Snorkelling in Roatan with kids?

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Neil Crone

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Sunderland, Ontario, Canada,
My wife and I and our two boys (ages 10,13 - non-divers) are planning a getaway in the last week of January. We are both divers but don't mind spending a ton of time just snorkelling with the kids. We were thinking of Fantasy Island or AKR but are not sure which would be the best bet for Snorkelling. AKR offers a Snorkel package with 2 boat snorkels a day but Fantasy Island doesn't talk much about the snorkelling. Also concerned about the sand flea thing. How big of an issue is that?
Can anybody help steer us in the right direction? I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who has travelled with kids anywhere in the caribbean and had a wonderful vacation.
Thanks
Neil
 
Neil Crone:
My wife and I and our two boys (ages 10,13 - non-divers) are planning a getaway in the last week of January. We are both divers but don't mind spending a ton of time just snorkelling with the kids. We were thinking of Fantasy Island or AKR but are not sure which would be the best bet for Snorkelling. AKR offers a Snorkel package with 2 boat snorkels a day but Fantasy Island doesn't talk much about the snorkelling. Also concerned about the sand flea thing. How big of an issue is that?
Can anybody help steer us in the right direction? I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who has travelled with kids anywhere in the caribbean and had a wonderful vacation.
Thanks
Neil

AKR is your best bet with kids in an AI Resort. FIBR has limited snorkeling- what it does have is rather distant and in a body of water frequented by FIBR JetSki rentals.

West End/West Bay is a good choice for kids in an ala carte situation.

If you're worried about sand flies, use a search criteria here for words like: no see ums, sand fleas, sand flies, etc. You'll be deluged.

On the North and West ends of Roatan, consider malaria prophylaxis, also previously discussed here at great length.
 
dear neil,
one location that has great snorkling and a lot less "bugs" is bonaire.
they have many shore dive areas which are good for snorkling too.
i didn't mean to take you away from roatan but alot of divers have mentioned fighting off the sand flies there.
i took my son and nephew there and we all had a very good time.
i also took them to AKR one time and they rode horses the whole time.
go figure.
regards,
smokey
 
We just returned from Roatan this weekend. The snorkelling off West Bay Beach was interesting but not the best we've ever done. (Quite simply, Roatan's waters are overfished). My favorite Caribbean snorkeling site so far has been Waterlemon Cay on St. John. Very shallow, teeming with fish, and nary another soul around. St. John also has better beaches than Roatan, without the sand fly problem. Another good option might be Belize - some great snorkeling and tons of land activities (on the mainland, though, on the cayes there's not much else to do). I only dove on Bonaire, didn't snorkel - underwater it is amazing, but I wonder if it might be boring for kids there, with so little to do topside? Neither Belize nor Bonaire has particularly good beaches. Good luck with your planning!
 
pigletfish:
Neither Belize nor Bonaire has particularly good beaches.

Bonaire has a lovely beach. It's topless to boot.

pigletfish:
"Quite simply, Roatan's waters are overfished"?

That largely depends upon where you dive on Roatan as well as 'how you dive'. If you go very slowly and sharpen your eye to look for the small stuff, it's a mile-a-minute.

Many divers can only see the larger critters. As buoyancy skills improve, they see more and littler things. A magnifying glass is a required tool. You won't need one for http://www.digitaldiver.net/yabbse/index.php?board=6;action=display;threadid=8449

If a diver who is advanced and is carrying a magnifying glass on a wall dive in Roatan... and they're not finding cool stuff? Change hobbies.
 

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