Roatan - pros and cons???
 

Planning an April trip, most likely Roatan due to positive reviews from a neighbor. We are very casual - LOVE Negril and some of MX- though not the touristy areas. Looking at staying at a house in Sandy Bay. For people that snorkel (not dive) but like to drink, eta and sun, is Roatan a good idea???
Pros and cons of Roatan appreciated!!!

You might have better luck posting on the Latin America board.

I'd recommend one of the Cayes in Belize over Roatan, where an upsurge in crime and some unrest have been nagging problems since the summer. The snorkeling can be excellent, the resorts there are very laid-back, and it's a great place to chill out.

On the positive side, Roatan is cheap.

I've done a ton of research on Roatan as of late came acroos nothing about an increase in crime since the summer?

I did read that about 2 weeks ago a road block went up for a couple of hours but it was a protest (non-violent) about the increased cost of something or other....

Could you elaborate Doug?

Thanx.

I think the protests were about the cost of gasoline and were concurrent with local elections; obviously, those are two things that are not going to be issues now.

Crime, however, is a persistent and growing problem in Roatan and has been up this year. The incident this year that was most talked about was a bank robbery, but I should apologize for suggesting that it happened in summer because that happened back in April. The robbery resulted in several fatalities in Coxen Hole.

The most publicized incident in Roatan happened this summer, when a Carnival cruise passenger was killed on a zipline. But that is hardly a crime issue.

The truth is that, as in Jamaica and most other destinations in the Caribbean (including Belize), serious crime happens primarily to the locals, especially the poor. Much of the crime is drug-related.

I don't want to knock Roatan. It's a lovely place with great snorkeling and diving. But I also wanted to point out that Belize is just as pleasant and offers another alternative at roughly the same price point.

Ok, Thank You.

I knew about those incidences from my research. Not pleasant, good to be aware of, but not issues that would deter me from Roatan.

I thought you had heard of direct crimes against tourists on a huge increase, that would alert me.

You can stay at a resort such as Anthony's Key that caters to divers and snorkelers separetly. Two snorkel triops of 2 hrs. per day. There is no reason tomleave the resort. The Superior Cabins on "the Key" are nice #49-54 we like best and the rate includes 3 decent to good meals a day. We have been there 3 times in 7 years and will return in 1-2 years. Since they pick you up and return you to the airport you really have littlr concerns at all. It is well ruun. The only draw back is the beacjh areas are limited but so are the ones we saw on Utila.

Anthony's Key has a captive dolphin program & on cruise ship days it gets swarmed with people who wish to swim with them....

Keep that in mind if you have an aversion to big crowds or captive dolphins.

We have been to Anthony's Key Resort 3 times in 10 years, the last time in 2008, and we only saw an influx of people 1 day but it did not bother us for they were not permitted on the snorkel boat nor in the dining room and were gone by 3 or 4. They do crowd the diving area and dolphin area 1 or 2 day a week probably between Dec.-April.

The captive dolphins alone would keep me from staying there.....