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Dive Review of CoCo View in
Honduras/Roatan, Bay Islands

CoCo View, Dec, 2006,

by Dean Knudson, MN, USA (Contributor Contributor 15 reports). Report 3162.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food 4 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 4 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments The diving at this resort is extremely convenient. There are two walls, both extending several hundred meters, in opposite directions, directly in front of the resort. The accommodations, while not luxurious, are certainly adequate. There is no television, and there are no telephones, or WiFi access, in the individual cabins and rooms. The air-conditioning is powerful and reliable. There is purified water in all the rooms, and there are small refrigerators. The food, I found, was better than that described in previous reviews in this publication. There was fresh fish, steak, fresh vegetables, and lobster. While it is possible to dive five or six times per day, it is also true that there is only one unique boat dive in the morning, and one unique boat dive in the afternoon. The second dive in the morning and in the afternoon is conducted on one of the two walls directly in front of the resort. Having said that, there is excellent structure, and plenty of small to medium-sized creatures on both walls. The visibility on the two walls is surprisingly good, however, this deteriorates after approximately 50 meters as one approaches the resort from either end of both of the walls, and the visibility on the wreck, which is directly in front of the resort, between the two walls, is only fair. The best strategy on the drop-off dives seemed to be to linger for 20 to 30 minutes on the first 50 meters of the wall, exploring several depths, and then to spend 10 to 20 minutes on the wreck before taking a safety stop on the way back to the resort. I would have to say that the wall diving in front of the resort became rather routine in the last three days of the week. It might be best if the dive operation were to offer two unique boat dives each morning and afternoon on the last two days of the week, and to skip the nearby walls at that point. I noted that one of the groups was able to convince the dive master and boat captain to do this. I do not know if a tip was involved in that decision. The other two dive boats were not offered this option. The boats are very convenient and spacious. There are plenty of exit and entry points. Despite the large number of divers, there was never a problem exiting or entering the boat. Most of the dive sites were within a 15 to 20 minute boat ride. The dive storage lockers were convenient and secure. This resort is rather isolated from the mainland, requiring a short boat ride. This, combined with the distance to the west end, a 45 minute cab ride, greatly limited the amount of island sightseeing that was possible, although it certainly increased the security and privacy of the area. Theft appears to be uncommon, many divers left computers and regulators out in the open, or in the open and unsecured storage lockers. I also noted that there were no opportunities to shop for wine and liquor prior to arriving at the resort. A savvy traveler would be well advised to purchase wine or liquor in the United States prior to departure, and to pack it along, if weight permitted. The trip from the airport to the resort is rather rushed, and one cannot count on visiting any liquor store. The only other option is to purchase all beer, wine, and liquor at the bar in the resort, which can easily add a hundred dollars to a dive trip. For some reason, which no one at the resort, either among the staff members or the guests, could understand or comprehend, the owner of the resort made a decision to soak all of the main floor of the dining and bar area with diesel fuel on Thursday morning of the week we were at the resort. This produced a nauseating stench in the entire building for the next 72 hours, making meals and recreation quite difficult. It was assumed that this was done to preserve the lumber. It made many of the guests sick. Although I will probably go to this resort again, I will make a point of asking, in advance, whether this practice will be repeated during the time of my intended visit. There is WiFi, that is free, in the main building. We found that it worked well with our Skype software equipped laptops, allowing telephone calls to the states for two cents per minute, provided one had a microphone headset for a laptop. There was live entertainment on two of the seven nights, but, otherwise, the complex was fairly quiet after 8 p.m. in the evening. Divers interested in frequent evening entertainment, and easy access to town will not be happy here, and actually will find more entertainment options at the West End on Roatan, or on Utila, a more compact and easily negotiated island about 15 kilometers away, which offers a similar quality of diving, and a resort very similar to CoCo View, the Utila Dive Lodge.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Bahamas, Mexico, Austrailia, Florida, Midwest USA
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 79-83°F / 26-28°C Wetsuit Thickness 5
Water Visibility 40-100 Ft/ 12-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Stay with buddy
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

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

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

Subject Matter 3 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities 4 stars
UW Photo Comments Dedicated tank on boat and shore
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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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