While in Roatan, which beach....?

[angel54321]

So reading through some of these posts I've decided only that I DONT want to go to mahogany bay...

Looking for a nice beach day for my family of 3: me, DH, and our son, who is 9....

 

Looking to possibly jet ski........ Not too crowded...

 

Will be there in March 2014 on the Carnival Legend

 

 

 

Thank you for your advice!!!!

 

 

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Sailing 3/23/14 on the Carnival Legend

[texancruzer]

I have been to Roatan once on a cruise stop and twice for a land visit of a week each time........ I don't think I have ever seen a jet ski here :eek:

 

I just did a web search and found a link - said there were jet ski rentals at Bananarama on West Bay beach.....have never seen one there but that doesn't mean there isn't some - just not when I was there (July 4th week and Christmas week 2012)

 

Actually, due to the reefs there and how shallow they are, I hope they are not offering them there....... but perhaps at another beach with deeper reefs.....

 

Good luck and enjoy Roatan......

[c-leg5]

So reading through some of these posts I've decided only that I DONT want to go to mahogany bay...

Looking for a nice beach day for my family of 3: me, DH, and our son, who is 9....

 

Looking to possibly jet ski........ Not too crowded...

 

Will be there in March 2014 on the Carnival Legend

 

 

 

Thank you for your advice!!!!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

Sailing 3/23/14 on the Carnival Legend

 

Turquoise Bay was quiet and offers day pass with transport. The website says they have jet skis but don't remember seeing any. you could email and check.

[angel54321]

What about tabayana beach? How far is that from where the ship will dock in mahogany bay ?

 

 

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Sailing 3/23/14 on the Carnival Legend

[texancruzer]

Tabayana is a day resort on West Bay beach. There really isn't any Tabayana beach. It is located right next door to Infinity Bay Resort.

 

West Bay Beach is a good 30-45 minute drive from Coxen Hole docks and perhaps another 15 minutes further to Mahogany Bay where Carnival docks. So 45 minutes to an hour drive depending on the traffic thru Coxen Hole.

 

http://www.roataninterest.com/Roatan-Map.html

 

This map might help..... Mahogany Bay is actually Dixon Cove.

[angel54321]

Tabayana is a day resort on West Bay beach. There really isn't any Tabayana beach. It is located right next door to Infinity Bay Resort.

 

West Bay Beach is a good 30-45 minute drive from Coxen Hole docks and perhaps another 15 minutes further to Mahogany Bay where Carnival docks. So 45 minutes to an hour drive depending on the traffic thru Coxen Hole.

 

http://www.roataninterest.com/Roatan-Map.html

 

This map might help..... Mahogany Bay is actually Dixon Cove.

 

 

 

That seems kind of far to go to a beach.... Any idea how much a taxi will cost? A lot probably .......

I really want to see other parts of the island beyond the cruise dock........

 

 

 

 

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Sailing 3/23/14 on the Carnival Legend

[texancruzer]

That seems kind of far to go to a beach.... Any idea how much a taxi will cost? A lot probably .......

I really want to see other parts of the island beyond the cruise dock........

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Sailing 3/23/14 on the Carnival Legend

 

Actually there have been ALOT of discussions about that here....... but I will cover it again.

 

The roads on Roatan are small, twisty and winding and you have to go thru Coxen Hole too. So you don't have to go that far but it takes a while.

 

The drive from the one side of the island to the other side goes over the ridge of small mountain that runs the spine of the island so some really great views !!!!

 

Your best (most cost effective) way to experience Roatan is to hire a private tour. $40-$50 for the whole day. You then have an experienced English speaking driver to take you wherever you want to go for the whole day.

 

For a taxi you will get conflicting reports of cost, but we hired one from Coxen Hole docks for the whole day for $15.00 per person (there were 3 of us) but he didn't speak a lot of English but it worked for us. We have also taken a taxi from the airport to Infinity Bay resort for $25.00 one way (not per person) And then there are others who have said they paid like $20.00 per person one way for a taxi to West Bay Beach...... ouch - they got ripped off ;)

 

Hire a driver - there are a few really good ones that have been recommended here NUMEROUS times.

 

Glad to hear you want to get out and see some of this incredibly gorgeous island. I cringe when I hear of those who just stay at Mahogany Bay (a manmade tourist area) since it doesn't reflect the true island feel and also doesn't benefit the islanders economically.

[CDNJehn]

Your best (most cost effective) way to experience Roatan is to hire a private tour. $40-$50 for the whole day. You then have an experienced English speaking driver to take you wherever you want to go for the whole day.

 

Glad to hear you want to get out and see some of this incredibly gorgeous island. I cringe when I hear of those who just stay at Mahogany Bay (a manmade tourist area) since it doesn't reflect the true island feel and also doesn't benefit the islanders economically.

 

Great advice texancruzer. Angel, once you SEE the beach, you'll forget about the drive. Make the drive part of the day. Take in the surroundings. Enjoy! We took my son on his first cruise when he was 10 and one of the things he remembers from a lot of the ports is the travel and the things he saw along the way.

 

If you just want transportation to West Bay Beach I can recommend booking through Bananarama. $35/pp gives you round trip transportation, use of facilities, beach chair and a welcome drink. $5 more gets you 2 hours of snorkel gear to explore the gorgeous reef.

 

If you want to see the island AND get some beach time I can recommend Ronys Tours. We hired a driver for their 'Freestyle Tour' for $40/pp. Had a great driver for the whole day who took us on a tour of the island, stopped so we could do some ziplining and then stayed with us while we snorkeled and enjoyed West Bay Beach. Top notch operation.

 

I don't recall ever seeing jet skis for rent at West Bay Beach.

[texancruzer]

CDNJehn - I did not recommend a tour guide in my previous post only because the OP did not ask for a recommendation. It is actually against the posting rules to recommend one unless it is asked for........ your post may disappear as the moderators are known to do that :)

 

Angel54321 - if you would like some recommendations.....just ask.

[angel54321]

CDNJehn - I did not recommend a tour guide in my previous post only because the OP did not ask for a recommendation. It is actually against the posting rules to recommend one unless it is asked for........ your post may disappear as the moderators are known to do that :)

 

Angel54321 - if you would like some recommendations.....just ask.

 

 

Thank you so much for the advice....

 

 

I appreciate the recommendation as well for CDNJehn.

 

 

I didn't realize there were rules about recommendations..... Good to know!

 

 

 

 

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Sailing 3/23/14 on the Carnival Legend

[CDNJehn]

I didn't realize there were rules about recommendations..... Good to know!

 

That makes two of us. I have never seen one of my posts disappear, regardless of if someone did or did not specifically request a recommendation. Learn something new every day.

 

Have a great time Angel.

[texancruzer]

Well I found out the hard way..... I had a post disappear and a memo from the moderators. I guess they are trying to keep tour operators from posting a recommendation under a fake name.......

 

There are actually some stickies regarding the rules for posting at the top of the board forum page. Real easy to just start posting here and not see them..... :)

[marvlgirl]

Just walk off the boat and negotiate with one of the dozens of cabbies. We did that last year and are planning on doing it again in December. We went to the other sidenofnthe island and if I remember correctly it was $10 pp for there and back. He took us to a beautiful beach with a resort and that was $20 pp amd it was awesome!! It was my favorite day out of our entire cruise.

[angel54321]

Well I found out the hard way..... I had a post disappear and a memo from the moderators. I guess they are trying to keep tour operators from posting a recommendation under a fake name.......

 

There are actually some stickies regarding the rules for posting at the top of the board forum page. Real easy to just start posting here and not see them..... :)

 

I guess that makes sense....

Even though it says READ THESE in regards to the stickies, I skipped them... Hehe.

 

 

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Sailing 3/23/14 on the Carnival Legend

[tinykygal]

Where was that?

[tinykygal]

Where did you find a private tour? DH wants to touch land but I can't find a great suggestion

Thanks

[CDNJehn]

Where did you find a private tour? DH wants to touch land but I can't find a great suggestion

Thanks

 

There are many private tours available. A search of the boards will yield more information for you. We have used Ronys Tours and loved our day.

Many people use Victor Bodden

This time we are using Christopher Tours for a snorkel/beach tour. First time with them though.

[bguppies]

http://www.boddentours.com/bestofroatan.htm

 

http://ronystours.com/

 

Those are the two tour links I have..

 

I can vouch for Victor Bodden's.

Used them last time for a custom tour for our family and it was a great day.

My Brother and his family used them also and did nothing but rave.

 

But Rony's gets nothing but rave reviews in here also.

 

Don't think you can go wrong with either.

 

Bill

[dogbert's mom]

We were on Roatan for the second time. Ported at Mahogany Bay and wanted to see more of the island and snorkle at a less crowded area than the beach at Bananarama. We booked a driver from Rony Tours. Arnold was a wonderful driver and our day far exceeded what we expected. After touring the island and having a welcome drink, Arnold to us to Half Moon Bay we had the easiest and uncrowded adventure. Saw tons of fish! IT WAS GREAT!!!

[Armedaneian]

There's a live reef encircling Roatan, so you'll find great snorkeling anywhere you go. In fact, if they'd let you swim in the "no Swimming" area around the corner of Mahogany Bay, even that would be nice.

 

The two factors you should consider are how far of a swim the reef is and how crowded it gets. These factors tend to be inversely proportional, so crowds accumulate where the reef is closest. Tabyana Beach is the prime example. The reef there actually touches the sand. Access doesn't get any easier. We like to go to Bananarama though, because it's about 1000 ft. away from the cruise ship crowd, yet shares the same gorgeous reef.

 

We went to Half Moon Bay once. The reef was nice, but to get there, we had to swim outside of the bay. My wife didn't like going that far out to see anything, so we've never gone back.

 

By far, the easiest access to good snorkeling on Roatan is West Bay Beach; and when people complain about the crowds, it's in relation to the peace and quiet found here 15 years ago. Even today, if you compare it to Coco Cay, Half Moon Cay, or any other cruise-ship beach, it's still a relatively quiet place... and the snorkeling itself is no where near as crowded as Trunk Bay on St. John's, we're never going back there again! :cool: