On land the kids enjoyed hunting for crabs, searching for iguanas, feeding the resident eels off the dock and exploring the island on four wheelers with their parents.  The adults were usually found enjoying the pool, reading a book in the club house, walking the beach and enjoying the town of Utila.

In the water for some of the group that had never experiend ocean-diving it took awhile to get used to that salt water taste, but once they did they loved the colorful reefs and fishes.  Others enjoyed their first night dives under the watchful eye of their diveshop instructor.  Even the most experienced divers thought it was great when they found a nurse shark, squid and a spotted eagle ray on our house reef during their "drop-off" dive, and everyone got a kick out of the swim-throughs at Labyrinth and airport caves.
 

Until next time, Your LBR Dive Crew

Kids Sea Camp
June 25th – July 2nd, 2011
Crew: Dive Operations Manger: Sheenah Duclos
Captains: Wagner, Kerry, Chuck, Noah
Dive Masters: Adam, Claire, Stephen, Andrew, Nicole
Instructors: Sara, Siobhan, Juju
Boats: Show Time, Another Time, Island Time and Over Time
Visibility: 80-100 feet
Temperature: Air 88-92 degrees F; Water 84-88 degrees F
Wetsuit: Recommended 3mm short or skin.
The staff at Laguna Beach was pleased to welcome out first annual Utila Kids Sea Camp. With a wide range of programs for all ages and members of the family, we had an action packed week.
We started with a meet and greet so all guests and staff could get acquainted with one another then followed it up with a beach bbq, limbo and a dance. From there the week continued with Instructor Sara occupying the pool for the Seal Team Missions, with the children voting the night mission as their favourite. Instructors Siobhan and Juju worked with the JOW group and at the end of the week welcomed new divers into our exciting world of diving and then took the parents out to show them what the kids had accomplished.
Dive Master Nicole spent her week guiding a group of 10 teen divers both below and above the surface. While diving, they learned about reef clean-ups, buoyancy control, fish ID and underwater photography (with the aid of Fraser from SeaLife). They also had a chance to enjoy the 'unlimited' horseback riding, a walking tour of Pigeon and Jewel Cay, ATV rentals and kayaking in the mangroves.
Dive Masters Andrew, Stephen, Adam and Claire took on the adult boats. The adults enjoyed north side dives with sightings including turtles, spotted eagle rays and many lionfish being fed to moray eels, queen trigger fish and groupers. They also had the chance to check out the off shore sea mounds and barrier reefs around Utila's west side and the Cays.
Environmental excursions had the children and teens exploring the mangroves by kayaks after Sheenah led a small lecture on the biology, impacts and what can be done to help preserve these globally important ecosystems. The guests also joined in the club house on Tuesday night for a whale shark presentation delivered by Adam and on Wednesday night a 'Reef and Teach' by Sheenah.
With new divers, new experiences and new friends, we finished the week off with a day of family diving, a picnic lunch at Water Cay and back to the resort for graduations ceremonies, poetry readings, slideshows and another beach bbq including fire dancing!
Thanks to all that made this week wonderful. Special thanks to Fraser from ScubaPro & SeaLife, Annie for Sport Divers Magazine and Margo and her team from Kids Sea Camp. We look forward to seeing you next year!

LBR Dive Crew
May 7 - 14, 2011
Crew: Sheenah Duclos-Dive Manager; Wagner Whitefield & Kerry Bush-Captains; Adam Laverty & Andrew Morden-Dive Masters
Boats: Show Time and Another Time
Visibility: 80-100 feet
Temperature: Air 85-90 degrees F; Water 81-83 degrees F
Wetsuit: Recommended 3mm full or shorty.

The guests aboard Show Time, with Wagner and Adam, spent the week working on their photo portfolios as they traveled from reef wall to sand channel, looking for their next great shot. At the end of the day, time was utilized by sharing and comparing their best shorts of such things as seahorse, star gazers, toad fish, articulated sea slugs, arrow crabs, hawksbill turtles and spotted eagle rays. Some great additions were made to their personal collections.

Kerry and Andrew, on Another Time, spent their days exploring the reef surrounded by crystal clear waters and the nights touring Utila's back roads, lookouts and relaxing seaside bars. Underwater, they enjoyed watching Andrew fight the ever advancing invasive lion fish, then encouraging a large spotted moray and a snapper to feed on them. They also came across some special things like an upside down jellyfish, several barracudas, a large hog fish, an octopus, a smooth trunk fish and a school of African pompanos. In the evenings they made Skidrow their 'local', traveled up to look over the entire island from Pumpkin Hill and down to Babalu Bar's natural sea aquarium, with sightings of a small yellow stingray, balloon fish and 2 juvenile spotted drum fish.

A great week of memories were made under the sea, poolside at the resort and in the colourful and lively town of Utila. Thank-you to all our guests that made this week special and we look forward to seeing you again!!
Your LBR Dive Crew

April 30 - May 7
After almost 2 months without rain we had the release we needed. The gentle rains in the early morning and late evening reduced the humidity, while maintaining temperatures in the high 80's. The water temperatures were still in the low 80's, but many guests and dive staff decided that wetsuits were unnecessary and enjoyed the relaxing feeling of the tropical waters all around them.

Winds also died down at the beginning of the week, allowing for dives all around the island and even the off shore sea mounds. Guests toured the coral reefs and sand patches finding a lot of the small things like decorator crabs, cleaning shrimp, seahorses, articulated nudibranch and juvenile drum fish. They also came across a plethora of reef fish such as queen & oceanic trigger fish, cow fish, hog fish, butterfly fish, angle fish, pipe fish, file fish and juvenile and mature trunk fish. If that was not enough, the 'big things' were out in full force. On day 2 we came across a sleeping nurse shark, 3 hawksbill turtles and 5 eagle rays swimming in what can only be described as 'fighter jet air show' formation. And the icing on the cake came mid-week in the form of a pod of pilot whales, including one calf, traveling and socializing on the north side of the island.
Thank-you to all who shared these amazing moments with us. We look forward to doing it again with you.
Warm regards, LBR Dive Crew

April 23-30
The air this week was heavy and humid with temperatures in the high 80's F but the slightly cooler waters at 82.5 F made each dive that much more enjoyable. The dive boats traveled around Utila from site to site enjoying all the wonders the underwater world had to offer. They spent time with Hawksbill Turtles, Spotted Eagle Rays, Slipper Lobsters, Octopus, Scorpion Fish, Seahorses, Toad Fish, and a number of small crabs and other macro life.

Also, this week Captain Kerry and DM Andrew's boat took the time to help the coral reefs and its co-inhabitants. The Utila Centre for Marine Ecology held the first annual Lion Fish Derby on Friday April 29th which we took part in. Throughout the week the guests noted dive sites that they thought could give us the 'win' for both size (smallest and largest) and total numbers. By Friday morning the sites were picked and the crew headed out to do their part. At the end of the morning we had 18 Lionfish (RIP), making our weeks total 29. Although we did not win the Derby, it was still a success with the winning team killing over 90 Lionfish and an island total of 450+.

Thanks to all our guests for enjoying our beautiful home with us and taking the time to continue to keep it that way.
Until next time....Your LBR Dive Crew

April 16 - 23, 2011
This weeks guests had a well rounded Utilian experience, with air temps reaching 90F and water temps continuing to rise with an average of 82.5F. As expected we spent our days diving the barrier reef around the island. We utilized the calmer morning waters to travel to the north side, where we dived sites in the protected area of Turtle Harbour. We enjoying the steep coral walls, which are home to individual Green and Spotted Morays, Hawksbill Turtles, passing Spotted Eagle Rays, African Pompanos and schools of Atlantic Spade Fish. In the afternoons, the south side proved to have more of the 'little things', we found 6 Seahorses, Sea Slugs, Queen Conch, Flounders and an Octopus. Earth day (April 22) was also a focus this passed week and the LBR crew put the extra effort in to help control the ever growing population of Lion Fish. Our dive masters killed over 15 Lion Fish , ranging in stages of maturity, and reported the location of another 10+ to the Utila Centre of Marine Ecology (UCME). We are eager to protect our reefs and please to hold the Utila record for the largest lion fish caught (31.5 cm or 12.5 inches) by Dive Master Andrew. If all that was not enough, we also took part in the celebration of Samana Santa (Holy Week/ Easter). The town grew in population and the guests joined the festivities with multiple evening trips into town to enjoy the music, food and energetic atmosphere. Another wonderful week!!!
LBR Dive Crew

April 9-16, 2011
This week we had an amazing group of people both in and out of the water; challenging the LBR staff to rediscover this beautiful paradise we call home. The weather (air: 88-90, water: 81-84) had us spending just as much time touring the barrier reefs of Utila as we did the town and back trails. Whether on the deep walls of the north side or the many sand channels of the south, we came across such things as schools of Atlantic Spade fish and Black Durgons, Drum Fish in all stages of development, 2 Nurse Sharks, Hawksbill Turtles, Spotted Eaglerays, Seahorses and all the favorites a reef such as ours could offer. The Dive Crew also shared their tropical home with guests while taking them to Pumpkin Hill (Utila's highest point), Skidrow to 'earn' their own T-Shirt, Driftwood for a great meal and Tranquila to enjoy the setting sun with a cold drink in hand. Each week we have the pleasure of meeting others that enjoy diving as much as we do and this week was no exception, it will be one for the records!!! Thanks for all the fun!
The Dive Crew at LBR.

April 2-9, 2011
Let's get in the water!!! After a long day of traveling from parts of the USA and Canada, the guests were eager to get all the information regarding the amazing week of diving to come. We starting Sunday morning by getting everyone properly geared up and weighted, then off to the south side of Utila, which offers great reef walls and sand channels to explore. While in our care for the week, guests were able to circum navigate the island, choosing from more than 60 moorings which offered such wonders as Seahorses, Spotted Eagle Rays, Hawksbill Turtles, Reef Squid, Octopus, Spotted Drum Fish and a Whale Shark!! Also, later in the week we were happy to welcome newly certified diver John, from Middletown Scuba, into our under water world. Another great and successful week of diving, we hope to see you again soon on our island paradise of Utila.
LBR Dive Crew
 

For dive reports from previous dates click here.

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Guest Comments

Click here for the latest review from Undercurrent
 

August, 2011
 We spent a week in Roatan after our week in Utila, and while there were definable differences to both islands, we really enjoyed the underwaer life we saw in Utila. Adam is without a doubt the best dive guide we've ever had, and we learned so much from him about what we were diving to see. He called exactly where we'd find our first seahorse, and sure enough, it was there! The dive boats were clean, easy to enter/exit, and able to get us to and from dive sites quickly.

Every element to our trip was well-planned by the staff at Laguna Beach, which really allowed us to relax and enjoy the beauty of Utila. From great service in the main dining room from Felicia, to Wagner helping us look for Whale Sharks, all the staff at Laguna Beach were welcoming, friendly, and willing to do whatever was needed to make our trip unforgettable!

Thanks again for helping us with our travel logistics. We're happy the tropical storm season bypassed us during our time in the Bay Islands.

Erik & Janice Zoeller
Denver, CO
 

May , 2010
Thanks for another wonderful visit to Laguna - outstanding diving, seeing old friends and making new ones. I returned for the whale sharks and you definitely delivered! Awesome! Although I missed Kerry as my boat captain, Wagner did a great job - especially with his tuna catch which the ladies in the kitchen added t...o our dinner feast. A special thanks to our dive master, Rich, for all those great finds!See More
 

April 10-17, 2010:
We had a fabulous time at the resort last week thanks to a wonderful
staff. Our accommodations were fantastic and what a view to wake up to
every morning. Heidi our bartender was a jack of all trades, always
happy and accommodating. The food was spectacular, simple but out of
this world in flavor and creativity - thank you Chef Andy, the best food
we've ever had! The cleaning ladies & kitchen staff - INCREDIBLE!
Managers, Sole & Mateis were there for your every need and their lab
Hershey was so sweet. The owner Edith sat with you chatting and then
helped clear, incredible people and a wonderful family atmosphere. The
perfect ending to our vacation was our main man "WAY TO GO CPT.
WAGNER!!!" for finding us the whale sharks. We saw a mom bigger than
the boat and her youngster - TWO whale sharks together!! It was an
extraordinary vacation of diving with our dive masters Margo and Alberto
and our amazing dive buddies Joe, Penny, Ben, Tom, Steve, Jan, Jim,
Nancy, Satal & Pat, what a great group of divers and all sharing photos.
Thanks for a trip we only dreamed of coming true.
Kathy & Miguel Victorino
Sacramento, CA
 

October 23 to 31, 2009: From the moment we landed in San Pedro Sula for the charter flight to Utila, this vacation was perfect. The only problem: eight days was too short. The folks at Laguna Beach are dive service oriented. The staff couldn't have been nicer, more helpful, more competent or more flexible. Our Divemaster, Chris, with over 3000 dives off Utila and our Captain with 20 years on the job worked hard to do the dives we wanted and find sea life that would add to our life lists. With ideal dive boats for 18 and an ironclad rule of never more than 12, they made diving a breeze. From quietly observing a variety of sea horses to swimming with pilot whales, they worked their magic. We saw spotted eagle rays, manta rays, hawksbill turtle, green turtle, squid, a variety of eels, the dreaded lionfish and more. Most of our dives were on coral walls with the bottom at 200 feet--or a lot more. Viz ran 100 feet or better. The bar was always open and typically do it yourself on the honor system. High quality island food was served family style which made it easy to bond with new friends. The weather was perfect--90 degrees, dry, and clear. And don't miss the village of Utila--friendly, fun, laidback, and multi ethnic--an unbelievably cool place to take in the sunset and let the tropical evening settle over you. Chuck Hewett, Divemaster, 130 dives.

Charles E. Hewett, Ph.D
Bar Harbor, Maine

July 24, 2009
Thanks for this week Show Time Crew! I had an amazing time and finally fulfilled my dream of seeing a whale shark--one more to cross of the list.

I am glad I came despite warnings of political unrest which was nowhere to be seen! I flew into San Pedro Sula on the mainland with no problems and was met by the pilot and personally escorted to our charter plane. Forty minutes later I was in Utila at the quaint airstrip (you will see!) and on my way to the dive trip of a lifetime! Speaking with numerous other guests and travelers no one has seen what they are calling "unrest". The locals here were extemely friendly the times I ventured into town and I will definitely return in the future.

Thanks again Laguna Beach!
Audrey Barrett
San Fransisco
 

October 2008
"The dive operation - awesome ! Concerned with safety, very attentive, very thorough...This really left us impressed and we knew we were in good hands.
The Management attention to detail and willingness to help us explore transportation options was above and beyond - thanks so much Christine, Angie, Jorge!"

Matt & Angela Pollard

June 2008
I absolutely loved Laguna Beach Resort. The staff was incredible and the food was great. I am new to diving and I have to say that Al & Erika were awesome dive masters, they made my diving experience wonderful, especially the turtle we saw eating on some coral. It was fantastic and I can't say enough about Capt. Wagner he made the trip fun for our group. Capt. Kerri took us into town one night and was such a wonderful host, the people of Utila are very friendly. I would recommend Laguna Beach Resort for anyone who wants a vacation that is relaxing and peaceful. Thanks again to the staff I will not forget this trip.

Vicky Deleacaes