transportation on Utila is limited to a few pickup trucks, a couple of unreliable taxis and a ton of old mountain bikes. Utila is not only renown as one of the best diving locations in the Caribbean, it is also known as the cheapest. From mid-February through March one can almost be guaranteed a whale shark experience. Consequently, the streets are lined with dive shops. Because certifications are so cheap, many shops have reputations as dive master factories. For as little as $500 one can spend a month on the island completing a dive master course.The dive with Altons because that is the shop the school uses. They were fine. The dive masters were young, mostly inexperienced but competent and all were friendly. Dee did her certification course through Altons, they were able to work around her school schedule and she felt her instruction was proficient.You can to have also
heard very good reports about Deep Blue Divers. This dive resort and shop is owned by an English couple who claim that Honduras is the cheapest place in the world to dive with the the world's second largest barrier reef.The best diving in Utila is in the morning. This is when most dive boats go to the "north" side. Also morning offers the best conditions. There are no bad dive sites on Utila.
During your dive you have seen in the ocean (20-25 pounds) several barracuda, jaw fish, octopus, spotted drums, sea turtles, moray, scorpion fish, crabs, hog fish, lizard fish, large sting ray, eagle rays, corals, sea fans, sponges and much much more. The dive sites included a spectacular seamount at Black Hills; Rons Wreck - unimpressive as a wreck dive but lots of sea life, saw the green moray here; Airport reef (a good night dive); Blue Bayou-2 turtles, barracuda and the "giant" lobsters; Black coral wall (2 deep dives here-good), Jack Neil; Big Rock and Cabanas. The visibility ranged from 20-30 m.
