West Bay Beach

[kam2718]

On our upcoming cruise we will be stopping in Roatan and I heard good things about going to West Bay Beach.

 

I have a few questions that I hope you guys can answer. First - carnival offers and excursion to Tabyana Beach which I believe is located on West Bay Beach, correct? The excursions is $40 a person. While over there I planned to get a day pass to Infinity Bay Resort (cost ???) - so would we be better off to just get a cab or go through carnival?

 

Along the beach, which I heard was close to 1 mile, are there plenty of places to eat and drink? We are looking to have a nice beach day with the option for food/drinks and music.

[overthehillcruiser]

There are some other posts on this from me , but we just go on our own and we go to Argentine Grill on West Bay just a stroll from Infinity. There is one at West End also. If you do not need a pool you can save a lot doing it this way. Last time there were four of us and we just got a nice tour guy after we got off the ship through my friend Larry Gale the harbor boat guy for $20 PP and he stayed with us and would have taken us wherever..We paid $10 PP at Argentine and it was very nice.. Beer was very reasonable and decent food with excellent service..

 

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[AllAmericanAmy]

carnival offers an excursion to Tabyana Beach ...is $40 a person. While over there I planned to get a day pass to Infinity Bay Resort (cost ???) - so would we be better off to just get a cab or go through carnival?

 

Along the beach, which I heard was close to 1 mile, are there plenty of places to eat and drink? We are looking to have a nice beach day with the option for food/drinks and music.

 

I would definitely NOT use Carnival excursion. For the same price (assuming there are 2 peeps traveling) you can book Victor Bodden driver for the entire time in port and have them take you ANYWHERE you want to go WHEN you want to go (I did read some sketchy stuff about taxi cabs on Roatan, so I would definitely NOT use a cab, but that's me!;)). Why pay same amount and get herded around? FYI it's only $25 per person for driver for the day if you have 4 or more people in your group.

 

Btw- when I was in Roatan in January 2013, I was snorkeling off Tabayana beach / Infinity bay and heard the organizers for the Tabayana excursion yelling for everyone to get back to the bus. I THINK it was an NCL excursion, but maybe not. Anyway, people snorkeling near me were furious because they were being made to leave 45 minutes earlier than promised. This was 2 1/2 hours before we had to return to ship (maybe 3 hrs). So, just a heads up!

 

Do some more reading on this board and you'll see lots of posts that cover this topic. Yes, there are lots of food choices along the 1 mile stretch of beach. No, you do NOT have to pay to access the beach and/or snorkel. Only have to pay a resort fee to Infinity or Banarama or whomever IF you want to use their chairs and facilities. Of course the restroom is avail. to paying guests of the restaurants - so that's what we do. Utilize free beach (no resort fee) and when hungry buy something from a restaurant and use their restroom.

 

INCREDIBLE snorkeling for sure! Great food - friendly people! Have a wonderful time...

Amy

[texancruzer]

I agree - West Bay Beach has tons of places to eat and get a drink. You can rent a beach chair without buying a whole package deal too. We did our first visit which was a cruise stop at Bananarama.

 

We have since gone to Roatan twice for a week each time..... yep its that good. We stay at Infinity Bay. They only sell day passes IF the resort is not too full with owners/renters. Because of that they do not presell passes - so you won't know until you get there if you are going to get one. It is a really nice resort tho...... the pool is great (not too many of those on WBB) and the Palapa Bar Restaurant has great food. You can eat at the restaurant without a day pass.....but thats it.

 

You can also take a water taxi from the pier in front of Infinity Bay to West End Village (about 8 minute ride) for $3.00 per person. Lots of boutiques, bars, restaurants, dive shops etc there and worthy of an hour or two. You can either take the water taxi back to West Bay Beach or just grab a taxi in WEst End. They are everywhere !!!

 

The taxi situation in Roatan is not as bad as it sounds here...... if you know what you are doing you won't get ripped off...... and they will try. From the airport (in between Coxen Hole and Mahogany Bay) we paid $25.00 to Infinity Bay and that was with all our luggage and dive gear..... one guy quoted us higher and we said NO WAY.....last time we were here we paid 25. and he shook his head and then the next guy who heard us said I'll take you for 25.00....... he also gave us his card and we used him later on in the week.

 

But if you don't want to deal with that - hire a private driver for the day. We paid $40.00 each for the day but he took us ALL OVER THE ISLAND on a day long tour...... check out some of the more recommended ones here on CC.

 

We also used the one listed below by Allamericanamy, but I won't mention his name since we are not supposed to recommend a tour unless you specifically ask for a recommendation...... :D

[overthehillcruiser]

I agree entirely with AMY as you can do so much better on your own. The cabs can be quite expensive and there is no set rate,,Your driver will be there with you and should anything come up you can do as you need..

[crusinpsychRN]

I did a tour with Bodden (had the worst driver, he never spoke unless asked a specific question) and drove through a section on the beach with all kinds of shops along the other side of the street. Is that West End?

[overthehillcruiser]

Doesn't really sound like West Bay or West end??

I did a tour with Bodden (had the worst driver, he never spoke unless asked a specific question) and drove through a section on the beach with all kinds of shops along the other side of the street. Is that West End?

[Guest 2000]

I did a tour with Bodden (had the worst driver, he never spoke unless asked a specific question) and drove through a section on the beach with all kinds of shops along the other side of the street. Is that West End?

 

 

Yes, that is the village of West End. There is very little proper beach in West End unless one is speaking of Half Moon Bay.

 

Google images of West Bay Beach and you will see the difference. :)

[overthehillcruiser]

Thanks for clarifying West End for me. We have been there but it has been about four years..

Yes, that is the village of West End. There is very little proper beach in West End unless one is speaking of Half Moon Bay.

 

Google images of West Bay Beach and you will see the difference. :)

[texancruzer]

West End Village is by the water but definately not the beach....... good for shops, bars and restaurants. There are some neat galleries there and our favorite store is Evelyns for wood carved items, beautiful embroidered items, souvenirs etc.... When we first went the "street" was sand and potholes. On our last visit (Christmas week stay) they were still working on curbs, gutters, sidewalks and paving....... easier to walk but it lost some of the "village" charm in my opinion...... oh well - progress. :)

 

West Bay Beach is the beach.....gorgeous white sand, palms trees, aqua water and lots of restaurants/bars all along there.

 

I have seen a few recommendations for Celeste's for lunch..... we didn't care for it at all. But in all fairness we went for breakfast.

[AllAmericanAmy]

We also used the one listed below by Allamericanamy, but I won't mention his name since we are not supposed to recommend a tour unless you specifically ask for a recommendation...... :D

 

Oops. :eek: Am I now in the naughty corner? :D

[texancruzer]

Oops. :eek: Am I now in the naughty corner? :D

 

Evidently not ;) The moderators didnt delete your post :D

 

I remember our first cruise (many years ago now) - those who got caught carrying on liquor had to go to the naughty room to get their suitcases - minus the liquor of course :D

[overthehillcruiser]

I bet those folks who work in the naughty room stay pretty boozed up..:eek: