Roatan, Honduras

Roatán, located between the islands of Útila and Guanaja, is the largest of Honduras' Bay Islands. The most populous town of the island is Coxen Hole, capital of Roatán municipality, located in the southwest. Other important towns include French Harbour, West End, and Oak Ridge, the capital of Jose Santos Guardiola municipality.

West End is definitely the most exciting town on the island. There are bars, restaurants, and live music right on the Caribbean. This is also where the best sunsets are, with maybe the exception of West Bay. Coxen Hole is not as attractive, however French Harbor has some good restaurants and resorts.

Activities available on the island include world class diving, snorkeling, kayaking, sailing, sports fishing, submarine tours, horse riding, island tours, hiking, shopping and massage and spa services and of course just relaxing.

Things to See and Do

* Scuba diving and Snorkeling
* Beaches
* Mangrove tours
* Fishing
* Roatan Butterfly Garden and Carambola Gardens

General information

Cruise Season - Jan - Dec
Currency - Lempira (HNL)
Language - Spanish, English
Population - 30,000 approx
Land Area - 480 km²
Electricity - 2 perpendicular flat pins USA style or with a round pin below
Time - GMT minus six hours
International Country Telephone Code - +504

Port Location - The port is located at Coxen Hole. The Cruise ship pier is located just west of the center of town.

Travel Links - Several US airlines offer non-stop flights to Roatan on weekends. Continental Airlines offers direct flights from Houston (Daily). Delta flies non-stop from Atlanta (Saturdays only).
Americian, Delta and Continental offer flights to San Pedro Sula on the mainland, from which you can get connecting service to Roatan.
TACA, a group of five regional airlines, offers service from Miami, Houston, New York, San Francisco and Washington DC with connecting service to Roatan, including mid-week flights. TACA also offers non-stop flights from Miami (Sundays only).

There are also local airlines such as SOSA, Atlantic, and Islena connecting the island with La Ceiba, San Pedro Sula, and Tegucigalpa.

The Galaxy Wave is a new ferry that travels to/from La Ceiba on the Honduras Mainland. The ferry is clean, comfortable, and very reliable. It departs from La Ceiba twice daily, once in the morning at 9:30AM and once in the afternoon at 4:30PM.