Dive Review of Utila Lodge in
Honduras/Utila

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Utila Lodge: "Not Many Larger Fish and No Turtles, But Warm Relaxing Dives", Oct, 2023, by Susan Nickerson, FL, US ( 2 reports). Report 12642.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Four of our group got stuck in a huge line at immigration in Roatan for nearly 90 minutes and by the time the driver collected us we missed the ferry to Utila by 2 minutes. The ferry captain refused to wait even after the hotel called, so pro tip - don't be even a minute late. We had to go back to the airport and cough up $99 each for a flight to the island. That made for a stressful delayed arrival. I didn't have high hopes of seeing a whale shark as it wasn't the best season for that -- and didn't see any. We did splash in by snorkel to try to see dolphins that were nearby. We appreciated the captain's effort in turning the boat around to do this. I had a hazy view of one dolphin and some folks saw several swimming briskly by. There were 3 nurse sharks interested in lionfish hunters, but no other sharks. No turtles or octopus; did see 2 reef squid, some small jacks and some barracudas. I saw 1 nudibranch and several species of shrimps and 1 large clinging crab. I got a hazy view of a pair of eagle rays, but one diver who stayed an extra day got a great view of one at her safety stop. I did one night dive, which was so-so in terms of things to see. All in all, I felt diving was better in my home state of Florida and was disappointed in the Utila marine life. However, the corals were more varied and abundant in Utila than Florida, although there were sadly still a number of dead and dying ones. Diving on walls and seeing large barrel sponges was enjoyable. The water was quite warm, nice for divers but not so good for the marine life. The food was above average, desserts were great, and the staff, including dive staff, were helpful and friendly. The recompression chamber was right on-site, a plus for safety. I visited the doctor there for a problematic ear and he only charged me $20 and told me to take one day off from diving. According to the other divers, I didn't miss anything spectacular. There was some loud music nearby the first night but it ended at 11. There are a lot of students in dive pro programs but they did their own thing on one boat and our group had a boat to ourselves. It did have mechanical problems one day but someone came out on a jetski with needed parts and no time was lost. The dive crew changed over our tanks after setting up the first one, and took care of them each day.
Websites	Utila Lodge Utila Lodge
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Caribbean, Philippines, Hawaii
Closest Airport	Utila Airport	Getting There	Ferry or flight from Roatan to Utila
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	88-89°F / 31-32°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	35-60 Ft/ 11-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Followed the guide, 1st dive generally an hour, 2nd dive typically 50 minutes. 3 minute safety stop observed.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	1 or 2	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	I only brought a GoPro and did not observe any dedicated camera stations. There was a rinse tank for cameras on the boat.

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Dive Review of Utila Lodge in Honduras/Utila

Utila Lodge: "Not Many Larger Fish and No Turtles, But Warm Relaxing Dives", Oct, 2023,

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 Utila Lodge in
Honduras/Utila