stevep4444
Contributor
Here are some highlights from my trip to Roatan last week:
- flight was non-stop out of Toronto to Roatan and Roatan to Liberia to Toronto on the way back for $145 plus $240 tax. Great deal!
- stayed in the West End in a cabin at Lost Paradise Inn. Rustic and simple but I like it that way and for the location on the water.
- dove with West End divers. I feel comfortable there,they are safe but still give you you flexibility, Mickey is a great DM who is awesome at spotting cool stuff big and small,they have good and reliable boats, get the most out of every dive, small groups and were very accomodating with doing dive sites that customers wanted to do.
- vis was great at the beginning of the week but reduced a little later in the week
- my favorite dive sites include Texas,Bear's Den,Hole in the Wall,Canyon Reef and El Aguila. These offer a great variety of dive experiences from wreck (Agulia) to caves (Bear's Den) to tunnels/cut throughs (Canyon), and Texas is a great drift dive in fair to quick currents with usually many big fish and big coral to see.
- marine life was plentiful as we saw many of the regular reef fish,turtles,rays,eels,lobster,crab ,shrimp,etc. Lionfish can be seen on many of the dives. Seem to be very plentiful in the 60-85 ft range on the walls. As many diveshops are licensed to spear them Mickey bagged 8 Lionfish on one dive alone. He brings them back to the dive shop and they get eaten.
- weather was great and the water temp was about 79 degrees which is cooler than I expected. I have been in Roatan the previous 2 Aprils and don"t remember the water temp being that low especially since I rarely dive with a wet suit the 2 or 3 degrees made a bit of a difference.
- there are still many good places to eat in the West End imo. Still think the best value is Rotisserie Chicken. Great chicken and salads at a low cost. You will find them to be popular with tourists and locals alike. Also, really like the Noodle Shack. Great service ,pasta's and sushi. For a place to grab a beer, Sundowners is still popular.
-had to keep some non diving family busy while in Roatan so here are some activities that they liked. Rented a car for $50 for the day and cruised the island doing some shopping in French Harbour. The Iguana farm is crawling with free roaming Iguana's.They never get tired of the Anthony's Key Dolphin snorkel. Gumbalimba Park is pretty good for $20 you can walk through and see many Iguana's,get to hold a Macaw,have monkey's climb on you, use the beach and pool area. For extra money there is the Canopy (fun). My wife and young daughter did the $3 water taxi from West End to West Bay and were able to spend the afternoon using the (very nice) pool and beach area at the Mayan Princess Resort for $10.
- as usual , you will always run into many friendly and interesting people from many parts of the world.
- the sunsets are outstanding most nights in the West End.
- make sure you have your equipment properly serviced before you go. Sometimes hard to find replacement batteries and such.
It may not be for everyone but I still love the vibe in Roatan and it keeps me coming back.
- flight was non-stop out of Toronto to Roatan and Roatan to Liberia to Toronto on the way back for $145 plus $240 tax. Great deal!
- stayed in the West End in a cabin at Lost Paradise Inn. Rustic and simple but I like it that way and for the location on the water.
- dove with West End divers. I feel comfortable there,they are safe but still give you you flexibility, Mickey is a great DM who is awesome at spotting cool stuff big and small,they have good and reliable boats, get the most out of every dive, small groups and were very accomodating with doing dive sites that customers wanted to do.
- vis was great at the beginning of the week but reduced a little later in the week
- my favorite dive sites include Texas,Bear's Den,Hole in the Wall,Canyon Reef and El Aguila. These offer a great variety of dive experiences from wreck (Agulia) to caves (Bear's Den) to tunnels/cut throughs (Canyon), and Texas is a great drift dive in fair to quick currents with usually many big fish and big coral to see.
- marine life was plentiful as we saw many of the regular reef fish,turtles,rays,eels,lobster,crab ,shrimp,etc. Lionfish can be seen on many of the dives. Seem to be very plentiful in the 60-85 ft range on the walls. As many diveshops are licensed to spear them Mickey bagged 8 Lionfish on one dive alone. He brings them back to the dive shop and they get eaten.
- weather was great and the water temp was about 79 degrees which is cooler than I expected. I have been in Roatan the previous 2 Aprils and don"t remember the water temp being that low especially since I rarely dive with a wet suit the 2 or 3 degrees made a bit of a difference.
- there are still many good places to eat in the West End imo. Still think the best value is Rotisserie Chicken. Great chicken and salads at a low cost. You will find them to be popular with tourists and locals alike. Also, really like the Noodle Shack. Great service ,pasta's and sushi. For a place to grab a beer, Sundowners is still popular.
-had to keep some non diving family busy while in Roatan so here are some activities that they liked. Rented a car for $50 for the day and cruised the island doing some shopping in French Harbour. The Iguana farm is crawling with free roaming Iguana's.They never get tired of the Anthony's Key Dolphin snorkel. Gumbalimba Park is pretty good for $20 you can walk through and see many Iguana's,get to hold a Macaw,have monkey's climb on you, use the beach and pool area. For extra money there is the Canopy (fun). My wife and young daughter did the $3 water taxi from West End to West Bay and were able to spend the afternoon using the (very nice) pool and beach area at the Mayan Princess Resort for $10.
- as usual , you will always run into many friendly and interesting people from many parts of the world.
- the sunsets are outstanding most nights in the West End.
- make sure you have your equipment properly serviced before you go. Sometimes hard to find replacement batteries and such.
It may not be for everyone but I still love the vibe in Roatan and it keeps me coming back.
