Open up any dive magazine and you will see adds or articles or both about Roatan. The fact you are reading this already tells me you have an interest in Roatan, presumably for diving. There isn't much else to do there. However, these days, cruise ships are regular visitors and more non-divers are frequenting the island. Although Roatan still retains it's rustic charm, I wonder for how long. For the time being, some of the best diving in the Caribbean is to be had here for bargain basement prices.

In general, Roatan is a tropical paradise, with hilly terrain. The population areas are few, but you'll find some poverty and crime. The beaches are beautiful, complete with swaying coco palms, and the most beautiful blue ocean surrounding it all you'll see anywhere. Prices for food at restaurants on the island are on the high side, but you'll find the sweetest lobster, and worth the $30US you'll pay to get it.

Coco View, Anthony's Key and Fantasy Island are three of the largest, and most well respected dive resorts on the island. I have been to both Coco View and Fantasy Island (see my reviews). A number of other high quality, smaller hotels can be found here. All tend to cater to the diving public. During my first visit to Roatan, I stayed at a relatively unknown, small dive resort, and found ourselves wishing we had paid a few dollars more to stay at a larger one. Our accommodations were nothing more than a bed and a bathroom. The food was awful, and the majority of the guests at our hotel were robbed by staff. Thankfully, they closed down the hotel I speak of. Where you stay on the island will depend on a number of factors: how much you wish to spend and where you wish to dive. There is excellent diving all over the island, and most dive operations have great DM's and staff to show you what makes Roatan so special. Most hotels include accommodations, meals and diving for one price and nearly all run specials. Pick up a copy of Scuba Diving magazine or log onto www.scubadiving.com for more information about Roatan. Dive packages are relatively inexpensive and go for between $500-$800pp, w/o airfare. Most of the better larger resorts offer packages in the $700 range today, but you can still find bargains similar to what I paid six years ago ($450pp at a small hotel). But be careful. Our "bargain" resort didn't have any locks on room doors, the food was awful and our entire group went home ill.

I never in my life expected Roatan to become a cruise ship destination, let alone call upon it one day by ship. However, in March 2000, we spent a day there while on a cruise. I had a great time, but not all people on the cruise shared my excitement about Roatan. The majority of passengers coming to the island for the first time found it dirty with not much to see or do. Unless of course you are into scuba diving. The snorkeling was marginal at best I heard. But if you are planning to visit Roatan by ship and intend to go scuba diving, I recommend you do one of two things: make prior arrangements with Anthony's Key (AKR) to pick you up at the ship's dock or head over to Las Palmas, where you can book your own diving (the ship may or may not shuttle you there. Our's did.) Two tanks most places will run about $35 ($45 at Las Palmas and around $50 with at AKR). Getting to the dive shops who were charging $35 posed a problem for us, as cab fare was more than what we wanted to spend (around $15). Although higher, AKR's convenient port pick up is worth the extra bucks. They were booked, so we managed to dive with the shop at Las Palmas.

I strongly urge anyone thinking about Roatan to research their accommodations via the internet. Many rooms still do not have air conditioning, and Honduran standards are still far below ours. Much of the food consumed on the island is imported from the mainland. Our hotel the first time we visited the island, was forced to serve canned food for three days, since the boat making the food run was delayed in port on the mainland.

The diving here is excellent, and worth coming back for. All the resorts cater mainly to divers. I wouldn't recommend going into town alone after dark, and I urge anyone interested in Roatan to research this destination well to avoid disappointment. Like most developing countries, you'll find lots of poverty here.

All our trips to Roatan centered around scuba diving and you'll meet divers from around the world here. Roatan offers divers interested in under water photography to sharpen their skills with 150+ feet of visibility and some of the most incredible corals and sea creatures anywhere. I have no problems recommending Roatan to any of my dive friends, however non-divers may not find Roatan as appealing.




Recommended: Yes