Roatan with a 3 year old

[aggie_gal]

We're looking for one of the better beaches that is family friendly with activities for everyone. All-inclusive would be great too! Any resorts that offer day passes? Want to go where it won't be overloaded with guests, but also where we don't have to deal with wet t-shirt contests, if you catch my drift.

[crewsweeper]

No wet T shirt/spring break/Margaritavile style resorts on Roatan...yet.

 

But the once great West Bay beaches can get crowded if lots of ships (3 max capacity) are in, especially Tabayana. If you're on one of the Carnival Lines vessels (Carnival, HAL, Princess) you'll dock in Mahogany Bay. The beach there does get crowded.

 

Look on this board for posts about Little French Kay or Maya Kay (the toddler would like the animals there). And look for posts by "mitsugirly". Her daughter is around that age. She has links to her reviews and you can see some nice pictures and get a sense of the area. They did LFK this summer and I believe have done Maya Kay in the recent past and the family has been to the West Bay beaches as well.

[aggie_gal]

Thanks so much! We're on Carnival Magic, so we'll be docking at Mahogany Bay. I think there are 3 ships in port that day, Carnival Dream and HA Ryndaam. Looks like at least 2 large Carnival ships in port that day.

 

We just want to relax on the beach and have amenities nearby and maybe let the adults snorkel. Nothing fancy! My son is not a fan of animals unless they're containd. The zoo in Belize is a no-go! ;)

[crewsweeper]

Well, that rules out Maya Kay as the monkeys are all over and also any Victor Bodden torus as they all end up at Victors with his monkeys and other animals.

 

Do look into Little French Key though. I'd say look at Club Natale, but I think it might be a little more adult oriented. There's a recent thread with pictures on this board, though so at least scan over that.

[mitsugirly]

Check out both of my reviews in my signature link. We were just at Little French Key a few months ago and it is pure heaven. We went to Maya Key last year and it is beautiful as well. Our daughter is now 5 years old and enjoyed both places.

 

Both places have animals, they are both animal rescue centers as well. Their animals are contained and in cages. You will not have to worry about the animals if your son does not want to go around them. Both places have the animals in a different spot than where you would be snorkeling or at the beach. If he is afraid, you wouldn't have to take him over to that area, but they are all behind bars unless you want to go in the cage to hold one. :)

[John1928]

Well, that rules out Maya Kay as the monkeys are all over and also any Victor Bodden torus as they all end up at Victors with his monkeys and other animals.

 

The animals at Victors are contained in their enclosures which you do not need to enter nor even approach if you do not wish to. The two times we've toured with them we've paid at this location, but if you're doing a private tour you wouldn't need to be there for more than 3 minutes if you didn't want to be. If you're on one of the fixed tours then you may need to hang out near the entrance or watch the zip-liners if you don't want to see any animals.

 

I've been on Roatan with a 4 year old once and a 5 year old plus a 9 month old a second time. We really liked the beach at West Bay. It's a nice sandy beach with a gentle slope and shallow water for the kids, but also excellent snorkeling very close to shore.

 

There are day passes from several of the resorts/restaurants and at least one package described as AI that I've seen. We paid a pretty cheap admission price (I'm thinking $15 for 2 adults and 2 kids) for loungers, shade, bathrooms, and showers which was really all we needed but I don't recall which resort it was at (guide recommended).

 

I wouldn't have any problem going there again, but because we like to try out different things I think we may be looking at Maya key for our upcoming stop.