There are probably lots of great dive operations in Roatan that we have not had the chance to dive with, but we are happy to say that Coconut Tree Divers, who we did dive with, was terrific.

Located in “downtown” West End with an expansive front deck, the shop is a hub for divers and others. They operate two boats and have about ten divemasters/instructors, all of whom were friendly and knowledgeable. Many members are active in the Roatan Marine Park organization. They also do hundreds of PADI courses a year, including rescue and technical diving courses.

The shop is clearly concerned with diver safety. One afternoon I watched Tree slashing the air bladders of a BCD with a knife before throwing it away, just to make sure no scavengers could try to use a piece of equipment that he felt was no longer fit for service.

The shop is extremely well organized as well. The boat radios in at the end of each dive to give location, time and depth information which is recorded in the office. Upon leaving you receive a printout showing all your dives, which is handy if you are less than perfect at filling out your dive logs each day.

Without mentioning names (since we would have to name everyone), we really liked everyone at Coconut Tree Divers. At the end of the day most days we all had beers on the deck and conversed about the day’s dives. We’re headed back to Roatan soon, and look forward to seeing them.