First time to Roatan...advice on "must do" stuff.

[NC StateGuy]

The wife and I are going down the July 4th weekend. (4 days-3 nights) We will not be diving on this trip. It is our first time down there. Any side trips/restaraunts/ etc we should be looking for. She has agreed to 1 snorkel trip, so I get to squeeze that in--any top notch operators? I do not want the huge boats that take out all the cruise ship passengers.

From what I have seen and read, it looks like a great place!

Thanks for the help here.

 

[Doc]

A totally non-diving experience on Roatan?

Get an English speaking guide/driver. Not just a cabbie, but somebody who has been on Roatan for quite a while.

You'll do the usual stuff (seaplane rides, submarines, golf, the chairlift, etc). However- here's some of the other ways:

Have him drive you to Oak Ridge. Hire, with him, a water taxi for the day. Cruise up and down the far East End of the South side, stop at bars on stilts, see the inter-coastal that has been sliced through the mangroves.

Or, have them take you by water taxi panga further East to where the Pirates truly stood- Port Royal. You can poke around, look at abandoned wrecks, or maybe even take the mangrove channel cut through Roatan to it's North Side.

You may want to set foot upon Isla Helena or Morat... most people think they are pieces of Roatan, but they are indeed different islands! If it is very very flat and calm, you might want to head for Barbaretta- I have done this in a Panga- take precautions for Sun exposure and take water!

Very good snorkeling available from the shore entry point of Fantasy Island. For a price, you can get in and have access to the showers, pool (if operational) a beach and the grounds. This shares the same dive/snorkel site with Cocoview, but FI sells day passes. Snorkel over to Cocoview, make a "beach landing", and go poke around. Bring a few dollars for the bar, Dollars will work okay when wet.

Stop at other resorts that are spread across the island. When people visit Roatan, they rarely go outside of the small segmented zone they rent a room within. I would suggest a visit to Reef House Resort- a little jewel which very few people ever get to.

A good source of first hand user reports: http://forums.roatan.com/?forum=25272

 

[diversteve]

You/your wife might enjoy some aspect of the Dolphin program at Anthony's Key. There's a beach encounter and a snorkel in the pens as options. Roatan Dolphin Encounter & Dolphin Swim | Anthony's Key Resort

There's also really good snorkeling off Half Moon Resort in the West End according to their website. http://www.roatanhalfmoonresort.com/index.html

The bay area just steps away from our resort is considered as one of the best places in the world to practice snorkeling;

It's on the east side of Half Moon Bay - about a 5 min. walk from the West End. Head east on the main road then the 1st left. The resort is a little farther up on the left.

There's also the ziplines...
Pirates of the Caribbean Canopy Tour - Zip Line Tours - Roatan, Honduras
Roatan :: Zip Line Tour :: South Shore Canopy Zip Line

One of the best Indian Restaurants in the Western Hemisphere - not my opinion - read the reviews - is Ooloonthoo in the West End. Ooloonthoo Indian Cuisine | Please Call: 504-9936-5223 | Roatan Honduras Argentinean Grille in that area is another option - outdoor dining. http://roatanposada.com/restaurante2.html

There's some shops to poke around in near there - most of the nightlife is in the West End. Often later in the week. If you're staying somewhere else, there's a taxi stand right across from the main entrance into the West End for the ride back - cabs were usually there all day and pretty late at night.

Nicest beaches are a few miles farther west in West Bay. Usually there's sand flies so bring Deet or the equivalent. And some sort of no-see-ums under the tables at night or when it's still.

 

[NC StateGuy]

I know, not diving but going down there. This is more of an explatory trip to see if we want to go back in Sept or try something else. Some great ideas in y'alls replies and I truly appreciate the guidance. I now have a host of ideas to research. We hired day pangas in Loreto and had a blast. Had our own island for lunch and saw some virgin coral and fish that were absolutely curious. Also spent about 8-10 minutes along side a whale shark which was mind blowing.

 

[RTBDiver]

You'll do the usual stuff (seaplane rides, submarines, golf, the chairlift, etc).

UPDATE,
The illegal seaplane crashed and is no more, fortunately no one was seriously injured, The craft, Designed for a pilot and one passenger, As per the maker of the kit, yes it was a home built kit plane, was carrying three pasengers.
The fancy chairlift along flat ground to the beach is only for cruisers. I am so dissapointd I missed the plane ride and cannot do the chair lift. I guess I am stuck divng and snorkeling from my steps

---------- Post added ----------

. Had our own island for lunch and saw some virgin coral and fish that were absolutely curious. .

If the corl looked big and healthy it wasnt virgin , it has been spawning for a long time. And if a guide took you there it also wasn't virgin to visitors but glad it looked healthy

 

[Doc]

The fancy chairlift along flat ground to the beach is only for cruisers. I am so dissapointd cannot do the chair lift.

I read in Ski Magazine that there was a 400 persons per hour capacity with a 4' vertical change in elevation and a 1/3 mile run out. There was a nice ski rental shop at the top of the hill. Seemed to be a total ban on snowboards. Shortsighted idiots.

Too bad they never open the run directly under the lift- they should pad the lift towers and let the locals go nuts.

 

[Carlos Danger]

Definitly do the zipline tours - super fun!

 

[LeafyGirl]

Have a short but great stay! Bet you'll want to go back, we've been 11 times. Get a local guide to take you to Jonesville and find captain Clyde and take a dori ride through the mangroves, and stop in to BJs backyard in Oakridge for some cold refreshments. Ditto on the deet, the sandflies are rough, and some like me are allergic so the bites can become a real problem. Stop at Herby's in Pineapple Villas for a great meal and some nighttime entertainment. Yes at least get in some snorkeling. The dolphin exhibition at AKR is worth checking out. Enjoy la isla!

 

[diversteve]

I read in Ski Magazine that there was a 400 persons per hour capacity with a 4' vertical change in elevation and a 1/3 mile run out. There was a nice ski rental shop at the top of the hill. Seemed to be a total ban on snowboards. Shortsighted idiots.

Who needs snow?

View attachment 127891

 

[John_B]

UPDATE,
The illegal seaplane crashed and is no more, fortunately no one was seriously injured, The craft, Designed for a pilot and one passenger, As per the maker of the kit, yes it was a home built kit plane, was carrying three pasengers.

I signed up for the flight a couple years ago, just myself, and explicitly asked the pilot to spend "however much time the regular tour took" concentrating on just the south reefs so I could get lots of photographs. Of course, once airborne, he insisted on doing his normal shtick instead (and blew off a fat tip in the process, go figure).

The plane may have been designed as a two-seater, but when I flew in it the plane looked for all the world as though it had originally been built as three-seater. IANAP, but I looked it over pretty carefully before I boarded it, and it looked like any other open-cockpit ultralight I've had the pleasure to fly on.

The spiel was that it was purpose-built for Nat Geo, was that not true?