Main Menu
Join Undercurrent on Facebook

The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975 | |
For Divers since 1975
The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975
"Best of the Web: scuba tips no other
source dares to publish" -- Forbes
X
 

Dive Review of Fantasy Island in
Honduras

Fantasy Island, Mar, 2008,

by Stephen Kirk Douglas, IN, USA ( 1 report). Report 3971.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 3 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 3 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving 4 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments Roatan is good diving if you enjoy fish under 4-6". Did see some large grouper, filefish, snapper, but I could count them on 2 hands. The divemaster seemed to want to swim out 20 minutes, find a seahorse or Juvenile Drum fish and turn back. That was fine the first few times, but I found that doing that on every dive became boring. I probably saw more seahorses on this dive trip than any other trip. I mostly saw the Seahorses at 60-80, but most of the action on the reef was actually on the 30 - 50 foot range. I found that I saw more while diving on my own. You do have to do a dive briefing the before you go diving. The actual dive briefing was short, maybe 5-10 minutes, but most of the meeting was trying to sell plane rides, massages, trips, real estate. I was starting to wonder were my free trip was (like those reduced vacations where you have to waste hold of a day listening to them try to sell you a time share condo) ... lol. They pretty much asked you to tip everyone from the captain to the shop where they fill tanks.

The resort was nice. Not the typical dive resort. There was much more to do there other than diving. Had events scheduled every night and trip into town. Most of the resort staff does not speak English; however, everyone on the dive operation spoke great English. Food was very good. Ice cream is to die for. Also, I'd venture to say that about half of the staff in the dining area could speak English and often had to get someone to come over to see what room number you were in or to get your drink order. The waiting staff is not quick at all. You'll wait 10-15 minutes for water or anything else you want to drink. However, they are expedient to clear your table, so much that you should leave someone at the table to guard your food if you’re not finished. Food is buffet style w/ lobster being served twice during the week.

We did reserve the room for a king, but we had 2 twins pushed together It was annoying to fall through the bed). Said they would fix it tomorrow, but after 3 days I had to e-mail Bonne Beach to get the issue corrected. I guess the old adage of the squeaky wheel gets the grease applies here. The room was small but clean. I did see other rooms and we really got short changed. We were right next to the dive shop. They really should have different prices for the different rooms. The room picture on the web site wasn't even close to what I had. I also had issues with cold water in our building, but after several days of complaints, that was resolves as well. My neighbors were happy, because they got hot water in return.

They had a safe deposit box. It was like a PO Box at the post office rest next to the front desk. Rental is $1 a day w/ $100 deposit (in case you loose the key). Remote control is a $20 deposit. Have to make a deposit for an extra towel.

Need to be careful when charging items to the room. I found thing that were charged to my room that I didn't charge. I only charged cokes from the restaurant, but saw charges from the bar. When they pulled signed receipts, the signatures weren't even close to mine. I pointed this out and it was immediately removed from my tab.

Overall, I had a lot of fun there. All my issues were resolved. I just thought I would mention those issues.

On another note, if you go to any resort in Honduras, plan on some time at the airport. I waited 2 hours in line to get my passport stamped (They had 4 planes arrive with the past couple of hours and only had 2 people stamping passports) and then you have to find your bags and clear customs. After I found the Fantasy Island guys, we waited another 45 minutes before we left. Also, plan on getting to the airport 3 hours before departure. They only had 1 person there collecting the departure tax and one guy in custom servicing probably 500+ people. It took 2:15 to get my tickets, pay the departure tax, and clear custom. These guys are in no hurry. The last Continental airplane took off with 40 passengers still in line waiting to pay their departure tax, which kind of sucks since the next Continental flight doesn't depart until the following Saturday.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 101-250 dives
Where else diving Bonaire, Florida Keys, North Carolina, California, Panama, Great Lakes
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy Seas choppy, surge
Water Temp 80-81°F / 27-27°C Wetsuit Thickness 2
Water Visibility 40-80 Ft/ 12-24 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile ?
Enforced diving restrictions When there was limited visibilty and surge, the dive master asked that we stay as a group (only 2 of the 6 days of diving). Otherwise asked that we return with 500 PSI. Didn't place time constraints.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 2 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 1 stars
Large Pelagics 1 stars

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

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities 1 stars
UW Photo Comments Had seperate buckets for camera's. They would hand down camera's and take them before you get out. Great Macro photography on island.
Was this report helpful to you?
Leave a comment (Subscribers only -- 200 words max)
Subscribers can comment here
 

Subscribe Now
Subscribers can post comments, ask the reviewer questions, as well as getting immediate and complete access to ALL 560 dive reviews of Honduras and all other dive destinations. Complete access to all issues and Chapbooks is also included.

 
Featured Links from Our Sponsors
Interested in becoming a sponsor?
Reef & Rainforest, Let our experience be your guide -- Reef and Rainforest
Reef & Rainforest
is an agency for travelers that like to scuba dive. Want to see dolphins, whale sharks, Mayan ruins? Let us plan your adventure to Honduras.

Want to assemble your own collection of Honduras reports in one place?
Use the Mini Chapbook Facility to create your personalized collection.

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.

Undercurrent Home


Get more dive info like these and other important scuba updates sent monthly to your email.
And a FREE Recent Issue of Undercurrent

Free Undercurrent Issue
Get a free
monthly email and
a sample issue!


Find in  

| Home | Online Members Area | My Account | Login | Join |
| Travel Index | Dive Resort & Liveaboard Reviews | Featured Reports | Recent Issues | Back Issues |
| Dive Gear Index | Health/Safety Index | Environment & Misc. Index | Seasonal Planner | Blogs | Free Articles | Book Picks | News |
| Special Offers | RSS | FAQ | About Us | Contact Us | Links |

Copyright © 1996-2024 Undercurrent (www.undercurrent.org)
3020 Bridgeway, Ste 102, Sausalito, Ca 94965
All rights reserved.

Page computed and displayed in 0.09 seconds