countdown to Utila trip.

[bostondivegirl]

We might need a place to stay in SAP. So, thank for the hotel info Beluga.
I am afraid that we might miss out connection from SAP back to Boston. We only have 30min. between flights once we land in SAP from La Ceiba. We'll see. If that is the case then we will definitely stay at the Metrotel. It looks perfect for what we would need.
We will be staying a couple of nights in La Ceiba at the PicoBonito lodge. Wewanted to stay at las Cascadas but they never responded to my emails.

Oh well. We'll see.

[seanbesser]

My wife and I are thinking about diving in Honduras next month. Any reviews, thoughts, tips, advice, etc. on diving, where to stay, how to get there and around, must do's, what to avoid, etc.?

Thanks!!!

[beluga]

Utila is great! There is a great vibe about the place because of the friendly, laid back and helpful people. If you want to take a dive course the instruction is excellent and cheap. I haven't been to Roatan but it sounds more developed, crowded and stressful.

The official site is Utila Official Site - Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras - Tropical Island Paradise but some of that information is out of date. Check out - Utila East Wind - Free Monthly Newspaper for the island newspaper.

I stayed at the Mango Inn and dove with UDC. They're great people. There also seems to be quite a few people on the board who are going to Laguna Beach Resort. Looks like a really nice place:

The Laguna Beach Resort, Utila, Exclusive diving

Laguna Beach Resort, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras

Next time, I would try to fly right in and out of Utila and skip the ferry. Contact Alice at World Wide Travel alicewwtravel@yahoo.com and see what she can find on your dates. American and Continental seem to have very limited access to the smaller island flights. Also, they seem to book some very, very tight connecting times. I see Bostondivegirl said she has 30 mins to connect for Boston once they land in SAP from LCE. I had 60 mins to make my connection in SAP and ended up changing it. I couldn't chance missing that flight since the next one home for me was 5 days later.

If you do end up having to over night in La Ceiba, see my post on Gran Hotel Paris and Las Cascadas. There is also a lot of tourism in La Ceiba so you might try the internet and trip advisor if you want to stay more than one night. Even further afield, the ruins in Copan are a big draw

[capepolly]

For me, the most important thing when swimming with whale sharks is that one tries to disturb them as little as possible. As an animal behaviour scientist with a particular interest in animal-human interactions, my experience with the whale sharks has been that the calmer people are around the sharks, the better. Try avoid splashing (get in to the water smoothly and quietly, no freestyle/crawl swimming, and try not splash with your fins) and if the whale shark can see you FREEZE. even if it is still far away. always move slowly.
It is very exciting being in the water with a whale shark and how the divemaster handles the situation makes all the difference. If you are lucky enough to have a calm, experienced divmaster that tells the group exactly what to do and when, chances are that when the group is in the water and just hanging out quietly (in stead of chasing the shark) that the shark will be relaxed with your presence and is more likely to stick about. If every body follows the two rules above then you are way more likely to have a 10minute encounter with the sharks (as opposed to the 5 second island average).
You may also find my Utila Whale Shark blog interesting:
Fascinated by Whale Sharks (+fish, +corals...)

Good luck!
Dale Forbes

[moconno]

Hey,

My girlfriend and I will be heading to Utila for the first time in a few weeks. We are staying @ the Mango Inn.

I was curious about the money situation. From what I've read, traveler's checks are the way to go but can be difficult to cash and not many places accept credit cards. What did you do/what do you recommend?

Thanks!
Mike O'