What to do in Roatan and Belize

[printingchick]

When we were in Roatan, we went to a resort called Fantasy Island. I think we may have booked through Island Marketing. We LOVED the resort. It had a lovely beach, great snorkeling, and a pool with poolside bar. The highlight was the small nature preserve next to the resort. They had a host of animals, all quite friendly and curious. Most notable with the monkeys. They would drop right down from the trees and land on your shoulder to investigate what you were eating or try on your sunglasses. So much fun.

 

I've been to the more commonly visited beach resorts and had issues with sand fleas. No such problem at Fantasy Island.

[AKman2495]

I've been to Belize and would not recommend going anywhere without a profession guide service. It is not a pleasant place beyond the tourist pier area.

 

As for Roatan, it is a beautiful place, but again, I would avoid going places on my own. Roatan has an iguana farm that the kids should enjoy. There are many animals and they can feed the iguanas.

 

Have fun...

[OCruisers]

If your family enjoys snorkeling, don't miss doing this in Belize by taking an excursion to the Barrier Reef (2nd largest in the world)! :)

[whataboutport]

Snorkeling is terrific is Belize! I think any of the many small islands off the coast would be a good day. We did Goff's Caye and it was so much fun. It's a VERY small island about 1.5 acres, not many people, about two or three small boats go there per day. Not many facilities, just a simple island in the middle of no where. The snorkeling was great. When you dock in Belize, don't be discouraged if the water near the port looks dirty or not clear. Once you get out to the reef it is completely different. Our day was stormy and rainy and the visibility was still so high!

 

Roatan, I would avoid Maya Key. We booked that through the cruiseline (Princess), so not sure if NCL even goes there, but I thought it's worth mentioning. The reef if dead. Not very good snorkeling. The island itself is ok, there are plenty of photo ops and "rescue"(?) animals in cages, some are clearly distressed and cage crazy. And there's tons of sand fleas and I got bitten up like crazy. Those bites are worse than mosquito bites bc they go away, and then come back with a vengeance weeks later.

 

There is a free area called Mahogany Bay, but again don't know if NCL goes there since it's a Carnival area, but there's free snorkeling off the pier there, and lots of beachchairs and restaurants, but it's very touristy area.

[teamflames]

I agree snorkelling in both places is superb (it's the same reef). The coral at Roatan is better if you know where you are going but the creatures are bigger in Belize (sharks, Ray's, turtles, dugongs and more).

As others have said just be cautious moving around on your own.

 

I think people off cruise ships need to be more cautious as they are only on the ground for one day so don't know the lay of the land as well, plus it's easier for criminals to watch people come ashore as opposed to land based tourists who are more scattered.

 

 

Oh and check malaria status of Roatan, you might need to take precautions although highly unlikely if only there in the daytime

 

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Edited March 16, 2016 by teamflames