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Dive Review of Utopia/Utopia Village in
Honduras/Utila

Utopia/Utopia Village, Apr, 2013,

by John E. Keith, UT, US (Top Contributor Top Contributor 31 reports with 9 Helpful votes). Report 6992.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 4 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments The resort is a small all-inclusive located a boat ride away from the main village (Utila), which is a plane (or ferry) ride from Roatan. We bought the trip from Groupon, and got a very good deal, including the plane trip to and from Roatan (for which others had to pay). The amenities at the resort were very nice - comfortable rooms, nice bar, clean dining area and nice grounds. Food ranged from very good to good, with two entre choices for dinner each night (usually fish or pork). Pitchers of iced tea, hyacinth tea, and water were available at all times in the dining room, and snacks - which varied from day to day and were quite good - was provided at mid-afternoon. Since tap water was not for drinking, a pitcher of filtered water (to avoid plastic bottles) was provided in the room each day (and you could refill it if needed). Because of the nature of the resort, we got to know most of the people staying during the week, and enjoyed them a great deal. The resort arranged for a couple of visits to local Cays, including one to the Water Cay for dinner (with the locals, which was fun).

The dive staff was very helpful and accommodating. You could dive your own profile, but the divemaster asked that you ascend together (except for those who "ran out" early). The coral was generally in quite good shape in comparison with other Caribbean sites, but I was surprised at the relative sparceness of fish and critters - even in the protected park sites - given the remoteness of the place. We seldom dove with other operators on site, which was nice. We saw quite a few nurse sharks, and the divemaster was trying to "train" them to eat lion fish (which were pretty numerous). The staff took care of rinsing and hanging your gear after the boat dives. The house reef was accessed from a dock about 100 yards from the resort (the staff took dive equipment to the dock for you) or from the resort beach (with a hand line out to the reef). The reef itself was in good shape with as much a variety of fish and critters as the boat sites. Unfortunately, there were no whale sharks in the area during our stay (although one of the operators from Utila reported a sighting). We did see a pod of dolphins, but when we entered the water to swim with them, they disappeared. We did one wreck dive, although it wasn't the Thistlegorm and there were a couple of other groups of divers there at the same time.

The resort advises that you bring deet, and with good reason. Even with fairly windy conditions, some of the guests got a substantial number of bites from sand fleas.
Websites Utopia   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 101-250 dives
Where else diving Red Sea, Mexico (Caribbean and Sea of Cortez), Caribbean, California, Hawaii, Florida
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy Seas calm
Water Temp 80-81°F / 27-27°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 35-70 Ft/ 11-21 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Group ascended together.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins Schools Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 2 stars

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

Subject Matter N/A Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 3 stars Shore Facilities 3 stars
UW Photo Comments There was a cooler with fresh water on the boat for cameras and another for masks. On shore, you could use the rinse tanks for your camera.
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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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