Time for a face-off. If you want to travel to somewhere along the world’s second-longest reef, Belize or Roatan, Honduras?
When divers talk about Belize, they get all misty-eyed and start daydreaming about their last trip there. When anyone else who has been there talks about it, they say something to the effect of “too bad about the beaches.”
What they mean is, there hardly are any beaches. Unless you have a boat at your disposal or are staying at some private island resort well away from the shore and built-up Ambergris Caye that is.
I thought I might find a bit of the same in Roatan, but it’s a very different story here. I’ve been running around reviewing hotels for an assignment and of the six I visited on different parts of the island, five had great beaches. One had just a small beach, but I got to swim with their dolphins in a huge enclosure in the sea and kayak around their own little islet so that makes up for it—you can’t do those things just anywhere.
Here are two photos facing different directions on the most popular beach, an area with the unimaginative name of West Bay. Happy hour from 4 to 7 at the beach bars, the tallest building is three stories, and you can go snorkeling right off the shore. It’s only really crowded when the cruise ships dock nearby (more on that later). The powdery sand is postcard perfect, though apparently some people don’t get along well with the sand flies. I didn’t get one bite, but if you attract bugs you will need a steady supply of cactus juice.
The other main drawback is that Roatan is a very long, spread out, decentralized island, so there’s no chilled out, pedestrian-friendly spot with reasonable beach huts like Caye Caulker in Belize. Once people get to their hotel, they tend to stay put as going out to dinner would require a major excursion in a car. The only town of any size is called Coxen Hole and you can get a sense of what it’s like from its nicknames with the expats: “coxen sucker hole” and just plain “sh*t hole.” Of course this is where the now-expanding cruise ship terminal is, which shows once again that people who travel on huge ships continually see the worst of what an island has to offer.
Mike in Allentown
Wednesday 9th of March 2011
I've been going to Roatan off and on for 20 years, however I almost never get very far from West End, nor do I have a need to. It's got everything you'll need. Unfortunately the last few years have seen an influx of cruise ship traffic overrunning the town in the daylight hours, but they're all gone by 4:00. This year they are going to pave the street which is a definate downer (some call it progress). I used to go to Ambergris a lot before they paved, guess it's time to move on to Nicaragua until they progress.
ernie covino
Wednesday 14th of July 2010
West End is FULL of inexpensive hotel deals as well as restaurants. It also has a significantly livelier night life. NO ONE stays in their hotel at night. West Bay Beach "pulls in the sidewalks" at night with the exception of entertainment at the Henry Morgan. That is because the clientele that ususally stays at West Bay beach is more family oriented and/or are in Condos and don't want the noise nightly. Believe me if you want to stay out all night on Roatan you can. There are all these little places (like the Hip Hop) that are lively at 4am. The islands will take you to others if they like you.
tim
Sunday 18th of July 2010
Thanks for the advice Ernie! Good to know where to go if you're a partier----or a light sleeper.
calvin
Thursday 22nd of April 2010
It is the case that there aren't any real budget options in roatan like there might have been once upon a time. You can find out about Roatan Diving here http://roatan-diving.com
tim
Saturday 10th of May 2008
West End and West Bay are different places, but similar and not far from each other. Both are made up of a string of hotels and dive shops with other diversions you can walk to. So with either one you're fine without a car. It's just that neither is in backpacker price range anymore and these prime beaches are trying to go more upscale.
Rich--these photos are from right in front of Infinity Bay actually. I just spent a night there...
Rich
Saturday 10th of May 2008
This website will give you some good info on west bay beach, the best beach in roatan and one of the best in all the caribbean. Infinity Bay is the newest and most popular resort with a perfect location for snorkeling or diving. west end is small town about 5 miles and you can walk the beach for about 40 minutes, take a water taxi for $1.500 or cab for $10.