Main Menu
Join Undercurrent on Facebook

The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975 | |
For Divers since 1975
The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975
"Best of the Web: scuba tips no other
source dares to publish" -- Forbes
X
 

Dive Review of CoCo View Resort in
Honduras/Bay Islands

CoCo View Resort: "Diverse Underwater Life in Honduras", Aug, 2021,

by Lynette Jennifer Green, AZ, US ( 2 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 11570 has 2 Helpful votes.

Photos Submitted with this Report


Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 4 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 4 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments My husband and I just returned from a 7-day trip of diving, eating, sleeping and repeating. Overall, I recommend CocoView Resort. I gave it 4 stars for money’s worth because the accommodations could use some updating/fresh paint and the food was only mediocre however considering it’s all the diving you want to do, literally unlimited and all inclusive, I am not going to complain about the peeling paint and constantly overcooked meats. The other aspect that makes me question the overall value is their tipping suggestions. They split the tips between the entire property staff and recommend 10-15% tip of the overall cost of the trip per person. This seems a bit excessive to me and honestly, we didn’t bring that much cash with us. It would have equated to approximately $200+ each and that does NOT include the dive boat/dive master tips. But the bed was comfy, the water was hot, and the room stayed nice and cool. Nitrox for the week was $125/pp and the boat crew does all the loading/unloading and gear set up for you. The resort offers excursions, but we didn’t do any and my husband wanted to go here specifically for the free photography workshop which he loved and plans to return next year for a private 1:1 photography workshop with Mickey Charteris. The entire staff was friendly and accommodating. There is a dive shop onsite for repairs, replacements, or anything you might need or forgot. Be aware that if you bring a credit card to pay for Nitrox/COVID test/Marine Park Fees and anything your purchase at the gift shop or dive shop you are charged 15% taxes AND a 4% credit card fee, so basically 19% on top of what you are buying. (if you pay cash, you avoid paying the additional 19%) We should have brought a lot more cash!!

The dive operations are impressive. Every person is assigned a dive boat for the week and each dive boat has its own staging area/gear storage. Everyone is assigned their own section where you can keep your equipment all week. They have various rinse tanks for each staging area as well as showers for rinsing and clothes lines for drying. There is plenty of space for everyone. There were 2 scheduled boat dives/day along with the ability to do “drop-off dives” when the boat retuned. There are 2 house reefs and a wreck in front of the resort, so after the boat dives you could be “dropped off” at any of these spots to do another dive and exiting via the shore. The shore diving and night diving is unlimited to these 3 spots. The wreck is totally divable and penetrable for a beginner and no special certification is needed.

The reef and underwater life are abundant and healthy. Everyday we saw spotted eagle rays, big groupers, a variety of typical reef fish and various macro-life as well as diversity in corals: for example, every dive we saw a variety of sea fans, gorgonians, sea whips, sea plumes, sea rods, tube coral, brain coral, anemones, and polyps, staghorn, elkhorn and so much more! We were also lucky enough to see sea horses’ multiple times, squid, juvenile trunkfish (think tiny pea), batwing crabs, garden eels and the largest variety of shrimp and blennies that I have ever seen in one local. Octopus were seen on the night dives. The visibility on the boat dives averaged 50 feet, sometimes more, sometimes less but overall decent however the shore diving visibility depended on the whether the tide was coming or going and sometimes was only 10 – 20 feet.

My first dive onsite was my 100th dive and other big diver accomplishments on our dive boat were 500th, 900th and 1100th dives. Some people received recognition certificates but apparently you had to tell the office about it and then you were recognized in the dining room at the last dinner. We didn’t realize that until after the fact. Also, the photography workshop had a photo contest on the last night and awarded prizes. Everyone got to vote on the best photo and Mickey awarded prizes for most improved photographer, etc. The top prize was a signed copy of Mickey’s book, “Caribbean Reef Life”.

If you are interested in eating, sleeping, diving, and repeating I recommend CoCoView Resort. They have perfected this model!!
Websites CoCo View Resort   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 101-250 dives
Where else diving Fiji, Mexico, Bonaire, Belize
Closest Airport Roatan Getting There Phoenix to Miami; Miami to Roatan. Return trip was through Dallas - where we encountered flight cancellations. Got home 24 hours after originally scheduled time.

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm, no currents
Water Temp 83-86°F / 28-30°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 20-50 Ft/ 6-15 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions The resort conducts a "check out dive" on arrival to evaluate skills and familiarize everyone with the house reefs and wreck. Also for drop-off dives and night diving there is a procedure to follow that ensures everyone is accounted for and returns.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles 1 or 2 Whales None
Corals 5 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 4 stars
Large Pelagics N/A

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

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 5 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 5 stars Shore Facilities 4 stars
UW Photo Comments This resort specializes in underwater photography accommodations.
Was this report helpful to you?
Report currently has 2 Helpful votes

Subscriber's Comments

By Ryan Black in MI, US at Aug 18, 2021 18:47 EST  
A quite thorough review. I don't think you're entirely correct about tipping, however. The advice provided on the FAQ on CoCo View's website suggests that the *total* amount one tips be in the range of 10-15% of the resort package price (i.e., airfare not included). My read of that -- and how I've behaved in the 3 times I went -- is to draw the tips for boat captain/dive master(s) from the overall sum.
By report author: Lynette Jennifer Green in AZ, US at Aug 18, 2021 19:00 EST  
@blac0205 Thanks for your comment. In regards to the tipping, this information was provided to us via a handout they left in our room as well as the first day orientation. They specifically stated that because we spend so much time on the boat we are to tip the boat and dive master separately and personally with an envelope. Not sure when you were there last but I just returned a few days ago.
By report author: Lynette Jennifer Green in AZ, US at Aug 18, 2021 19:05 EST  
@blac0205 Thanks for your comment. In regards to the tipping, this information was provided to us via a handout they left in our room as well as the first day orientation. They specifically stated that because we spend so much time on the boat we are to tip the boat and dive master separately and personally with an envelope. Not sure when you were there last but I just returned a few days ago.
By Ryan Black in MI, US at Aug 18, 2021 19:25 EST  
We were just there last month. We gave the tips out separately/personally to the boat captain/dive master(s), too. My point of disagreement was that in terms of figuring out how much to spend on tips overall that you should start with the 10-15% and distribute that amount for both the general staff pool as well as the boat people. So the ≈ $400+ you mentioned would cover both the general pool and the boat people; you would divvy it up as you saw fit. So it's $400 total, not $400 to staff pool and then more money to dive staff.
By report author: Lynette Jennifer Green in AZ, US at Aug 18, 2021 19:49 EST  
Thanks so much for that explanation!! It definitely helps because most people on our boat were still tipping the usual $5-$10/tank/day + captain and crew so needless to say that became A LOT of $$$ and like I said in the review we didn't bring enough cash for all of that so we had to just divvy it up as we could. But good to know for next time!! :-)
Leave a comment (Subscribers only -- 200 words max)
Subscribers can comment here
 

Subscribe Now
Subscribers can post comments, ask the reviewer questions, as well as getting immediate and complete access to ALL 574 dive reviews of Honduras and all other dive destinations. Complete access to all issues and Chapbooks is also included.

 
Featured Links from Our Sponsors
Interested in becoming a sponsor?
Reef & Rainforest, Let our experience be your guide -- Reef and Rainforest
Reef & Rainforest
is an agency for travelers that like to scuba dive. Want to see dolphins, whale sharks, Mayan ruins? Let us plan your adventure to Honduras.

Want to assemble your own collection of Honduras reports in one place?
Use the Mini Chapbook Facility to create your personalized collection.

Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

Undercurrent Home


Get more dive info like these and other important scuba updates sent monthly to your email.
And a FREE Recent Issue of Undercurrent

Free Undercurrent Issue
Get a free
monthly email and
a sample issue!


Find in  

| Home | Online Members Area | My Account | Login | Join |
| Travel Index | Dive Resort & Liveaboard Reviews | Featured Reports | Recent Issues | Back Issues |
| Dive Gear Index | Health/Safety Index | Environment & Misc. Index | Seasonal Planner | Blogs | Free Articles | Book Picks | News |
| Special Offers | RSS | FAQ | About Us | Contact Us | Links |

Copyright © 1996-2024 Undercurrent (www.undercurrent.org)
3020 Bridgeway, Ste 102, Sausalito, Ca 94965
All rights reserved.

Page computed and displayed in 2.34 seconds