West Bay Roatan

[ohioben]

My family just visited West Bay last week. I found the information on these boards so helpful that I thought I should contribute. The weather report for our day in Roatan looked iffy so I did not book anything in advance. At the cruise port we went straight to the taxi area and were greeted by all the tour guides. I can't remember the name of the company but they had a large setup just outside the terminal and they had arrangements with Holland America, Carnival, etc. so it was legit. For $20 per person they took us to West Bay. They provided a van with a driver and an English speaking tour guide. The ride to West Bay was long -every bit of 45 minutes, and the roads were pretty rough with pot holes everywhere so that definitely slowed us down. Our tour guide pointed out some interesting things but otherwise did not add a ton of value. You do get to see a lot of Roatan - the good and the not so good parts. You are expected to tip the tour guide as they indicated she worked only on tips. We were dropped off at the Paradise Beach resort and were charged $10 per person to use their beach, pool, chairs. I thought this was a pretty fair deal. We have 3 kids and they did not charge for my youngest who is 5. At first we were all a little disappointed as the water was not nearly as clear as the tour company described. They said it was the best beach in Central America and it was far from that to me. It was fine though and the sand was very good. After a while we walked down the beach a bit and discovered a really nice spot where the water was very clear and many colorful fish were swimming right with you in the waist deep water. This made my kids very happy. A warning about the beach is that there are so many people trying to sell hair braiding, water sports, bananas, shells, etc. We were probably asked nearly 100 times. They were all very polite but it was still a little annoying after a while. We did use the hotel pool and that was very nice and a nice way to break up the beach day.

 

Overall we were all glad we did this beach day. I had some regrets about not going to Little French Key instead but this was still a nice day. The downside was the long car ride and the many vendors but on the plus side this did have a very nice pool to use as well and I believe it was less expensive than Little French Key.

 

Hope that helps. Enjoy your trip to Roatan.

[bvreeland922]

Thanks for your review. In Roatan I am considering West Bay. What I'm looking for is a nice quiet beach with clear water and somewhere the kids will have fun. We have a 9 and 10 yr old along with us. I was trying to look for a place that had the water play stuff (climbing, trampoline, etc) but can't seem to find one. The kids want the henna tattoos, braided hair, and banana boat so the vendors there are a good thing for us.

I wanted to do this beach day in Cozumel but we have decided to do dolphins at Chakunnab (sp?) In Cozumel.

 

Were there any other beaches you saw that had fun things for kids? I saw Little French Key but it seems their packages were super expensive.

[ohioben]

I think west bay would be the best choice for you bvreeland. There was a water trampoline/ inflatable slide at west bay. It was $12 per hour or $20 per day. It has everything you are looking for and it was actually pretty quiet while we were there. You will have a great day there.

[Guest 2000]

Thanks for your review. In Roatan I am considering West Bay. What I'm looking for is a nice quiet beach with clear water and somewhere the kids will have fun. We have a 9 and 10 yr old along with us. I was trying to look for a place that had the water play stuff (climbing, trampoline, etc) but can't seem to find one. The kids want the henna tattoos, braided hair, and banana boat so the vendors there are a good thing for us.

I wanted to do this beach day in Cozumel but we have decided to do dolphins at Chakunnab (sp?) In Cozumel.

 

Were there any other beaches you saw that had fun things for kids? I saw Little French Key but it seems their packages were super expensive.

 

I agree with ohioben, save for the quiet bit. :0)

 

 

Sadly quiet is subjective and dependent on number of ships in port plus weather. West Bay is the premiere beach on the island, quiet is not something which comes to mind when I think of West Bay. It does cover all your needs.

 

I do not believe there are water toys like the tamp any other place on the island, I think there is a rope swing in Half Moon Bay, it is part of the village of West End.

Edited December 3, 2016 by Guest 2000

[mexicobob]

I agree with ohioben, save for the quiet bit. :0)

 

 

Sadly quiet is subjective and dependent on number of ships in port plus weather. West Bay is the premiere beach on the island, quiet is not something which comes to mind when I think of West Bay. It does cover all your needs.

 

I do not believe there are water toys like the tamp any other place on the island, I think there is a rope swing in Half Moon Bay, it is part of the village of West End.

 

Love your location

[Guest 2000]

Love your location

 

Why thank you, I tell people I am Nomadic By Nature. :0)

[haply]

We spent the day with our 5 and 9-year olds at West Bay beach off our November cruise. We hated West Bay beach. There was only one cruise ship in town and it was very crowded, especially down by the Tabyana/Infinity Bay/Paradise/Bananarama end (where there is one ocean bouncy slide). They also allow boats to anchor directly at the beach/in the ocean down at the area so the water is very congested with boats. It is NOT quiet or peaceful at all. The beach is pretty narrow and filled with beach chairs, vendors, huts, etc. We ended up at the other end at the Henry Morgan resort (next to Beachers and Fosters). It was $ 10 per person for use of their beach/chairs or $ 15 per person to also be able to use their pool. They have a very wide beach area with security (also in front of a no-boat zone), which was a bit less crowded and the people were not "on top of eachother" as compared to the other end. The food and drinks were however awful at the Henry Morgan. We ended up walking next door to Beachers where the food and drinks were much better (although a very small beach front area). The kids did play in the sand and the ocean was easy to swim in. We travel quite a bit, and this is one of the places that I felt a bit uneasy and always "watched". We do not plan on returning to West Bay. Will probably do a snorkeling/catamaran excursion and stay off the mainland.

[peymas]

We went to Tabyana Beach through the ship excursion. It was a very nice place. No boats that I saw. Only boys in kayaks that would take you out to the deeper part to snorkel. (which I did) Great snorkeling that day. There was someone every half hour or so there to take you back to the ship when you were ready. I think the price was $40 pp and after checking taxi prices and the distance to travel I didn't think this was a bad price at all. They have some people watching your things there. BTW we don't always take a ship excursion. Normally I check the distance and where I am going (like Belize) as to whether I take a ship sponsored excursion, take a cab, or a private excursion. That price also included a chair and umbrella at the beach.

[RoadTripFanatic]

On cruise ship days West Bay beach isn't a quiet place! BUT it is my favorite place to go! Water Clarity is always dependent on weather conditions. I've been there when it's crystal clear and one cruise the entire beach was covered in nasty seaweed. It was sooo bad we could barely snorkel. Once again it's all weather dependent. In all honesty I've probably spent 20+ days there between cruises and land vacation. It's my favorite beach!

[CouponMom]

We went to Tabyana Beach through the ship excursion. It was a very nice place. No boats that I saw. Only boys in kayaks that would take you out to the deeper part to snorkel. (which I did) Great snorkeling that day. There was someone every half hour or so there to take you back to the ship when you were ready. I think the price was $40 pp and after checking taxi prices and the distance to travel I didn't think this was a bad price at all. They have some people watching your things there. BTW we don't always take a ship excursion. Normally I check the distance and where I am going (like Belize) as to whether I take a ship sponsored excursion, take a cab, or a private excursion. That price also included a chair and umbrella at the beach.

 

 

Peymas: which ship were you on?? We're going on NCL and wondering if there is a similar excursion.

 

 

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[JaniceB]

The day I was there I saw a lot of seaweed and the vendors were terrible. We were very fortunate our tour guide told us not sit in the first row of chairs and he told them to leave us alone if they tried to bother us.

[peymas]

Peymas: which ship were you on?? We're going on NCL and wondering if there is a similar excursion.

 

 

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We were on a carnival ship.