Exploring the Accessible Side of Roatan, Honduras
West Bay Beach, Roatan. The best beach in Roatan, Honduras
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Where is Roatan Located?
The Island of Roatan, Honduras is the largest of the Bay Islands of Honduras. Located in the Caribbean along the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, Roatan Island is 40 miles (65km) off the northern coast of mainland Honduras between the Utila and Guanaja Islands. It’s approximately 48 miles (77km) long and less than 5 miles (8km) across.
Because the island rests on The Belize Barrier Reef, (the second largest reef in the world) snorkeling, diving, and boating are especially popular. The island offers crystal clear waters, soft sand beaches, and some of the best Caribbean snorkeling and reef diving, along with exciting shore excursions. And yes, while somewhat difficult, it is possible to find accessible travel options for disabled travelers. There are wheelchair-accessible hotels, wheelchair-accessible beaches, wheelchair-accessible transport on the island, and wheelchair-accessible boats.
Roatan is also largely English speaking, and less expensive than most islands in the Caribbean. There are direct flights to Roatan from Houston, New York, and Miami, making travel to Roatan, Honduras increasingly popular.
Here’s everything you need to know to start planning your accessible Roatan vacation.
Is Roatán Safe?
Despite what you might hear in the news, there are plenty of reasonably safe and beautiful places to visit in Central America. I’ve been to Mexico, Nicaragua, Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Panama. (And I’d love to get to Guatemala soon.) I’ve walked around their big cities, gone glamping in the jungles, had delicious wine tours, snaked down rivers in a motorboat, snorkeled in the Caribbean, and looked for sharks in Lake Nicaragua… but none of my trips received quite the paranoid reaction from friends and family as Roatan, Honduras. Crime on Roatan was all anyone could think about.
While there are dangerous places in Honduras, Roatan is quite safe. The most common crimes involve drugs, prostitution, and burglaries. These are risks that can be largely avoided by not seeking out drugs, or prostitutes, or wandering alone in certain areas after dark/ wearing flashy clothing and jewelry. Usual travel rules and common sense apply, avoid certain areas after dark, and remain aware of your surroundings. The mainland currently has a Level 3 travel warning due to the high crime rates. (Please check for current travel advisories here ) But, on the island of Roatan crime happens at a lower rate, mostly occurring after dark around the more populous towns of Coxen Hole, Los Fuertes, and French Harbor.
There are areas on Bay Island Roatan that are completely void of crime. These include the areas of Palmetto Bay, Roatan, Pristine Bay, Turtle Crossing, and Lawson Rock. If you’re worried about crime, it’s best to book your Roatan, Honduras vacation in one of these neighborhoods.
How to Get to Roatan
While some might worry about crime, my major concern was finding a flight to Juan Manuel Gálvez International Airport in Roatan, Honduras without having to fly into one of the world’s most terrifying airports, Toncontin International airport in Tegucigalpa.
Toncontin is located on mainland Honduras and is widely considered the second most extreme airport in the world with one of the most difficult approaches for all aircraft, especially in inclement weather conditions. Moment of truth, I hate flying. I’m a control freak who despises being trapped in a tin can at the mercy of complete strangers as we barrel through the clouds. After watching hours of footage of botched takeoffs and landings at Toncontin International, I was completely committed to finding a connecting flight in Houston and not Tegucigalpa.
Luckily, as I mentioned earlier, direct flights to Roatan are available from Houston, New York City, and Miami. If you do have to connect on the mainland, I recommend flying into San Pedro Sula.
Port Roatan Honduras is also an extremely popular destination for many Caribbean cruises. If you’re stopping at Roatan Cruise Port, there are plenty of things to do in Roatan in one day.
West Bay Beach, one of the best beaches in Roatan.
Where to Stay on Roatan
West End, Roatan Island is the most popular area for travelers. The east side of the island is less populous and offers more beach house vacation rentals than resort properties. If it’s your first time going to the area, I highly recommend staying on the west side. You will have better access to medical care (should you need it), food, tours, snorkeling, and sundries. If you do opt for a beach house rental make sure you pay attention to the reviews of not just the house, but the area.
We stayed at the Paradise Beach Hotel in West Bay Beach over New Year’s and were largely undisturbed by crowds. We saw only one cruise ship dock during our week-long stay. Even then, only a few people disembarked, most of them choosing to sit poolside at some of the larger Roatan Beach resorts.
If you’re looking to splurge, I recommend Grand Roatán Caribbean Resort both for its high-end accommodations and for its excellent access to the second-largest barrier reef in the world.
There were always plenty of beach chairs and helpful employees at Paradise Beach. But make sure you call and arrange for an accessible room should you require one. I visited over the New Year and the entire place was booked. While some rooms are ground floor and easily accessible, we were given a garden suite on the third floor of a building with no functional elevators. My bags were brought up to the room for me and the staff tried to help as much as possible, but unfortunately, there were no other rooms available. Climbing stairs is generally pretty unpleasant for me, now throw in temps in the mid-’80s with terrible humidity, and it becomes next to impossible.
While I did enjoy the Paradise Beach Hotel, there are many areas of the property that keep it from being accessible to wheelchair users. I’ve listed some Roatan hotels and accommodations below which truly offer a wheelchair-accessible holiday.
Wheelchair Accessible Hotels and Roatan Resorts:
The following Roatan hotels offer wheelchair-accessible rooms and facilities:
Naboo Resort & Dive Center - This brand-new wheelchair-accessible hotel is an excellent choice if members of your party are interested in the Roatan diving experience. Experienced instructors take divers to explore the Mesoamerican Reef system surrounding the island. Naboo offers a range of diving courses from beginner to expert. This brand new Roatan dive resort is located in West Bay Beach, Roatan, and provides a PADI dive center with multilingual staff. They also offer snorkeling excursions.
Built in 2019, it’s one of the newer resorts in Roatan. Rates range from $80 USD to $140 USD depending on the season. They offer wheelchair-accessible hotel rooms on their first floor. They also offer a wheelchair-accessible restaurant, wheelchair-accessible areas both in and outside of the hotel, and wheelchair-accessible beach access.
Villa Rentals Roatan - These wheelchair-accessible villas are located in French Harbor, in the center of Roatan Island. The villas offer an infinity swimming pool, a private beach area, patio areas, a BBQ area, and a restaurant. They offer special diet menus upon request and facilities for disabled guests. The villas also offer free airport shuttles, a tour desk, and grocery deliveries.
Pineapple Villas Roatan - This accessible hotel is also located in French Harbor. It features spacious ocean-view suites, four lagoon-style pools, a Roatan activities desk, a world-class spa and health club, and well-appointed rooms. It also features two of the best restaurants in Roatan, Herby’s Sports Bar and Grill, and the Pineapple Steakhouse. The one drawback, there is no direct access to the beach, though shuttles are available.
Hacienda Caribe Tesoro - A West Bay favorite, Hacienda Caribe Tesoro is one of best resorts in Roatan, Honduras. All-inclusive resorts are not hard to find on the island, but Caribe Tesoro offers beautifully colorful rooms and attention to detail. They offer a saltwater pool, waterslides, and a swim-up bar. They also have a strict cleaning protocol, free airport transfers, and help booking activities in Roatan. They offer several wheelchair-accessible suites, but their website is vague, so it’s best to contact them for details before booking.
Hotel Henry Morgan All-Inclusive Resort - Another beachfront Roatan, Honduras all-inclusive resort in West Bay Beach offering daily activities like diving, fishing, and snorkeling. They also have a tour desk for help booking your Roatan excursions. The property has a buffet, two bars, and a beach-side lunch grill. Their website promises facilities for disabled guests.
Mayan Princess Beach & Dive Resort - A beautiful four-star, beachfront resort in West Bay Beach, Roatan. The property boasts four gourmet-style restaurants, live music, cultural shows, spa services, scuba lessons, and well-appointed accessible hotel rooms. They also promise free airport shuttle service, concierge service, bar, snorkeling, tour desk, and hot tub.
Infinity Bay, Spa & Beach Resort - These modern villas have a spa and beach club and offer a variety of all-inclusive packages. Each of their suites is steps from the water and offers spectacular views of West Bay Beach. The property also offers a 300-foot infinity pool and exotic gardens. The resort provides wheelchair ramps and wheelchair-friendly seating at their accessible restaurant, La Palapa Bar and Grill. An elevator is located in each of their 20 accommodation buildings as well as in the main building. Disabled visitors may also opt for a ground-floor villa. Handicap parking is available on the property, as well as transfers from the airport or ferry in an accessible van. This is my top choice for accessible accommodations in Roatan. The property is also situated in the middle of the best snorkeling Roatan has to offer.
What To Do In Roatan, Honduras
There are many things to do in Roatan, Honduras. Most of the larger hotels offer excursions including diving in Roatan, catamaran trips around the island, horseback riding, chocolate tasting at Roatan Chocolate Factory, and island tours. There are also trips to swim dolphins in Sandy Bay, but I highly discourage this. We sailed past The Roatan Dolphin Encounter on our sunset Caribbean catamaran cruise and from what I could see, the dolphins seemed very stressed being poked prodded, and hung on to by tourists while performing in a small, fenced-in area of the ocean. Please do your research before visiting any animal attraction, particularly those in developing nations.
We were able to see plenty of dolphins in their natural habitat on our boat ride around the island. No, we didn’t get to touch them, feed them or hold on to them while they pulled us through the water, but we also didn’t leave with a nagging feeling that we had done something wrong.
Snorkeling Roatan
Roatan snorkeling is incredible! In fact, many people travel here just to see that sweet Roatan Reef. Full disclosure, there are few things in life that feel better on my aching Ehlers-Danlos joints than being in the warm ocean water. Especially the warm waters of the Caribbean. It’s easy to spend hours floating as you look down at the amazing coral reefs, starfish, stingrays, and parrotfish. The wonderful thing about Roatan, Honduras vacations is you don’t have to wander too far offshore or take a catamaran Caribbean cruise to find some of the best Caribbean snorkeling.
The island is great for first-time snorkelers. We walked offshore into hip-deep water and were able to see an amazing array of sea life. If you don’t swim very well, have children with you, or are afraid of being in deep water, West Bay Beach, Roatan is an easy place to ease into snorkeling. You can see all sorts of sea life in the Roatan Coral Reef without having to venture out past waist-deep waters. And no, in Roatan sharks are not a concern. You might encounter small nurse or reef sharks, but neither of them is dangerous to humans.
The best resort for snorkeling: Infinity Bay, Spa, and Beach Resort
Dive Roatan Honduras with Hammerhead Dive Center
DIVING IN ROATAN
Roatan scuba diving is some of the best in the world. Several of the all-inclusive Roatan resorts offer diving excursions. Outside of hotels, the best dive companies in Roatan are:
West Bay Divers - Offering night dives, shark dives, and diving instruction. This is the top-rated company for Roatan, Honduras scuba diving.
Quality Time Divers - 5-star customer service, offering small group and private scuba diving in the Bay Islands of Honduras.
Roatan Tec Center - Based in the dive center Coconut Tree Divers in Half Moon Bay, right in the middle of Roatan, Honduras West Bay. This is the only technical dive center on Roatan Bay Island. If you’re looking for Cavern Courses, Technical Courses TRIMIX Courses, or Sidemount Diving, this is your place. Dives sell out several days in advance, so make sure to make your reservation well in advance.
Kotos Adventure Diving Center - Kotos has small and private group tours for both snorkeling Roatan, Honduras, and diving Roatan, Honduras.
DIVE SITES IN ROATAN:
You have many options when it comes to diving in Roatan, Honduras. Below are just a few of the top dive sites surrounding the Bay Islands.
Texas, Pablo’s Place, and West End Wall - off the western point of the island. This is one of the best diving locations in Roatan. Great for viewing barrel sponges, grouper, jacks, and barracuda.
Lighthouse, Dixies, and Half Moon Bay Wall - A two-minute boat trip from Reef Gliders Dive Center in Roatan’s West End. This dive site offers gentle currents, schooling Wrasse, Chub, and Chromis. Hawksbill and Green Turtles are also common.
Seaquest, Butchers Bank, and Mandy’s Eel Garden - These sites are great for underwater photography and offer Yellow Head Jawfish, Garden Eels, Pipefish, Pipe Horses, Trunkfish, Spotted Drum and several species of Blenny. The deeper sandy slopes drop down to 130 feet and are a perfect spot for seeing Spotted Eagle Rays and Southern Sting Rays.
Cara a Cara Shark Dive - One mile offshore of Roatan Island lies a rocky outcrop perfect for Caribbean Reef shark spotting. Reef Sharks are not harmful to humans and depending on conditions, it may be possible to swim amongst them.
El Aguila Wreck and The Odyssey Wreck - For more advanced divers looking to dive amongst shipwrecks, these two sites offer an exciting adventure amongst coral-encrusted ships. The ships are home to an exciting array of aquatic life.
Hole in the Wall and Blue Channel - These sites are again for more advanced divers who are looking to swim through tunnels, caves, and caverns.
Snorkeling Roatan, Honduras
Roatan Tours
Roatan Anderson Tours offers a variety of Roatan Day tours, including wheelchair-accessible excursions. Wheelchair-accessible activities include stops at Coxen Hole, Central Park, and French Harbor, a visit to a Caribbean Village, Chocolate Factory, and Rum Factory, and a stop at Tabyana Beach at the Bananarama Resort. Guides also take travelers on an accessible scenic drive, suggest accessible Roatan restaurants, and arrange accessible water activities.
Roatan Anderson also offers a Wheelchair Accessible Taste of Roatan with Beach Break Tour.
Roatan Tourism Info
If you’re looking for a relaxing beach vacation close to the US, Roatan has what you’re looking for. It’s a quick flight from Houston, Miami, or NYC, less expensive than much of the Caribbean, right in the middle of some of the best snorkeling ever, and is a welcome departure from the usual jam-packed tourist destinations like Jamaica or Cabo.
The ideal time to travel to Roatan, Honduras is from March through May. The rainy season in Roatan is from June through November. I would not advise traveling during October and November as this is hurricane season. December through February is quite pleasant and you can expect the weather in Roatan, Honduras to be mild and spring-like.
