Diving in Roatan

July 26th, 2008 by shaazia | Tags: , , , | Posted in Uncategorized |

We spent 7 days in Roatan. I was pretty much sick about 5 of those days… with the flu. But I finally got well enough a couple of days before we left to get some diving in. The diving was great. Water was warm enough for my 3MM shorty and there was not much of a current. No rain, no lighting. It was ideal.

I dived with the dive company located at the Henry Morgan hotel. TGI diving. Although they primarily employed and catered to an Italian group of divers… English was spoken by all of them. I would not necessarily suggest one gets their certification there… but for an experienced diver it was great.

The water clarity was nice and the coral was the main attraction on both of my dives. The brain coral was huge and the colors were amazing. I didn’t see much large sea life (no large ray, eels, turtles, or shark). The fish were mainly small and colorful.

Next time we go, I will defintely make an extra trip to Utilla where I hear the whale sharks are. All-in-all I would say Roatan is up there on my list of dive spots … but Belize is still at the top.

Water taxis around the island

July 13th, 2008 by shaazia | Tags: , , , , , | Posted in Transportation |


Water taxi going along the west bay beach in roatan.
Most places we researched before going to Roatan offer transportation to and from the airport. This can be either a shared van or personal taxi. In our case, the owner of our vacation home picked us up in his car. We didn’t have a rental car in the week we stayed on the island. Our vacation rental home was located right on the beach of west bay. It was a lovely house just next to the Henry Morgan hotel. The home was privately owned by Larry and Nancy (both very hospitable and helpful, by the way). They live on the top floor of the house and rent out the bottom floor. Being right on the beach was great because eating out and diving was just a 2 minute walk. It was about 50 steps to the ocean and we had great views. If we wanted to go places that were a bit too far to walk (with two kids), we flagged down a water taxi. The water taxis cost a standards 50 Lempira (or 3 US dollars) per person. This was regardless of where you went… which we learned after the fact. Our 3 year old was free….So the 4 of us cost about $12 per ride. Its not too bad.. but it can really add up if you take the taxi a lot. So, consider this when you are planning where to stay.

Taxi in West End, Roatan
Once you are at your hotel, resort, or rental home… transportation is up to you. Unlike on some islands in Belize where bicycles were readily available for rent… bicycles were just not as common in Roatan (surprisingly). Your options for rental transportation are a car, scooter, or maybe a kayak. Most of the time transportation is along the outer border of the island. Taking water taxis is a great way to get from place to place and see the island at the same time. The water taxis stop running after dark, so be prepared to take a traditional car taxi if you are out late. They also have many locations where kayaks are available for rental by the hour. If you are ambitious and ready for a challenge, this can be a fun mode of transportation. Be careful about going out to far, because getting back into shore if there is a current can be difficult (especially for a beginner). My husband and I rented kayaks (we each had a kayak with one kid). It was nice as long as we stayed close to the beach. There were a couple of moments that were a bit nerve wrecking when I started drifting farther from shore… and regardless of how hard I paddled… we ended up getting farther and farther. Jeff and I ended up tying the kayaks together so I wouldn’t drift off with our daughter.

Scooters for rent in West End, Roatan.
Renting a scooter is another option. Just be careful because although there is really just one main road that goes through the island… driving on it does take a little bit of skill…especially at night. There were no rental places in west bay (none that we noticed), so we would have needed to go into west end to rental any type of motor
vehicle. Catching a water taxi takes a little bit of practice and patience. Generally, the water taxis start on the tip of the island at West Bay and work their way up to West End and then back again. So, if you want to flag a taxi down, you can stand along the beach and wave one down (regardless of the direction they are going… they will turn around and come back).

Disco in West End

July 11th, 2008 by shaazia | Tags: , , , , , , | Posted in Entertainment |
Water taxi going along the west bay beach in roatan. We went to west end in the evening on the 4th day we were in Roatan. The weather was nice…warm and humid. Nice breeze in the air. There were a lot of of cars (mainly taxi cabs) on the main dirt road that ran right through west end. All the shops were open and waiting for takers of the tourist souvenirs (most made in china). We stopped at a couple of roadside vendors to eat some grilled meat and homemade tortillas. That was a nice part of the evening.
Then around 9;00 pm (or maybe earlier) we starting noticing quite a few small bars with strobe lights and XM radio tuned in to one of those dance stations. Loud too. No one was there.. maybe one person at the most… hanging out at the bar. Probably worked there if you ask me. But the music was blaring and the disco ball was turning. It was quite awkward and out of place. In a way, it was a bit sad. Nevertheless, it was a fun and exciting visit to west end in the evening. I never realized the importance of XM satellite radio until we went to Roatan. Almost all restaurants and bars were tuned in to XM 30. A place that has no infrastructure and probably not enough audience or budget to have their own local radio stations relies heavily on satellite radio. Its kind of cool to think that that they listen to the same stations that I do and they are over a thousand miles away.

About the island

July 8th, 2008 by shaazia | Tags: , , , | Posted in General Info - Roatan |
Water taxi going along the west bay beach in roatan. There are many options for lodging on the island of Roatan. Before you can make a decision on where to stay, I would recommend doing some research to get familiar with the geography of the island. Google Earth is invaluable for this type of research. West Bay is arguably the most beautiful beach on the island. The sand is like baby powder, and the water is crystal clear. The shores close to the beach are shallow making it an ideal location for families with kids. The ocean bottom in West Bay is primarily sand with little grass.
Water taxi going along the west bay beach in roatan. Water taxi going along the west bay beach in roatan.

Intro

July 7th, 2008 by shaazia | Tags: , , , , , , | Posted in General Info - Roatan |

With this blog, I will attempt share my wealth (or so I like to think so) of knowledge about this little known tropical paradise. I will share my experiences from lodging, dining, diving and having fun with kids.
Taxi in West End, RoatanMy husband, two kids, and I just got back from a wonderful and relaxing (adventurous) vacation on one of the “top 10 beaches in the world”. Roatan Honduras is a beautiful tropical island off the east coast of Honduras. Since we live in Houston, getting there was very easy … Continental Airlines flies there directly.