Image by David Benz

Fantasy Island Resort is a divers dream

Like a scene right out of a Spielberg movie, one can easily imagine arriving on this private tropical island by helicopter. However, the land approach is a little more practical, by way of a rustic wooden bridge from the mainland of Roatan. Along the drive to the resort you are likely to encounter numerous resident animals, but the only carnivores will be found in the roast beef line at the resort's main dining room. One might expect to be welcomed by shipwrecked explorers at the entrance to this secluded paradise. But Fantasy Island is a state-of-the-art dedicated dive resort with an abundance of diving and leisure amenities.

The 87-room resort has two tennis courts, two bars with frequent live entertainment, and an elegant restaurant featuring the finest in continental and island cuisine. The rooms are furnished in a tropical motif featuring tiled entrances, plush carpeting, air conditioning, ceiling fan, color TV, telephone, refrigerator, sitting area and balcony with ocean view.

The owner of Fantasy Island Resort has gone to great lengths to develop a diver's paradise, complete with a fleet of custom dive boats, an expanded photo/video center and a dedicated beach-diving gazebo on a remote side of the island. Mother Nature must have known divers were coming when she laid out the perfect island configuration with three separate and unique beaches -- one for snorkeling, one for diving and one for water sports.

The island is self-sustaining, with hidden buildings that produce its power and fresh water, a cargo-loading dock and marina, and a clinic complete with resident physician and a diving recompression chamber for added safety. With dive sites only minutes from the dock, Roatan offers a diverse mixture of reefs, walls and wrecks. The marine life is abundant and the water is warm with great visibility. Let's just say that a diver can get his fill at a place like Fantasy Island. A few awesome dives, a meal fit for a king, and a rum and Coke in hand, and you might find yourself taking a moonlight stroll under the coconut palms to the diving gazebo for a night of beachside reflection. It just so happens that the gazebo is a great after-dinner location where divers from all points on the globe can meet, share stories from the day's activities and anticipate more of the same for the following day.