West Bay Beach Help Needed

We are planning to go to West Bay Beach next week and I am looking for some additional information.

Has anyone taken a taxi to West Bay from Coxen Hole? If so do you recall the cost? Did your taxi driver wait for you to take you back to the ship or did you have to find a taxi to take you back? Would we be better booking a West Bay beach day with Island Marketing for $33/person?

What part of the beach did you go? I was thinking Bananarana but have heard it can get crowded. Is there a better location where we can rent chairs and use as a home base for the day? I plan to snorkel so being close to where you can do the good snorkeling is a plus.

Is hiring a snorkel guide worth it or is finding the cool stuff to see easy to do on your own?

What beach restaurants have yummy food? I have seen some mixed reviews about the Thirsty Turtle but, have not seen any suggestions on where to eat.

Thanks so much for any info and insight you can provide!

After visiting Roatan on a cruise ship we have been back twice - both times for a week stay at Infinity Bay.

On the cruise ship stop we walked out the gate at Coxen Hole and down the street a short way…… where all the taxis park. We negotiated with one to stay with us the whole day (or most of it) for $15.00 per person (there were 3 of us)

He took us to West End, waited while we did a one-tank dive. Then down the street to eat, then waited while we shopped a bit in West End Village. Then he took us to West Bay beach and waited while we spent about 2.5 hrs there and then back to the ship.

All of the beach is public but you must use a public access area to get to it. That just means that most resorts will not let you walk through their property to get to the beach. The main one is located by Bananarama (it goes along one side of the property) You might see where some people said you must pay to use this access - this is NOT true. But I have heard where Bananarama was charging to access their property (many people were using the restrooms etc) that were not paying customers whether at the resort or at the restaurant. Can't blame them really. BUT you do not have to pay to use the access trail.

The best snorkeling is at the end of the beach (its about 3/4 of a mile long) where Bananarama, Infinity Bay, Tabayana and Grand Roatan are. You also want to be at this end as it is shallow from the reef and therefore there is no boat traffic here (except further out where the reef drops deeper). The reef can be VERY shallow in places especially at low tide - so shallow you must find a channel or risk hitting/scraping the reef as you swim over it…… you really don't need a guide if you are proficient at snorkeling at all….. but others say it was a good idea for them….. just a personal choice really.

We have eaten at most of the places along the beach….. Bananarama had ok food…. the taco salad was really good I had there. But we much prefer eating at the Palapa at Infinity Bay. The resort is an owner owned condo complex but the condos are rented out also….. but the resort is closed to the public unless you have a day pass (a whole 'nother topic) BUT they will let you on the property to eat at Palapa (on the beach) but you cannot use the facilities (pool etc) The food is really good and priced well. Try the lobster nachos !

Depending on how many ships in port….. just about any place will be crowded. Everyone wants to go to the "good spot" you know ;)

Hope this helps - enjoy Roatan. We love it !

Thanks for the great info! I am feeling much better about doing this on our own rather than booking a "tour" to take us to the beach. I believe there will be three ships in port the day we will be there, so it will be crowded.

What kind of shopping is available at West Bay Village...is it your typical tourist shopping with trinkets and t-shirts?

Thanks for the great info! I am feeling much better about doing this on our own rather than booking a "tour" to take us to the beach. I believe there will be three ships in port the day we will be there, so it will be crowded.

 

What kind of shopping is available at West Bay Village...is it your typical tourist shopping with trinkets and t-shirts?

There is that but also some unique stuff too. There is one art gallery with some artwork that also has trinkets. My favorite place is an open-air jam-packed store called Evelyns. Honduran wood items, beautiful hand embroidered items (very colorful) among lots of other stuff. West End Village is much larger than you think when you visit…..just wander the main road (runs along the water and you will enjoy.

You can actually take a water taxi from West Bay beach to West End Village for $3.00 a person. There are tons of "pangas" (small boats) at the pier in front of Infinity Bay. Takes about 8-10 minutes and will give you a neat view of the beach from the water. The water is very clear and you can see right down to the bottom. When you want to return just reverse from the pier at WEst End.

I get so confused between West Bay Beach and West End Village/Beach...please explain....thanks!

West Bay Beach is at the very tip of the island. It is a beach about a mile long.

West End Village is a quaint village (altho it is growing like crazy) just a ways up the coast from West Bay Beach. I have heard of some people walking there from West Bay but its a bit far for me…… hence the water taxis. It takes about 8 minutes or so by boat. A lot longer by foot. And the walk is not on road but beach and rocks etc…..

Google is your friend :D Here is a map I just pulled up by googling "map of roatan" Hope it helps.

http://www.roatan.net/Roatan-Map.pdf

I get so confused between West Bay Beach and West End Village/Beach...please explain....thanks!

West Bay = all inclusive, pay for the beach access, lot of crowds

West End = pay as you go, long open beaches to walk, no crowds

West Bay = all inclusive, pay for the beach access, lot of crowds

West End = pay as you go, long open beaches to walk, no crowds

Not sure where you got your information but its not quite accurate.

All beaches in Honduras (and Roatan) are public. You must use a public access as the resorts do not like people walking through their resort to get to the beach. But there are access areas and there is NO CHARGE to use them.

WEST BAY - Now, if you want to use a specific resorts amenities they charge a "day fee" and it varies from one to another.

All-inclusive - not sure what you meant by this. If you use a day pass they will tell you what is included and what is not. Usually food is not included unless you are talking about Tabayana which is not really a resort but a kind of day park with lockers, gift shop, chairs and palapas, a restaurant etc. But no pool.

Crowds - well yeah this part is pretty much right on. This is the best area to snorkel/dive right from the beach. The reef is steps from the shore and the beach is 3/4 of a mile long with beautiful white sand and palms lining the shore. It is on the leeward side (calm) of the island and usually no waves so just a really nice place to plop down on the sand and enjoy the gorgeous water.

http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0LEVyXQID1UGwIATllXNyoA;_ylc=X1MDMjc2NjY3OQRfcgMyBGZyA2FhcGx3BGdwcmlkAzM5R3o2U09SUjVTV0ZYU3dRUzIwbkEEbl9yc2x0AzAEbl9zdWdnAzEEb3JpZ2luA3NlYXJjaC55YWhvby5jb20EcG9zAzAEcHFzdHIDBHBxc3RybAMEcXN0cmwDMjEEcXVlcnkDd2VzdCBiYXkgYmVhY2ggaW1hZ2VzBHRfc3RtcAMxNDEzMjkyMzc2?p=west+bay+beach+images&fr2=sb-top-search&fr=aaplw

WEST END VILLAGE: This is a village. There is a road that runs all along the waterfront. There are many piers with boats moored etc. It has some beach areas but not long stretches as posted. Here is a link to some pics….

http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=utf-8&fr=aaplw&p=west+end+village+roatan+images

Anyway - just wanted to elaborate on your post.

Not sure where you got your information but its not quite accurate.

 

All beaches in Honduras (and Roatan) are public. You must use a public access as the resorts do not like people walking through their resort to get to the beach. But there are access areas and there is NO CHARGE to use them.

 

WEST BAY - Now, if you want to use a specific resorts amenities they charge a "day fee" and it varies from one to another.

 

All-inclusive - not sure what you meant by this. If you use a day pass they will tell you what is included and what is not. Usually food is not included unless you are talking about Tabayana which is not really a resort but a kind of day park with lockers, gift shop, chairs and palapas, a restaurant etc. But no pool.

 

Crowds - well yeah this part is pretty much right on. This is the best area to snorkel/dive right from the beach. The reef is steps from the shore and the beach is 3/4 of a mile long with beautiful white sand and palms lining the shore. It is on the leeward side (calm) of the island and usually no waves so just a really nice place to plop down on the sand and enjoy the gorgeous water.

 

http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0LEVyXQID1UGwIATllXNyoA;_ylc=X1MDMjc2NjY3OQRfcgMyBGZyA2FhcGx3BGdwcmlkAzM5R3o2U09SUjVTV0ZYU3dRUzIwbkEEbl9yc2x0AzAEbl9zdWdnAzEEb3JpZ2luA3NlYXJjaC55YWhvby5jb20EcG9zAzAEcHFzdHIDBHBxc3RybAMEcXN0cmwDMjEEcXVlcnkDd2VzdCBiYXkgYmVhY2ggaW1hZ2VzBHRfc3RtcAMxNDEzMjkyMzc2?p=west+bay+beach+images&fr2=sb-top-search&fr=aaplw

 

WEST END VILLAGE: This is a village. There is a road that runs all along the waterfront. There are many piers with boats moored etc. It has some beach areas but not long stretches as posted. Here is a link to some pics….

 

http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=utf-8&fr=aaplw&p=west+end+village+roatan+images

 

Anyway - just wanted to elaborate on your post.

In My reference I was trying to give as short of an answer as to what you can find in each spot.

For "all inclusive" I believe Mayan Princess and another, I haven't been in a while to west bay, have all inclusive day passes you can buy if you desire.

Yes beaches are free but I found it a little more difficult to try to find the "free" access. Just easier to go to west end where there is no searching or wondering.

As for West End, yes the center of the village itself has little stretches of beach but if you go past Ronnys Barefeet there is a long stretch of uncrowded beach. Not sure how to do pics but hopefully mine attached somewhere here, it is taken looking away from West end, towards West Bay and is about 100 yards away from Ronnys.

Where do I find the famous Banana Donut Man on the west bay beaches?

Where do I find the famous Banana Donut Man on the west bay beaches?

HaHa… its more like he finds you. He strolls up and down the beach and sings his "Banana Donuts" chant …… if he is anywhere near you won't miss him :D

If you want to know about the snorkeling, HERE's a great thread that explains a lot. (Sorry, it's about 14 pages long and you'll have to sift through tons of post for the info, but it's a great thread with tons of pictures/maps)