Roatan (West End) visit report - March 27 - April 3, 2009.
Great trip! Hard to not have a great time when you travel to a paradise island with a good looking companion on your arm
We decided to skip the all inclusives and enjoy West End to it's (arguably) fullest, staying at Posada Las OrquùÅeas, diving with Coconut Tree Divers and eating just about everywhere. I'm including as much as possible in this report, including non-diving related notes as hopefully someone will find it useful. Note that we spent the entire time in West End this time so much of the notes here are related to the 'strip' there.
Weather:
Always sunny and DAMN HOT some days. It was noted that easter week is the hottest week on the island. On Sunday, the wind was coming in strong from the West, making it too choppy for the dive boats to head out in the afternoon.
Diving:
Exceptional. We spend the first few days doing shallower, afternoon dives because my companion was completing her certification. First dive, not 5 minutes out from CTD, Moray eels, Turtle and a plethora of fish. Some of the more interesting (later) morning dives included Spooky Channel and Bear's Den. The formation of Spooky channel is an impressive sight in itself, but at the end of the dive we were on top of the reef, about 40' and it looked like an overpacked aquarium. Massive schools of fish, a turtle and an eagle ray. Bear's Den was Tim's suggestion (CTD) and it was spot on. Lots of swim thrus and the 'den' itself, an underwater 'cave' with some small holes in the 'ceiling' which allowed shafts of light to penetrate. Very fun dive. Unfortunately I missed Hole in the Wall (again!).
Coconut Tree Divers:
After reading many good reviews about them, I decided to drop by this time on the island. They were the only shop (that we asked) to offer my companion a 'warm up/discovery' session in the ocean for her open water certification, before jumping right into the certification. Their two tank, two location AM dives gets you back in time to plan something tangible in the afternoon. I fondly remember smiling as "Wish you were here" smoked the Luna beach boat on our way to 'Texas' ... she's a hella fast boat. The staff is engaged, ready to answer any question from "what the heck was that fish called?" to "what's the best beer on the island?". One of the managers, think it was Tree, clued me into the use of Ginger for nausea, which I was getting from equalization issues (buy it fresh from the produce trucks, chew on slices of it on the boat). I can't say enough about these folks, the staff is a fine blend of professional and fun. But at the core of it, it's the wealth of experience at this shop; the diving in general and the island as a whole which, IMHO, makes CTD second to none on the island.
We personally dove with Marco, Jose, Tim and Ragnhildur. All excellent, special props to Marco.
As an aside, we also heard good things about Reef Riders, Native Sons and West End Divers. I was certified advanced with West End Divers, but their new pricing ($45US for a fun dive vs $35US at CTD) was prohibitive.. even if they have an almost all female dive staff!!
Sandflies:
They're definitely biting. I tried the 'ironman' approach and was eaten alive. Traveling companion fared well with a 23% deet lotion. I can also confirm that some bites don't appear until much later, noticing a few new marks AFTER I arrived back home, assuming no sand flies were on the plane!
Lodging:
We stayed at Posada Las OrquùÅeas, owned by the same folks as Posada Arco Iris. It's located beyond the end of the strip to the north, beside Seagrape. I had a mixed experience here, first the good. I had requested a room with kitchenette, top (third) floor. We were given what I believe to be the best room in the place. It was room at the north end of the building, with views of the ocean to the north and Mangrove Bight to the east. Having windows on the north and east side allowed for a serious amount of gusty wind at times, especially at night and I do mean GUSTY! I haven't slept that well in years. The balcony had a hammock with a great view of Mangrove Bight and a table with chairs. Kitchenette with gas burners, large bar fridge with freezer, coffee maker and a mishmash of utensils. Bathroom was nice, hot water worked. The place was very clean and the towels were changed daily. There is a barely used partially covered dock with two hammocks and lounge chairs. Snorkeling is actually good near the reef just at mouth of the bight, about a 15 minute swim in not too deep water. Note, read the 'bad' section before actually snorkeling.
Now the bad, and mind you many of these things didn't really bother me as I know it's not a 5 star, but I mention them here for completeness. The hotel did not have a safe. I had specifically asked about this prior to booking and was told they did. I get a bit paranoid when I have no where to lock my passport. I specifically didn't like being misinformed. The windows slid up to open, but didn't stay up. I was instructed to actually remove the windows and set them on the ground to open it. Only annoying when you want to fully lock up when leaving, such as when you're leaving your passport in your room. The lock on our door broke one night, the entire assembly, in such a way that if we closed the door only the handle on the INSIDE of the room would open the door. We were told to leave the kitchenette window open and to reach in to the door if we went out. Only scary if you're leaving something valuable in your room, like say a passport. I told them to get the key from the another room and I transplanted the entire lock with my trusty leatherman utility thingy... don't leave home without it. The dock is in great shape, but the ladder on the side of the dock to get out of the water is toast. Gone, rotted out. Not a problem unless you want out of the water as the chunk of land from the tip of Half Moon bay around to about half of Mangrove bight lined by the 'iron shore' and not a sandy beach. It's a jagged formation of rock/coral, while fascinating to look at, does not allow for you to use to get out of the water. We had to swim over to someone's personal dock/ladder and apologized profusely to them. My companion also managed to cut her leg and foot fairly badly while we tried to deal with this missing ladder. One night, the hammock hook popped out of the wall and they had to come fix it. Initially the gas stove did not work and I had to play with the coupler to get it working, it seemed to be in a questionable state. The wireless internet didn't work. They enter the wireless password for you, your computer connects fine but their server never provides an IP address for your computer. This means you connect to their wireless but you still can't surf out, and yes I'm an IT guy so I know it wasn't my laptop. They didn't fix it the entire week. Lastly, while dealing with all these issues, the girls they put at the front desk seemed more interested in their Hi5 and Facebook accounts than dealing with customers.
Bottom line, loved the room, wasn't crazy about the administration. They built a nice spot but it's starting to show the initial signs of poor maintenance. The two major annoyances for me were lack of lock box in room/safe in the entire complex and the lack of a ladder on the dock, mostly because someone suffered physical injury because of this oversight. Check Trip Advisor for pics and full review if you're interested.
Restaurants:
Tongs - Thai. GREAT thai. Bit pricy ($12US for Green chicken curry, $15US for Massaman chicken curry special)
Noodle shack - Tasty asian style noodles, in a broth. Good deal. About $6US.
Rotisserie Chicken - My favourite spot, GREAT deal. Great example of 'do 1 thing and do it well'. About $5US gets you a 1/4 chicken with two sides, full meal.
Cantina - OK mexican, some swear by it. $5US gets you three small tacos, a bit bland I would say. Others highly recommended the Shrimp cocktail, it looked great but I couldn't (allergies).
Red hot chili - New mexican spot. Decent food, pricey. $8US for guacamole and chips. $15US for chicken and some rice. Slow service, but in fairness, we were there opening night.
Le Bistro - Passable mixed asian cuisine, mid-range ($10US). Others spoke highly of it, maybe we just hit the wrong dishes. I was annoyed when the owner tried to give us a crappy exchange on USD (15L to the dollar). Don't miss the karaoke nights here, fun times even if you don't sing.
Sundowners - You can't argue with a place that has a Toronto Maple Leafs parking sign out front. More importantly, you can't argue with their Monkey La La's, the best we managed to sample while on the island. The food is quite tasty as well, decently priced ($5US for chicken, bacon, avocado wrap). Local beer is little over $2US. A monkey la la (drink of the island) is $5.50US, $4 during happy hour. The place to be after the last dive of the day.
Argentinean Grill - Closed the entire time I was there!
Casa Calico - Hotel just beyond the strip to the north. Decent breakfast, good price ($4US, 2 eggs, beans, plantains, bread)
Small restaurant, down the pathway just beside CTD, up the long stairs - VERY nice lady. Cheap, decent, home cooked meals. The lunch is better than the breakfast. $5US for a chicken (or fish) meal with salad, beans, tortilla, rice. Great view and you can see the activity at CTD to know if you're about to miss that afternoon dive. Ask at CTD.
Cannibal Cafe - Good mexican, mid-range. Burrito was $9US (going from memory on this one)
BBQ Guy - Nice tip from the CTD gang. There's a fellow who serves BBQ, on the beach across from Posada Arco Iris/Argentinean grill, who is only there on Sunday afternoon. One of the best meals I had all week, $5US for a bit chunk of BBQ meat (pork, chicken or beef), rice, beans and tortilla. Serious BBQ, try the pork. FIND THIS MAN, it's well worth it. Ask at CTD.
For those on a budget and wondering if a room with a kitchenette and cooking is the way to go...
Groceries:
There's at least four places to get groceries on the West End strip. The large grocery store furthest north, then three small stores, one beside CTD, and the other three spread out going south. Each spot has it's pros and cons. For instance, the largest is not necessarily always the cheapest (Cereal was cheaper at a small shop). The largest did have the best selection of medications, if you need. Of note, you can buy medication pretty damn cheap and almost always in 'single use' doses. I'd suggest not getting produce from any of these stores, but get them from the trucks that line the strip during the day (one is always in front of CTD).
Random grocery prices (prices are in lempiras (L) 19L ~ 1USD)
454g ground coffee 165L
3/4L purified water 19L
Cat food, tin 20L (don't ask)
Single Egg 4L
1L of Milk 27L
Raisin bran box 115L
4 Aspirin 4L
Local beer about $1US each
Random produce prices from truck (right in from of CTD, on the West end strip)
2 tomatoes, mango, green pepper 50L
1 Plantain 5L
2 Bananas 5L
Additional costs:
- Taxi ride from Airport to West End $20US (Set rate, posted at the airport)
- Taxi ride from West End to Airport $10US (Very negotiable)
- Departure Tax $35US
Other notes:
- Easter Week is party week on Roatan, especially in West Bay. I've been told to avoid it. (Called Semana Santa?)
- We were offered drugs by a few locals. If you're into this sort of thing, you can find it, mostly pot.
- Always felt very safe. There are police labelled 'Tourist Police' specifically there to protect the tourists.
- You don't really need to know any spanish. English is prominent.
- We weren't harassed by anyone save the taxi drivers. You can't walk 100 feet down the strip without someone asking if you want a taxi. We turned it into a drinking game, suggest similar approaches.
- You only need to bring US dollars. Everyone I encountered, even locals selling produce by the side of the road, will take USD. Everyone seems to give the same exchange as well (about 19L to the USD), no obvert ripoffs, but pay attention.
- The kitchenette was probably a waste as cooking can be a pain in a hot climate, when you're on vacation and the price of groceries isn't that cheap. Remember Roatan has to boat in much of it's supplies. Suggest a room with a fridge, and make breakfast/lunch from cereal/milk/bread/cheese/fruits. Dinner and/or lunch can be had in quite a few places for $5US and that kitchenette can add more than $10US daily.
Changes (2 years last visit):
I was surprised by the changes on the strip. Rocket burger, Red hot chili and the little 'to be' shopping area at Crooked Palm seemed out of place for the strip to me. A few more docks were built and I overheard some angst from Roatan Marine park members as they struggle to protect the reef. Sign of changes to come as much of the real estate was bought up in the past few years. Many developments are on hold or for sale because of the global economic slowdown, but expect the island to explode into something very different in the coming years. I suggest those of you who want to experience great diving with slow Caribbean island style feel to move Roatan up in their 'places to do' list. When you go, please make sure to pay the annual $10 marine park fee to help save the reef.
Great trip! Hard to not have a great time when you travel to a paradise island with a good looking companion on your arm
We decided to skip the all inclusives and enjoy West End to it's (arguably) fullest, staying at Posada Las OrquùÅeas, diving with Coconut Tree Divers and eating just about everywhere. I'm including as much as possible in this report, including non-diving related notes as hopefully someone will find it useful. Note that we spent the entire time in West End this time so much of the notes here are related to the 'strip' there.Weather:
Always sunny and DAMN HOT some days. It was noted that easter week is the hottest week on the island. On Sunday, the wind was coming in strong from the West, making it too choppy for the dive boats to head out in the afternoon.
Diving:
Exceptional. We spend the first few days doing shallower, afternoon dives because my companion was completing her certification. First dive, not 5 minutes out from CTD, Moray eels, Turtle and a plethora of fish. Some of the more interesting (later) morning dives included Spooky Channel and Bear's Den. The formation of Spooky channel is an impressive sight in itself, but at the end of the dive we were on top of the reef, about 40' and it looked like an overpacked aquarium. Massive schools of fish, a turtle and an eagle ray. Bear's Den was Tim's suggestion (CTD) and it was spot on. Lots of swim thrus and the 'den' itself, an underwater 'cave' with some small holes in the 'ceiling' which allowed shafts of light to penetrate. Very fun dive. Unfortunately I missed Hole in the Wall (again!).
Coconut Tree Divers:
After reading many good reviews about them, I decided to drop by this time on the island. They were the only shop (that we asked) to offer my companion a 'warm up/discovery' session in the ocean for her open water certification, before jumping right into the certification. Their two tank, two location AM dives gets you back in time to plan something tangible in the afternoon. I fondly remember smiling as "Wish you were here" smoked the Luna beach boat on our way to 'Texas' ... she's a hella fast boat. The staff is engaged, ready to answer any question from "what the heck was that fish called?" to "what's the best beer on the island?". One of the managers, think it was Tree, clued me into the use of Ginger for nausea, which I was getting from equalization issues (buy it fresh from the produce trucks, chew on slices of it on the boat). I can't say enough about these folks, the staff is a fine blend of professional and fun. But at the core of it, it's the wealth of experience at this shop; the diving in general and the island as a whole which, IMHO, makes CTD second to none on the island.
We personally dove with Marco, Jose, Tim and Ragnhildur. All excellent, special props to Marco.
As an aside, we also heard good things about Reef Riders, Native Sons and West End Divers. I was certified advanced with West End Divers, but their new pricing ($45US for a fun dive vs $35US at CTD) was prohibitive.. even if they have an almost all female dive staff!!
Sandflies:
They're definitely biting. I tried the 'ironman' approach and was eaten alive. Traveling companion fared well with a 23% deet lotion. I can also confirm that some bites don't appear until much later, noticing a few new marks AFTER I arrived back home, assuming no sand flies were on the plane!
Lodging:
We stayed at Posada Las OrquùÅeas, owned by the same folks as Posada Arco Iris. It's located beyond the end of the strip to the north, beside Seagrape. I had a mixed experience here, first the good. I had requested a room with kitchenette, top (third) floor. We were given what I believe to be the best room in the place. It was room at the north end of the building, with views of the ocean to the north and Mangrove Bight to the east. Having windows on the north and east side allowed for a serious amount of gusty wind at times, especially at night and I do mean GUSTY! I haven't slept that well in years. The balcony had a hammock with a great view of Mangrove Bight and a table with chairs. Kitchenette with gas burners, large bar fridge with freezer, coffee maker and a mishmash of utensils. Bathroom was nice, hot water worked. The place was very clean and the towels were changed daily. There is a barely used partially covered dock with two hammocks and lounge chairs. Snorkeling is actually good near the reef just at mouth of the bight, about a 15 minute swim in not too deep water. Note, read the 'bad' section before actually snorkeling.
Now the bad, and mind you many of these things didn't really bother me as I know it's not a 5 star, but I mention them here for completeness. The hotel did not have a safe. I had specifically asked about this prior to booking and was told they did. I get a bit paranoid when I have no where to lock my passport. I specifically didn't like being misinformed. The windows slid up to open, but didn't stay up. I was instructed to actually remove the windows and set them on the ground to open it. Only annoying when you want to fully lock up when leaving, such as when you're leaving your passport in your room. The lock on our door broke one night, the entire assembly, in such a way that if we closed the door only the handle on the INSIDE of the room would open the door. We were told to leave the kitchenette window open and to reach in to the door if we went out. Only scary if you're leaving something valuable in your room, like say a passport. I told them to get the key from the another room and I transplanted the entire lock with my trusty leatherman utility thingy... don't leave home without it. The dock is in great shape, but the ladder on the side of the dock to get out of the water is toast. Gone, rotted out. Not a problem unless you want out of the water as the chunk of land from the tip of Half Moon bay around to about half of Mangrove bight lined by the 'iron shore' and not a sandy beach. It's a jagged formation of rock/coral, while fascinating to look at, does not allow for you to use to get out of the water. We had to swim over to someone's personal dock/ladder and apologized profusely to them. My companion also managed to cut her leg and foot fairly badly while we tried to deal with this missing ladder. One night, the hammock hook popped out of the wall and they had to come fix it. Initially the gas stove did not work and I had to play with the coupler to get it working, it seemed to be in a questionable state. The wireless internet didn't work. They enter the wireless password for you, your computer connects fine but their server never provides an IP address for your computer. This means you connect to their wireless but you still can't surf out, and yes I'm an IT guy so I know it wasn't my laptop. They didn't fix it the entire week. Lastly, while dealing with all these issues, the girls they put at the front desk seemed more interested in their Hi5 and Facebook accounts than dealing with customers.
Bottom line, loved the room, wasn't crazy about the administration. They built a nice spot but it's starting to show the initial signs of poor maintenance. The two major annoyances for me were lack of lock box in room/safe in the entire complex and the lack of a ladder on the dock, mostly because someone suffered physical injury because of this oversight. Check Trip Advisor for pics and full review if you're interested.
Restaurants:
Tongs - Thai. GREAT thai. Bit pricy ($12US for Green chicken curry, $15US for Massaman chicken curry special)
Noodle shack - Tasty asian style noodles, in a broth. Good deal. About $6US.
Rotisserie Chicken - My favourite spot, GREAT deal. Great example of 'do 1 thing and do it well'. About $5US gets you a 1/4 chicken with two sides, full meal.
Cantina - OK mexican, some swear by it. $5US gets you three small tacos, a bit bland I would say. Others highly recommended the Shrimp cocktail, it looked great but I couldn't (allergies).
Red hot chili - New mexican spot. Decent food, pricey. $8US for guacamole and chips. $15US for chicken and some rice. Slow service, but in fairness, we were there opening night.
Le Bistro - Passable mixed asian cuisine, mid-range ($10US). Others spoke highly of it, maybe we just hit the wrong dishes. I was annoyed when the owner tried to give us a crappy exchange on USD (15L to the dollar). Don't miss the karaoke nights here, fun times even if you don't sing.
Sundowners - You can't argue with a place that has a Toronto Maple Leafs parking sign out front. More importantly, you can't argue with their Monkey La La's, the best we managed to sample while on the island. The food is quite tasty as well, decently priced ($5US for chicken, bacon, avocado wrap). Local beer is little over $2US. A monkey la la (drink of the island) is $5.50US, $4 during happy hour. The place to be after the last dive of the day.
Argentinean Grill - Closed the entire time I was there!
Casa Calico - Hotel just beyond the strip to the north. Decent breakfast, good price ($4US, 2 eggs, beans, plantains, bread)
Small restaurant, down the pathway just beside CTD, up the long stairs - VERY nice lady. Cheap, decent, home cooked meals. The lunch is better than the breakfast. $5US for a chicken (or fish) meal with salad, beans, tortilla, rice. Great view and you can see the activity at CTD to know if you're about to miss that afternoon dive. Ask at CTD.
Cannibal Cafe - Good mexican, mid-range. Burrito was $9US (going from memory on this one)
BBQ Guy - Nice tip from the CTD gang. There's a fellow who serves BBQ, on the beach across from Posada Arco Iris/Argentinean grill, who is only there on Sunday afternoon. One of the best meals I had all week, $5US for a bit chunk of BBQ meat (pork, chicken or beef), rice, beans and tortilla. Serious BBQ, try the pork. FIND THIS MAN, it's well worth it. Ask at CTD.
For those on a budget and wondering if a room with a kitchenette and cooking is the way to go...
Groceries:
There's at least four places to get groceries on the West End strip. The large grocery store furthest north, then three small stores, one beside CTD, and the other three spread out going south. Each spot has it's pros and cons. For instance, the largest is not necessarily always the cheapest (Cereal was cheaper at a small shop). The largest did have the best selection of medications, if you need. Of note, you can buy medication pretty damn cheap and almost always in 'single use' doses. I'd suggest not getting produce from any of these stores, but get them from the trucks that line the strip during the day (one is always in front of CTD).
Random grocery prices (prices are in lempiras (L) 19L ~ 1USD)
454g ground coffee 165L
3/4L purified water 19L
Cat food, tin 20L (don't ask)
Single Egg 4L
1L of Milk 27L
Raisin bran box 115L
4 Aspirin 4L
Local beer about $1US each
Random produce prices from truck (right in from of CTD, on the West end strip)
2 tomatoes, mango, green pepper 50L
1 Plantain 5L
2 Bananas 5L
Additional costs:
- Taxi ride from Airport to West End $20US (Set rate, posted at the airport)
- Taxi ride from West End to Airport $10US (Very negotiable)
- Departure Tax $35US
Other notes:
- Easter Week is party week on Roatan, especially in West Bay. I've been told to avoid it. (Called Semana Santa?)
- We were offered drugs by a few locals. If you're into this sort of thing, you can find it, mostly pot.
- Always felt very safe. There are police labelled 'Tourist Police' specifically there to protect the tourists.
- You don't really need to know any spanish. English is prominent.
- We weren't harassed by anyone save the taxi drivers. You can't walk 100 feet down the strip without someone asking if you want a taxi. We turned it into a drinking game, suggest similar approaches.
- You only need to bring US dollars. Everyone I encountered, even locals selling produce by the side of the road, will take USD. Everyone seems to give the same exchange as well (about 19L to the USD), no obvert ripoffs, but pay attention.
- The kitchenette was probably a waste as cooking can be a pain in a hot climate, when you're on vacation and the price of groceries isn't that cheap. Remember Roatan has to boat in much of it's supplies. Suggest a room with a fridge, and make breakfast/lunch from cereal/milk/bread/cheese/fruits. Dinner and/or lunch can be had in quite a few places for $5US and that kitchenette can add more than $10US daily.
Changes (2 years last visit):
I was surprised by the changes on the strip. Rocket burger, Red hot chili and the little 'to be' shopping area at Crooked Palm seemed out of place for the strip to me. A few more docks were built and I overheard some angst from Roatan Marine park members as they struggle to protect the reef. Sign of changes to come as much of the real estate was bought up in the past few years. Many developments are on hold or for sale because of the global economic slowdown, but expect the island to explode into something very different in the coming years. I suggest those of you who want to experience great diving with slow Caribbean island style feel to move Roatan up in their 'places to do' list. When you go, please make sure to pay the annual $10 marine park fee to help save the reef.
