italyinjuly

we are leaving on a cruise next week and one of the stops is roatan. Other ports of call are grand cayman, cozumel and belize (all of which we are very familiar with but it's our first time in roatan)

we would like to NOT book and excursion (we would rather "do it ourselves" to save money).

My husband will want to dive. I will probably want to park it on the beach. Is there a way we can do this? (for example in cozumel we go to a beach that has a dive shop on it, he dives, i rent a chair, and when he is done his dive, he is let out right on the beach, it works well)

Also since i will be "alone" for part of the day, i don;t want to be on a beach that is desolate. I'd like somewhere with some people, and chair rentals if possible. Is this available in roatan? Or am i barking up the wrong tree?

JeanH

Never been to Roatan, but have been doing some research Yahoo has a news group with loads of information. West Bay Beach will most certainly meet both of your needs, sounds like lots of dive shops, some hotels and a few restaurants, and the pictures are lovely.

Golondrina

West Bay beach would be perfect for your stop in Roatan. Bananarama has a great dive shop, and you could easily use one of the beach chairs set up in the sand at the Henry Morgan Hotel. Or, walk down to the far end of the beach - to the left as you're facing the ocean - on the day that cruise ships arrive in Roatan (on Tuesdays?) beach chairs are set out for the day.
Be careful not to get dropped off at the West End nearby, which is totally different from West Bay beach. Have a great time!

carrotstick

I second the West Bay Beach recommendation. There are several dive shops on the beach- Bananarama springs to mind- and beach chairs are set up for rent at most of the bars/hotels. However- DO NOT BUY an excursion to West Bay. You don't need to spend that money. Just get a taxi to the beach, bring your towel with you and enjoy. There are usually a few guys going up and down the beach with wheelbarrows of cold beer and sodas for sale and there are three or four places you can grab lunch. Try the cheeseburger at Foster's. I love Roatan!

italyinjuly

thanks guys!

yeah we aren't fond of the booked excursion, sometimes you have too, but we would prefer to do it on our own.

How much is a taxi to west bay beach? And is foster's a good place to hangout? I saw their website and it looks like they charge 10 bucks for the use of their facilities/chair etc...

carrotstick

I think (think) a taxi should be about fifteen dollars each way, although they might raise the rate on cruise day. There are taxis that hang out at the beach for when you need to go back. Foster's is a pretty good place to hang out. There are tiki-type huts on the beach, some hammocks, etc. The restaurant is outdoors- just a bar that you can sit at and some picnic tables. They do have bathrooms and a shower. I don't think, though, that you even need to pay the $10. If you eat and drink there, you can use the tiki-huts and hammocks. Don't know about using the showers,though.

Golondrina

Walking along all of West Bay Beach would take 10 or 15 minutes -- it's not that big of an area to check out. Before you decide on Foster's, you might want to walk along the beach and see what your options are. The area past the pier (the other end of the beach from Foster's) is the prettiest.

quetzal1958

Hi there, We were there in December on the Carnival Paradise. My husband went diving with Patrick ofSubway Sports and he was great - if you do a search he will come up. The rest of us went to a spa but Patrick would let you go with your husband on the boat if you wanted. Extremely nice people and we loved Roatan.

italyinjuly

hey thanks all!

we're back and had a great time! we both LOVED roatan, so unspoiled and beautiful. My hubby dove with bananarama and was extremely pleased. They were kind enough to pick us both up at the pier, deposit me on the beach where i had a wonderful afternoon and then take us back to the pier when we were done!

So thanks again for all the advice

scubarob

I just got back from 7-days in Roatan. It was the best island I have been to.
We stayed at the Bay Island Beach Resort (www.bibr.com) and did 17 dives in 5 days. They also a day packages for cruisers. They have a nice beach, good snorkeling trail and great diving (spooky channel). The West End is very nice to walk around, have a beer, and sit on the beach. Bring bug spray because the sand fleas can be bad.
Have fun.

Rob