Mayan Divers - West Bay Roatan
We just returned from a 2 week vacation in Roatan, we tried Mayan Divers this time and wanted to post a few words about our diving experience with them.
To find them, they are located on the Mayan Princess Resort property but are not affiliated with the resort. To find their shop - walk up from the beach and follow the sidewalk past the bar/buffet area, past the pool, they are down another path on your right, you will see their sign.
Initially when we talked to them and discovered their boat could accommodate up to 15 divers I was a little hesitant - we like to dive in small groups. Anja was quick to reassure me that a dive group is never larger than 6 divers plus the divemaster/guide. When they have more divers more DM's come and the smaller groups go in different directions once the boat is on buoy anchor.
Price-wise, all the operators were very comparable so $ were not a factor.
Nice size boat to get you to the dive spot quickly (which in Roatan is not difficult) but smoothly when the water is choppy.
We decided to give them a try, after all if we didn't like them, we could always pick from several other operators along the beach that come recommended.
True to their word, we always were a group no larger than 6, sometimes 4 or 5 depending on the # of divers going out.
Generally the early dive is a 2 tank dive and both dives are done before returning to shore around noon. Other times the surface interval is back onshore if they need to pick up additional divers for the 2nd morning dive.
We never did an afternoon dive or a night dive - it cuts into the amount of time needed to devote to adult beverages which as we all know are not compatible with diving. Several others we dove with in the mornings did do some night dives and really enjoyed them.
The dive guides do a great job always keeping an eye on everyone, their air consumption and taking the time to point out underwater critters and providing good photo opportunities while still respecting the sea life.
In their attempt to keep things fresh for everyone when deciding on dive sites they would canvass everyone on board where they dove before to avoid repetition for divers who dive frequently in the area.
Anja and Iber are very conscientious and run a fine operation with a vigilant eye towards safety. One thing I have not seen other operators practice when doing a deep dive to 100' on a wreck, was to hang a spare air bottle at the 15' safety stop level - just as a precaution. Things like that speak volumes to preparedness.
They have 2 dive boats, we dove on their Bay Princess. The Bay Princess offers stride entries off the back. We never dove off the other boat, while it was a bigger boat than the small panga boats, I think the entry used was the back roll method.
Tedy and Umberto are superb boat captains and take care of getting you and your gear on board. All we carried were our BCD's fins/masks and cameras, they graciously handled the tanks - even for the guys diving.
We managed to do 18 dives each in the short time we were there and would highly recommend Mayan Divers to any who are planning to go to Roatan and are seeking a reputable dive operator.
