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Dive Review of Anthony’s Key Resort in
Honduras/Roatan Island

Anthony’s Key Resort: "Anthonys Key Roatan - Reefs, Wrecks, Sharks & Dolphins", May, 2017,

by Phil Johnston, Bayswater, AU (Sr. Contributor Sr. Contributor 23 reports with 22 Helpful votes). Report 9608 has 2 Helpful votes.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 4 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling 3 stars
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments THE GOOD : the resort is attractive & well maintained. My bungalow was partly over the water, very pleasant to fall asleep to the sound of lapping water. Food was generally good quality, the deserts served at lunch & dinner were uniformly excellent (top marks for the banana pudding). Service staff at reception & in the restaurant & bar were pleasant & cheerful (with the exception of 1 slightly grumpy waiter). A free computer terminal with Internet access was available in the reception area for guests not travelling with a personal device.
Diving staff were very professional & friendly, the dive instructor on my boat (Sherwin) was very personable & made concerted efforts to find & point out critters, including a cute seahorse I wouldn't have spotted myself. Eagle rays, turtles & larger fish were seen sporadically, other than during the shark dive on the other side of the island no sharks were spotted. I dove only one of the 2 wrecks on offer (the Odyssey), whilst there isn't currently a lot of marine life on that wreck, the very good viz made it an impressive dive.
Highlight was the dolphin dive on my last day at AKR. A number of dolphins reside in the dedicated enclosure at AKR, they are released at the time of the dolphin dive & can chose to interact (or not interact) with the divers. The presence of their trainer (whom they presumably associate with food) with us during the dive seemed to encourage the dolphins to approach us closely. It therefore wasn't completely natural behaviour on the part of the dolphins but it certainly gave me the closest & most prolonged dolphin interactions I've ever experienced. I did however hear from other guests who indicated that at times the dolphins have chosen not to interact at all with the divers, so dolphin sightings during the dolphin dives are not necessarily guaranteed.
I also did the shark dive, at an extra cost of US$100. This is done on the south side of Isla Roatan, the site itself is quite exposed & subject to rougher water & stronger currents than sites at the northern leeward side. As with the dolphin dive, divers were able to experience very close interactions with around 10-12 Caribbean reef sharks of varying sizes. A bucket with fish scraps is taken to a sandy patch at approximately 70 feet to encourage the sharks to approach closely, so again the animal's behaviour is not strictly natural.
The shark dive is not for inexperienced divers due to the strength of the surface current (1-2 knots) & the swelly/choppy wave conditions.
Divers considering Roatan should be aware that resorts on the windward south side of the island are likely to experience more difficult surface conditions than those (such as Anthony's Key) on the northern, leeward side of the island.
NEGATIVES? none really. I hadn't realised prior to my arrival at AKR that most of the accommodation at AKR is on the Key itself, the reception area, restaurant & dive centre are on the mainland. A small launch shuttles between the Key, the resort & the dolphin enclosure so occasionally a short wait would occur if the launch was doing the longer run to the dolphin centre.
I had read from previous Reader's Reports about the "No see um" sandflies present on Roatan, I personally didn't have any problems but other guests appear to have been bitten extensively leaving red blotches on exposed areas. DEET based repellants seemed to be quite effective in deterring the "No see ums".
Overall, I enjoyed my time at AKR. I thought 4 full days was sufficient to experience the best reefs, the shark dive, the dolphin dive & a good wreck dive.
Websites Anthony’s Key Resort   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Australia, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Indonesia/Bali, Cocos, Cozumel, Tonga, Galapagos, Tahiti, Maldives, Mozambique, Bahamas, Red Sea, Roatan.
Closest Airport Roatan International Airport Getting There Some direct flights from US (not everyday though), or via San Salvidor, San Pedro Sula or Tegucigalpa

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy, dry Seas choppy
Water Temp 78-80°F / 26-27°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 60-80 Ft/ 18-24 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile no
Enforced diving restrictions Day dives bottom time limited to 45 minutes, 25 minutes on the deeper wrecks, ascend at 700 bar, return with at least 500 bar. Buddy system not strictly enforced.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas None
Dolphins 1 or 2 Whale Sharks None
Turtles 1 or 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 2 stars Large Fish N/A
Large Pelagics N/A

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 3 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 3 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Fresh water tank on all boats although this often mostly slopped out of the tank during transit of boats. Camera store in the resort offered batteries, equipment etc.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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