Utila Dive Center/Mango Inn (Dive Trip)

Has anyone had any experiences with these 2 places? Utila is a dive
center and I believe they work in conjunction with Mango Inn as their
recommended place to stay. I am new to diving and someone has
recommended this is a great place to learn/start. Thanks all.

http://www.utiladivecentre.com/

http://www.mango-inn.com/

"lunitic" <luniticismyfriend@hotmail.com> pounded away at his keyboard
resulting in:
:Has anyone had any experiences with these 2 places? Utila is a dive
:center and I believe they work in conjunction with Mango Inn as their
:recommended place to stay. I am new to diving and someone has
:recommended this is a great place to learn/start. Thanks all.

In terms of actually getting there, it's somewhat of an arduous
journey, even if you live in Honduras. There are lots of places that
are great for new divers and easier to get to.

Dan Bracuk
If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.

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Dan Bracuk wrote:

> In terms of actually getting there, it's somewhat of an arduous
> journey, even if you live in Honduras. There are lots of places that
> are great for new divers and easier to get to.

From some places in Honduras I'm sure it's a major effort to get to Utila, but it's
hardly arduous from a lot of the US. For Lunitic it's a 90 minute drive to Newark
airport, and then Continental can have him in Roatan just after noon, which is
exactly right to catch the hop to Utila. Alternatively he could go through San Pedro
Sula, which would offer a choice of something other than Saturday travel.

As for places that are easier to get to, he could just stay on Roatan and make his
first dive before dinner. There have been plenty of recent posts about Cocoview that
he could have a look at. Of course there are other places that are easy to get to,
but so far he only asked about Utila. I don't know anything about the resort, but I'm
guessing it's a lot cheaper than plenty of those other eay-to-get-to places, and
offers decent diving.


--
Steve

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belief that it was intended as a statement of fact.

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"Steve" <SPAMTRAPglawackus@hvc.rr.com> wrote in message
news:Z909e.7745$n93.5869@twister.nyc.rr.com...
>
>
> Dan Bracuk wrote:
>
> > In terms of actually getting there, it's somewhat of an arduous
> > journey, even if you live in Honduras. There are lots of places that
> > are great for new divers and easier to get to.
>
> From some places in Honduras I'm sure it's a major effort to get to
Utila, but it's
> hardly arduous from a lot of the US. For Lunitic it's a 90 minute drive to
Newark
> airport, and then Continental can have him in Roatan just after noon,
which is
> exactly right to catch the hop to Utila. Alternatively he could go through
San Pedro
> Sula, which would offer a choice of something other than Saturday travel.
>
> As for places that are easier to get to, he could just stay on Roatan and
make his
> first dive before dinner. There have been plenty of recent posts about
Cocoview that
> he could have a look at. Of course there are other places that are easy to
get to,
> but so far he only asked about Utila. I don't know anything about the
resort, but I'm
> guessing it's a lot cheaper than plenty of those other eay-to-get-to
places, and
> offers decent diving.

Actually, when I was doing pricing, I considered Mango Inn for part of my
trip. As it turned out, it was less expensive for me to stay on Roatan and
I didn't have to worry about getting to Utila. In the end, I do not regret
not spending any time over on Utila. I also met a couple that were staying
down at Halfmoon Bay Cabins, that had just come from a week in Utila. They
said they didn't enjoy Utila but were very happy at Halfmoon (Westend,
Roatan).

Hmm. Thanks everyone for your speedy replies. I am looking to get
certified and have a nice dive at the same time. I have read about
Utilia and that is why I asked. I have heard many people talking about
Roatan but not so much Utila. If anyone has a more suitable place
please let me know. Thanks again.

Steve <SPAMTRAPglawackus@hvc.rr.com> pounded away at his keyboard
resulting in:
: From some places in Honduras I'm sure it's a major effort to get to Utila, but it's
:hardly arduous from a lot of the US. For Lunitic it's a 90 minute drive to Newark
:airport, and then Continental can have him in Roatan just after noon, which is
:exactly right to catch the hop to Utila.

That's a lot more arduous than staying in Roatan.

Dan Bracuk
If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.

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"lunitic" <luniticismyfriend@hotmail.com> pounded away at his keyboard
resulting in:
: If anyone has a more suitable place
lease let me know. Thanks again.

What's suitable for me ain't necessarily suitable for you. The reason
is that we all priotitize things differently.

Things I would consider are (in no particular order)
- how easy it is to get there.
- will the instructors have accents that are hard to understand?
- is the water warm, clear and full of pretty fishies?
- on site dive shop?

Living in Toronto, I suggest Grand Cayman. For a resort/dive shop, I
recommend Sunset House/Sunset Divers.

Dan Bracuk
If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.

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Steve <SPAMTRAPglawackus@hvc.rr.com> pounded away at his keyboard
resulting in:
: Haven't you been to the
:Galapagos? You must have hated that trip.

I am also toying with the idea of going to either Cocos Island or
Hawaii next year. Some arduous trips are worth it.

In fact later his year, I might go to Little Cayman, even though it is
a more arduous than going to Grand Cayman.

Dan Bracuk
If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.

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lunitic wrote:

> Hmm. Thanks everyone for your speedy replies. I am looking to get
> certified and have a nice dive at the same time.

Did you mention the part about "same time" in the first post? The conventional wisdom
around here is that at the very least you should do the classwork at home rather than
devote a substantial portion of your vacation to it. Not that a dive class isn't
going to be fun, but it's easy enough to do at home and have more of your (expensive)
vacation time for actually diving and whatnot. If you only expect to dive in warm,
clear tropical water doing the checkout dives as referrals may make sense. If you
think you may want to dive closer to home there's a lot to be said for doing the
whole course at home. At Cocoview an OW course will cost a bit more than at home,
plus you'll be paying at least $200/day to be there. You'll have time for some other
stuff. but in my book that effectively adds $800 to the cost of the course (assuming
they take 4 days to do it).


I have read about
> Utilia and that is why I asked. I have heard many people talking about
> Roatan but not so much Utila. If anyone has a more suitable place
> please let me know. Thanks again.

I've got a friend who's in Utila right now. She's only a snorkeler, but when she gets
back maybe I'll have a more informed opinion about Utila; at present I kno wsome
people have loved it but I've heard others say it was a poor choice (to be fair, some
people no doubt say that about Roatan, too). Just because Roatan is mentioned more
often doesn't mean it's better, but it certainly offers some advantages. Despite
busting Dan's chops about the difficulty of one more plane ride, simply staying on
Roatan does simplify the travel logistics, and probably saves you some money (it's
possible that an itinerary with TACA will cost the same whether you go to Roatan or
Utila). Roatan offers more choices than Utila, and you'll probably be at the resort a
little bit sooner. If you take Continental's early flight you could be at Cocoview in
time for a late lunch, and then make your first dive at about 3 (if you're already
certified; I don't know if you could schedule a referral dive for the day of
arrival). Other resorts will mean a slightly different schedule.

Dan's suggestion about Grand Cayman is also good, though it's more expensive. The
west end of GC is famous for easy diving, and there are numerous choices for
accommodations, food, and dive ops. Some will warn beginners away from the rest of GC
because the diving is a bit more challenging, but as long as you aren't particularly
timid or overly cautious I think anyplace on GC is an option. There are plenty of
other islands that will probably meet most or all of your needs. The more specific
you are about what you want (think carefully before taking a non-diving spouse or
boy/girlfriend to Utila or Roatan unless they like quiet and laidback, and don't go
to GC if casinos are an important part of your trip, for instance) the better the
advice you'll get.

--
Steve

The above can be construed as personal opinion in the absence of a reasonable
belief that it was intended as a statement of fact.

If you want a reply to reach me, remove the SPAMTRAP from the address.