How safe is Roatan, Honduras?
 

Hi, My husband & I are considering going to Roatan in Feb. 2014 for our (late) 23rd anniversary; we love to snorkel, & especially want some place that offers it right off the beach as opposed to having to take a boat out somewhere. We're not interested in partying at night, I guess our list of priorites would go like this: safety, great off beach snorkeling, comfortable lodging with TV & dvd player for nightime movie watching, wi-fi (if possible), ability to stick to our vegan eating. Our only expereince in traveling outside the States is Grand Cayman & Akumal, Mexico. Please share your experience/knowledge with us. Thanks in advance!

I'm going to bookmark because I'm interested too.

The island is surrounded by reef that is closely accessible from shore (with the exception of a few spots where the reef becomes the iron shore). To avoid the masses, you must avoid West End and West Bay but typically you would want to be on the shore facing north and on the west end of the island. This puts you in the Sandy Bay area which is in close proximity to the restaurants and bars of West End (5 to 10 minute drive) and the beauty of West Bay (10 to 15 minute drive). It's a perfect base location for an east end day excursion or 10 minute trips to the good stores in Coxen Hole. The reef all through Sandy Bay is as good as any snorkeling you'll do anywhere and you do it from the dock or the beach. The reef meets the shore in front of the most beautiful West Bay Beach making it just steps into the water from the beach and this is best done on Friday's, Saturdays and Sundays when cruise ship crowds are minimal to nil. A couple of the most secure areas are The Sanctuary www.roatanbeachrentals.com

And Sundancer. Others include Mayoka Lodge, Tranquil Seas, Blue Bahia. Use google maps to get a bearing on this.

disclamier: I hit send twice by mistake twice now. I am the Manager of the Sanctuary property and was previously at Sundancer. I do not intend to imply others are any less secure and, there are other accommodations available through Sandy Bay at places such as VRBO etc.
Sorry for the confusion of a 3 part answer...... Typing in the dark

the first step is to travel with less paranoia, Roatan is safe.. the reef is mostly close to shore. roatan has wifi but it can be down at times. try not to expect first world things in a developing country....that's why they are called developing. look it over on gmaps and you tube.

Thank you, drummerDave and Katzgar, i appreciate all the information. We don't expect things to be as they are in the States - that was more a wish list, lol! Except for the safety & snorkeling. We had people telling us how dangerous Mexico was, but we did our research & found the "hot spots", which were no where near where we went, & we felt entirely safe while there (at least, as safe as in our home town). Are there areas we def want to stay away from? Thanks so much for your time :-)

My next area of advice needed is on the travel there - how do I find the best way there from South Carolina in the US?

avoid coxen hole at night but you aren't bar flies so that pretty well eliminates any safety concerns. Look at Kayak.com for flights. great cooked fish and shrimp in the beach shack in punta gorda.....ask garylee at fosters how to find it.

Thank you, katzgar :-) We are getting excited!

Based on what you're describing, I think you would enjoy staying at Infinity bay on West Bay beach. It's by far the most comfortable place on the island. it's right on the beach with every comfort you can imagine. my only complaint is that the beach can get busy on cruise ship days, but cruise shippers are not allowed at the pool or on the Infinity Bay part of the beach. If you're interested, I'd recommend booking on vrbo.com for a much lower rate than with the resort. Get a room on the second or third floor to avoid foot traffic. You are in walking distance to lots of restaurants, or can eat at the resort if you prefer. Sandy Bay is great, but you're not going to get as many restaurant/comforts of home. The snorkeling is fantastic over there and no crowds. we stayed at tranquil seas, which was great, but no TV/DVD. Hope that helps!

We decided on Bog Dolphin House in Sandy Bay. Hopefully it's as nice as it looks! Trying to find out now what things are "must see" in the area. Looking at Little French Key - any recommendations of things to see/do appreciated!

I would go over to Fosters and get Garylee to give me a tour of the island. he is a cool guy and grew up there.

Katzgar what is Fosters?

Fosters is a resort. owned by Foster Diaz, a local.
http://www.fostersroatan.com/ garylee is his son.

ChellyRoo, we can accommodate your vegan diet here at Mango Creek Lodge, and we have a very quiet night life here, just you and the waves and nature. We have Wi-Fi available at the lodge, although not in the cabanas over the water. Mango Creek is one of the nicest honeymoon and anniversary locations on island, quiet secluded and very peaceful.
WWW.MangoCreekLodge>com

ChellyRoo, we can accommodate your vegan diet here at Mango Creek Lodge, and we have a very quiet night life here, just you and the waves and nature. We have Wi-Fi available at the lodge, although not in the cabanas over the water. Mango Creek is one of the nicest honeymoon and anniversary locations on island, quiet secluded and very peaceful.
WWW.MangoCreekLodge>com

Hi there! I'm going to throw out another idea. The east end of the island is very quiet and much remote relative to the west end. You'll need to decide which route to take--quiet or not. If you go east, stay at Paya Bay. All Inclusive includes a daily trip of about 5-10 minutes to the reef just offshore. They will anchor while you spend as much time as you like. Food is good and check with them on your special food needs. The beach is small but there are only about 10 rooms so never crowded. They DO have naturist weeks when the guests can be, but don't have to be nude, so if you aren't keen on seeing nude, then stay away. But we love the resort cause it's small, family run, love the snorkeling just off shore and it's quiet. You can also buy your own alcohol and leave it in the refrig in your room, so that saves money also.

sorry, I didn't answer your question. It's quite safe. We've been three times and going again in April. Another place you could stay is Lawson Rock. Even tho the island is safe, this is one of the few places that has a gated entrance. Just like LA or Orlanda in the states, there are communities that are gated and the condos at Lawson Rock are great. Also, it's only 8 minutes from a west side beach if that is where you want to be

Infinity bay I love and on gorgeous piece of white sand beach. Cruisers are only there a couple of days and only a few hrs. Very safe. I would stay out of coxen hole at night unless its an event.
See if you can take a trip to a pvt island in the bay for snorkeling..its amazingly beautiful, hundreds of perfect islands

Roatan has very comparable safety to other Caribbean islands. Mainland Honduras is NOTHING like the island of Roatan. As long as you take the normal safety precautions (don't flash money/jewelry, don't walk alone at night, etc) you will be fine. Islanders like and protect tourists because it is the majority of their GDP.

Overall, if you are looking for the safest location in Roatan - head to West Bay. I wrote a blog post about the benefits here: http://www.vacaybuddy.com/west-end-o...than-west-end/

But, one of the main and important benefits of West Bay is the safety! It is full of tourists, there is no bad street or area, and it is well lit.

Although it's hard to find concrete details and crime statistics, I will give you my personal feeling. I live in one of the safest neighborhoods in Manhattan - yet feel more safe in West Bay, Roatan.

My brother goes there for scuba diving. The one thing you may want to consider is taking anti-malarial pills before going. My brother didn't and one one of his trips he contracted a nasty case of malaria. He was quite sick for a number of weeks.

tom42 - Can you tell us when this was and where your brother was staying?

This was 3 years ago. They were staying at an all-inclusive. I want to say it was Anthony's Key Resort but I am not 100% positive. I don't know the prevalence of malaria in that area or if my brother was just extremely unlucky but something to think about.

Thanks.

Hello,
My husband and I took our first trip to Roatan last November. It was amazing! We love to snorkel. We decided upon staying in West Bay. It was perfect! We stayed in West Bay Village in Casa Martin. You really can't get better than that. Snorkeling out in front of the house was amazing! We also took a day trip to Cayos Cachinos that was so fun. We did so many things in the short week we were there and made so many friends. It is a wonderful place to visit and safe if you use common sense:) We took the anti-malaria meds, just a fyi. And best of all we are currently planning our return trip this fall. My anniversary gift:) Ya me! I know that we only plan on staying in West Bay again. I hope you fall in love as we did!

toofunnie - how much did it cost to go to Cayos Cachinos? We are avid snorkelers and would like to explore the different places around the island to snorkel. Did you rent a car?

My sister and boyfriend has traveled to Roatan several times and never had a problem with crime.

Just talked to someone who just got back from Roatan. (They loved it). But i see that the US State Deoartment has a travel warning about Honduras. So that warning isnt valid?

It isn't that simple. Travel warnings are usually for entire countries, the state dept can't be so specific as to individual places that much. Or sometimes you have to dig deeper to see the specifics regarding a country and assess your comfort level. For example, I just went to Mexico City and found detailed warnings about each state in Mexico, as there are definitely warnings for some of them but not others. I imagine it's the same for Honduras but you may not find as detailed info. Even in Mexico City, the dangerous areas (as for many cities) are certain bad neighborhoods (mainly to the east there), not usually the historic center where tourists are.

The warnings are not based on nothing, surely you have heard in all the to-do about the immigrant children that Honduras is one of the most dangerous areas in the world, and that is why they want out. I"m sure living there in certain neighborhoods is different form going on a snorkeling vacation.

HEre is the detailed warning, it talks about Roatan in a couple places specifically http://travel.state.gov/content/pass...l-warning.html

I have travelled to Roatan in January 212 and January 2013 with my family including my 5 and 6 year old daughters. We have never felt like we were in danger although we did notice a more heavily presence of armed security guards on the beach our last trip.
I will admit, reading some of the latest incidents involving armed robberies of families travelling in cars on beach access roads since Jan 2014 is a little unsettling when we travel with our girls.
We rented a car and stayed just beside Gumbalimba park right on the outskirt of West Bay Beach. We travelled often for groceries to either West End or back towards the airport and have never had a problem.
We have travelled to almost all of the Caribbean islands and Roatan is by far my favourite destination because of the snorkelling. The offshore snorkeling in pristine right out from the house we rent beside Las Rocas dive shop. I can swim out to it as many times as I want every day and love it! To see coral and fishlife like this in most other islands, you would have to pay $25-$65 just to get there and swim for an hour.
Use common sense, if there are still similar reports, stick to the West Bay Beach Area.

Roatan & the Bay Is in general are totally different from mainland Honduras. I felt very safe there, & we were 2 women alone. I even walked the beach at night alone several times. We stayed on West Bay. As far as malaria - anthony's key, if that is where they stayed, is rather rustic & some of the villas are in the rainforest & do not have AC. It's quite different from most of the other modern condos, etc.

Roatan is very safe and beautiful. Also easy to get too.