Dive Review of Reef Gliders in
Honduras/West End Roatan

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Reef Gliders, Mar, 2011, by Debra Ferguson, MN, US ( 1 report). Report 5985.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations	N/A	Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	The Bad was we hadn't made contact with this dive shop before we left home, so we didn't realize all equipment was included (regs, bcd, wetsuit, fins, masks) in the dive price of $30 US per dive (for 5 or more dives). Consequently we took all of our gear. We had our own computers and there may have been an extra charge for computer rental. We also didn't know that Reef Gliders has a deal with Georphi's for discount lodging with a dive package. For lodging we shared a house in West End, which was about a 5 minute walk from Reef Gliders which our friends found on line. They paid $2400 for a 2 bedroom 2 bath house for a month. Lodging ranged from $10 a night at the hostel type rooms at Georphi’s (they also had small cabins for $25/night) to hundreds of dollars per night at the upscale Infinity Bay Resort on West Beach, a 40 minute beach walk along the water from West End. We were warned about the need for mosquito repellant. We ended up using very little, but we were indoors most evenings after sunset. The other Bad, was that there were three burglaries during the month our friends were there. The economic downturn has exacerbated the poverty which results in increases in crime. The Good was the quality of the equipment provided and the competence of the dive guides/masters/instructors. They were insistent on keeping groups small, 3-6 divers per guide, usually 4. Boats carried 12-15 passangers. Pre dive orientations were given at the shop and reinforced at the dive site. Most dives were within a five minute boat ride. The deep dives had pretty healthy corals. They had two boats operating with BIG motors. There was shade on the boats, but the rides were so short we didn’t need it. Back roll entry or gear up in the water. Head counts were done at the conclusion of each dive. Safety stops were done on each dive. Divers usually had the option to do a free descent or follow the anchor line. Most dives were around an hour. On several dives a second guide took up the fast air consumers leaving us with the lead guide for another fifteen to twenty minutes of dive time. There was no shore diving. Even though the reef was close to shore, boat traffic made it unsafe. An al fresco restaurant “The Wet Spot” is attached to Reef Gliders. They served good lunches, coffee and beer. There is a good noodle shop down the street lots of restaurants and several small grocery stores where you can get basics. Fruit and vegetable venders sold out of the back of their pickups. We made most of our meals in our kitchen with fresh produce. One of our friends had not been diving for many years and took a refresher course. His wife did all her PADI certification there and we and she were pleased with the quality of the one on one attention and training she got. We observed other small groups of students working on their open dive training. Reef Gliders are eco conscious, reminding divers to keep hands and fins off coral. They support the local school with fund raisers. There are about 3 dives shops per block in West End. We were lucky to connect with this one. It is on the water while several others are located on the land side to the road. Reef Gliders staff took care of all our equipment, changing tanks and washing up after the dives. They locked up our equipment at night with their gear so we didn’t have to drag it back and forth. They offer 3 dives a day; 9:00 a.m. 11:30 a.m. 2:30 p.m. 6 days a week. Two dives are offered on Sunday. Night dives on Thursdays. Other reports indicate that quality and quantity of sea life has deteriorated in Roatan over the past 20 years. Unfortunately, in my experience this may be true in the Caribbean if not world wide. Based on our experience we will go back to Roatan for more diving with Reef Gliders. It is certainly a good value compared to other Caribbean islands where we have logged the majority of our dives.
Websites	Reef Gliders
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	Cozumel, Grand Cayman, St Lucia, Hawaii, Soloman Islands, Heron Island, Australia
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	79-81°F / 26-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	50-70 Ft/ 15-21 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	could dive own profile within some limits. guided dives with depth recommended and generally followed by divers, stayed in small group
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	I didn't use camera, but there were buckets on board and cameras handled carefully by staff. Photos taken by other divers were quite impressive.

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Dive Review of Reef Gliders in Honduras/West End Roatan

Reef Gliders, Mar, 2011,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of Reef Gliders in
Honduras/West End Roatan