can someone give an overview of the Snorkel Spots in Roatan?

[love4god]

It looks like West Bay Beach is where you can walk to the end of the beach near the rocks and walk out and snorkel the reef or, lots of guides will offer to take you out from there in a boat.  Then there are other West End Tours where they will take you out by boat I think. Then when reading the other tours that pick you up I see the Blue Channel, shark/ray alley, turtle crossing, and then the drift snorkel tours.  Finally there is Half Moon Bay, which is the one place I think I went to years ago, off Half Moon hResort, where you walk down into a nice area with a shallow, beautiful reef near a boating channel.

 

Basically my question is where all these tours are taking you.  Do the boats at West Bay take you somewhere you can't get to yourself if you just snorkel from the beach?  If you are on a 3-stop tour  one company says the spots are 5 minutes apart) are you hitting the same spots as the drift tour, but you're just hopping to them instead of drifting to them?  If not, are there generally 3 spots they go to each day different form that tour (assuming weather is good)?

 

We have some other excursions booked this cruise and this is going to be our main snorkel day. I want to book the best snorkeling possible this day.  Beautiful reef, lots of fish, maybe some rays/turtles/sharks. The drift tour sounds fun but will I be missing other spots?  I have other more relaxing days on the cruise, this day we want to pack as much snorkeling in as possible.  Thanks.

[ABQrobin]

The entire island of Roatan is surrounded by coral reefs.  The reefs are for the most part right close to the shoreline, not far off like at some destinations.  You really can snorkel/dive almost anywhere so the snorkel boats will most likely go to their nearest reef... why not?  If you do a tour that goes to multiple stops, then they will go farther away.  Regardless, its all good in Roatan.

[Guest 2000]

The whole north-ish side of the island has a barrier reef. In West Bay, it is very close to the sand; the further east-ish you get, the farther out it gets. If the snorkel spots are within 5 minutes of each other and you are starting in West Bay or West End, there is a good chance the tour is staying within the Roatan Marine Park. It runs from Sandy Bay's east-ish end to West Bay's opposite end. 

 

I have not been on any snorkel tours from West End or West Bay, so I don't know their stops.  One year, I took an inflatable kayak with me for my 8-week stay. I padded daily from West Bay to West End for four of those weeks. I padded the whole of Sandy Bay and snorkeled for an additional two weeks. I agree with post #2; it is all worth seeing.  However, I did not see a single shark or ray. I have only seen turtles before 9 am in West Bay and rays off of the Bite on the Beach dock. 

 

Your drift snorkel may be on the other side of the island...but I don't know. Can you email the operator and ask them where.. I may be able to help you sort it out. 

 

I just noticed two threads under this one talking about "Best" snorkeling.. one has a reference to a company doing a drift. 

Edited February 16 by Guest 2000

[wolfganghowell]

You can get some good snorkeling from the beach in front of Infinity Bay resort - veer left when you enter the water.  There are small boats that can take you out as well - prices negotiable.  We stayed at Infinity Bay for a week so we know firsthand how good it is there!