Roatan is an island in the country of Honduras. It is primarily a scuba diving destination. If you love to scuba dive then this may be heaven! But if you don't scuba dive you may be disappointed because overall it is a budget Caribbean destination.

We spent 7 nights at the Luna Beach Resort and were mostly satisfied. The property is ideally situated on the beach between West Bay and West End. The facility was clean and well maintained.  Overall, we loved the room, the location and the maid service. The bar, restaurant, and service were sorely lacking. The restaurant closed each day at 6:30 PM. This meant that if you wanted to eat on property you would have to rush to the restaurant at 6 PM, which happened to be sundown. The customer service was also not overly friendly. Our room was $115 a night, which we thought was a good value.

The picture to the left shows a beautiful bar that is located directly on the beach. Unfortunately this bar is never open. The restaurant and bar that are open, are located in the back of the property, away from the water. What a shame. The picture to the right shows our room. We were in the building to the right. Each building has 2 to 4 beachside units.

We were in suite G. This was a great room. We had a great porch which had an awesome hammock. Another nice thing about the room was that it was elevated off of the ground. Roatan has a real problem with insects, so I think this helps with guests being eaten alive. We never saw any bugs in our room. No ants, cock roaches, nothing. (Which is rare for the Caribbean)

Our room consisted of a queen bed, small refrigerator, fresh water, love seat, and large bathroom. The maids did an awesome job keeping the place clean. We watch them one day and it was amazing how thorough they were.Luna Beach has a generator so we always had electricity and hot water. The toiletries were pretty cheap so you may want to bring your own shampoo.

The pool was small but clean. The dock was where you could easily take a water taxi to either West Bay or West End. The walk to West Bay was about 30 minutes so we always took the water taxi to West Bay. But the walk to West End was only about 15 minutes, so we always just walked into town. The fare for the water taxi was $3 per person each way.

Luna Beach has numerous parrots on the property. We had heard that the owner takes in "rescued" birds.

Luna Beach also has a pretty decent dive shop. They have daily dives at 9 AM, 11 AM and 2 PM. The dives run $30. We went out on a West Bay dive and did the snorkeling option. This was $5 per person. They really cater to divers so I wouldn't recommend the snorkeling option if you are expecting any instruction or direction. When we arrived on the boat there was no way for us to tell who worked for Luna Beach and who were the divers. When I asked the question "Are you one of the dive masters", the response was "well, today I am acting as a dive master, but I really am a dive instructor". I was just trying to figure out who I could ask about the reef and instead I got a smug response. But the staff was young.....

It did look like they have a low dive master to diver ratio. On our dive they had 8 divers and 3 dive masters. That is excellent. 

We chose Luna Beach because we wanted to be able to walk into West End without taking a taxi. We don't normally like staying at resorts that are "isolated" because then you are "stuck" eating at the resort. Luna Beach is quite the opposite. First place we have been where you are actually stuck not eating there. You almost have to leave the property for dinner and drinks.

The sunsets at Luna Beach were great. Nothing like watching the sun go down from your front porch.

Anthony's Key, Roatan

We stopped by Anthony's Key Resort on our drive around the island on the scooter. The resort looks very nice but it looks like it caters almost 100% to divers. They had 8 full size dive boats! We went out to the "island" which is where a lot of the rooms and the pool/bar is located.

The pool and bar were very nice. The view was awesome, because the rooms are surrounded by water.

Some of the rooms are "over the water". These rooms looked really cool. Some had patios with hammocks directly over the water. Overall, we were impressed with the facility. If you like to scuba dive, this place should be considered.

Bananarama

Another property that we checked out was BananaRama. This was a property that we were considering, so we thought we would see what we were missing.Overall the property is pretty budget oriented. The bar is wonderful. The rooms looked pretty rustic.

We did not see the interior of the rooms.

The rooms were located behind the bar, so they are not really oceanfront. The dive boat was not a big dive boat, like the other resorts, but rather a glorified panga boat. No giant stride off of that thing!

One thing we did notice is that when the cruise ships are in town, BananaRama is over-run with cruise ship people. I'm not sure if they sell "tours" or if they are just selling chairs to the cruisers, but it was very crowded when the cruise ships were in town. The picture to the left shows the beach on a normal day. The picture to the right shows the same beach with a cruise ship in town.

Argentinian Grill

Probably our favorite meal was at the Argentinian Grill in West End. We grabbed a table on the beach which was really fun. Nothing like a nice steak on the beach with your toes in the sand. The only downside was the service was slow. But this was because this place is extremely popular and it was extremely busy. The portions are large so we split the beef fillet dinner. Dinner with an appetizer and two beers was $30.

Eagle Ray's

One of our other favorite places was Eagle Ray's in West End. The restaurant is located over the water near downtown West End. Our first visit was for lunch and the fish and chips were awesome. The fish was red snapper and it was fresh and delicious.

We went back for dinner one night and each had the potato soup and fresh fish fillet. With two beers the total for dinner was $30.

Barefeet Bar

We had dinner and the Barefeet bar twice during the week. It was very close to Luna Beach, the food was good, price was reasonable, and it was on the beach. If you go to Barefeet, and see a Swiss waitress called Marie, tell her that David and Carroll from California say Hi!

They have a Sunday barbeque which is a good deal. For $6 you get a choice of beef, chicken or pork. The chicken and pork are the best options.

Mavis & Dixie's

Our favorite place for lunch was Mavis & Dixie's in West End. It is hard to find, but it is worth the effort. The picture to the left shows the sign on the main drag in West End. You will need to walk down the alley and out to the point to get to the restauarnt.

The restaurant has a patio that looks out directly on to Half Moon Bay. The patio tables are wonderful.

The lunch special, shown to the left, is a full plate of food which includes Wahoo as the fish. For $6 it cannot be beat. Beers here are also cheap, only $1.50. This place has it all, nice view, good food, and good prices.

Tong's

After eating seafood for about 5 nights straight we decided on something different. Tong's is a oceanside Thai restaurant that is very good. We had an order or fried rice and Pad Thai. Both were very good. Although we did think the prices were a little high.

Roatan Ricks

Roatan Ricks is known for their burger so we gave them a try one night. The burgers were good, but nothing to write home about. Roatan Ricks is located across the street from Tong's so it is not on the water.

Foster's

Foster's is similar to Eagle Ray's in that it is located over the water. It is just down the road from Eagle Ray's. We also like Foster's. We watched the sunset and had the combo appetizer plate for dinner. It was very good.

Cayuco's

Another nice little beach place is Cayuco on West Bay. It is a small restaurant and bar located near BananaRama. The food was good and reasonably priced.

Thirsty Turtle

Our favorite bar on West Bay was the Thirsty Turtle at Bananarama. It is a fairly new bar and has a wonderful view view of the water.

We were there on a Sunday which happened to be a "Happy Hour". Local beers are only $1 from 1 PM to 7 PM. 

We also had lunch here. The menu was very limited and the food was just OK.

Sundowners

Probably our favorite bar in Roatan is Sundowners in West End. Very casual bar located directly on the beach in Half Moon Bay. Drinks are cold and cheap. Lots of locals and cruise ship employees frequent the place, which makes for interesting conversation.

Our favorite local beer was Port Royal. Nice lager with lots of flavor.

The bar is directly on the beach which means when you get too hot, you just go for a swim. There are also three Rottweilers that live at the bar. They are really sweet dogs. Carroll decided to give one a massage while in the water.

The snorkeling on Roatan is above average. By far, the best place we snorkeled was West Bay beach. We also snorkeled around Half Moon Bay, but found most of the coral dead.

Half Moon Bay

The picture above and to the left are from Half Moon Bay. We found most of the coral there to be dead. Although the bay is very beautiful, I would not recommend it for snorkeling.

West Bay

Our favorite place to snorkel was at West Bay. The key is to snorkel through the reef to the back side. The beach side of the reef is pretty worn down, but if you can make it through the "channel" you will be rewarded with a beautiful living reef.

The best place to shoot through the channel is to start just left of the last dock. You will see some buoys and the light blue water. Swim between the buoys and to the left.

The picture to the left is a "cleaning station". The parrot fish is being cleaned. To the right are some Christmas Tree Worms.

Large schools of Blue Tangs abound.

We also did a snorkel trip with Luna Beach Resort. They allow snorklers to accompany the divers on the shallow dives. We snorkeled Butcher's Bank.

We spotted some reef squid and a baby turtle.

We have not visited Roatan while on a cruise, but here are our suggestions on things you might do in Roatan if this is one of your ports. The first thing is that there is not much to do in Roatan where the ship docks. The picture to the right shows the downtown area. There are a few shops that will take you about 30 minutes to navigate. But other than that, there is not much to do within walking distance of the ship.

Coral Cay

One of the excursions offered by your cruise ship will probably be Coral Cay. We happened upon the place while driving our scooter around the island. The facility is dedicated to cruise ship passengers. In fact, I think we were the only "non-cruise ship:" people at the place.

The beach here is wonderful. Beautiful white sand and nice lounge chairs. This is a great place to just relax on the beach for the day. 

The only negative to this trip would be that the property is pretty isolated. So you wouldn't get to see any real island sites, but it is a very pretty place that might be worth your consideration.

West Bay Beach

West Bay beach is the nicest beach on the island. It has good swimming and wonderful snorkeling. The pictures above show the beach on a "non-cruise" day. When the cruise ships are in town this beach fills up, and for good reason.

The cruise ships have excursions that will take you West Bay. But you can easily do this on your own. It is about a $25 taxi ride, (each way), and you can rent chairs for $5. There are lots of taxis and you can purchase food and drink at one of the many beach bars.

It seems like most of the cruise ships leave Roatan early in the day. The Carnival ship in the distance had to leave at around 1 PM.

West End and Sundowners

If you want to relax at a bar and just enjoy life, then another option would be to hire a taxi to West End. West End has a few shops and lots of restaurants. The Sundowners bar is directly on the beach and they have free lounge chairs. So you could grab a chair, enjoy a cold beer, and spend the day on the beach. Plus have the option of walking around town. The beers are cold and cheap. The local beer is $1.50. A taxi to West End would be about $20 each way.

A final option would be to rent a scooter and explore the island. We rented from a scooter rental place at the far end of West End. (By the Barefeet Bar) Our rate was $25 a day. (With a $40 deposit) We had a blast. We heard that the scooters rent for $40 by the cruise ship.BUT I wouldn't recommend this option for everyone. The driving in Roatan is crazy. We drove slow and pulled over when the taxi's whirled by...

Half Moon Resort

One other cruise ship tour we ran into was a day of snorkeling in Half Moon Bay at the Half Moon Resort. The resort is perched on a rocky cliff at the end of the bay. We were not impressed with the snorkeling here.

The electricity is 110, (like the U.S.), so if you are coming from the U.S. there is no need for converters. BUT, the electricity seems to "go out" on a very regular basis. So I would recommend that you only stay at a place that has its own generator. 

The ATMs are few and far on Roatan. (And we read on the web that some people have had their PIN numbers stolen from various machines on the island) So we brought lots of U.S. cash down and were in effect our own ATM. When we arrived be left the majority of our money at the front desk under lock and key. This turned out to be very convenient. She make sure that you bring lots of small bills. We also found that everyplace took U.S. Dollars so there was no need to convert to limpuras.

Roatan has a lot of bugs so make sure you bring some effective bug repellant. We bought some "cactus juice" and it seemed to do the trick. It is also better for the environment then Deet products. (The Deet will rub off in the water and it can affect the fishes)The cactus juice also included sun block so that was an extra bonus.

You will also want to watch what you eat and drink. We didn't drink the water and be both still got sick on the trip. I think it might have been lettuce on a burger, but you might also want to pack some Imodium. 

You will find that there really isn't a lot of shopping on Roatan. There are a few "flea market" type places by the cruise ship and maybe three nice stores in West End. But other than that, the shopping is pretty much non existent. So don't go to Roatan thinking that you find all the "typical" Caribbean type shopping, because you won't. 

A must item on the packing list is to bring a flashlight! The power is ALWAYS going out there and you may need the light to find your way back home. When the power goes out, the crabs scurry around the streets of West End. The pictures above show some crabs that were taking advantage of the darkness.