Roatan Cruise Port Guide: West Bay Beach, the Reef and the Bay Islands

Roatan is the largest of the Bay Islands of Honduras, a long green ridge of an island lying off the Central American coast on the Mesoamerican Reef, the second longest reef system in the world. It is Honduras by nationality, but its heart is English-speaking and Caribbean: the Bay Islands were a British colony in the nineteenth century, and their people still speak an English creole and look culturally more to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands than to the Spanish mainland. For the cruise visitor this makes for an easy day in a place of real natural beauty, where the great draw is the reef, some of the best and most accessible in the Caribbean, reachable straight off the sand at West Bay Beach.

Roatan has grown quickly into one of the busiest cruise stops in Central America, and it has two cruise ports to show for it, about five kilometres apart on the south coast. Mahogany Bay, used by the Carnival family of lines and by Cunard and now renaming itself Isla Tropicale, has its own beach reached by a chairlift; the Port of Roatan at Coxen Hole, used by Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and others, sits by the island’s main town. Which one your ship uses changes the drive times, but both are self-contained complexes, and both put the island’s best beach, West Bay, some thirty to forty-five minutes west.

This guide covers a Roatan day ashore: the two ports and their beaches, the pale sand and famous reef of West Bay, the snorkelling and diving that make the island’s name, the animal parks and gardens in the hills, the practical detail of currency, taxis and the cruise-passenger entry rules, and how to make the most of a green island with a British past.

Port Overview

Getting From the Port to Town

Top Excursions

More Experiences in Roatan

Things to Do in Roatan

A Roatan day is, for most passengers, a beach and reef day, and West Bay Beach is where both come together: pale sand, calm turquoise water, and a coral wall close enough to swim to from the shore. The classic shape of the day is a taxi west to West Bay in the morning, a few hours of snorkelling and sand, and a return to the ship in the afternoon. It is one of the easiest and most rewarding beach days in the Caribbean.

For those who want more than the beach, the green interior offers animal parks with monkeys, sloths and macaws, a botanical garden, and viewpoints over the reef-fringed coast, while divers can head straight out to some of the finest reef walls in the hemisphere. And for an undemanding day, both cruise ports have their own beaches and complexes, so it is possible to enjoy Roatan without straying far from the ship at all.

• West Bay Beach. West Bay is the island’s star, a long curve of soft white sand and calm, clear turquoise water at the western end of the island, about thirty to forty-five minutes by taxi from either cruise port. Its great distinction is the reef: the coral wall lies only about 200 yards off the sand, so you can snorkel out from the beach to healthy coral, turtles and fish without a boat. With loungers, beach bars and that superb shore snorkelling, it is the natural focus of a Roatan day and one of the best beaches on the whole route.
• Snorkelling and diving the reef. Roatan is one of the great diving islands of the Caribbean, sitting on the Mesoamerican Reef, the second longest reef system in the world. Beyond the shore snorkelling at West Bay, boat trips reach coral walls and canyons of extraordinary richness, and the island is ringed with dive shops, many at West End. For snorkellers the reef is unusually accessible; for certified divers it is a world-class destination. The clear, calm water of the winter cruise season is the ideal time to get out on it, whether from the beach or by boat.
• Gumbalimba Park. In the hills near West Bay, Gumbalimba Park is a family-friendly nature park where capuchin monkeys, iguanas and brightly coloured macaws move among the visitors, with a treetop zipline over the canopy, jungle trails and a small beach. Sloths can be seen, though under Honduran wildlife rules they are no longer handled. It is about twenty to thirty minutes from the ports depending on which is used, and pairs easily with a West Bay beach day, making one of the island’s most popular excursions for families and animal lovers.
• The port beaches. For an easy day close to the ship, both cruise ports have beaches of their own. Mahogany Bay, now renaming to Isla Tropicale, has a private ten-acre beach reached by a ski-style aerial chairlift or a short walking path, with loungers, watersports and calm swimming. The Port of Roatan complex at Coxen Hole has shops, pools and a beach area too. Neither matches West Bay for the reef, but for passengers who would rather not travel, the port beaches offer a relaxed, self-contained day within the gates.
• Carambola Botanical Gardens and the viewpoints. For a quieter, greener few hours, the Carambola Botanical Gardens at Sandy Bay spread over forty acres of tropical trees, orchids, ferns and native wildlife, with a trail climbing to a viewpoint over the reef and the islands offshore. The island’s ridge roads offer other wide views over the coast on an island tour. These make a calm alternative to the beach and the animal parks, and suit passengers who prefer to walk and admire the greenery and the vistas at an unhurried pace.
• Little French Key. Off the south shore, Little French Key is a small private cay run as a beach club, reached by a short boat ride and offering white sand, calm water, hammocks, a restaurant and an animal rescue area, all included in a day pass. It is a more curated, all-inclusive sort of beach day than West Bay, on its own little island, and popular with passengers wanting an easy, packaged day out on the water. It is a short boat trip from the south coast, and usually booked as an excursion.

Eating Near the Cruise Port

Getting Around

Essential Travel Tips

Both of Roatan’s cruise ports are self-contained complexes with their own beaches, one reached by an aerial chairlift, so it is quite possible to have a good day without leaving the gate. The packing list is snorkel gear if you own it, since the Mesoamerican Reef here is the second longest reef system in the world.

West Bay is the island’s best beach and it is thirty to forty-five minutes by taxi from either port, which is the distance at which a shore excursion starts to earn its keep on a short call.

Watch the all-aboard time if you go west, because the road back is the same road and it does not get quicker. Closer in, the port complexes are comfortable but priced accordingly, so your onboard spending goes further at a beach club than inside the gate.

Honduras turns up on western Caribbean weeks alongside Cozumel and Belize, so the best time to book is about the itinerary rather than the island. Once aboard, a cabin on the shaded side is the sensible choice on a route this hot.

Frequently Asked Questions

Ready to Explore Roatan?

Roatan is one of the loveliest natural calls on the Western Caribbean route, a green Honduran island with a British past, an English-speaking welcome and, above all, the second longest reef in the world lying close off its shore. A day here is best spent at West Bay Beach, where you can snorkel out from the sand to living coral and turtles, with the animal parks and gardens of the interior for variety and both cruise ports offering an easy beach day within the gates. Check which port you dock at, take an official taxi west to the reef, and Roatan delivers a warm, beautiful and distinctly Caribbean day, whatever the flag says.