May 2009    Download the Entire Issue (PDF)

Vol. 24, No. 5   What's this?

Royal Playa Resort, Roatán, Honduras

this basic East End place offers the most pristine reefs

from the May, 2009 issue of Undercurrent  

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Dear Fellow Diver:

Years ago, I spent a week at a resort in Guanaja, one of Honduras’ Bay Islands. I have vivid memories of miserable welts and endless itching after being assaulted by no-see-ums and mosquitoes. So for my February trip to Roatán, I brought Buzz-Off socks, an Insect Shield cap, lots of DEET, and Benadryl spray, pills, lotion, and cream. But at Royal Playa, the critters surprisingly left me alone. Either my preventive arsenal did the job, or the gentle breezes and cooler than normal 80-degree temperatures kept the bugs at bay. The remote location and lack of guests also didn’t offer much of a feast, compared to the more populated resorts on the western half of the island. Better yet, this hidden gem doesn’t offer the same ol’, same ol’ Roatán diving. It’s tucked away on the east end in remote Port Royal, so there is no road accessibility. That means few divers, no published dive sites, one dive operator -- and pristine reefs. Much of the Caribbean lacks the fish population of years’ past, as does Roatán, which could have advanced divers saying ho-hum but here, the swim-throughs, overhangs, cracks, caves and chutes, all covered with soft coral, are exquisite.

I lucked into finding the place. I was on Roatán for bone and tarpon fishing at Mango Creek Lodge and when I asked about diving, they neighborly referred me to Royal Playa, a minute east by boat. Owners Matt and Corinne Cavanaugh welcomed me dockside, joking that it was “friends and family week.” Like other Roatán resorts, Royal Playa has been hard hit economically; a couple from the Pacific Northwest overlapped my stay by one day and then I was the only guest. When they left, Matt offered them a 10 percent discount for a return trip....