Roatán is one of the Honduras Bay Islands in the Caribbean Sea. It is a hidden gem, with some of the most beautiful white beaches and the best snorkel and diving spots in the Caribbean. There is only one big road on the island, and some international resorts that are closed down. The tourists are mainly divers but the island is perfect for beaching and snorkeling.

Get in

By plane

There are direct flights to Roatan from Houston, Atlanta, Miami, and San Salvador. There are also local airlines such as SOSA, Atlantic, and Islena connecting the island with La Ceiba, San Pedro Sula, and Tegucigalpa. There is a 12 seater plane flying a few times a day from Tela airport on the mainland for about 60 dollars, and takes 20 minutes. Prices are all over the map due to fuel costs and inflation.

By boat

Ferries for Roatan leave from La Ceiba on the Honduras Mainland. The Galaxy ferry is the only option for the route and this ferry also supplies Roatan with most of its cargo. Ferries depart twice daily, once in the morning and once in the afternoon and it costs about $25 US for a one way trip. Prices have risen significantly recently with the closure of the Galaxies competition (Utila Princess) and with spiralling fuel costs. Galaxy also offer the only ferry service to nearby Utila, which also departs from La Ceiba. The ferries are very large and comfortable, the trip to Roatan is about 2 hours depending on the sea, and the trip to Utila is about half this.

There is no longer an official service between the two islands. If you want to go from Roatan to Utila using the Galaxy ferries you will have to first travel from Roatan to La Ceiba, then change ferries and head from La Ceiba to Utila. Your other option is to charter a boat from one of the locals. Normally the best way to go about this is to approach one of the dive shcools as they normally arent using their boats in the afternoons. You will be charged a fairly hefty fee for this, expect $50 US per person or more if there is only 2 of you. Find other travellers who are keen to do the same and go in a group of 4 or 6. The trip between the islands is about an hour, and its worth noting that it will cost about the same to do this using the Galaxy ferries, but you will waste a whole day with a long lay-over in La Ceiba.

Get around

There are hundreds of taxis and they can be bargained with. They don't expect tips either. But ask the price in advance and if it seems high, ask another. Scooter rentals are abundant in West End. Captain Vans is a reliable source for those. There are water taxis that link West Bay and West End for 40 lempiras each or about two dollars.

Renting scooters is a very economical (and fun!) way to see the island. The asphalt road is reasonably well maintained and there is lots to see on Roatan besides the West End so hire a scooter and start exploring. The rental agencies will happily provide you with detailed maps and explanations on how to best see the island.

Cities

West End is definately the most fun town on the island. There are bars, restaurants, live music, right on the Caribbean. This is also where the best sunsets are, with maybe the exception of West Bay. The reef is a short swim away for excellent snorkeling, especially around the southern point of Half Moon Bay. Coxen Hole is a pit but after you get used to it, there are most of life's necessities there. French Harbor has some good restaurants and resorts.

• West End-West Bay
• Sandy Bay
• French Harbor
• Coxen Hole
• Oak Ridge-Punta Gorda

Talk

English, Spanish, Garifuna

English is widely spoken, especially in the West End and West Bay communities and is the native language of Roatanians of British and African descent (except for the Garifuna). Spanish is spoken natively by all residents who have come from mainland Honduras and is the second language of many of the native English speakers. Spanish is the official language of Honduras and as such is the primary language of the school system. Garifuna is spoken by the Garifuna people who are decendants of Nigerian slaves and the Kalipuna peoples of St. Vincent.

See

Do

There is great snorkeling and diving to be found here and many dive shops to go out with. Coconut tree dive shop in West End has cheap dives, $20 per dive, and go out 3 times per day.

If you are a good swimmer, and keep an eye out for motorboats, you can swim straight out from west end towards the white buoys for about 200 meters, you will arrive at a 10-30 foot deep reef that is great for snorkeling and freediving. Slightly further out the reef gets much deeper and you hit the wall.

You can walk along the beach to West Bay from West End in about 45 minutes, and can take a water taxi back if you like. They seem to stop running around sunset unfortunately, so make sure to catch them before it is too late.

A new cruise ship stop named Coral Cay opened up recently outside of French Harbor. As of Aug-2006 they only get ships twice a month, and the rest of the time the place is open for people to come enjoy. The beach is free as long as you eat at the restaurant (~$8-10), though it seemed highly unlikely that anyone would particularly notice whether or not you ate there. The beach is nice and the setting amazingly surreal, with 2 rusting shipwrecks within view.

Renting a scooter and driving to Punta Gorda takes about an hour each way, and goes through some beautiful countryside. It can be nice to get away from the touristy areas and get back into places that look and feel like honduras. The town is friendly and you may run into a beach party if you are lucky.

Buy

Local handicrafts abound and can be had for very little money. Look for brightly-painted pottery, wood carvings, costume jewelery and clothing. Remeber that the asking price should only be considered a jumping-off point for some downward haggling. It's expected and if you have the stomach for it, you'll likely end up with a final price somewhere around 40-50% lower.

Eat

The restaurants you will find along the West End beach are slightly more expensive than similar restaurants on the mainland but the food is of a very high standard. Seafood abounds and you can find top quality lobster for dinner for around $10 US. The argentinian steak house is very nice, and the size of the steak they serve has to be seen to be believed.

There is a small food caravan located on the main road hosted by an ex-pat Aussie. The food is cheap, and he is open late which is perfect for when you return home from one of the West Ends night spots.

Drink

The best part about drinking in the west end is the pub crawl that occurs almost every night without exception. Its virtually mandatory to start at Sundowners and enjoy drinks whilst watching the sun go down over the beautiful bay in front. When Sundowners shuts (at 10pm) the whole bar shifts about 50 metres down the street to kick on at the Purple Turtle where you can enjoy live music out the back. The Purple Turtle closes at midnight and from here most people continue on to the Twisted Toucan where you will meet most of the locals in the region, as this is their favourite haunt. Most people go home from here but if you really are feeling like an adventure grab a group of friends and head down the beach to FuBar, formerly Black Pearl and before that Loafers. FuBar is having its grand opening with a huge full moon party on Sept. 7th. HaHaHa!!!! On Friday's, the best place to go is Foster's, complete with DJ and occasionally a lot of laughs.

Sleep

There are excellent accomodations ranging from $4 to $400 per night. Condos are available as are beach cabanas. There is an old farm where they have great accommodation for a decent price at West End.

Get out