By plane
There are direct flights to Roatan from Houston, Atlanta, Miami, and San Salvador. There are also local airlines such as SOSA, Atlantic, and Islena connecting the island with La Ceiba, San Pedro Sula, and Tegucigalpa. There is a 12 seater plane flying a few times a day from Tela airport on the mainland for about 60 dollars, and takes 20 minutes. Prices are all over the map due to fuel costs and inflation.
By boat
Ferries for Roatan leave from La Ceiba on the Honduras Mainland. The Galaxy ferry is the only option for the route and this ferry also supplies Roatan with most of its cargo. Ferries depart twice daily, once in the morning and once in the afternoon at 4:30pm and it costs about $25 US (400 lempira)for a one way trip. Prices have risen significantly recently with the closure of the Galaxies competition (Utila Princess) and with spiralling fuel costs. Galaxy also offer the only ferry service to nearby Utila, which also departs from La Ceiba. The ferries are very large and comfortable, the trip to Roatan is about 2 hours depending on the sea, and the trip to Utila is about half this.
There is no longer an official service between the two islands. If you want to go from Roatan to Utila using the Galaxy ferries you will have to first travel from Roatan to La Ceiba, then change ferries and head from La Ceiba to Utila. Your other option is to charter a boat from one of the locals. Normally the best way to go about this is to approach one of the dive shcools as they normally aren't using their boats in the afternoons. You will be charged a fairly hefty fee for this, expect $50 US per person or more if there is only 2 of you. Find other travellers who are keen to do the same and go in a group of 4 or 6. The trip between the islands is about an hour, and its worth noting that it will cost about the same to do this using the Galaxy ferries, but you will waste a whole day with a long lay-over in La Ceiba.
The island is visited by some cruise lines, e.g. Princess cruises.
Get around
There are hundreds of taxis and they can be bargained with. They don't expect tips either. But ask the price in advance and if it seems high, ask another. Scooter rentals are abundant in West End. Captain Vans is a reliable source for those. There are water taxis that link West Bay and West End for 40 lempiras each or about two dollars.
Renting scooters is a very economical (and fun!) way to see the island. The asphalt road is reasonably well maintained and there is lots to see on Roatan besides the West End so hire a scooter and start exploring. The rental agencies will happily provide you with detailed maps and explanations on how to best see the island.
Cities
West End is definitely the most fun town on the island. There are bars, restaurants, live music, right on the Caribbean. This is also where the best sunsets are, with maybe the exception of West Bay. The reef is a short swim away for excellent snorkeling, especially around the southern point of Half Moon Bay. Coxen Hole is a pit but after you get used to it, there are most of life's necessities there. French Harbor has some good restaurants and resorts.
Talk
English, Spanish, Garifuna
English is widely spoken, especially in the West End and West Bay communities and is the native language of Roatanians of British and African descent (except for the Garifuna). Spanish is spoken natively by all residents who have come from mainland Honduras and is the second language of many of the native English speakers. Spanish is the official language of Honduras and as such is the primary language of the school system. Garifuna is spoken by the Garifuna people who are descendants of Nigerian slaves and the Kalipuna peoples of St. Vincent.
Do
There is great snorkeling and diving to be found here and many dive shops to go out with. Coconut tree dive shop in West End has cheap dives, $20 per dive, and go out 3 times per day.
If you are a good swimmer, and keep an eye out for motorboats, you can swim straight out from west end towards the white buoys for about 200 meters, you will arrive at a 10-30 foot deep reef that is great for snorkeling and freediving. Slightly further out the reef gets much deeper and you hit the wall.
You can walk along the beach to West Bay from West End in about 45 minutes, and can take a water taxi back if you like. They seem to stop running around sunset unfortunately, so make sure to catch them before it is too late.
A new cruise ship stop named Coral Cay opened up recently outside of French Harbor. As of Aug-2006 they only get ships twice a month, and the rest of the time the place is open for people to come enjoy. The beach is free as long as you eat at the restaurant (~$8-10), though it seemed highly unlikely that anyone would particularly notice whether or not you ate there. The beach is nice and the setting amazingly surreal, with 2 rusting shipwrecks within view.
Renting a scooter and driving to Punta Gorda takes about an hour each way, and goes through some beautiful countryside. It can be nice to get away from the touristy areas and get back into places that look and feel like Honduras. The town is friendly and you may run into a beach party if you are lucky.
Another great place to visit in Roatan is Anthony's Key Resort. It is a quaint little village with huts to rent and many options for activities on the island. You can do just about anything from swimming with dolphins to scuba diving/snorkeling to getting married. The resort is well kept and maintained along with a very friendly and hospitable staff. The setting is serene and peaceful with a beautiful and spectacular views of the ocean.
Buy
Local handicrafts abound and can be had for very little money. Look for brightly-painted pottery, wood carvings, costume jewelery and clothing. Remember that the asking price should only be considered a jumping-off point for some downward haggling. It's expected and if you have the stomach for it, you'll likely end up with a final price somewhere around 40-50% lower.
Eat
The restaurants you will find along the West End beach are slightly more expensive than similar restaurants on the mainland but the food is of a very high standard. Seafood abounds and you can find top quality lobster for dinner for around $10 US. The Argentinian steak house is very nice, and the size of the steak they serve has to be seen to be believed.
There is a small food caravan located on the main road hosted by an ex-pat Aussie. The food is cheap, and he is open late which is perfect for when you return home from one of the West Ends night spots.
Drink
The best part about drinking in the west end is the pub crawl that occurs almost every night without exception. Its virtually mandatory to start at Sundowners and enjoy drinks whilst watching the sun go down over the beautiful bay in front. When Sundowners shuts (at 10pm) the whole bar shifts about 50 metres down the street to kick on at the Purple Turtle where you can enjoy live music out the back. The Purple Turtle closes at midnight and from here most people continue on to the Twisted Toucan where you will meet most of the locals in the region, as this is their favourite haunt. Most people go home from here but if you really are feeling like an adventure grab a group of friends and head down the beach to FuBar, formerly Black Pearl and before that Loafers. On Friday's, the best place to go is Foster's, complete with DJ and occasionally a lot of laughs.
Sleep
There are excellent accommodations ranging from $4 to $400 per night. Condos are available as are beach cabanas. There is an old farm where they have great accommodation for a decent price at West End.
Beware of the Mayan Princess hotel, we experienced terrible service during our trip on June 1 through 3 2007. The waiter staff growled at you on every order, with the exception of two or three, who were attentive. This was experienced by the majority of our 36 person group, as polite and patient as we were, and being Central Americans ourselves, food and drinks took from 30 to 40 minutes to be delivered, until you had to ask twice or three times. One bartender by the name of Danilo Pavon was extremely rude to me when requesting to use an electrical outlet on the restaurants outdoor tables. He didn't even offer an option. Don't go here, you will be terribly treated, take your money somewhere else.
Roatán, located between the islands of Utila and Guanaja (), is the largest of Honduras' Bay Islands. It is approximately 60 kilometres long, and less than 8 kilometres wide at its widest point.
The island consists of two municipalities (out of a total of four in the department):
José Santos Guardiola in east and Roatán (also including the Cayos Cochinos further south in the west. The most populated town of the island is Coxen Hole, capital of Roatán municipality, located in the southwest. Other important towns include French Harbour, West End, and Oak Ridge, the capital of José Santos Guardiola municipality.
The easternmost quarter of the island is separated by a convoluted channel through the mangroves that is 15 meters wide on the average. The part cut off from the main island of Roatan this way is sometimes called Helene Island. Some satellite islands at the eastern end are Morat, Barbaretta, and the Pigeon Cays.
Located near the largest barrier reef in the Caribbean Sea (second largest worldwide after Australia's Great Barrier Reef), it has become an important cruising and scuba diving destination in Honduras. Tourism is its most important economic sector, though fishing is also an important source of income for islanders.
In 1998, the island suffered minimal damage from Hurricane Mitch, but CNN reported extensive damage, temporarily paralyzing most commercial activity. Many of the native islanders attribute this storm as having broken the previously undisturbed Aguila shipwreck into three pieces.
Roatán is served by Roatán International Airport.
The island was formerly known as Ruatan and Rattan.
Tourism and environmental impact
While tourism has strongly contributed towards the economic development of the island, it has also altered Roatan's ecosystem. Land clearing for the construction of residential areas, as well as improper sewage and garbage disposal methods, have inflicted considerable damage to the island in a time span of less than a decade.
Several efforts by environmental organizations have helped to reduce the adverse environmental impacts. Still, the long-term success of these efforts is uncertain. Enforceable regulation has ruled an embargo on the importation of plastic containers into the Bay Islands of Honduras.
In 2006, the number of tourists likely reached 250,000. With a population of only 30,000, considerable effort is now being directed towards new environmentally friendly septic systems as well as energy and water conservation programs.
Language and History
Although Spanish is spoken in mainland Honduras, the main language on the island is (creole) English, due to the fact that the first modern population originated from parts of the British Caribbean. In general, the history of the Bay Islands was driven by the various larger political, economic and cultural forces throughout the entire Caribbean and Central American region.
The Pre-Columbian residents of the Bay Islands are believed to have been related to Paya, Maya, Lenca or Jicaque, which were the cultures present on the mainland. Christopher Columbus, on his fourth voyage (1502-1504) came to the islands as he visited the neighboring Bay Island of Guanaja. The Spanish soon after began using the Islands for purposes of slave raiding, and no original Native American communities survived.
Throughout European colonial times, the entire Bay of Honduras attracted a diverse array of individual settlers, pirates, traders and militarists, engaged in various economic activities and playing out political struggles between the European powers, chiefly Britain and Spain. Roatan and the other islands were used as frequent resting points for sea travelers, and on several occasions were the subject of military occupation. In 1723/1724 an about 20 year man from New England, Philip Ashton, managed to survive as a castaway on the island for sixteen months until he was finally rescued.
Britain, in its aggressive attempt to colonize the Caribbean from the Spanish, occupied the Bay Islands on and off between 1550 and 1700. During this time, the Buccaneers found the vacated, mostly unprotected Islands a haven for safe harbor and transport. English, French & Dutch pirates established settlements on the islands and raided the cumbersome Spanish cargo vessels laden with gold and other treasures from the new world. The English buccaneer Henry Morgan established his base at Port Royal on Roatan in the mid-17th century; at that time as many as 5,000 pirates were living on that island.
In a fortuitous event in 1797, the British defeated the Afro-indigenous Black Carib, who had been supported by the French, in a battle for control of the Windward Caribbean island of St. Vincent. Weary of their resistance to their plans for sugar plantations, the British rounded up the St. Vincent Black Carib and deported them to Roatan. The majority of Black Carib migrated to Trujillo on mainland Honduras, but a portion remained to found the community of Punta Gorda on the northern coast of Roatan. The Black Carib, whose ancestry includes Native American (Arawak) cultures and African Maroons, remained on Punta Gorda, becoming the Bay Island's first permanent post-Columbian settlers. They also migrated from there to parts of the northern coast of Central America, becoming the foundation of the modern day Garifuna culture.
The main permanent population of Roatan originated from the Cayman Islands near Jamaica, arriving in the 1830s shortly after the end of slavery in British territories disrupted the economic structure that had maintained Caymanian culture. Caymanians were largely a seafaring culture and were familiar with the area from turtle fishing ventures and other activities. Former Caymanian slave-owners were among the first to settle on the seaside locations throughout primarily western Roatan. Former slaves continued to arrive during the 1830s and 1840s, and altogether, the former Caymanians became the largest cultural group on the island.
In the 1850s for a brief period the Bay Islands were declared a colony by Britain, who within a decade ceded the territory formally back to Honduras.
The island populations grew steadily in the latter half of the century, and new settlements became established all over Roatan and the other islands. Individual settlers came from all over the world and played a part in shaping the cultural face of the island. A fruit trade industry started by islanders became very profitable and by the 1870s was taken over by American interests, most notably the New Orleans and Bay Islands Fruit Company. Later companies, the Standard Fruit and United Fruit Companies, became the foundation for modern day fruit companies, the industry which gave Honduras the sobriquet "banana republic".
The twentieth century saw a continued population growth resulting in increasing economic changes, and then environmental challenges. A population boom began with an influx of Spanish-speaking settlers from the Honduran mainland, who in the last decades tripled the original resident population. The Spanish settled primarily in the urban areas of Coxen Hole and French Harbor. In these areas Spanish is common, with English being more common to the families of original residents as well as in the other areas inhabited chiefly by islanders rather than former mainlanders.
But in terms of population and economic influence, the mainlander influx was dwarfed still by the overwhelming tourist presence in most recent years. This trend originated via a number of American, Canadian, British, New Zealand, Australian and South African settlers and entrepreneurs engaging chiefly in the fishing industry, and later, providing the foundation for tourist trade. The rapid and dramatic demographic changes that Roatan has experienced in the twenty-first century has contributed to the complexity of the environmental challenges that the beautiful and historied island now faces.
Gallery
Image:4669_aquaimages.jpg|A Coney in a Vase Sponge
Image:4691_aquaimages.jpg|A large Green Moray on the "El Aguila" wreck
Image:4734_aquaimages.jpg|Divers and a sponge
Image:4803_aquaimages.jpg|Black Cap Basslet
Image:4817_aquaimages.jpg|Divers and a large Barrel Sponge
Image:4905_aquaimages.jpg|Spotted Moray Eel
Image:4917_aquaimages.jpg|Diver exploring the Aguila wreck
Image:4615_aquaimages.jpg|Divers and a large Brain Coral
External links
