First trip to Roatan

[jcparkey]

Hi all - I'm planning my first trip to Roatan for late August. I was wondering if folks on the forum that have gone before could help me out.

1 - August is what works best for my calendar...can anyone comment on the diving? I've heard that Whales Sharks can migrate that way during that time of the year.
2 - I'm going on a Live Aboard and while I always fly in the day before, this time I can't. Flights I'm finding get in around noon...and I need to be on the boat by 4:30p. My question is, are the flights. generally on time? I'm airline agnostic, so if there are airlines ppl think have more of a history with being delayed or canceled, I'd apprecaite any advice. I 100% get that there are a lot of variables that could impact flights.
3 - any recommendations for dinner around the Roatan Yacht Club Marina in French Harbor?

 

[therookie]

Hi @jcparkey! I can make a few comments:

1 - I am a self-confessed totally biased Roatan fanboy (we don't live there but that is the closest thing I have to "local" diving) so you'll only hear postiive things from me about Roatan diving, any month of the year . August is a great month to go, however, and I believe it is the start of the whale shark migration in this area. As far as whale shark sightings go, though, they are rarely reported around Roatan. Utila is much better known for whale sharks, and in fact last year right at the end of August/first part of September there were a string of whale shark sightings - see this post:

Whale sharks around Utila, September 2025

If you're on a liveaboard (the Roatan Aggressor, I presume?) the planned itinerary usually includes Utila and your chances of a whale shark encounter are probably better towards the end of August than many other times of the year.

2 - A quick check on my own of flight schedules from IAH (assuming you are flying out of there) shows United arriving at 11:30-ish and American at 12:30-ish. From the experience of my dive buddies meeting us on the island both airlines are about the same in terms of on-time arrivals, and I wouldn't rate either of them as "poor". What is possibly a bigger issue for you is the poor immigration / customs process. Given those arrival times if the two flights wind up arriving close together (say United is 45 minutes late and American is 15 minutes early) then everyone is going through immigration at once, and that can be a 2+hour ordeal.

3 - If you have a bit of time, we very much like a restaurant named "Ikigai by Robby Molina" in French Harbor. An interesting fusion menu and our experiences there have always been excellent. I say "a bit of time" because if they are busy your food won't come quickly, but if you are there mid-afternoon as we try to be it usually isn't very long at all between placing your order and food being served. It's maybe a 10 minute walk from the yacht club, a couple of minutes by taxi.

Hope your plans work out!

 

[jcparkey]

Hi @jcparkey! I can make a few comments:

1 - I am a self-confessed totally biased Roatan fanboy (we don't live there but that is the closest thing I have to "local" diving) so you'll only hear postiive things from me about Roatan diving, any month of the year . August is a great month to go, however, and I believe it is the start of the whale shark migration in this area. As far as whale shark sightings go, though, they are rarely reported around Roatan. Utila is much better known for whale sharks, and in fact last year right at the end of August/first part of September there were a string of whale shark sightings - see this post:

Whale sharks around Utila, September 2025

If you're on a liveaboard (the Roatan Aggressor, I presume?) the planned itinerary usually includes Utila and your chances of a whale shark encounter are probably better towards the end of August than many other times of the year.

2 - A quick check on my own of flight schedules from IAH (assuming you are flying out of there) shows United arriving at 11:30-ish and American at 12:30-ish. From the experience of my dive buddies meeting us on the island both airlines are about the same in terms of on-time arrivals, and I wouldn't rate either of them as "poor". What is possibly a bigger issue for you is the poor immigration / customs process. Given those arrival times if the two flights wind up arriving close together (say United is 45 minutes late and American is 15 minutes early) then everyone is going through immigration at once, and that can be a 2+hour ordeal.

3 - If you have a bit of time, we very much like a restaurant named "Ikigai by Robby Molina" in French Harbor. An interesting fusion menu and our experiences there have always been excellent. I say "a bit of time" because if they are busy your food won't come quickly, but if you are there mid-afternoon as we try to be it usually isn't very long at all between placing your order and food being served. It's maybe a 10 minute walk from the yacht club, a couple of minutes by taxi.

Hope your plans work out!

Super helpful! Thank you very much

 

[CajunDiva]

Super helpful! Thank you very much

Hi all - I'm planning my first trip to Roatan for late August. I was wondering if folks on the forum that have gone before could help me out.

1 - August is what works best for my calendar...can anyone comment on the diving? I've heard that Whales Sharks can migrate that way during that time of the year.
2 - I'm going on a Live Aboard and while I always fly in the day before, this time I can't. Flights I'm finding get in around noon...and I need to be on the boat by 4:30p. My question is, are the flights. generally on time? I'm airline agnostic, so if there are airlines ppl think have more of a history with being delayed or canceled, I'd apprecaite any advice. I 100% get that there are a lot of variables that could impact flights.
3 - any recommendations for dinner around the Roatan Yacht Club Marina in French Harbor?

It's been a few years, but we had a great time aboard our Roatan Aggressor trip. Utila and Cayos Cochinos were part of our itinerary. It was a September trip. We didn't see any whale sharks, but wishing you all the best!

We have been frequent Roatan visitors since 2001. Our flights have all been on United and we've never had any late arrival issues. As mentioned, getting through customs & immigration will be the most tedious process, so I'd recommend booking the flight that is due to arrive earlier.

Have fun!

 

[KatieMac]

The flight timing on that day would really worry me. Although the late arrivals aren't a Roatan thing, they are related to airlines/departures.

Whale sharks? No guarantee - 13 years in Roatan and I've seen a total of ZERO.

But, a friend in West End spotted one last week and also a few weeks ago. So I'm keeping my fingers cross for a sighting when I'm there in March

Curious ... why restaurant recommendations if you're flying in the day of departure?

 

[laurenceh]

Generally August is a great month for diving the bay islands, water will be around 85f and as clear as gin. We always try to spend some time in later August or September down there. We saw a whale shark last September on the north side of Utila but they've been few and far between for the last 5-6 years.
Give us a wave, we're across from the Utila Cays and the Aggressor usually spends an afternoon diving near us and the night at anchor close by.

 

[OMyMyOHellYes]

What is possibly a bigger issue for you is the poor immigration / customs process. Given those arrival times if the two flights wind up arriving close together (say United is 45 minutes late and American is 15 minutes early) then everyone is going through immigration at once, and that can be a 2+hour ordeal.

It is my suspicion that the entire Honduran immigration bureaucracy at RTB is primarily a government-backed employment program for the Roatan economy.

 

[therookie]

It is my suspicion that the entire Honduran immigration bureaucracy at RTB is primarily a government-backed employment program for the Roatan economy.

Not just Roatan. Try flying into SAP when Delta, United, American and Spirit have all arrived within 10 minutes of each other