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Utila Vacation Reviews

• Elena Ferretta - February 2008
  Like Victoria Bexley (see below), Elena and her boyfriend Keith chartered Rusty's Sailboat Tours & Charters for a return trip from Utila to Cayos Cochinos. I (AboutUtila.com Webmaster) am guessing they were on the same trip as Victoria because they also caught a 50lb Wahoo and enjoyed the dolphins swimming alongside the boat. (read the full review)

• Victoria Bexley - London, England - February 2008
  Victoria had a great vacation learning scuba diving with Gunter's Eco-Marine Dive Center, but the highlight of the vacation was a Sailboat Charter with Rusty's Sailboat Tours & Charters from Utila to Cayos Cochinos and back where she enjoyed the pristine tropical waters, the clear night sky's and catching a 3-4ft Wahoo. (read the full review)

• Emma Shaw - Sailboat Charter Tour around the Bay Islands - August 2007
  Dr Emma Shaw from Manchester Metropolitan University UK, has spent two months traveling around Central America. The highlight of this vacation was the Sailboat Charter Tour she took from Utila to Cayos Cochinos and back with Rusty's Sailboat Tours & Charters. This inexpensive charter ($US 200.00 per person) was a 2 night, 3 day sailing adventure from Utila to Cayos Cochinos (Hog Islands) visiting some of the remote parts of the Bay Islands that are relatively inaccessible to all but the most determined tourist. Emma enjoyed the un-spoilt coral reefs and was amazed by sheer diversity and beauty of the area. (read the full review)

• Fishing In Utila with Eco Fishing Adventures - May 2007
  Mike from ECO Fishing Adventures has a show on the Outdoor Channel. He and his buddies came to Utila to sample the fishing and shoot a little video. They stayed at Slumberland and fished the North Side traveling through the canal from the South Side by kayak from the Lower Lagoon through to Rock Harbor. (read the full review)

• Leadweight - May 2006
  Leadweight is becoming a regular visitor to Utila. On 2 previous trips he stayed at Laguna Beach Resort. But this time he ventured out as an independent traveler, flying from Houston to San Pedro Sula and then on to La Ceiba where he took the Utila Princess ferry from the mainland to Utila. He stayed at Hollands Inn and Rubi's Inn in the center of Utila town and dived with Parrots Dive Shop, Underwater Vision and Utila Dive Centre. This time he got to sample the Utila Restaurant scene and nightlife. (read the full review)

• Neil Stead (GLUG - Gay & Lesbian Underwater Group) - May 2006
  Neil and a group of some 35 divers from clubs in the UK, Florida, California and France stayed over a 2 week period at Deep Blue Resort. They group were impressed with the Resort as it offered exactly what was advertised. They had a great time diving the various wrecks, walls, and canyons of the fringing reef around the shores of Utila, but Neil was most impressed by the sea mounts further off-shore and the large schools of fish to be found in the water column above the mounts. Not so impressive was the luggage being lost by the airlines, although this was eventually recovered after a lot of work by Shirley from Deep Blue Resort. (read the full review)

• Chuck Chatham - April 2006
  Chuck and his wife Carol visited Utila as independent travelers, flying into Roatan and then catching the 15 minute flight by local plane over to Utila. They stayed and dived with Cross Creek Dive Centre, eating at local restaurants and catching the ambience and local color around the streets of Utila. One of the greatest things they found in Utila was the friendliness of the local people. (read the full review)

• Leadweight - April 2006
  Leadweight (who wishes to remain anonymous) reports on his second week long vacation at Laguna Beach Resort. He thought the food was good, but there was still room for improvement. Power outages were a problem in Utila at the time of his visit which lead to problems with the air-conditioning. Leadweight was not overly impressed with the diving and didn't see any whale sharks. He did get to see dolphins however. He was not happy that the lunch schedules appear to have precedence over diving. (read the full review)

• Kris & Mindy Przeor - March 2006
  Kris and Mindy visited Utila from Chandler Arizona as novice Divers staying at Laguna Beach Resort. Previously they had been only diving the lakes in Arizona. Kris was blown away by the abundant undersea wildlife inhabiting the reefs of Utila, and while beginning the vacation as a novice diver, Kris quickly became and expert underwater photographer. His report includes links to his personal web site which contains many underwater photographs and videos. (read the full review)

• Stephen Hurford - March 2006
  Steve visited Utila from Yugoslavia for a 2 week vacation having previously been diving in Thailand. This was his first time taking underwater videos and he has put together an 11 minute video of Utila including some Whale Shark sequences. Steve stayed at Colibri Hill Resort and dived with Deep Blue Divers. His impression of Utila was of "seas packed with life - stunning corals, eagle rays, sailfish, manta rays, turtles, barracuda to name but a few". Steve also got into the night life at Tranquilla Bar, Coco Loco's and Bar in the Bush. (read the full review)

• Mark Sommer - February 2006
  Mark came from Missoula Montana for a 1 week vacation. The total cost of trip including plane ticket, food, lodging, diving, etc. was about $US 900. He saw lots of fish and other sea creatures diving, but felt the diving was probably not quite as good as Belize. He had lots of great seafood and beers at cheap prices. He spent most of his time on the Utila Cays diving with Captain Morgan's and liked it better than the main island of Utila. (read the full review)

• Charlie Johnson - August 2005
  Charlie was a member of the infamous Utila Singles Trip, a group of divers who stayed at Deep Blue Resort. Charlie and the group stayed for a week in Utila. They dived the Haliburton and several other wrecks, plus a number of walls and sea mounds. Charlie was impressed with the 75 to 100 ft underwater visibility and the amazing coral reefs. His report contains a number of beautiful photographs. (read the full review)

   

  DrDiver1952 - July 2005
  Staying at Deep Blue Resort, Dr Diver came scuba diving in Utila with the R.E.E.F (Reef Environmental Education Foundation), a grass-roots, non-profit organization of recreational divers who regularly conduct fish biodiversity and abundance surveys during their dives and diving vacations. Dr Diver rates Utila as one of the top 3 scuba diving destinations in the Caribbean, and describes the Utila diving as "simply spectacular". The group thoroughly enjoyed their time at Deep Blue Resort and rave about their hostess Jasmine's cooking, especially the bacon in the morning. During their week long scuba diving vacation, the group managed to positively identify 182 different fish species, including a mushroom scorpion fish.  (read the full review)

• Cheryl Jones - May 2005
  Staying at Laguna Beach Resort, Cheryl came to scuba dive in Utila with her husband. They had a fantastic time and saw it all. Whale Sharks, turtles, sea horses, and the highlight was a rare sighting of some 15 Orca Killer Whales at Raggedy Cay. Read Cheryl's report and see the video of the Orcas passing next to the dive boat. (read the full review)

• Christina Mueller - May 2005
  Christina and Katie are back again! This time they do find the Utila Caves (with the help of a guide - good thinking Christina). They spent the night at Water Cay doing a little night time diving and enjoying the brilliant coral and fish swimming about, and despite trying they still didn't get to see a Whale Shark due to the stormy seas. (read the full review)

• Christina Mueller - April 2005
  Christina and her friend Katie are teaching at a Kindergarten in San Pedro Sula and decided to take a 4 day weekend break and decided to come to Utila to see the Whale Sharks. She was pleasantly surprised to find most of the people in Utila speak English and then hired some bicycles to explore Utila's Caves, (which she didn't find - I guess she didn't ask for directions). She encountered the "scuba divers" life of diving and drinking and missed seeing a whale shark after having to turn back due to sea sickness. She did have a great time relaxing and snorkeling on the deserted island of Water Cay. (read the full review)

• L Cooper - April 2005
  Ms Cooper had a terrible experience at a Hotel Carribe in La Ceiba, but a great time in Utila. She dived with Captain Morgan's and stayed at Hotel Keyla out on the Utila Cays and with Bay Islands College of Diving (BICD) staying at Rubi's Inn on Utila island. Unfortunately Ms Cooper didn't get to see any Whale Sharks, but had a good time anyway and promises to return to Utila. (read the full review)

• Marla Brin - March 2005
  Marla stayed at Utila Lodge and found the extra cost of staying at Utila Lodge well worth the money because of the convenience of having resort facilities without having to take a boat to go into Utila Town and the accommodations and scuba diving operations being right next to each other. Marla was concerned the Lodge might be an "American Hotel Chain" but was delighted to find it a small family run resort with a good local feeling. (read the full review)

• Jim Willoughby - March 2005
  Jim stayed at Deep Blue Resort for 9 days scuba diving, enjoying the Caribbean atmosphere and the food at Deep Blue. The highlight of Jim's trip was diving with Whale Sharks, but he also found time to visit the town of Utila. Jim highly recommends the Deep Blue Resort. (read the full review)

• Andrew Timmins - February 2005
  Andrew blew into Utila from I don't know where. Choose Utila because it was billed as the cheapest place in the world to learn to dive. Found himself a little place on stilts above crystal clear waters with a beautiful view of the cute little harbour. Dived with turtles, went looking for Whale Sharks, but doesn't say if he eventually found one. (read the full review)

• Chivas - January 2005
  Chivas stayed at Utila Lodge. Diving on Nitrox he had a great time, especially on the night dives, and yes, he did see whale sharks. (read the full review)
• Rick Dozier - December 2004
  Rick stayed at The Mango Inn and dove with Utila Dive Centre. Whale Shark diving count was 3, but he did have some problems with his accommodations at the Mango Inn. (read the full review)
• Darren Dawson - July 2004
  Darren stayed at Deep Blue Resort on the southern shores of Utila and spent an intensive week scuba diving, with sightings of turtles, swimming with dolphins and whale sharks. (read the full review)

• Bill Mashek - 2004
  Bill went white-water rafting on the Cangrejal River in the Pico Bonito National Park, learnt Spanish at the Central American Spanish School in Utila and went scuba diving with Alton's Dive Shop in Utila. (read the full review)