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Frequently Asked Questions 

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Activities - Front office staff sets up your individual and group tours, car rentals, and special arrangements. Sign up for an all day whale shark trip to Utila, white water rafting in La Ceiba, or the jungle canopy tour here on Roatan. Tour offerings vary and may depend upon weather conditions, group minimums, etc.

Airline Requirements - Please check with the carrier you are flying on for specific questions. While we cannot stay on top of airline requirements, we will answer some general questions here based on our own experience.

Boats Our specially designed 50 foot dive boats are unique in the industry. Originally built for the US Navy, we have redesigned and re-powered the vessels especially for divers. Each even has a mid-ship entry way, a CoCo View invention, that allows divers to enter straight up through the keel - the most stable part of any boat - and no banging ladders or platforms to contend with. No bathrooms or heads are on the dive boats as trips are short, usually no more than 20 minutes away from the resort.  

Boutique CCV has a well stocked boutique for those who may not want to leave the cay to do souvenir shopping. Stop by and check out all the cool t-shirts, knick knacks, and hand made artisan items. The boutique’s hours are: Sunday 7:30 – 4, Monday thru Thursday 7:30 – 5, Friday 7:30 – 6, Saturday 7:30 – 5.  We also have available those “forgotten items” such as toothbrushes and other over the counter items.  Your boutique tab must be paid directly to the boutique. Please stop by on the day prior to your departure to settle your tab.

BUGS You should be prepared to find hungry "no-see-ums" any time of year. There is no particular season when the bugs are better or worse. The "pest factor" is going to depend primarily on the critters state of life cycle at the time you visit. There are 2 species of sand fly, each with a 21 day life cycle. Insect repellents containing deet work well. Some people swear by Avon Skin-So-Soft diluted 50% with water. The CoCo View Boutique sells a natural local product that also works well for most people. Mosquitoes and assorted other pests are also present on Roatan.

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CANCELLATIONS Please refer to the  terms on your  statement. Deposit and cancellation policies. like rates, are subject to change. The current policy is located on the CoCo View Resort rates page. 

CHAMBER FEE  / CLINIC
The local chamber is supported by $2/day tourist donations. This is voluntary, but a worthy cause that has saved many lives, and prevented injury to tourists and local divers. Your donation helps assure a well maintined chamber that is operated by qualified medical personell. Unless you waive the fee, CCV will add $2/day to your final bill.  The associated clinic offers medical services for any injury or illness for a $15 co-pay. 

Checkout We ask that all guests bring their tickets for departing flights to the main office so we can reconfirm your flight. For those guests booked on the weekend flights back to the US, we’ll be making boarding pass arrangements as well when possible. Tickets and passports are kept in the fire safe in the main office until they are taken to the airport. You will pick up your passports and boarding passes the day before departure. If you wish to keep possession of your passport, this is not a problem However, know that we cannot obtain boarding passes without your passport. (Immigration will not accept copies.)

Checkout time is 11am.  Guests with late flights are welcome to remain at the resort. Additional meals, dives, and services can be arranged at the office.

CHILDREN Children must be under parental supervision at all times. Children 10 and older are welcome at CoCo View. Children of all ages are welcome at Playa Miguel Beach House Rentals. Children must eat with parents in the CCV clubhouse. Families with small children will be given special seating. Children are not permitted at the bar, but are welcome in outdoor bar seating area. Use of clubhouse facilities, ping pong, games, pool table, is permitted up to 7 pm. Use of kayaks is permitted with parental approval and supervision. See special rates for children meal and dive plans. 

CREDIT CARDS Island wide there is a 4% service charge for the use of credit cards where they are accepted. Most island tours, except the canopy tour, do accept credit cards. CoCo View accepts Visa, Mastercard, and American Express for resort purchases, tabs and gratuities. Discover is not accepted.

CRUISE SHIP GUESTS: CoCo View invites cruise ship guests and others who are on the island for only a short time to visit. Transportation to the resort, snorkeling, diving, and many other special activities can be arranged by contacting our reservations office at info@roatan.com. Advance reservations are required. 

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Dockside Dive Center is the independently owned and operated PADI 5 Star retail store located on east end of the boat dock. Scuba instruction courses, gear rental, batteries, supplies, photo and video services are offered.

Discussion group - Do you need the guest perspective of a particular question or issue? CoCo View has an active independently moderated discussion group. You can access it from our home page, or click here.

Diving Plan
Your dive package includes the island's only 24/7 unlimited beach diving. Sites accessible from shore CoCo View Wall, Newman's wall, the wreck of the Prince Albert, and the CoCo View Channel. All of the above sites are boat dives for other resorts on the island. 2 boat trips daily include 1 tank at the site with an optional "drop-off" dive on the route back to the resort for up to 4 boat tanks daily. On a drop-off dive, your boat will heave-to and guests who have requested a drop off tank will exit. The boat will then continue to the marina and divers can follow the wall back to the CoCo View beach on their own. All shore dives are accessible at night as well. 

• During the week you may be offered some optional dive trips for additional cost. This can include a night boat dive, an all day whale shark siting trip to Utila. We also offer an all-day to the West End of Roatan and to the East End (Port Royal) of Roatan. These 2 local all day trips happen weather permitting as well- 3 tanks, lunch provided (or guests can opt to take money and eat at local restaurant.)

• An orientation dive is required if you have not been to CoCo View within the past year. Basic rules are explained, you will be informed of reef structure and routes to the walls, and will be warned of any conditions that could be hazardous. It also allows you to re-familiarize yourself with your gear and refresh your skills. Orientations are normally given on the morning following your arrival.  For dive orientation details [click here.]

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ELECTRICITY
CoCo View runs on the same 100volt 60 cycle electricity that North Americans are accustomed to. No special adapters or transformers are required. Guests from countries may need to adapt to US style plugs. CCV  uses power supplied by the local electric company with backup power from our on site generators. Expect power to fail and be out for short periods. While we have not had a problem with surges or low voltage conditons causing damage to electrical appliances, CCV is not responsible should such a condition occur.

EMERGENCIES
Roatan has a competent medical staff, chamber and hospital services on the island. We have emergency supplies, O2 and an AED unit. Thus we are able to handle most emergencies on the spot, while arranging for continued care, or evacuation. There is no 'organized' 911 system, but we do have our own 'island' version, and have more than 1 contact method for all critical medical personnel & services. There are several pharmacies on the island. Critical medications should be carried on your person, rather than in a bag which an airline might delay or lose. While most medicines are available, anything new on the market, or used for rare disorders might be hard to come by. All medications require a prescription for refill. A copy of your current label's information will usually serve as proof of prescription and refill status. 

There is no fire department, but rather a system specific to each community. For the resort, we have a hose & pump system, with the well/water supply located off property, in addition to our own 'bucket brigade'. There are two offices for our police (Focep). One is in French Harbor (town next to us), the second is in the main town of Coxen Hole. There are a few dentists on the island, but most folks prefer to have their dental work done on the mainland in La Ceiba, as the equipment is more modern. La Ceiba can be reached by a 15 minute plane ride. All emergency services can be coordinated through the resort office, and management does live on property. 

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FISHING
Fly fishing: A few bonefish tail the flats in front of the beach houses, and guests who bring their own equipment have been known to catch a few. If that is not successful, you might take a day off from diving and hook up with the folks in Oakridge who have skiffs and guides. The resort can make the reservation for you.
Tarpon and permit are caught more frequently at CoCo View in the channel and canal.

Fish Life - North Shore versus South
You will see everything on the south side that you'll see on the north. Because of deep walls (over 12,000ft drops) you are not going to find large schools of bottom dwellers. Nowhere in the islands will you find the quantities that you see on the contained bottoms of Belize or the Bahamas.
There are protected areas in the park where no fishing is permitted and fish are fed and in those areas you'll find larger schools. The south shore park is now being established. Nobody feeds fish on the south side because it would alter behavior and put the animal in danger of local fishermen.
However, as I mentioned, they are all there and you will definitely see everything and when it comes to the large pelagics these rare sightings occur more frequently on the south side where the drops are steeper.
On occasions CCV has taken groups around to dive the park and other north shore sites. Response has been mediocre. Guests have generally enjoyed the opportunity, but did not feel it was worth the hassle, and many expressed the quality of the dive suffered.
And when it comes to ease of diving among tremendous reef formations and macro life, you cannot beat the diving right in front of CoCo View. I've taken kids snorkeling and spotted 5ft green morays, loads of grunt, grouper, snapper, octopus, lobster, and of course all your smaller tropicals.

No dive gloves of any kind are permitted when diving with CoCo View. We have been enforcing a "no gloves" policy for over 20 years, and can proudly state that our reefs, and your diving pleasure, is much the better for it. Please help preserve this fragile marine environment. 

Hitchin' Post - For snacks, ice cream, cigars and local fare, visit the tienda tipica located on the runway near the workshops.

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Internet  is available free to CoCo View guests as long as our WDSL access is up and working. Unlimited internet access for your laptop includes 802.11b WiFi hub if required.  Or you may use access in the new internet cafe at your convenience. Ethernet jacks for standard RJ45 laptop connections are also available in the internet cafe. 

Insurance Since we cannot be responsible for airline, weather, sudden illness and accidents that can adversely affect your travel plans we highly recommend that you purchase travel insurance. 

LAUNDRY No regular laundry service is offered by the resort. Please check with the main office if you have an unusual situation.

LUGGAGE
Regulator & Mask (especially prescription lenses), swim suit, change of clothing, medications, contact lens supplies, anything important to your well-being in the event your luggage is delayed. HINT: Some airlines 'Valet Check" your carry on at the gate. Place tickets, passports, and medications in a Ziploc bag, and you'll be able to have all your documentation and critical medications in one grab.

Lockers Your personal gear locker is located at the on the boat dock a few feet from your dive boat. 

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MEALS  CoCo View meal plan includes all meals between your 2 pm check-in time and your 11 am check-out. Your arrival dinner, 6 days of 3 meals per day, and breakfast on your departure day is included as long as you are at the resort during the normal breakfast hour. Meals include breakfasts to order: bacon, eggs, pancakes, waffles, fresh fruit, omelets, cereal etc.. Lunches include a soup, salads, entrees, sandwiches and a variety of soup. Dinner offers 2 entrees a meat and a fish or chicken, with a salad bar and fresh made desserts. You'll find a wide variety of local island and "typico" dishes (black beans and rice) as well as familiar North American fare. Weather permitting, there will be one or two Bar-B-Ques on the key. Coffee is out early and bottled water is always available in the clubhouse.
Let us know in advance about dietary restrictions. While we cannot be responsible for special diets, low salt restrictions, vegetarian diets, allergies etc. we offer enough variety at each meal that most guests are able to choose to suit their needs. If we know of potential problems in advance, we can sometimes make special arrangements. Meal Hours: Breakfast: 7:30 - 8:30 am Lunch: 12:00 - 1:30 pm Dinner: 6:20 - 7:30 pm

NIGHT BOAT DIVE
Night Boat dives are $ 25.00/pp and arranged on arrival. Generally we do them on Wednesday night, weather permitting. If enough people are interested, we will send 2 boats the same night rather than 2 different nights.
If we have people interested in 2 different nights & sites, something can be worked out but due to a full itinerary (BBQ's etc.) the guests will have to decide what other activities to give up.

NITROX DIVING Nitrox is available for anyone wanting to use it while they are here.Guest must be certified, or doing check out dives with a Nitrox certified instructor who presents his instructor card, and signs for his students & their fills. Nitrox certification is available at CoCo View through Dockside Dive Center.  Nitrox fills and unlimited Nitrox plan for CoCo View guests are paid at the resort and are in addition to the dive package. See rate page for current prices. 

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MONEY Things to bring money for:
Boutique (t-shirts, snacks, etc.), Soda, Beer, and optional island activities such as Island Tour, Chamber Fees, Departure Taxes, River Rafting, Dolphin Snorkel or Dive, Shark dive, Taxis, Gratuities, Vendors - A different vendor visits CoCo View each day presenting for sale local crafts, black coral jewelry, embroidered clothing, etc. Small bills necessary, vendors do not accept credit cards.

CoCo View accepts Cash, Travelers Checks, MC, Visa, and American Express. Note on traveler's checks: The resort accepts traveler's checks for bills only but does not keep enough cash on hand to cash your traveler's checks. Some, but not all local vendors accept traveler's checks. Local banks will cash traveler's checks for Lempiras, but not dollars. You must have passport with you when you cash the checks.

There is an ATM machine located at Credomatic in Coxen Hole.
See rate page for sample prices.

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Phone and fax service  is available in the main office for a nominal fee.  Free wireless internet service is available in the clubhouse for those that have brought their laptops. There is also a computer available in the clubhouse that is available for our guests, fee of charge.

Photo Services Our photo pro, Tim Blanton, who specializes in personalized instruction, is located in Dockside Dive Center. The photo center also has film and digital cameras for rent, as well as several DVD programs and a large selection of photos for sale. Also see Tim about his island eco-tour.

Rental Gear is offered through Dockside Dive Center located on the boat dock. Dockside prides themselves on having excellent quality equipment that is replaced annually.

Return flight confirmation - If you leave your passport and return tickets with the front desk when you check in, we will reconfirm your return flight. For groups we can usually issue boarding passes./p>

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 Security staff is on CoCo View 24/7. The head of security lives on CoCo View.

SHOPPING - Local artisans and vendors will be visiting the resort daily. Wares on display include local handicrafts, clothing, hammocks, and jewelry. Most do not take credit cards. The resort boutique sells tee shirts, gift items, candy and some personal essential like sunglasses, toothbrushes etc. For some local snacks, cigars, and products, visit the Hitchin Post. Day trips to West End or local towns can be arranged through the activities office.

Spa services The Spa and Fitness Center is located directly behind the first set of Cabanas. The air-conditioned fitness center is open 24 hours a day for your convenience; however, there is no staff on duty at this facility. The Massage Room is housed in the same building. Spa treatments are available by appointment only, and appointments should be made 12 hours in advance, for the therapist does not live on premises. Please see the receptionist in the main office to make your appointment. A list of treatments and prices are available at the office.

SAFE  There is no office safe available to guests. A small lock box with padlock is provided in each room for personal valuables. 

SNORKELING Although CCV is primarily a dive resort, snorkelers are welcome and encouraged to enjoy the abundant marine life found on and around the resort. Many of the same attributes that make CoCo View a haven for the dedicated SCUBA diver also make it a snorkelers paradise. True shore diving/snorkeling, short boat trips, convenient gear storage, as well as our professional & friendly staff combine to make this resort the best destination for a relaxing and wonderful vacation.

Telephones  There are none in the rooms. Guests may place calls from the phone in the office. Honduras. Your U.S. based cell phone will not work on Roatan. 

TELEVISION Located on 2nd floor of the Clubhouse. Satellite service and VHS video player are available.

TAXES Departure taxes approximately are not included in your package. Hotel taxes of 16% are charged separately.

TIPPING The following information is simply for those who ask about how we divide tips among our staff. We have a general tip pool here at CoCoView. You will find an envelope in your departure packet to place your tip money in the collection box located in the main office. The pool consists of employees from the Bar Staff, Kitchen Staff, Food Serving Staff, Housekeeping and Maintenance Staff. The two dive staff members that fill tanks are also included in this pool. As for the Dive Staff, please tip your assigned Dive Master and Boat Captain directly at the end of the week. All of the dive staff is available on Fridays. If, however, you are unable to locate either your dive master or captain, please obtain an envelope from Dockside Dive Center, located at the end of the dock across from the picnic table, and leave the envelope in the dive shop. Be sure to write the names of your dive master and captain on the outside of the envelope and instructions as to how you want it distributed

Generally, tips run 10-15% of your hotel package price. However, please feel free to leave what you wish. Tipping is based on service. If you feel a particular member of our staff has been more than helpful and would like to designate a portion of the general tip to a certain worker, or leave a special acknowledgment to a certain worker, feel free to either hand them their tip personally, or mark the information on the outside of an envelope, place it in the collection box, and we will see that it’s honored. For those of our guests who like to leave behind small items for the housekeeper, we ask that you place these items, as well as any money, on the pillow so that she can easily see that you intended to leave it to her and that it is not something accidentally left behind. <

TRAVELER'S CHECKS The resort accepts traveler's checks for payment of bills but does not keep enough cash on hand to cash your credit cards. Local banks will cash traveler's checks for Lempiras, not dollars. You must have passport with you when you cash the checks.

Towels for Beach and boat: Bring the towels you plan to use on the beach and boat. Rentals are available for $3.00 fee and includes a midweek exhange for a fresh towel.  Unfortunatly, due to water constraints on an island, we're unable to launder the beach.boat towels daily. Also, there are a limited number of rental towels available.

WALK-IN GUESTS See "Cruise Ships"

WATER (DRINKING) Our tap water is from a well system and is subject to elements of nature. While safe to drink, we also provide a 5 gallon bottle of commercial bottled drinking water in each room as well in the clubhouse 24 hours a day. We also use bottled water in our kitchen and on our dive boats each day. Water is very precious on an island. For that reason, our toilets are set for a low volume flush and may require that you depress the lever a tad longer than normal to fully clear contents. If you have any problems, please contact the office immediately.

WEATHER Of course the weather varies quite a bit, but you can count on SSE trade winds during most parts of the year. Because of this, many people find air conditioning unnecessary. September is the warmest month, with daytime temperatures in the mid 90's. Most of the island rain falls between October and January. Tropical storms are most common in late summer to fall in the Western Caribbean, but fortunately Roatan lies south of the normal track. Water temperatures vary between 76 - 86. If you are prepared for 78 F, you should be comfortable.

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WEDDINGS
REQUIREMENTS TO CONTRACT CIVIL MATRIMONY at Roatan, Honduras
- Note that this list is obsolete. An updated list is being compiled. -
-Copies of Birth Certificates of contracting parties, including parents names
-Copies of current Passports
-Statement of Marital Status, signed by a Notary
-Copy of Court Settlement, if divorced
-Authorization of parents, if under (21) years of age
-Copy of HIV Test, completed within (6) months prior to marriage date
-Names of (2) Witnesses, Foreign or Honduran
If Foreign, Copy of Passports and Profession of each Witness
If Honduran, Copy of ID Card and Profession of each Witness
-Professions of the contracting parties
-Marriage License Fee - 150 Lempiras if marriage performed at Municipal Office downtown
-500 Lempiras if performed at CoCo View
Matrimonial Edict Fee - 15 Lempiras
-Mayors Fee - 1,200 Lempiras plus transportation to Co Co View (approximately $25.00 roundtrip) if ceremony is to be performed at CoCo View or location other than at Municipal Office downtown.
NOTE: If you want the Mayor's office to come to CoCo View, the above fees will need to be prepaid by Money Order payable to CoCo View Resort, and sent to Roatan Charter, ATTN: Lauray, P.O. Box 877, San Antonio, FL, 33576-0877.

CoCo View makes a great place for a Honeymoon!

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WHAT TO BRING
Boat towels (rental towels $3/week)
Insect Repellent
Medications & Toiletries
Common Items
Small Bill (ones, fives, and tens)
Rain jacket

Things you'll need money for:
Night boat dive 
All day trip 
Boutique (t-shirts, snacks, etc.)
Internet access (unlimited access can be prepaid)
Soda, Beer, etc.
Night Dive 
Island Tour 
Chamber Fees 
Departure Tax 
River Rafting 
Island tours / zip line
Dolphin Snorkel or Dive 
Taxis
Gratuities (10% of package / person is typical. Your tip is divided between service staff: maids, dive staff, kitchen etc.)
Vendors - visit CoCo View each day selling local crafts, black coral jewelry, embroidered clothing, etc.
Small bills necessary, credit cards not accepted.  See rate page for sample prices.

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