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More I read the more confused what to do, which beach?

DD99

By DD99,
in Roatan

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DD99

DD99

Posted
Posted

All my wife and I want to do is go to a beautiful beach, have a chair, maybe access to a bathroom and that's about it. Neither of us really bring alcohol so all inclusive not a major deal to us.

 

I was leaning towards banarama because it offers transport and is only $30 a person opposed to $70 on Celebrity.

 

Thoughts?

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jerry2457

jerry2457

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Yep Banarama would be a good choice. i have been in Roatan 3 times and that beach area by far is the nicest, prettiest, and the cleanest area. Our taxi driver took us to a place just down the way from there as we had our own snorkel gear and I think he charged us $25 per person to take us round trip. He stayed in the area the whole time so we could leave whenever we wanted & it was out in front of a hotel that also had a private pool. They walked us in the office to give us official guest arm bands but I think they wanted an extra $12-$15 to rent a beach chair. My 2 female companions did so but I sat in the sand & spent most of my time in the water. There is a reef right off the shore so we could swim to it and the guests at Banarama where renting their gear there and walking down. Just go to the cab stand when you get off the ship and tell them what you want and see which is a better deal as either one will fit what you want. I would never pay $70 to just go to the beach and the $30 for the transportation is reasonable as its about a 20 to 25 minute ride from either of the 2 ports.

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runner15km

runner15km

Posted
Posted
All my wife and I want to do is go to a beautiful beach, have a chair, maybe access to a bathroom and that's about it. Neither of us really bring alcohol so all inclusive not a major deal to us.

 

I was leaning towards banarama because it offers transport and is only $30 a person opposed to $70 on Celebrity.

 

Thoughts?

 

By pass the taxi stand at the pier and walk to the street and you should be able to bargain a ride for 20.00 ea r/t.

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eandj

eandj

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It really doesn't matter which club you land up at. Except Foster's is at the very end of the stretch. West Bay is only about one mile long. Along that stretch are many "Clubs" (or the Mayan Princess or Infinity Bay Resort) where you can park yourself for the day. Find the cheapest ride, figure 10$ for chair rental, 10$ if you want to rent snorkel equip., a few dollars for some good and cheap food and drink at one of many spots and your day is complete. It's a wonderful day!

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singwithjoy

singwithjoy

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Just got back from there. Please go to Tabayna Beach. We cant wait to go back there and spend more time. The water was calm and very nice to swim in. They have lockers to rent. The lunch provided is really good. They do have a lot of pushy people selling everything. They even go into the water and push things like getting a massage. Just say no and enjoy your day.

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Texalana

Texalana

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It really doesn't matter which club you land up at. Except Foster's is at the very end of the stretch. West Bay is only about one mile long. Along that stretch are many "Clubs" (or the Mayan Princess or Infinity Bay Resort) where you can park yourself for the day. Find the cheapest ride, figure 10$ for chair rental, 10$ if you want to rent snorkel equip., a few dollars for some good and cheap food and drink at one of many spots and your day is complete. It's a wonderful day!

 

Didn't quite understand...Do you mean Foster's is at the end where the best snorkeling is, or at the end furthest from it. I have mobility issues and we are trying to figure out the best place to go that is closest to the end with the best snorkeling. I can't seem to locate a map that shows the location of the various resorts. Thanks for any info you can provide! :)

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2112

2112

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Didn't quite understand...Do you mean Foster's is at the end where the best snorkeling is, or at the end furthest from it. I have mobility issues and we are trying to figure out the best place to go that is closest to the end with the best snorkeling. I can't seem to locate a map that shows the location of the various resorts. Thanks for any info you can provide! :)

 

Fosters is the opposite side from where the best snorkeling is. Tabyana and Infinity Bay are the closest to where the best snorkeling is.

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eandj

eandj

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Didn't quite understand...Do you mean Foster's is at the end where the best snorkeling is, or at the end furthest from it. I have mobility issues and we are trying to figure out the best place to go that is closest to the end with the best snorkeling. I can't seem to locate a map that shows the location of the various resorts. Thanks for any info you can provide! :)

 

With your mobility problems, check with your cruiseline and see if they have a beach excursion spending the day at Tabyanna. Often those include a lunch, chair and snorkeling equip along with transportation. That spot is right in front of the snorkeling and will make your day very easy. Have a great time!!

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Texalana

Texalana

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With your mobility problems, check with your cruiseline and see if they have a beach excursion spending the day at Tabyanna. Often those include a lunch, chair and snorkeling equip along with transportation. That spot is right in front of the snorkeling and will make your day very easy. Have a great time!!

 

Thanks for the advice. ;) Yes, they do offer an excursion to Tabyana, but I figure that will be really crowded since there will be three ships in that day. I found a great map of west bay that shows where all the "clubs" are, and decided to go with Infinity Bay. It's right next to Tabyana and has a beautiful pool, too. :)

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eandj

eandj

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Thanks for the advice. ;) Yes, they do offer an excursion to Tabyana, but I figure that will be really crowded since there will be three ships in that day. I found a great map of west bay that shows where all the "clubs" are, and decided to go with Infinity Bay. It's right next to Tabyana and has a beautiful pool, too. :)

 

We spent our day there in Jan. and are going to be staying there for 10 days next Jan. :) Know that the resort management has really started restricting the number of "guests" and also now charge $40 for a guest pass. We paid $20. The resort's condos are owned by many people who were complaining of too many cruisers. Can't blame them. It's their private property. It's not a public club like Fosters, Simon, Bananarama etc.

However if you are lucky enough to get a pass, yes it is very nice, food is good and cheap and the infinity pool is really relaxing.

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Texalana

Texalana

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We spent our day there in Jan. and are going to be staying there for 10 days next Jan. :) Know that the resort management has really started restricting the number of "guests" and also now charge $40 for a guest pass. We paid $20. The resort's condos are owned by many people who were complaining of too many cruisers. Can't blame them. It's their private property. It's not a public club like Fosters, Simon, Bananarama etc.

However if you are lucky enough to get a pass, yes it is very nice, food is good and cheap and the infinity pool is really relaxing.

 

Sounds heavenly! :) After researching I'm thinking we may want to spend a week there in the future, too. Yes, I did balk at the price of the day pass at first, but when I found out more about the location I pre-booked day passes for my DH and I for our day in Roatan. Are you an avid snorkeler? If so, how does the snorkeling from the beach there compare to going out on a boat? Also, will we be able to find a boat to take us out from there, if we want to do that? Thanks for your help! :)

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eandj

eandj

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Not sure about where to catch a boat snorkeling tour there. I'm sure there are some private side excursions /tours you could do. We only did the walk in and swam a bit further out too. Saw lots of fish. A woman we met and visited with had a couple pics of the turtles she saw on her camera. When we were there, it was very clear and the guy feeding the fish was very "popular" with the fishies.:) When we frirst got to the beach there were LOTS of people snorkeling. So we waited till it thinned out.

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Texalana

Texalana

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Our ship doesn't dock until noon, so we're hoping we will miss the big rush. Is there a lot of coral to see snorkeling from the shore? We would love to see one of the walls. That was the main reason for wanting to take a boat. But if we can see the same thing from shore, we will skip the boat idea. Thanks again!:)

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eandj

eandj

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You 'll see lots of coral . And lots of fish. If you go maybe 30 yards past the shallower part, you will see more. I didn't go as far as dh but he said there were huge hills of coral. Different fish varieties. Now I don't know if there was a "wall" with big drop. Someone here might tell you. I'm not too experienced and didn't have the "need" to explore as I saw enough to keep me happy in the shallower part. (DH isn't here to get details for you. ) I'll be more "brave" when we return for our stay in Jan. and have more time. :o

 

I hope your ship is in port late. Arriving at noon doesn't give you much time if the ship is leaving at 5 or 6. And for the cruisers on other ships that did a morning excursion, that is around the time they start arriving for the beach part of their day. So the place will be poppin'. We noticed lots of people leaving the beach around 2. We left at 3:30. So if you ARE staying later, you will have the beach pretty emptied then for your enjoyment. :)

 

You know, you could get lots of info from residents and frequent visitors that are really familiar with West Bay if you go to tripadvisor.com and look for their forum board on the opening page. Then follow the links to Roatan and ask away, as well as search thru recent threads. The people there will help with any specific tour or snorkeling excursion info that you might be interested in. I use that forum board all the time to get the info straight from the locals when we travel to new places.

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g944573-i12645-West_Bay_Roatan_Bay_Islands.html

 

This link should help you!!!

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