Roatan Honduras is a stunning island in the Western Caribbean that will have you at HELLO! It is a growing tourist destination and cruises to the Caribbean brings thousands of people to visit weekly.
What makes Roatan such a great place to visit? Here are 7 amazing things to do in Roatan plus you will find a Roatan Travel Guide filled with videos and all you would want to know about Roatan.
7 Awesome Things To Do In Roatan Honduras
#1 Snorkel Roatan’s Coral Reefs
Roatan sits on the second largest barrier reef in the world called the Mesoamerican Reef. Snorkeling is a must on the island! The whole island is surrounded by amazing coral reef.
Imagine swimming from the beach into the gentle waters of the Caribbean and just offshore, you discover a wondrous underwater world. You will find that in Roatan!
Just about from any beach in Roatan, you can swim from shore to snorkel and see fish, coral and an ocean teeming with marine life.
In the above picture, this was a school of fish swimming in Half Moon Bay. They visit the bay daily!
For those who are not the best of swimmers, fish are even in the shallow waters.
For instance, in popular tourist beaches like West Bay, fish swim close to shore and sometimes even nibble at your feet. A natural pedicure. Lol! The best pedicure in the world.
# 2 Visit West End, Roatan
West End is a fun area in Roatan with a small-town island feel. (I prefer it over West Bay). You can shop, go for drinks, cool off with a swim at Half Moon Bay Beach, or eat at the many restaurants. West End has plenty to do to have fun.
I love West End because it feels more down to earth and less touristy than West Bay’s resort town.
Walk down West End for shopping, food and drinks.
Enjoy a drink by the beach at any of the seaside bars in West End.
West End’s a great place to shop…
You can also find unique souvenirs at Rusty’s or Waves of Art. Both support local artists and communities. In this video you will see some of the things you can find while shopping in West End. (Click here to watch)
(Pictured above) There is “nothing made in china” at Rusty Fish! Enjoy local-made souvenirs to take home.
Also at West End is an amazing beach which leads to #3 ……
#3 Visit Half Moon Bay Beach at West End
Looking for somewhere quieter and more relaxed than some of the busy beaches at West Bay? Try Half Moon Bay at West End. You will love the vibes.
The snorkeling is amazing at West End’s Half Moon Bay Beach…if you know where to enter the water. (I share that will you in this post… keep reading)
I went snorkeling once a day during my trip to Roatan and saw squid, octopus, a lobster and many different kinds of fish here. You can swim or snorkel right offshore without needing a boat to take you to the reef.
Half Moon Bay is great for relaxing, swimming, snorkeling and just enjoying the delightful scenery.
Roatan Travel Tip – Bring your own snorkel gear.
I recommend traveling to Roatan with your own quality snorkel gear so that you are always prepared to get into the water. Bringing your own gear will insure you are more carefree in the water and will be better than the snorkel gear you can rent.
#4 West Bay Beach
West Bay Beach may be busy but it is full of life and one of the top-rated beaches in the world. It is a great place to spend the day with all the activities available you can think of such as snorkeling, jet skiing or flying through the air on water jet packs.
The swimming and snorkeling from shore is also great at West Bay. If you are not comfortable snorkeling without a guide, there are many tour vendors who can take you snorkeling further out on the reef.
West Bay in Roatan is one of the top beaches in the world.
- TIP: Snorkel in front of the “Grand Roatan Resort” hotel at the very end of the beach for easy and shallow snorkeling. You can watch a video of snorkeling in West Bay here to get a glimpse of what you might see and where to snorkel.
VIDEO: WHERE TO GET BEST SNORKELING IN WEST BAY BEACH
West Bay Beach and Snorkeling in Roatan – Watch the video here.
#5 Take A Boat Tour
A boat tour around the island in any direction will offer you another view of Roatan. See Roatan’s lush tropical forest cascading across rolling hills while you sail by.
Many boat tours will take you snorkeling in one of Roatan’s many offshore reefs such as the Blue Channel or Spooky Channel. If you like starfish, there are also known spots along the reef where you can be taken to see them.
View from the boat ride around Roatan. You can see the reef below as you sail by!
#6 Zip Line To The Beach
Go ziplining at Monkey Trail Canopy at Gumbalimba Park and fly through the jungle on a zip line to the beach. With 2 ½ miles of 12 ziplines, including a zipline across a lagoon, it is a blast!
Gumbalimba is also a nature park which you can tour before or after the zipline. I saw monkeys up close and personal while on the zipline platforms. They’re very adorable.
So, while you will spend most of your time at the beach in Roatan, its good to set your fins aside and take at least one day on dry land to get another perspective of the island. Nature parks, ziplining or local tours are all great options.
Related Post: “Zipline To The Beach in Roatan”
RELATED VIDEO ZIPLINING AT GUMBALIMBA PARK.
RELATED VIDEO: EXPLORE NATURE AND WILDLIFE IN ROATAN
#7 Eat Baleadas
The most popular food in Honduras and the best deal for a good bite to eat in Roatan, are the Baleadas.
Balaedas as are homemade flour tortillas filled with beans and cheese. You can get them for about just $1. Try them with avocado, eggs, chicken or meat.
At Calelulus in West End, you can get Baleadas with meat for just a few bucks more. You can’t beat that! Calelulus was my favorite place to eat while on the island for both the food and affordability. I highly recommend it.
You can check out more of my top picks of places to eat here: Best Things To Eat in Roatan West End.
Baleada for $1 at Calelulu and this Daily Special for $5!
I hope that you have an amazing time in Roatan!
You will also find the Roatan Travel Guide helpful to plan your trip. It will give you all you need to know about visiting and answer common questions every traveler has before visiting.
Check out the guide here: “Roatan Travel Guide”
More Roatan Posts You May Find Helpful
- Roatan Ziplining – Zipline To The Beach
- Best Places To Eat In Roatan’s West End
- Roatan Travel Guide – Your travel questions answered!
- What’s There To LOVE About Roatan?
- Monkey’s, Parrots and Wildlife of Roatan – Gumbalimba Nature Park
The beaches in Honduras seem stunning. And that Zip line looks like so much fun. I need to put this place on my list of must visits and I cant wait to try the amazing food.
The zipline is a lot of fun and you would love it in Roatan. Thanks for stopping by Joella!
Hi Joella. Sorry for the late reply. My previous message never posted as I thought! …So glad you added this place to your list of places to see, it is well worth the visit. Lots to experience in Roatan. Snorkeling is my personal favorite.
Hi there, we used your guide to Roatan and had the most relaxing day at Half Moon Bay. We took a boat ride along the coast with the nicest young guy, Nelson. Highly recommend Half Moon Bay.
That is awesome! Sounds like a great time. Thanks for taking the time to let me know the guide helped you. That makes my day!
Thanks for the update Rina, things are always changing. I will make an update on the guide. Last time I went, they charge to use a beach chair but not get in the water. (I had no use for a chair) The snorkeling is really good at that entrance so I would probably still be willing to pay the fee. I have a feeling they started doing that during high season, Or maybe I told too many people about it lol…. Otherwise, hope you found the guide helpful.
Hi! we are going to Roatan in August, can’t wait and loved your post about it! We are staying at Grand Roatan. My question is… is it like Mexico when you are on the beach…vendors trying to sell you stuff non stop? And also, in your opinion are the animal parks worth it, or can you see monkeys and sloths just out and about on the streetand around town? also, with vendors…are prices negotiable like in Mexico?
Hi Jen. I’m happy for you that you will be in Roatan. My favorite place! The Grand Roatan is on the busiest beach on the island and so you will see some vendors on the beach. I don’t find them as aggressive as other places in the world and for the most part, you tell them you are not interested and it’s not a problem. It’s pretty relaxed in Roatan. Any other beach in Roatan, it’s highly unlikely you will find any other vendor or person trying to sell anything to you. So, just make sure you visit some other places in Roatan too, so that you can experience the differences…… You will not see monkeys and sloths hanging out on their own. Iguanas, yes, you will see those. I enjoyed the animal parks to see a different side of Roatan, but the water activities is what I most enjoy…. The vendors – are you referring to tour vendors? yes, it is negotiable in some cases. If you work with some of the tour companies directly like West Bay Divers for example, their rates are as is and reasonable.
What types of crafts did you see in Honduras? Looking to incorporate some into our Hispanic Heritage celebration.
Hi Jennifer. I saw a lot of woven baskets in a store which were handmade. In this video, I include some parts where I am shopping and show the crafts that are in the stores. Watch and this may give you some ideas. https://youtu.be/1EYz7D1ePG0
Are there places to rent bicycles when we get off our Carnival ship? We’d just like to explore a bit on our own. How far of a pedal would it be from the Carnival terminal to get to West End? Any specific restaurants you might recommend, that allow access to the beaches?
Hi Wade, honestly, I don’t know of any bicycle rentals at the port. I am not sure I would recommend pedaling from the port to west end, especially if its your first time there. They do have mo-ped rentals that you can get in Roatan which would be a better option… As far as restaurants with beach access, West End has tons of restaurants on the beach. Sundowners (in west end) is a nice open bar right on the beach and they have food as well with lounge chairs. I think you would be better off taking a taxi to west end or west bay and exploring from there.
Hi Ivory, I’m planning to go to Roatán, but I’m struggling trying to find a place to stay, like a hotel or resort, can u recommend me some?
Hi Kenia, when are you planning to go and are you traveling solo or with others?
Hi Ivory, can u give me suggestion how to get to west end from cruise port? Walking distance?
Hi Wei, you will need to take a taxi which are right outside the cruise terminal. West End nor West Bay is walking distance.
good day Ivory, would you know what is the best all inclusive resort in Roatan?
Hi Amador. I am not certain on the best resort as I usually rent a home. I do have my eyes on Torqoise Bay Resort as It looks really nice and snorkeling around there is great. Might want to check that one out.