Situated off the coast of Honduras , Roatan is one of the three Bay Islands ,
and is the undiscovered secret of vacationers from the colder North and South
American locations that are looking for a tropical vacation destination with a
variety of water activities, un-crowded white, soft powdered beaches, and inexpensive
hotels and restaurants.
Roatan is a long narrow island
of almost 40 miles in length. It is a beautiful island with mountains and lush
green tropical foliage.
Roatan’s weather is ideal
and rarely affects having a good time and has a mild rainy season that occurs
from November to the end of January. The northwest side of the island is
protected most of the year from the southeast Even then, the West
End and northern side may be calm and enjoy excellent diving and
beach activities. If wind conditions or weather becomes and issue, the
dive operators and resorts will simply move their boats to the "lee
side" of the island and calmer waters
The popular tourist spots on
Roatan are West End, West
Bay , Sandy Beach, and Oak
Ridge/Punta Gorda.
Roatan’s two largest
cities are Coxen Hole and French
Harbor and offer very
little for the tourist, both of which are the main concentration of inhabitants
living under poverty level conditions. Coxen Hole is the capital and is location
of the international airport and the docking terminal for cruise ships. Beyond
that, the reason tourists come to Coxen Hole is for the banks and rental cars. French Harbor
is home to the largest fishing fleet in the Western
Caribbean . The reason most tourists come to French Harbor
is for their two popular waterfront restaurants, Gio’s and Casa Romero’s
The main attractions in Roatan
are scuba diving, snorkeling, beautiful beaches, a laid back, relaxing way of
life. The island is on the world’s second largest barrier reef with a variety
of world class dive sites, easily accessible by a short boat ride or as close
as 100 feet from the beach.
Oakridge/Punta Gorda
Oakridge is located about
one mile past the paved road on the Eastern end of the Island .
It is a small picturesque community with a strong afro-Antillean culture. It is
only in recent years that access by car to this area has been opened and hasn’t
changed much with the passing of time. Tourist services here are scarce. The
fishing is excellent, and on Roatan Ranch they offer English speaking horseback
riding tours of the area.
Nearby Punta Gorda on the
opposite side of the Island was the first Garifuna Settlement in Central America . The Garifuna or Black Caribs were
marooned in Roatan by the British in 1796, and every year on April 12 th
they commemorate their arrival with a carnival. This is also the home of YUBU
where you will meet Garifuna people and see their exotic dances and purchase
souvenirs made by them.
Sandy Bay is
considered the cultural center of Roatan and is the location of the Institute of Marine Sciences ,
the Roatan Museum ,
the Carambola Gardens , and the Marine Reserve. It is
also the location of Anthony’s Key resort, one of the first and largest dive
resorts on the Island.
Commonly referred to as
“Gringo Central", this little town with a “Jimmy Buffet – Margarita Ville"
atmosphere is located on Half Moon Bay. Here you can access all there is with a
walk along its un paved sandy main street that rims the bay and is lined with palm
trees and rustic, weather beaten wood restaurants, bars, hotels, and t-shirt
shops. The prices for food, drinks and hotels are extremely inexpensive. There is
a very informal, relaxed -- let it all hang out attitude that can be enjoyed without
ever getting out of your sandals, shorts, and t-shirts.
West Bay has one of the finest beaches in the world. It’s
white, soft, powdery beach is un-crowded, although with development of new
hotels and condominiums, this is rapidly changing. This is an excellent
location for families and for snorkeling right off the beach. The hotels and
restaurants along West Bay are more upscale and expensive than West End .
West Bay is
also the home of Gumbalimba
Park , a privately owned
and managed ecotourism park with lush tropical flowers and forests, exotic
birds, monkeys, a hanging bridge, and zip line canopy rides.
Frank Dalotto is a freelance writer and travel consultant.
His specialty is writing articles about New Jersey travel, including
attractions, events and restaurant reviews. Frank is also the publisher of New Jersey
Leisure Guide and Soft Adventure
Tourism.
The author of this article has chosen to make this article available with free reprint rights. Click here to copy this article.
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