Traveling from US West coast to Roatan tips?

[JDelage]

Considering an early June trip to Roatan. I have never traveled there and I am curious whether there's any difficulty traveling from the US West coast (Seattle in our case). Interested in any tips, hard learned lesson, etc, people would like sharing. Thank you!

 

[KevinG58]

Considering an early June trip to Roatan. I have never traveled there and I am curious whether there's any difficulty traveling from the US West coast (Seattle in our case). Interested in any tips, hard learned lesson, etc, people would like sharing. Thank you!

No difficulty. Ive done it out of SFO 20 times with united. I evolved to leaving a day early and overnighting at IAH Marriott. Red eye is likely an option for you as it is for me. Coming back at IAH you will likely encounter some of the rudest TSA in my experience (and I am a frequent flyer) at the international to domestic transition. Allow two hours for this at IAH and you shoukd not have to rush. They probably will parade you past sniffer dogs.
I used American twice. DFW TSA only slightly better. No dog walk.
Neither airport is on my favorites list, even if TSA were removed from the equation.
But. Its all worth it foe me to get to Coco View.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Get your Global Entry or whatever it takes to remove a bit of the sting.

I always did an overnight in Houston too. But then I was flying from Western Canada.

 

[therookie]

At RTB be prepared for a long (and sometimes it is a l-o-ng) wait at immigration coming in, and at times another long wait at security going out. It isn't always bad but often is, and if you are prepared for it in advance it will keep you from getting into the wrong frame of mind at the start of your vacation. Consider it your first exercise in "Island time, Roatan edition" if several flights arrive around the same time of day.

Make sure you fill out the customs form online before your departure. We also print out the QR code they provide so we that have a hardcopy just in case there is an issue with our digital version. I believe both United and AA agents insist on seeing it before you can get your boarding pass but you still need to be able to display it to the customs agent on arrival (and you will need a new one on departure).

Retrieving your luggage can be an adventure all on its own. Once a bag goes around the carousel the airport workers will pull it off and stick it somewhere because the carousels don't have a lot of capacity. Usually you will find a big pile of bags somewhere near the carousel and there is a good chance that one of yours is in it if you happened to look away at just the wrong moment.

Keep your carry-on close at hand - not due to theft so much as due to the chaos. One of my dive buddies that met us on Roatan had hers snatched by the handlers for Anthony's Key and we had a bit of fun figuring out first where her carryon went and then arranging to get it from AKR to where we were staying - took until late the following day before she finally got it.

 

[TNEngineer]

We've done it from Spokane (GEG) so not that different from Seattle except you probably have more direct options.

The above advice is excellent. It's super annoying that you're almost compelled to overnight to get there, but that's how the flight schedules work out. A redeye was a possibility a couple of times, and Spokane friends we met in Roatan after we moved to Tennessee did that, but now that we're in TN it's a quick flight to IAH and same day to RTB.

Customs into Roatan can definitely be... challenging. They've always been very nice, very friendly, but it just takes SO long. We had one guy who thought he was being super clever, started my and my wife's "interview" with "So you were born in Hawaii" like he was going to catch us in a lie (?!?). We're both standing there, the second one of us heard him try it on the first one, he needs some fresh material! Good advice above to mentally prepare ahead of time.

Leaving RTB was long too, mostly due to the number of passengers. Which brings up a good point: If at all possible, try to fly in and out on a weekday. Saturdays especially are the default check-in/check-out day at AKR and other resorts. If you can get out of phase with everyone, you should have much lower congestion.

Be sure to give us a trip report when you return. We need updates on how various popular spots are changing.

 

[KevinG58]

Considering an early June trip to Roatan. I have never traveled there and I am curious whether there's any difficulty traveling from the US West coast (Seattle in our case). Interested in any tips, hard learned lesson, etc, people would like sharing. Thank you!

Get this. I replied right before my last night dive of this particular trip to Coco View. One of my best stays but I digress. The IAH transition to US domestic is more fouled up than ever. Every passenger making it, funnels through this. It would be hilarious if weren’t insanely maddening. 1:47 minutes from touchdown to my butt in the next seat (typing as I ride tobSFO)and I paid for a “golf cart” ride. I would say allow 2:15 now. An A350 dumps its load and it get ugly or uglier. A lot of good info. A great sticky in the making???

 

[KevinG58]

Get this. I replied right before my last night dive of this particular trip to Coco View. One of my best stays but I digress. The IAH transition to US domestic is more fouled up than ever. Every passenger making it, funnels through this. It would be hilarious if weren’t insanely maddening. 1:47 minutes from touchdown to my butt in the next seat (typing as I ride tobSFO)and I paid for a “golf cart” ride. I would say allow 2:15 now. An A350 dumps its load and it get ugly or uglier. A lot of good info. A great sticky in the making???

And they cant properly cool the place until the sun sets. Keep your cooling device handy until through TSA. People were looking at my neck fan quite, eagerly?

 

[laurenceh]

When we lived in LA we would take the AA redeye to Miami, then connect with the morning (noonish) flight from Miami to Roatan. On the way home we would fly Roatan to Dallas, then on to LA arriving around 11pm. We deliberately avoid Miami on the way home because customs and immigration at Miami can be a nightmare. We now live in Chicago but still come home from Roatan via Dallas.

 

[TNEngineer]

We deliberately avoid Miami on the way home because customs and immigration at Miami can be a nightmare.

Is there anywhere that US Customs ISN'T a nightmare? My wife has had outright rude experiences in Philadelphia ("Brotherly Love", yeah right) and multiple trips through Houston have convinced us Customs there is intentionally sadistic. Global Entry definitely helps with the delays, but the overhead....

One baffling question: Why does going through Customs involve half-mile walks through otherwise deserted hallways? My wife has modest mobility issues that make extended walking a real challenge, and international travel also often involves older folks who have various infirmities. Yet I cannot think of a US airport where "going through Customs" doesn't require incredibly long hikes to some remote area, so you can then usually hike a parallel path back to where you started.