Everything you Need to Know to Travel to Roatan, Honduras
Explore the beautiful beaches, oceans, and much more!
Roatan, Honduras is one of the most beautiful places I’ve visited. This island is off the coast of Honduras and located within the Bay Islands and offers many activities that are family friendly throughout the island. After visiting this island for over a week, I can easily say it was one of the most affordable places I’ve traveled to, and is definitely worth every penny for this one in a lifetime experience.
Gumbalimba Park is located in West Bay. This park has enough activities to last a full day of fun! When I visited, the group decided to explore the guided tour. They had a super nice tour guide walk visitors throughout the park to everything the park offered! There were beautiful plants all over the park that made it feel as if we were in a beautiful rain forest.
The $25 tour lasted about two hours yet we got to see so much! The first stop was the Iguanas, where there were over 100 iguanas in a natural habitat. It took me by surprise how many iguanas there were. They were crawling all over and literally piled on top of one another. The second stop was the free-flying macaws. The worker would call the birds down and there was the option to hold up to three at a time! The birds were the colors of the rainbow — it was almost magical. They smelt so bad but it was definitely worth it! Next there was the monkey interaction exhibit. This place was my personal favorite! The visitors can stand outside and monkeys would just jump from person to person and say hello! I loved being able to see the personality each monkey had — they acted just like humans! The monkeys were surprisingly super soft and fun to interact with. They made super cute noises just like what would be heard in a movie.
The tour finished with an insect exhibit and a model that was a map of the whole island. The tour wasn’t the only option.
Visit https://gumbalimbapark.com/ to see everything else the park has to offer!
Overall, everyone in the group was satisfied with this tour and had learned something new. But the guided tour was not the only option at the park. There was a beach, zip lining, and restaurants! The beach had beautiful water that was surprisingly super warm and relaxing. Both the zip line and restaurant were closed the day we visited but we were told it would be back open soon!
West End Beach is a semi-populated beach. This beach is more than just a beach. There are enough activities and shopping to fill the entire day up with fun!
The beach is shaped like a half circle. Along the beach there are multiple restaurants and ice cream shops! In the water there is also a beautiful coral reef where visitors can snorkel freely. At this reef there were fish, lobsters, and beautiful coral and sea plants. There was also a small beach business that rented out paddle boards.
The Rusty Fish is a super unique store located at West End beach. This store sells recycled art made by hand. The items feel like real metal and just by the texture, it is obvious someone spent a lot of time on each piece. This store recycles so many items that are thrown away as well as creating beautiful art!
Beach Club Roatan is a private beach club on the north shore of the island. This club is filled with many activities set upon its white sand beach. The activities include horseback riding, snorkeling, jet skiing, kayaking, paddle boarding, and much more!
The horseback riding leads riders across the island where riders can view the rain forest canopy, then down to the beautiful beach, as well as a quick swim on the horse in the water! The horseback riding tour cost is $40 per person for one hour of fun and an unforgettable experience!
West Bay Beach is picked as one of the best beaches in the Carribean and Central America according to other tourists on trip advisor. The water is calm, relaxing and clear, and the beach runs for a mile long. The beach is decently populated most of the time, and there is also a coral reef a few yards off shore where snorkelers can enjoy marine life. The beach also offers many activities for both kids and adults to enjoy. For example, parasailing, banana boating, scuba diving, jet skiing, paddle boarding, sail boating, and much more!
Along the beach there are also many restaurants and cute shops for souvenirs. The beach also has a resort with an outdoor pool for visitors to stay and enjoy the breathtaking ocean views.
Daniel Johnson’s Monkey and Sloth Hangout is located in French Cay, Roatan. This place offers many excursions, each with something new and exciting! Each exertion includes transportation to and from Daniel Johnson’s!
There are different packages to fit each person’s expectations. Packages include “The Hangout” which is priced at $30 per person. This tour allows tourists to interact and learn all about their animals on French Cay. This includes a guided tour throughout the hangout.The hangout is an outdoor area with cages and habitats for animals.There’s also the option for those who would like to interact with sloths, monkeys and birds!
If visitors chose the island tour exertion, they will receive a guided tour of certain spots on the island. island. Guides will provide information about the history of the island, while visiting different little communities on Roatan. The island tour also includes “The Hangout” exertion within the package, so that visitors can visit monkeys, sloths and birds, along with the guided tour.
Want to hop on a boat and explore the beautiful coral reefs that Roatan offers? The Monkey Snorkeling package at Daniel Johnson’s is your answer! This package includes a guided snorkeling adventure, along with a visit at the hangout, and is only $45 per person. Daniel Johnson’s provides snorkelers with gear and life jackets, as well as a guide. There is also the option to stop for lunch and a quick beach trip on the way back! This package is not only a beautiful snorkeling trip, it also includes interacting with the monkeys, sloths and birds at the hangout!
Daniel Johnson’s Monkey and Sloth Hangout has a total of 7 different packages. Visit https://monkeyandslothhangout.com/home/ to explore more packages, to find the perfect fit for your group!
Pirates of the Caribbean Zipline Canopy is Roatan’s number one zipline and offers multiple different packages and zipline adventures!
“I would recommend this place to another visitor because it was an exciting experience that you could have a rare chance of experiencing again. This gave me an adrenaline rush that was thrilling. After visiting this place I felt rejuvenated because it was a nice and relaxing experience. I got to see an unusual view where I looked at the world from a different height, both mentally and physically. And I hope everyone gets the chance to feel this amazing at some point” -Mia Moffitt
The Extremely Extreme Zipline the most intense course of them all! They call this ride Extremely Extreme because it is extremely high, and extremely fun for all ages! Extremely Extreme is priced at $65 per person, and is definitely worth it! After experiencing the Extremely Extreme I can agree with that statement! Extremely Extreme has a total of 9 long ziplines. That comes to a total of 2 miles of gliding through the carribean air. During this experience I was over 300 feet in the air, and had never felt so alive.
The Extreme Zipline has interactive pieces throughout the tour. It is a level down from the Extremely Extreme for those who are scared or would prefer a more relaxing ride. The extreme zipline includes crossing bridges, climbing ladders, and a brief hike! This zipline is also two miles long but isn’t as high as the extremely extreme! This zipline package is priced at only $45 for each member of the group.
Both Zip line experiences include a thrilling adrenaline rush of fun. Out of everything Roatan offers, Pirates of the Caribbean Zip line Canopy was my sister, Mia’s favorite experience. Being at Roatan was a big cultural difference for everyone I traveled with. Mia felt Pirates of the Caribbean opened her eyes due to the experience of a different culture.
“At this place, most of the workers spoke Spanish,” she said. “This opened up my eyes because I had to learn how to communicate with them, and made me realize the two different lives we live. Even though I couldn’t understand one of the workers, he was still one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.”
Go to https://www.roatanpiratescanopy.com/ for more information about each package!
The Mangrove Tunnels are a very important type of tree that is located all throughout the coastlines of Roatan. The mangroves help protect shorelines from being damaged. But these tunnels also possess a deep and long history. Legend has it that centuries ago they were created by pirates.
The tunnels are like channels where visitors can kayak or paddle board through the channel.
Casa Vista Verde is where my family stayed during our visit. My family won this trip at a Hendricken High School auction. The house comes with five staff members to help make visitors’ trips more relaxing. The home includes a maid, a housekeeper, a person driver, a chef, and a boat guide. The house also has an outdoor pool, hot tub, a private beach, a beach cabana, a golf cart, kayaks, jet skis, and much more!
This is a five bedroom house and six baths and made my stay at Roatan much more enjoyable and gave my family a week full of fun! The house can hold up to 12 guests for family and friends to bond and enjoy a beautiful week! The prices vary based on the amount of guests and the amounts of nights guests stay.
Nearby, Turquoise Bay is a beautiful 4-star hotel. This resort offers many different dive packages to fit each diver’s needs. This resort is priced at $260 per night for 2 guests. This resort also has a private white sand beach with a beach bar, lounge chairs and a volleyball court!
The water activities at the resort include snorkeling, kayaking, paddle boarding and a relaxing swim in the ocean!
All Activities on the Island of Roatan
On the island of Roatan there are a ton of both Land and Water activities. The water activities include parasailing, a glass bottom boat tour, dolphin encounters, snorkeling and so much more! But the fun doesn’t stop here. On land tourists can go horseback riding, shopping, hocking, zip lining, golfing, get massages and even more!
I have traveled since I was 3 years old and have been to over 100 different islands and yet Roatan, Honduras is easily one of the best places I’ve been to and totally changed my perspective on life. All of these activities are a once in a lifetime opportunity and something readers should not want to miss out on!
