trippingtaffy

The water is very calm & is a nice relaxing swim. The beach is man made so very soft. Bring sandals or flip flops as it can get hot underfoot!

Snorkelling is doable but not brilliant.

The souvenir selection is small but adequate although I spoke with a local and he said all the goods are imported in from Asia!

Thanks Hollr. It's a great day to save some money and even the sun beds are free!

300dtc: I don't THINK you can use your ship card anywhere as they employ locals to run the bars, activities etc. I know if you have the UBP (which we did) you can't use it here.

We paid cash in dollars for the SUPs.

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Just a two minute walk from the dock at Roatan you'll find access to Jungletop Zipline tours, for which pre-booking is recommended. $45 per person at the time of writing. I received a confirmation email of the booking but no idea of what time or how to get there.

If you do book online a rep from the tour operator will wait outside dock security with a sign with your name on it. They will walk you along to the venue & fit you in along with others as and when they arrive.

My family of four were in a group with 7 others and were taken up onto the zip lines by 4 leaders & a photographer. The guides are very informative, professional and very friendly and help you relax and enjoy the morning/afternoon.

There are quite a number of lines of varying lengths and it lasts about 45 minutes, with great views of the pier below.

Afterwards you will be shown the numerous photos taken of your adventure, which you can buy a copy of on CD for $20. You also get a chance to see and hold monkeys they keep there after you have finished and enjoy a drink at the bar.

The locals will also offer you other tours of the island, including snorkelling at West Bay if that's what you fancy. Negotiate a price before you leave!

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After you have got over your dismay that you are not actually going to be seeing the local culture or taste the local food of Belize, but rather have to endure yet another private island owned by a cruise line, here are my top tips after being there last week:

1. FOOD: It's just a 10 minute walk to Harvest Caye and you can easily walk back to the ship for lunch so don't waste your money on the island's food.

2. ACTIVITIES: If money is not a problem book the zip line tour which takes you over the beach itself, $65 per person. My recommendation is to wait until the next day at Roatan and book with Jungletop zip line tours @ $45 per person, a superb experience which lasts 1.5 hours & has much better views! Kayaks are $25 per hour, Stand up Paddleboards $20, electric boats $39. We took the SUPs, a good way to see the lagoon.

3. Water IS now available for free at various water stations located along the walkway next to the beach.

4. FREE: access to the small butterfly enclosure where you can see them up close & hold iguanas. The large outdoor pool is also free & great to wash off the salt from the sea before re-boarding.

5. WI-FI: if you have teenagers who can't survive many hours without wifi I'm afraid they'll have to wait until the next port as there was none available on the island.

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My first piece of advice and a lesson learnt from our day in Cartagena last week is in relation to taxis.

1. DON'T get a taxi within the port; you'll get charged $20 flat rate to the old city centre or most other tourists destinations.

2. DO get one just outside the port entrance but do NOT pay anything more than $5 FOR THE ENTIRE TRIP or 10,000 pesos (at time of writing). We only found this out on our return journey to the ship from a local.

3. Most of the taxi drivers will offer you a city tour or similar. Only accept if that is what you would like to do and again, barter hard!

Like most tourists we headed straight for the old city centre, where we spent a few hours wandering from street to street, plaza to plaza. It's not a huge place to comfortably walk around in a few hours and get a good flavour of the city.

Barter hard for souvenirs from street sellers touting hats, hammocks and hair accessories. Pick up some local produce from the many vendors who offer anything from plastic cups rammed with fruit to local bread laden with freshly barbecued meat.

If you need a cash point we found one just under the clock tower where the sweet vendors had set up camp.

There are several museums free of charge to enter, including the museum of gold, just off Simon Bolivar plaza. As you learn about early civilisation panning for gold in South America you will also be able to take advantage of free bathrooms & great air conditioning.

A great city with a great vibe. Enjoy.

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Having read a number of reviews about Costa Maya it seemed to me there were limited options of what to do in port if you didn't wish to spend hundreds of dollars on the Ship's organised excursions.

However, once you clear the large array of well presented but extremely touristy and rather pricey boutiques, you can catch a taxi from just up the street on the right hand side.

The yellow cabs seem to operate a standard $2 per person fare to nearby Mahahual, a ride of just a few minutes.

Once you arrive in Mahahual, head into the Main Street which is littered with street vendors, local women touting massages for $20 an hour and local men touting sun loungers, snorkels, beers etc.

Once your patience has run out, keep heading along the street away from the lighthouse. The frenzy of the local vendors will die away and you will enter the reality of local life in Costa Maya and see not so well brushed beaches and raw coastline. Just a few hundred yards on your right stop to browse Barbara's boutique or enjoy a coffee there Mexican style. Then return back along the main tourist path and up to the lighthouse for a quiet snorkel away from the crowds before hailing a taxi back to port (or a twenty minute walk if you're fit!)

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