Nice beach with snorkel for non-diver wife???

[jeremyl]

My wife and I are planning a ~2wk trip. Depart ~ Mar 25 from US. Something relaxing, tropical calm waters. Sitting in the sand. Snorkeling & diving... We are making a short-list of destinations. Never been Honduras so thought it might fit the bill. She is non-diver but would like to snorkel. Looking for a nice place to sit on the beach. Calm waters. Dont need uber-luxury but would like very nice setting, beach and good snorkeling off the beach (and she would not be opposed to uber-luxury).

Does Roatan/Utila work for this? Resort recommendations?

Other suggestions are welcome. For reference I am trying sway her away from Bora Bora - for financial reasons. Would like a $5K budget including air from West Coast US, so with flight (~$800pp) there is decent room left for some luxury (and diving for me). Boro Bora is $2K+ for flights alone, as are most of the "hut-over-water" lodging locations she is drawn to, so I need something competative to VERY nice beaches but hopefully at a decent financial savings.

I would of course like a dive-destination (although surfing is fun too)... trying to figure out a place that would satisfy everyone.

 

[newyorkdiver]

Hi Jeremyl,
For snorkeling, Roatan would be best. The beach on the town of West End, Half Moon Bay, around the area of Stanley's submarine, has the reef right there. She can also snorkel from anywhere but has to watch for the water taxis before she gets to the reef. Also, you can walk (about 45 minutes) from West End to West Bay, the reef is pretty close there too.
I would recommend Seagrape Plantation Dive shop in West End (by the way, West End is a lot cheaper than West Bay). Their boat is right there and you don't need to walk across the dock, the beach or the street with all your gear. All the dive shops are excellent, prices are similar. I just found the other dive shops had pretty crowded boats, a whole bunch of cool, young-ish, mostly experienced divers whereas Seagrape was more personal, less intimidating. So it depends on what you and your wife like. In West End, Seagrape Plantation and Las Orquideas are very nice, not expensive and QUITE! I tried other places and it got noisy with the bars at night.
Just my opinion. I just got back last Saturday from Roatan.

 

[jeremyl]

Thanks for the info. For her the key will be easy-goin'. She has some mobility issues so needs pretty easy access to beach/snorkel (45min walk isn't going to happen). So main goal is for a resort/hotel that has very easy access to a very nice beach with very nice snorkeling with flat water (more than a little chop and she isn't going to be able to go on her own).

For me for diving I can do whatever - I am happy to deal with a little inconvenience to get a great dive shop/crew. With 2wks we could do both islands if it made sense. Also I heard about some spanish learning to be had... she is conversant in spanish but would love some good schooling if that were an option (one other idea for our vacation was a surf-n-spanish getaway... she learns and I surf).

Note: We are not usually hoity-toity travelers... we have backpacked across Italy and stayed in bed-bug infested hotels in Belize... just for this trip she wants to splurge, relax, and live in a bit of luxury. A resort where you say "WOW" when you walk into the door. Seagrape would be perfect for our usual vacations... but I think if I dont kick it up a notch for this trip I may be in trouble... Remember Bora Bora is on her mind.

Thanks,
Jeremy

 

[billmosel]

Jeremy, look at the the posts here on this board. They have all the information you're looking for. I had just posted on another post about Bananarama resort. They have what you're looking for, nice beach, good diving, restaurants close to shopping and fairly inexpensive. Check them out Bananarama Dive Our Eco Friendly Dive Center and Beach Front Resorts :: West Bay Beach Hotels

 

[diversteve]

Notice that many posts here that discuss beaches on Roatan mention Sand Flies (Fleas?)?

I can't think of anything on Roatan that can compete with Bora Bora. There is no beach at Seagrape either - it's on ironshore. So your wife would have to walk 5-10mins. to Half Moon Bay beach - which while pretty nice for Roatan standards is never going to win a Best Beaches award. Maybe Barefoot Cay is an option but even they don't have the best beach.

Other suggestions are welcome.

For WOW you want Grace Bay on Providenciales - Turks & Caicos. It's one of the 10 best beaches in the world - with excellent snorkeling. Not going to be cheap though. I'm not sure I'd want to spend 2 weeks there either - it's pretty quiet - maybe move to Grand Turk your 2nd week. The diving off West Caicos and French Cay is some of the best I've ever seen...done via day boat.

Or Little Dix Bay on Virgin Gorda. I want to go back there just to snorkel and I'm a pretty hard-core diver on most vacations. It's really shallow, protected and has DiveBVI on-site. When we went in there to pickup divers on their boat, turtles dove for the bottom. And the resort itself is 5 Star - and priced accordingly. Some of it is a little vertical - the villas are perched over the beach on the hillside. But I think the rooms are beachside. Also snorkeling at the Baths nearby - although with mobility issues, do it by boat - it's a long, twisty path down. View the photo gallery - there's pictures of all of it.

There's also some nice beaches/resorts on St. Thomas's East End if you want to change during the second week. Most people move between the USVI/BVI's by fast ferry - there's a lot of them and they run often. From St. Thomas it's a quick hour ride to Tortola then on to Virgin Gorda. You may have to overnite either way in St. Thomas - we weren't able to get to VG the same day w/o chartering a boat. On the return my friends left VG around 8am, were on St. Thomas by 11 for a 1PM flight that got them home early evening. Also check flights thru San Juan PR. Or you can fly into Beef Island - the BVI's main airport - on Tortola then over. There's also some nice resorts on St. John in the USVI's. And good snorkeling - not sure about the diving on St. John.

 

[Doc]

....as are most of the "hut-over-water" lodging locations she is drawn to, so I need something competative to VERY nice beaches but hopefully at a decent financial savings.....

For Roatan, how's this grab you?

No beach at all, but who wants to feed the sand flies of Roatan?

 

[Osric]

For WOW you want Grace Bay on Providenciales - Turks & Caicos. It's one of the 10 best beaches in the world - with excellent snorkeling. Not going to be cheap though. I'm not sure I'd want to spend 2 weeks there either - it's pretty quiet - maybe move to Grand Turk your 2nd week. The diving off West Caicos and French Cay is some of the best I've ever seen...done via day boat.

This is what I was going to recommend too. We've stayed at the sands twice on Grace Bay and it's very nice indeed - one of few carribean destinations we've done twice. However it might not fit your price requirements ... and the walk to Coral Gardens is far from the sands, but there are other choices (including houses on the beach) that are very close to coral gardens for snorkeling, while you get a dive op to pick you up for diving.

Osric

 

[Shawnda]

Any where on West Bay Beach would suit your wife and you very nicely. There are many small/meduim sized resorts, with the nicest being Infinity Bay, and then the Mayan Princess. Best beach on the island, excellent snorkeling right off shore, dive shops right there, and many restauarants, etc. just a short water taxi ride away.

 

[CODMAN]

just for this trip she wants to splurge, relax, and live in a bit of luxury. A resort where you say "WOW" when you walk into the door. Seagrape would be perfect for our usual vacations... but I think if I dont kick it up a notch for this trip I may be in trouble... Remember Bora Bora is on her mind.

From what I know of Roatan (from my trip and from a lot of reading on this forum), there is nothing there that will fit your Wifes requirement! I agree 100% with some of the others that Turs and Caicos would be a great option. Cheaper than BoraBora, incredible beach some snorkeling to be had (although not sure just how easy access that is from the beach) and great diving (beautifull vertical walls, clear water, pelagics, etc...). And there are resorts there that fit the "Luxury" description you made...

Just my honnest 0.02$

 

[GoodKarmaKid]

A little surprised nobody has recommended Barefoot Cay on Roatan. (can't post the url because of my post count)

Although I haven't stayed there, I have toured the property and it is pretty nice. Spend a little extra and get one of the Villas.


The Diving is great on the South Side.


As a couple others mentioned a few of the condo/hotels on West Bay Beach would also fit the bill but the beach is going to be much more crowded especially on Cruise Ship days (which is pretty much everyday during the timeframe your looking at).


Jason