Like hang gliders or parachutists, the scuba divers pop out from the reef crevice to suspend in a sea of vast blue above a steeply banking wall. Below them cascades an assortment of colorful corals and clouds of tropical fish. Liquid nirvana. Or as these lucky divers can say: Fantasy Island Beach Resort, Roatan, Honduras.

With more than 50 nearby dive sites, Fantasy Island Beach Resort can take divers to their own personal paradise - whether it's to spectacular walls or to the recently sunk 155-foot King Albert Fantasy, an oil tanker that sits in 60-86 feet of water. Spend the day diving off one of the resort's five boats or simply swim 40 yards from shore.

Shore divers may use Fantasy's unique dive gazebo to gear up and splash down on a near shore shipwreck, a sunken airplane and some beautiful shallow reefs.

When you've finished your underwater sightseeing for the day, come home to Fantasy Island, an 80-room resort on a 15-acre private island on the south side of Roatan, one of Honduras' renowned Bay Islands. Fantasy Island was built to accommodate traveling divers. The modern rooms are air conditioned, with lounge chairs on the outside deck, refrigerators and televisions.

The resort's dive shop is a PADI and SSI facility that features a large area for guest gear, facilities for photo and equipment rental and a compressor shed. Its dock wraps around the west end of the cay, where pleasure craft are moored. Fantasy also has a second dock on the north side of the island for even more dive variety.

For safety's sake, Roatan can now offer traveling divers more peace of mind - a three-person hyperbaric chamber with a doctor on 24-hour call to assist in diving emergencies.

With a perfect tropical day winding down, dive guests can pick up a racquet and play a set of tennis or visit one of the resort's three bars, which frequently offer live entertainment. After the sun sets, dine in the resort's elegant restaurant, with your choice of either island or continental cuisine. FOR MORE INFORMATION...