Roatan is by far my favorite Caribbean destination. The place to stay is COCOVIEW RESORT - we've been there 3 times. The atmosphere at CCV is very casual and cozy - no phones, no TVs (well, there's one in the clubhouse), and no need to dress up in much more than a bathing suit. The weather on the island is very tropical - don't be surprised if there are short thundershowers during the day (don't worry - they only stop the dive boats for hurricanes!). Because of the rain, be prepared to deal with mosquitoes. No-see-ums are also quite active here. Water temperature ranges from about 87F at depth to 91F in the shallows.
Activities follow a tight schedule, sort of like summer camp - breakfast is from 7-8:30, the first boat leaves at 9:00, lunch is at noon, the second boat leaves at 2:00, and dinner is at 6:30. All meals are served buffet style, usually with 2 main entrees from which to choose. Breakfast is made to order with lots of options. For lunch you have a choice between soup, rice & beans, and the 2 entrees. There is a salad bar before dinner is served, and veggies, bread, and dessert always accompany the main meal. Food in Central America tends to be somewhat fatty (for example coconut bread, coconut cream pie, and rice made with coconut milk), but CCV tries to use low fat alternatives when possible. Bottled water and lemonade are available all day in the dining hall.
There are 2 boat dives daily at CCV, and after each dive you can opt to go on the drop-off dive - the boat will drop you at 1 of 3 spots and you swim back to the resort. The unlimited beach diving is beyond compare here - there's a shipwreck, an airplane wreck, and beautiful reefs all very close to shore. You see just as much on a beach dive as you do at the more remote sites. Night diving is also unlimited - all you do is pick up a tank and get wet!
There is a complete dive shop, a photo shop (with u/w camera and video rentals), a gift shop, and a snack bar all on the premises, and several vendors visit the resort to sell souvenirs during the week.
| This is what you can expect to see on your dives around the island: hundreds of varieties of corals, sponges, & tunicates in a rainbow of colors; French, queen, & gray angels; barracuda; several different types of eels (night & day); lobsters & crabs; hamlets; grunts; creole & other wrasse; chromis; foureye, longsnout, banded & spotfin butterflies; damselfish; tangs; tons of parrotfish; groupers; flounders; filefish & HORDES more. On rare occasions you can find drums, seahorses, pipehorses, triggers, turtles, nurse sharks & possibly even whale sharks (they were spotted on a dive site within view of the lodge in 1993). |
