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Dive Review of Laguna Beach Resort in
Honduras/Utila

Laguna Beach Resort, Apr, 2005,

by Joan B. Nagy, NY, USA . Report 1674.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 3 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 3 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 3 stars Shore Diving 1 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments One of the best operations I've encountered in the Caribbean in 16 years of diving. Rustic, but handsome and very comfortable, cabins with air conditioning and plenty of hot water. Marvelously efficient and charming managers (Luciano and Romina are still there) and experienced dive masters and boat captains. In April of 2003, Undercurrent gave the food three stars. I'd bump that to at least four. Certainly plenty of it, and much of it very, very good. That same review seemed little better than lukewarm on the condition of the reefs and the number of fish and critters, but I thought both were as good as I've seen anywhere--except perhaps for pelagics. We saw lots of tropicals, and in the more exotic category longlure frogfish, many hawksbill turtles, scorpionfish, seahorses, red-lipped blennies, eagle rays, and--yes--whale sharks and dolphins. As a longtime subscriber to Undercurrent, I hadn't read before how whale shark sightings work. And at the risk of running out of my 1000-word limit, I think it worth explaining the procedure.

All dive operations are in contact with each other via radio phone. When you come up from your first dive of the morning, the captains know whether or not there have been whale shark sightings. If there have, and if you're on the right side of the island, they head off immediately. Once you get to the location, the dive master starts yelling, "Get ready," "Get ready." That means get on your mask, snorkel, and fins and sit on the starboard rail. The divemaster, who has been standing on the bow waiting to see the whale sharks rise up from below, yells "Go!, Go!", and you jump in. It takes a few seconds for the bublles to clear, and there it is. Maybe no more than 15 feet from you. Heanding away and down. And for maybe five or ten glorious seconds, there it is. No more than ten or fifteen feet from you, heading away and down. But for all ten seconds, it's the most exciting thing I've ever seen in 16 years of diving. And we had six heart-stopping sightings. And snorkeling with wild dolphins was almost as spectacular. Great trip. Very highly recommended.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Extensive Caribbean, Papua New Guinea, Thailand
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm, noCurrents
Water Temp 82-82°F / 28-28°C Wetsuit Thickness 1
Water Visibility 60-80 Ft/ 18-24 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions 110 feet; back on boat in 1 hour.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins Schools Whale Sharks > 2
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 1 stars
Large Pelagics 1 stars

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

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities 2 stars
UW Photo Comments No E-6 processing; communal computer with UBS port and Photoshop
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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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