Dive Review of G&G Clearwater Paradise Resort in
Honduras/Guanaja

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G&G Clearwater Paradise Resort: "Guanaja, Bay Islands: Clearwater Paradise Ressort", Feb, 2023, by Gregory S Bruce, WA, USA ( Sr. Contributor 25 reports with 20 Helpful votes). Report 12352 has 1 Helpful vote.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	We were a group of 14 divers from all over the USA who have come to know one another over the last years through diving. We are from Florida, N. Carolina, Kansas City, MO, Washington State and Southern California. One of the couples in our group has made numerous trips to Guanaja and specifically to the resort where we stayed during this trip. G&G’s Clearwater Paradise Resort. Their website is very representative of the experience and cost associated with staying there. I believe it is one of the best values in the Caribbean, once you make it there. Scuba Diving Trips & Snorkeling, Guanaja Clearwater Divers Why Guanaja?: Well, for me, I was largely influenced by two factors. First, my trust in my friends who have been numerous times and have endorsed it as one of the more untouched, least visited, high quality dive destinations in the Caribbean and second, my strong desire to go somewhere new and with less dive pressure. I was impressed with the topography and beauty of the island. It is the most hilly and mountainous of all the Bay Islands and reminds me a bit of Taveuni Island in Fiji. It is definitely a bit of a step back in time compared to most other dive destinations in the Caribbean and I love that. Getting There: There are really 2 options for getting to the island of Guanaja. Option 1 is to fly into Roatan on whatever airline works best for you and then catch one of the daily Lanhsa Airline commuter flights to Guanaja that requires a brief stop in La Ceiba on the Honduras mainland before hopping back across to Guanaja. Option 2 is to look at flights that route you directly to La Ceiba without going to Roatan first (there are various options from the continental USA) and then catch a Lanhsa flight direct to Guanaja. If you are a group of 8 or more, you can work with Clearwater Resort to have them charter you a direct flight from Roatan to Guanaja. This is what we did. [lanhsahn.com link] I flew from Portland, OR to Roatan via Houston on United Airlines for $750 RT. Typical RT airfare on Lanhsa from Roatan to Guanaja will be $150-$200. Clearwater resort worked with Lanhsa Airlines to book our direct charter back and forth as a group between Roatan and Guanaja. That cost was included in my total cost that you will see below. Cost: You can look on the resort website, as they have various options depending on whether you are a diver or not and per person for double occupancy or single occupancy. I think you will be amazed at the pricing by Caribbean standards. We are doing the 10-day all-inclusive diving package. This includes 3 dives a day, all meals and snacks, accommodations and ground transport between the airport and the resort. With taxes it comes out to around $1750 p/p for double occupancy and $2150 for single occupancy. Nitrox package for the entire time is an additional $100. Historically and typically, I have paid and expect to pay more for a weeklong 7-day trip most anywhere in the Caribbean. I believe they are on the verge to raise their rates a bit, as they should. So, check the website and contact them directly for up to date rates. I went single supplement in order to have my own room and it was $2300 + $100 for Nitrox, (taxes included) for the 10 day trip. Accommodations and Food: Food is healthy and plentiful. Most vegetables are grown on the property garden. Fish and seafood is caught locally by local fishermen out in the pangas. Again, the website is very representative and accurate regarding the cuisine. Alcohol is an extra cost, as would be expected. There is a full bar in the main dining area and also upstairs in the community/TV room. The resort is set on a hill, but not very far up it. It will require the ability and willingness to go up and down 50 stairs/steps between the main building and the dive boats twice a day, if doing three dives a day. I consider it very easy and we have someone here who has had recent knee replacement and is still in physical therapy but didn’t want to miss the trip and she did just fine. The rooms are nice with queen sized beds and a nice thread count on the sheets. Air conditioning and celling fans in the bedroom and bathroom. Bathrooms are oversized with large walk-in shower. Rooms are entered from and open to a huge balcony with spectacular Caribbean water and reef views. WIFI is solid enough throughout the resort to do email, browse the internet and do some streaming. I had no problem watching some Netflix and Amazon Prime movies. The views and breezes are truly wonderful from all points of the resort and makes it worth the short walk up and down the hill. The Diving: The diving is done from one of two boats. There is a high speed 4- 6 pack boat reminiscent of what you find in Cozumel. I would call it more of a 4 pack and narrower than a Cozumel 6 pack—but it is super-fast. There is a larger and slower boat. A cabin cruiser that you would typically associate with deep sea fishing. It is very comfortable, has a functional marine toilet, padded seating, plenty of shade and inside seating or enjoy the sun and sit up on the bow. It is quite slow, but comfortable and easy for donning and doffing gear and entry and exit from the water to the boat. The reefs are quite stunning and healthy. Beautiful steep/vertical, as well as sloping walls. Lots of overhangs and caverns and swim-throughs. Lots and lots of juvenile fish, many nurse sharks out and about, angel fish of various sizes, smaller than normal parrot fish. Fair amount of macro subjects if you are looking for them (nudibranch, flamingo tongues, fire worms, ……..). One of the highlight dives was at a place called The Pinnacle—because guess what? The dive was on a pinnacle. We cruised along the wall of the main reef and then the pinnacle came into view, and we went across to it. We dropped to 100 feet and then slowly wound our way around the pinnacle slowly ascending as we went until we reached the top of it in 30 feet of water and then crossed back over to the main reef and continued our dive there until it was time to ascend. Truly stunning and full of fish. Other diver sites of note, should you happen to go are the Pavillion, Tito’s, Bayman Bay Wall. We went over to the opposite side of the island one day when the weather was a bit iffy on our side and we dived the Jado Trader Wreck. It sits in about 110 feet of water. It is covered nicely with coral and sponges. We had no current and excellent visibility. It was a very pleasant dive. Speaking of current, it is basically non-existent in Guanaja. Water temps were a consistent 80 degrees. Water visibility ranged from 60 to 100+. Very blue and clear water for the most part, but we did have a couple of rainy days that made things a bit cloudy, but still good diving. It was a nice time to be there. The air temps were quite nice (think Cozumel or Roatan this time of year). Humidity is down, nice breezes. It is rainy season, so that means a usual 5-10 minute downpour in the afternoon or evening. It might also mean missing a dive or two if conditions go south. You can be guaranteed perfect conditions later in the year, but it will also be hotter and more humid. Again, no different than Roatan or Cozumel. They were breaking in a new British Dive Master recently relocated from the Philippines and a couple of new deck hands and kitchen staff during our stay, so that was met with some typical growing pains. G&G Clearwater Resort stands for “George and Ginger” Clearwater Resort. George and Ginger came from Texas 20+ years ago to establish this resort and carved out a unique and one-of-a-kind dive destination. Unfortunately, Ginger passed away last year, but George continues to soldier on without her. Her indelible mark and contributions are sorely missed by all. Between the COVID pandemic and the passing of Ginger, we were the largest group to visit and stay at Clearwater in the last few years. They staff did an incredible job of trying to meet all of our needs and adapt to such a large group and we also had 4 Vegans in the group and they bent over backwards to work with us and make us happy. Back to dive ops: We left most of our stuff on board the boat at the end of each day, but brought back our computers, cameras, and wetsuits. You could have left the wetsuit on the boat, if desired, but it might not have been rinsed and dried- We just walked back the 2 minutes to the resort with our wetsuits on and jumped in the pool to rinse them and peel them off and then hang them on a railing overnight - (encouraged by the owner). All other gear is on the boat each morning with the BC mounted to the tank and we assembled our own gear before each dive. Diving is done with Aluminum 80’s, but there are a couple of steel low pressure 85’s available, if someone desires to dive steel. IN CLOSING: I think the diving in Guanaja is very unique to the rest of the Caribbean and I had a hard time believing that it was so close to Roatan and Utila and was one of the Bay Islands. It is quite different in so many ways from them and much of the rest of the Caribbean. In a good way. It isn’t perfect—nothing is, but I really enjoyed it and will go back, so that says something. Not the easiest place in the Caribbean to get to, but certainly no more difficult than Cayman Brac or Little Cayman or any other number of places (especially if flying from the west coast of the USA).
Websites	G&G Clearwater Paradise Resort G&G Clearwater Paradise Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Cozumel, Thailand, Vietnam, Channel Islands, So Cal Coast, Pacific NW, Monterey-CA, Grand Cayman, Bonaire, Belize, Philippines, Red Sea, Sea of Cortez, Florida, Roatan, Guanaja
Closest Airport	Guanaja	Getting There	Flight to Roatan and then a flight or ferry to Guanaja. Ground transport provided by resort once on Guanaja. Can also fly through La Ceiba on mainland Honduras
Dive Conditions
Weather	dry	Seas	calm, no currents
Water Temp	80-80°F / 27-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	None really. Dives were led and followed by a dive guide. Mostly from moored dive sites. Out and back.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	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	[None]

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of G&G Clearwater Paradise Resort in Honduras/Guanaja

G&G Clearwater Paradise Resort: "Guanaja, Bay Islands: Clearwater Paradise Ressort", Feb, 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 G&G Clearwater Paradise Resort in
Honduras/Guanaja