Roatan Hotels - Anthony's Key vs. Ibagari
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Regardless of where you stay in Roatan, bring bug spray of some kind.
Regarding bugs. Don't forget to pack several bottles of off! or your favorite brand of deet bug spray and use it like your life depended on it. As a florida boy, I'm used to bug spray.. it's necessary here too. Last time I was in Roatan, there was a man who had forgotten bugspray. I've never seen anything like it, literally hundreds of bug bites. He was miserable. You might not encounter a lot of bugs, but you probably will. Better safe than sorry. AKR does sell some kind of "eco-friendly bugspray" - I can't remember the name. Not sure about other places on the island, but surely they must.
We use "off! familycare". It's got less deet than regular or deep woods off. However it feels much nicer on your skin, smells better, and gets the job done just fine. Also, it is almost like a powder spray (think deodorant) rather than liquid. No reason to get the stronger stuff that I can think of.
Regarding bugs. Don't forget to pack several bottles of off! or your favorite brand of deet bug spray and use it like your life depended on it. As a florida boy, I'm used to bug spray.. it's necessary here too. Last time I was in Roatan, there was a man who had forgotten bugspray. I've never seen anything like it, literally hundreds of bug bites. He was miserable. You might not encounter a lot of bugs, but you probably will. Better safe than sorry. AKR does sell some kind of "eco-friendly bugspray" - I can't remember the name. Not sure about other places on the island, but surely they must.
We use "off! familycare". It's got less deet than regular or deep woods off. However it feels much nicer on your skin, smells better, and gets the job done just fine. Also, it is almost like a powder spray (think deodorant) rather than liquid. No reason to get the stronger stuff that I can think of.
KatieMac
Contributor
I'm sure you need it anywhere in the Caribbean, Roatan not unique in this regard. As I mentioned, it's the same in Florida. Probably every tropical and subtropical location on the planet. I only pointed it out because it seemed to me like the discussion was heading towards one resort or another not having bugs, and assuming that could ruin a vacation in a hurry.
It's true that you may need insect repellent anywhere in the tropics but a lot depends on the breeze, if it is very calm the mosquitos and sand fleas can be very bad. And of course time of day can be important, some types of the mosquitos may be more active at dusk and during the night.
I think that some of our worst experiences with biting insects have been on Roatan, mainland Belize and Ambergris Caye, Mexico, and some of the Bahamian Outislands - including San Salvador. The biggest bugs we've encountered were on Saba, and one time we were inundated with incredible numbers of termites on Curacao, you had to scrape them off your gear to go diving.
Some of the more developed areas like Nassau or Grand Cayman do a pretty good job with insect control in my opinion, but you can still get bad bites in the more remote areas on GC and on the Sister Islands.
So having insect repellent handy and using it is generally a good idea, but I think that the reason that it comes up so often in regards to Roatan is because of the risk of mosquito-borne tropical diseases like Malaria and Dengue Fever. You really do want to protect yourself from bites on Roatan and in the Bay Islands, and take the malaria medication before, during, and after your trip.
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I don't remember needing any bug spray on Grand Cayman but I believe they spray there.
We did have an ant problem all week in our kitchen. There you've got the Ritz, the Kemper Seafire, the Westin, the Marriott Grand. Some have on-site ops, but there's about 2 dozen local operators all of whom pickup. And maybe 6-8 decent shore dives.
The windier islands like the USVI's/BVI's either, there's always a breeze. We rented a big villa on Virgin Gorda once - didn't have A/C - didn't need it. Most nights I left my exterior room doors open.
Son-approved there would be Little Dix Bay resort, Peter Island Resort in the BVI's or several of the St Thomas/St John properties like the Westin, the Ritz-Carlton or Caneel Bay - all have dive operations. Really the Marriott at Frenchman's Reef is not bad either but their dive operation doesn't get the best reviews here. It's in kind of an isolated spot to drive to other dive operations from.
I don't remember a bug problem on Providenciales (Provo) in the Turks/Caicos but only spent about 2 days on-island (liveaboard)
There just about every resort/condo resort property is nice, many along Grace Bay Beach, one of the nicest in the world and they know it.
It or Grand Cayman are the priciest places I've dove.
If bugs aren't your thing, don't go to Utila - it's worse than Roatan, There;'s a big mangrove lagoon in the middle of the island, our resort moored their boats there. One dusk dive we had a Deet fight to get out, they were so thick there were clouds of them in the setting sun. Didn't seem to bite but they got in your hair, clothes, mouth...
During my time on Utila I didn't regularly use repellant. The bugs were at times thick and annoying, but as I recall, they indeed didn't seem to bite. Granted, I tried to stay away from the mangroves, etc. I guess the people who live in theses places just bear it. There isn't enough repellant on the whole island to cover every person every day.
The last time we were on Provo in the T&Cs the mosquitos were terrible. There wasn't much breeze and eating out became a real problem because many of the restaurants are open-air outside dining. We finally started hunting for indoor dining options which really limited our choices. So when it is breezy Provo is a great option with few biting insects but when it is calm - not so much - and be prepared to use repellent.
robint
Contributor
The only place safe in Roatan from the bugs is UNDERWATER.
I just returned from a trip(cruise actually, only there 1 day) and got bitten all over my shins front and back when walking on the beach. It happened in seconds, all at once. I haven't been bitten there before like this, usually only one or two bites ever. This time I have close to a hundred bites total. I hope they go away soon, its been 5 days already.
I just returned from a trip(cruise actually, only there 1 day) and got bitten all over my shins front and back when walking on the beach. It happened in seconds, all at once. I haven't been bitten there before like this, usually only one or two bites ever. This time I have close to a hundred bites total. I hope they go away soon, its been 5 days already.
Hollieag02
Registered
KidDoc - which hotel did you choose and why? I’m looking at going there myself in a few weeks and curious what you found. Thanks!
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