third week there, I was often diving
alone with the DM and no other customers. That made it even more fabulous.
While the DM did know where to find a few cool things, the DM was still
quite thrilled at discovery and so we were often on a shared adventure on
each dive. That DM left for a better opportunity the day after I left, so I
don't know who will be leading their dives now.

In article <1106273189.ed4c2a382d9806e3ab5e62dadad24425@teran ews>,
"Billy Winter" <jberner@> wrote:

According to shorediver.com there are only 9 shore dives,
> but between this and
> a few afternoon boat dives should fill my week.

Of those 9 listed, the first three are only accessiable to guests of
Cocoview or Fantasy Island

The next two are essentially the same dive with different entry points
but neither is open to the public

Number seven is also on private property (and isn't that good in any
case).

Numbers 8 & 9 are open and nice diving. There is a tenth spot, go to the
far west end of West Bay Beach and swim out. The reef comes in close
there as does the wall.

So in reality there are only three spots for a shore diver who is out on
his own.




>How is the nightlife?

Stay in West End and your at Party Central for the island. Not much
variety but with Beer, Bands and Dancing, what more do you want?

And West End is where shore dives #8 and #9 are... In fact I suggest
Staying at Half Moon Bay cabins. Near enough to walk to the party, far
enough to get some sleep in the morning.

Quite honestly I think you'll be happier elsewhere.

"Ron T" <ombligo@tampabay.> wrote in message
news:ombligo-3E68E8.05172622012005@news-server2.tampabay....
> In article <1106273189.ed4c2a382d9806e3ab5e62dadad24425@teran ews>,
> "Billy Winter" <jberner@> wrote:
>
> Quite honestly I think you'll be happier elsewhere.

Why do you say that, Ron?

In article <fGqId.140459$8l.43516@pd7tw1no>,
"chilly" <slarson@shaw.canada> wrote:

> "Ron T" <ombligo@tampabay.> wrote in message
> news:ombligo-3E68E8.05172622012005@news-server2.tampabay....
> > In article <1106273189.ed4c2a382d9806e3ab5e62dadad24425@teran ews>,
> > "Billy Winter" <jberner@> wrote:
> >
> > Quite honestly I think you'll be happier elsewhere.
>
> Why do you say that, Ron?
>
>

Just based on him wanting to do a great number of shore dives and
wanting nightlife. That pretty much means West End to stay and that
means only three shore dive spots. Two are right next to each other and
the other is at the far end of West Bay Beach, meaning a long haul of
gear in a water taxi.

If shore diving is the objective, there are better places than Roatan.

That was the only reason for the comment.

"Ron T" <ombligo@tampabay.> wrote in message
news:ombligo-EECC1E.05105824012005@news-server2.tampabay....
> In article <fGqId.140459$8l.43516@pd7tw1no>,
> "chilly" <slarson@shaw.canada> wrote:
>
> > > Quite honestly I think you'll be happier elsewhere.
> >
> > Why do you say that, Ron?
> >
> >
>
> Just based on him wanting to do a great number of shore dives and
> wanting nightlife. That pretty much means West End to stay and that
> means only three shore dive spots. Two are right next to each other and
> the other is at the far end of West Bay Beach, meaning a long haul of
> gear in a water taxi.

I dunno that it should be that important that the shore dives be at
different sites. The boat diving sites around Halfmoon Bay are quite good
and I could easily do them a few times and still not be bored. Wouldn't the
shore diving in Halfmoon be a similar experience?

>
> If shore diving is the objective, there are better places than Roatan.

OK, that makes sense.

>
> That was the only reason for the comment.

OK, thanks. I was just wondering.