Roatan for non-diver

[Lorenzoid]

The beach, the pool, the kayaks, the theme nights--all of that stuff on the Key (pictured) looked like fun, but since we spent maximum time diving we never made use of any of it. We would have been just as satisfied with AKR had the Key--yes, Anthony's Key--not existed. The Hill side has everything a diver needs. The Key side is all about providing a non-diving experience. And it looked like fun. If I were a non-diver, I would have been happy with the amenities there.

 

[robint]

CCV is not the place for your wife. Sorry!
No beach, no pool, nothing to do but either dive or snorkel or talk about it. I am sure she would be very uncomfortable in that setting as everyone would be asking her why she is not in the water.

AKR seems like a much better choice, IMHO.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Frankly, IMO your desire for a cocoview experience vs your wife's preferences cannot be met on Roatan. Perhaps if you were willing to settle for something less than five dives a day, there might be something appealing for her down at West Bay. The tummy thing is probably going to be an issue though.

I've done five dives a day in West End but it only works if all the other "kids" want to play too, as there's no shore diving.

My real recommendation is separate vacations.

 

[Kharon]

My real recommendation is separate vacations.

My wife & I did that last fall. She went to Montana to hike and I went to Grand Cayman with my dive club. The GC thing didn't work out very well for me but she had a blast in Montana. In mid-December we went to St. John together with the idea of no diving, just hiking & snorkeling. The hiking was great - the snorkeling - well, it was OK. Certainly not Bonaire but wind kept us out of the best places. Still we had a great time. I'm planning to go to CCV to dive my brains out winter 2015 & we're still deciding if Belize (Placiencia) would be something that we could do together. All in all, seperate vacations work for me.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I believe Placencia is something you could do together, though it doesn't get a thumbs up from me for snorkeling. That said, there are some dive sites that have both. You could dive it, she could snorkel and you are both on the same boat. Contact Patti at Splash Diver center to discuss same. Be aware that boat rides are a good 45 minutes or more. Be sure to do some inland adventures, particularly ATM cave!!

Apologies to original poster for the slight hijack.

 

[diversteve]

I don't see any of the resorts you mentioned as meeting all your requirements. There are some that do but each has it's own limitations.

One you might consider is Luna Beach Resort. Although dining options there are limited to breakfast/lunch so for dinner it's about a 10min. walk/water taxi ride to the West End. Roatan accommodations - Roatan resort and beach

There's quite a few restaurant options in the West End - here's a partial list. Basically all the nightlife and most of the tourist shops also - except for those around the cruise ports.

We reliably managed 4 boat dives per day in the West End and there's one "advanced" shore dive. 10 boat dives is $300ish, night dives are $40 more. One of the dozen plus shops in town seemed to be night diving every night except Friday.

West Bay could also be an option. The beach there is the nicest public beach on Roatan. Bananarama, Mayan Princess, Infinity Bay, Las Rocas are all near/on it. Probably the best beach for access to the water also - some of the other "beaches" on Roatan have reef/weed close in to shore. The cruise ship excursions know this also. Gumbalimba Park is a nearby option for your wife also while you're gone.

Turquoise Bay is a little east of Anthony's Key and they have a small but nice looking beach area also. Subway Watersports is on-site there. Beachfront Roatan Resort With Valet Diving | Turquoise Bay Resort

There's also Parrot Tree Beach Resort - it's a condo complex farther east than Cocoview in First Bight on the south side. The attraction for your wife is their beach - the lagoon seen behind the condos. http://www.bookonline2save.com/hote.../parrot-tree-beach-resort-hn_12281407_500.jpg Pool's not too shabby either...

Their dive operator seems more family focused but there's a better one about 1/2 mile away or so. I found it once in the past year so search this forum for threads with my posts if interested. There's also a marina there so some operator may keep a boat or be able to pick you up there.

Some of the better diving is east but you'd be driving back from there for a lot of things. A cab out that far could be pretty pricey.

 

[Colo Hippie]

We have stayed at AKR, FIBR, & CCV.

CCV is for divers - end of discussion.

AKR is mostly for divers but it does not sound like it would be for your wife, the beach can hardly be called a beach. AKR is not really set up for someone that wants to lounge in the sun.

FIBR - has the best beach but the food sucks, the rooms suck and when cruise ships are in they are busy. The one bright spot for FIBR is the dive staff.

I would look at Barefoot Caye for your situation or rent a condo and go ala carte. Renting a condo gives you the option to get the wife her beach and then you can still get 4 dives a day with your preferred dive op. This also gives you the option to dive with shops on the North, West and South sides.

 

[diversteve]

I almost included Barefoot also. It's a little pricier than the ones you named but it's also a lot nicer. They rake/spray the beach but the one thing to check on there is water access - there's a lot of reef just off the property. Most of the way around there's a concrete barrier to keep the Cay intact also. On the land side it's deep enough for their water taxi, IDK if it gets any shallower on the ocean side. www.barefootcay.com

http://www.destination360.com/centr...tan-island/images/s/roatan-luxury-resorts.jpg

There is a barrier reef a short distance off the beach but there did seem to be some current in the lagoon also. The DM said it's about 15' deep at the ocean end and when I asked about shore diving there - he just laughed...They provide valet diving also - the morning we dove there we were their dive business for that day. Nice boat.

Mary's Place - one of the signature wrecks - is 5mins. off their dock. We also rode over on their boat and dove the Prince Albert off Cocoview. The palapa/dock off to the left is too deep for your wife - they do giant strides off it.

Food is really good and most of their business is from the less than a dozen villas, bungalows and lofts in the main building shore side. It's also just a few minutes from French Harbor - in addition to a small strip mall - there's also several larger food markets there. All the units at Barefoot have gourmet kitchens. I've even seen mention of their chef providing private cooking in yours on special occasions. So it's likely the food won't be an issue there.

It's a very pleasant place also - small staff but they go out of their way. There's also a pool and some sort of spa.

 

[Roatan Joe]

If your wife is a non-diver, I would pick a different destination for a lot of different reasons.. Long story short, there are many other places that are great diving locations that will also do a better job of accomodating a non-diver.