utila cays

While on Utiia Christmas of 2014 had a chance to visit the Utila Cay community just before Santa Claus's visit and see all of the children waiting and happy for his coming. The tight nit community was clean, friendly and vibrant. Brightly painted dwellings, small business and churches line the single street (walking path and bridge) that connects the two cays.

Nightmare getting in touch... I waited 14 days for the response to my first email, then 27 days for the response to my second! Seriously though... All that frustration dies when you arrive on your own, private, Carribean island. We (4 of us) had Sandy Cay. I struggle to describe the magic of the place. There it's nowhere else in the world like it, nowhere else in the world that cuts you off so completely from email, and whatsapp, and Facebook, and txt. Please tell your story in the guestbook. We did. It makes for wonderful reading!! Enjoy this paradise.

trips to the water cays r leaving once every 1-2 weeks .great atmosphere, lots of booze, music... what else can u ask 4

A beautiful reef all around. The beach is beautiful and the water so clear. A nice day trip to have a picnic, put up a hammock and drink coco locos. Just don't forget the sunscreen.

I've stayed on Jewel Cay twice now, and it's the only way to do a vacation to Utila. Plenty of ways to get to any of the other Cays, but with great snorkeling and food on hand, why would you want to? Definitely 10/10

we hired a boat with another couple and we went to these keys. Its a half an hour of a beautiful ride close to the shore going to the west side of the island. there you will find a few tiny little islands, privates. We paid a usd 2 fee that is use to keep clean the island and we spent an amazing day snorkeling around the area. Its exactly like a post card.

Jewel Cay and Pigeon Cay are connected by the bridge, and by that became one :) I was prepared for a small island but reality exceeded my expectations. It is really small! You can probably walk from one end to another in about 5 minutes. There is no beach, and homes cover almost entire area, so don’t have any expectations to finding a quiet secluded place. There is nowhere to hide. At first I wasn’t sure about staying there for a week, but quickly realized what a great place it is. Visiting this place is certainly a nice side trip, but only staying there for a few days allows you to truly appreciate it, and appreciate the people who live there. We quickly made acquaintances by default –when you see someone 5+ times a day you are bound to start talking. Our main activities consisted diving in the morning, watching World Cup at Fishburgers in the afternoon – I highly recommend their food, relaxing and at night watching spotted eagle rays swimming around the bridge. Doesn’t sound like much? It was plenty enough for us, and what a great change from otherwise busy life at home. We also brought all kinds of things to donate to local school. Coloring books and soccer ball seemed to stir the most enthusiasm but everything else made little faces smile and cheer as well. The kids wanted to play with la gringa so I spend a couple of nights doing so. There are enough little shops, that there is always something open and available every day. Staying on Jewel Cay was a cultural experience and it is not a party scene at all. We were the only tourists on the island at the time, and our main focus was diving. Stayed in Hotel Kayla (separate review) so as an added bonus we could swim right off the deck, do some SUP, kayaking or simply relaxing on the deck. If you plan to stay there, accept the fact that it is small, quiet place, with limited possibilities and somewhat restricted access to the main island- time and weather depandant.

The whole island network was absolutely breath taking and thought provoking, seeing people making the very best out of what they have and they still have the biggest hearts.

absolutely beautiful !! More than you can imagine ... THE place to go - do not miss water cay !! I have never seen a place as beautiful as this !!

This is a review for water cay only. We did a trip through parrots diving. Because we were diving through them it only cost USD$10 (not including L50 entrance fee) whereas other places offer it for up to USD$20. They take you to the island, which is beautiful, give you snorkelling gear, & you stay there for about 5 hours. The island is beautiful but the snorkelling is no better than areas on mainland utila and so after 5 hours everyone was pretty ready for the boat to show up to take us back - people cheered when the boat appeared in the distance. Trip only goes to water cay. Expect it would be much more fun and interesting if you did a kayaking trip through the various cays as the smaller ones we passed quickly on the way back looked cool.

Snorkeling all around, diving and a wonderful beach, you can even walk from one cay to the another one, or swim to a few others.

Perfect little island and a perfect getaway. I love walking around this island. Beautiful and friendly people, beautiful location. I would live here if I could.

Small fishing village unchanged in years. It is quaint and a perfect accent to our vacation. Best thing of all may be the fact that there are no sand fleas.

Took a day trip with captn Denny Bush to Water Caye. Snorkeled around the whole island and then was taken to Pigeon Caye for lunch on the way back to Utila. Awesome day, awesome food, awesome company and a an awesome adventure!

Firstly, I have tried to get Tripadvisor to accept reviews for Little Cay and Sandy Cay as "vacation rentals" , but with no success. Both of these islands are owned & rented by the Jackson family, who are long-time natives to this area.We stayed for 8 days on Little Cay and it was WONDERFUL. These two rental properties may be the only ones of their kind, in this very reasonable price range. Sun , sand , palm trees, and as much privacy as you could possibly want.Instead of repeating all the same stuff that other reviewers have raved about, I will try to mention a few things that others did not :1. At first impression the methods used for making payments will seem a bit shady. (Western Union Money Transfer) We were a bit nervous paying this way, but the Jacksons are honest and this is really the only functional method they have for accepting payments. It works fine.2. Get all your groceries beforehand at Bush's store on Utila. Bush's will box everything up and keep it in a refrigerator for you until the boat takes you to the island. They have a dock out back and the guys there will carry your stuff to the boat.3. The house has a 4-burner stove with oven, however.... one burner doesn't work, and the oven doesn't work. It wasn't a problem for us.4. It's not mentioned anywhere on the website , but there is a charcoal grill there. Bring charcoal.5. There is a generator there and also a number of solar-powered lights. The generator is a separate outbuilding and is a big 2 cylinder diesel-powered rig, that starts with a HAND CRANK. If one of your party is a big, beefy guy, he may be able to get it started. Otherwise , don't count on it. We never had a need for it. We got most of our activities wrapped up by dark and used campfire, flashlights and solar lights when needed.6. The island has a very large population of hermit crabs. You never see them during the day, but they are all over at night. Even with the doors closed, the first floor of the house was full of them. We must have swept 100 of them out the door , until we finally located 2 large holes in the wall behind the kitchen counter. We blocked off the holes, and that seems to have quelled the crab invasion. They're totally harmless , but it was weird to hear them clattering around downstairs all night.7. Between the main house and the guest house, this place will sleep a LOT of people. Be aware though.... cooling is by ceiling fan and/or breeze through the windows. Not all the ceiling fans work, and some of the sleeping areas have much better ventilation than others.8. There are several showers, but no hot water.9. Like most rental properties like this , it's become a bit of a cash cow for the owners. They do minimal maintenance and not much cleaning. In a breezy, salty, ocean environment, everything gets covered with a film of salt. It's most noticeable on all the windows of the house. The views are spectacular....if you can see through the cloudy glass. You might want to bring some glass cleaner & extra paper towels.10. Bed linens are provided , along with a few old threadbare towels and a couple of dishcloths sewn from some totally non-absorbent fabric. Bring bath/swimming towels, washcloths, and dish towels. The place is not perfect , but you shouldn't let the little flaws dissuade you if you're looking for a unique island experience.