Roatan Snorkeling

[Gravy Boat]

Hello All,

 

I am a first time cruiser and taking the Norwegian Star. Id like to snorkel in Roatan and we have our own gear. I feel with a little investigating and some advice i could find an area near the port to walk or cab to without paying for the excursion. Any suggestions? I have read some horror stories about how some of the beaches are private and they wont allow access unless you a part of the excursion. Any help is much appreciated :)

[Chalker Guy]

Hello All,

 

I am a first time cruiser and taking the Norwegian Star. Id like to snorkel in Roatan and we have our own gear. I feel with a little investigating and some advice i could find an area near the port to walk or cab to without paying for the excursion. Any suggestions? I have read some horror stories about how some of the beaches are private and they wont allow access unless you a part of the excursion. Any help is much appreciated :)

 

There are a couple of (private) resorts on the near side of the island, but the public good snorkeling areas are on the far side of the island, a good distance away. Transportation to the far side of the island is relatively expensive. The best way is to book a private tour with Bodden Tours, Rony Tours, or any one of several others (check out the ports of call board for recommendations). A private tour will cost around $30 per person (if you don't add options such as zipline), and the guide will take your party wherever you want to go and show you whatever interests you. They will stay with you all day, watch your stuff while you are in the water, etc. You can just snorkel from shore at West Bay or Half Moon Bay, best is probably in front of Tabyanna (where most of the ship tours go, but access is public). Tour will probably be cheaper than taxi, as taxis charge per person, not per ride, plus you won't have to worry about getting a taxi to return.

[Dawn24]

Take a cab to Half Moon Bay Resort. Chairs are free, the food is good and snorkeling is walk in. There is no beach but they have chairs set out so you can sun yourself and relax. We saw tons of brain coral, parrot fish, schools of blue tang and butterfly fish. Some people near us saw a sea turtle. We had a great day.

[Chalker Guy]

Take a cab to Half Moon Bay Resort. Chairs are free, the food is good and snorkeling is walk in. There is no beach but they have chairs set out so you can sun yourself and relax. We saw tons of brain coral, parrot fish, schools of blue tang and butterfly fish. Some people near us saw a sea turtle. We had a great day.

 

I can vouch for both the snorkeling and the food at Half Moon Bay, though the good snorkeling area is quite a bit smaller than that at West Bay. We had a lobster lunch and Monkey LaLa's (gotta try one). How much did the taxi cost each way? For how many people? Was it hard to get a taxi for return to the ship?

[clackey]

We took a taxi to Tabyanna Beach. It is cheaper to book a tour. The snorkeling from shore is great but like Caulker Guy said, it is private beach with small areas controlled by the resorts. One tour that I wanted to book was Upachaya Resort. They had good reviews and the itinerary sounded fantastic, plus they only book about ten people per tour. Unfortunately they were booked up six weeks ahead and I was too late.:(

[Colorado Kat]

Yup, get a private tour to take you around to the far side of the island. Much better snorkeling there.

[dbsue]

Does anyone know if the cruise ships rent snorkel equipment on board? We are on Carnival Valor and wanted to go snorkeling in Roatan on our own. Can't find an answer on Carnival website.

[Colorado Kat]

I remember seeing new snorkels available to purchase at the shore excursion desk. More for people with a phobia about a used snorkel. I don't think they have masks or fins.

[mitsugirly]

You might want to check out this thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1469343

 

A lot of great information on exactly where to go.

[ExpatCanuck]

We used Roatan Sun Splash Tours. We had a private driver who took us snorkeling away from all the people, so there were a lot more fish to see and no people to be bumping into. We had a private driver so it worked out great for us. Check them out. Definitely do the snorkeling. It was spectacular! can't wait to go back this year.

[Cayoooga]

Hello All,

 

I am a first time cruiser and taking the Norwegian Star. Id like to snorkel in Roatan and we have our own gear. I feel with a little investigating and some advice i could find an area near the port to walk or cab to without paying for the excursion. Any suggestions? I have read some horror stories about how some of the beaches are private and they wont allow access unless you a part of the excursion. Any help is much appreciated :)

My best experiences snorkelling in Roatan were with Upachaya snorkel tours and Sea Legs aquatic adventures. Get out in a boat away from the crowds.

[kingstonKouple72]

My only suggestion is to go with a reputable tour company.

I was on the Star the beginning of March and came across one young lad (US Spring break…) who said there were about 30 in his group who hired a group to take them to a small island for either snorkelling or partying or whatever. They negotiated a price of about $20/pp return.

The “company” dropped them off, but when it came time to pick them up again.. they demanded another $20 pp or was going to leave them stranded.

I am pretty new to cruising, but my advise would be to check through this website and only book through reputable companies, or book through the ship.

… come to think of it.. I think it may have been in Costa Maya or Belize that they had the problem. Either way… advise is sound…

My research finds Bodden and Rony reputable. We had driver Felix from Rony for the day when we were in Roatan. He was awesome.