Snorkeling at West Bay compared to snorkeling at reef by boat

[vinotinto]

I am having a hard time deciding between snorkeling from the shore at West Bay and snorkeling trip by boat somewhere else in Roatan (for example snorkeling in the Little French Key or the Sloths + Snorkeling tour). I've read that West Bay's reef has been suffering damage from being so shallow and people touching it / kicking it. I assume the trip to a reef by boat would be better, but how much better? We don't want to pack too much into our day and the idea of a day pass to Infinity and snorkeling from shore sounds appealing in its simplicity. Plus, if my son wants to rent a jet ski, he can probably walk up the beach and rent them. #1 priority is snorkeling and #2 relaxation in some calm, beautiful waters. Thank you in advance for your perspectives!

Edited March 14, 2022 by vinotinto
clarity

[Guest 2000]

There are heaps of video on UTube showing the West Bay reef, just note the dates. 

 

I think I would reccommed going to West Bay to snorkel.  If at any point you are disappointed hire one of the local panga guys hanging out along the beach to take you to his other spots.  

[crewsweeper]

In fact, just skip the beach snorkeling and hire a panga guy.  Most likely you'll head up toward West End and the reefs off shore there, out of the traffic and other snorkelers.  That said, to look up other boat/ reef snorkeling excursions by private vendors.  Lots of places around the island beside Little French Key.

[vinotinto]

9 minutes ago, crewsweeper said:

In fact, just skip the beach snorkeling and hire a panga guy.  Most likely you'll head up toward West End and the reefs off shore there, out of the traffic and other snorkelers.  That said, to look up other boat/ reef snorkeling excursions by private vendors.  Lots of places around the island beside Little French Key.

This is where I'm heading now in my research - Looking at snorkeling vendors. We would like to combo with a nice beach. Many of the snorkeling combos are with Bananarama, and I am hoping for something a little nicer. If you have any ideas of snorkeling vendors, send them my way. I am reviewing the posts in this forum and videos on YouTube for better ideas.

[Califonria cruiser]

How much is a panga guy? Do they take you by boat close by for an hour or so? Would love to have an idea of how much for what before we arrive. I love the snorkeling from the shore, but if we are there long enough might want to do both!

[grantbob]

Next door to Bananarama are Paradise Beach Resort and Infinity Bay resort. Both are nicer IMO. Out on the beach there are several vendors that offer snorkeling tours and should be able to accommodate you.

 

When I was there in November I just snorkeled the reef from the beach. It was really good but I don't think the color and life is like it was a few years ago. 

[crewsweeper]

16 hours ago, Califonria cruiser said:

How much is a panga guy? Do they take you by boat close by for an hour or so? Would love to have an idea of how much for what before we arrive. I love the snorkeling from the shore, but if we are there long enough might want to do both!

These guys are all over the beach.  Small open boats , dory-like.  Price and time are negotiable. Been a long while since we did this but IIRC, we did $25 for an hour.  

[Yakker1749]

Has anyone used Discover Roatan tours?  I saw they have a 3 spot snorkeling excursion which looked good, but if the snorkeling is just as good from the beach it looks like Infinity Bay is the best option.  I'll be going in July, so lord only know what the weather and water will be like other than hot.

 

Thanks in advance.

[grantbob]

We used Discover Roatan ofr the first time in November for a day at Infinity Bay resort. Our guide was fantastic and the service was top notch. I can definitely recommend them as a company.

[OSUZorba]

On 3/15/2022 at 7:08 PM, Yakker1749 said:

Has anyone used Discover Roatan tours?  I saw they have a 3 spot snorkeling excursion which looked good, but if the snorkeling is just as good from the beach it looks like Infinity Bay is the best option.  I'll be going in July, so lord only know what the weather and water will be like other than hot.

 

Thanks in advance.

We used Discover Roatan last week. I know others have had good experiences, but I would not recommend them. Copy and paste from my post in another thread:

 

The car ride was not private. But beyond that they sold an 8 am, 8:30 am, and 9 am departure time and grouped us all together. We had picked 8, and they made us stand around for 45 minutes waiting to leave. Finally at 8:40 they decided to leave. They took the long way around the island to get to Infinity Bay (45 minute drive) because they had to drop off two groups at a dune buggy place. Since it took so long to get there we all asked to head back earlier than needed since it only took 15 minutes getting back along the direct route.

 

But since we left the port at 8:40, they left the 9 am family behind who had to get a different taxi to Infinity Bay. Then they had no idea what time pick up was and got left at IB also. The IB hostess called the driver and he returned to pick them up.

 

I would highly recommend against Discover Roatan based on my experience.

 

Infinity Bay was awesome, though, and after being there again I was very glad I went there instead of Tabyana.

 

You can get a taxi from the port through Infinity Bay and it ends up being the same cost as Discover Roatan, I think I am going to do that next time. I've also done a private car in the past that worked out really well.

[toras]

Looking at https://www.shoreexcursionsgroup.com/tour/roatan-land-sea-tour/carolandsea - it just says snorkel over a barrier reef; would that be West Bay?

[Ralphinsc]

I know that several excursions by boat pulled right up to the reef at West Bay and dropped people off to snorkel there. Definitely be mindful of where you book your tour from and know where they are going. We brought our own equipment and swam in from the beach and we spent a good bit of our time surrounded by snorkelers who rode a boat over for a reef snorkeling experience. I thought the snorkeling was great for something that you could plan on your own, bring your own equipment, and pay nothing more than taxi fare to experience. If I were paying for a catamaran excursion though, I might feel a little bait and switch. Just my two cents. 

[bigrednole]

On 3/21/2022 at 8:29 PM, OSUZorba said:

We used Discover Roatan last week. I know others have had good experiences, but I would not recommend them. Copy and paste from my post in another thread:

 

The car ride was not private. But beyond that they sold an 8 am, 8:30 am, and 9 am departure time and grouped us all together. We had picked 8, and they made us stand around for 45 minutes waiting to leave. Finally at 8:40 they decided to leave. They took the long way around the island to get to Infinity Bay (45 minute drive) because they had to drop off two groups at a dune buggy place. Since it took so long to get there we all asked to head back earlier than needed since it only took 15 minutes getting back along the direct route.

 

But since we left the port at 8:40, they left the 9 am family behind who had to get a different taxi to Infinity Bay. Then they had no idea what time pick up was and got left at IB also. The IB hostess called the driver and he returned to pick them up.

 

I would highly recommend against Discover Roatan based on my experience.

 

Infinity Bay was awesome, though, and after being there again I was very glad I went there instead of Tabyana.

 

You can get a taxi from the port through Infinity Bay and it ends up being the same cost as Discover Roatan, I think I am going to do that next time. I've also done a private car in the past that worked out really well.

Glad I saw this. I was told when booking with them that our transportation is 100% private for my family of 3. I just messaged them again to get confirmation. We are not sharing a shuttle or ride with anyone. I am now thinking of canceling with them if they cannot confirm we will have a private driver and vehicle.

[vinotinto]

On 3/21/2022 at 8:29 PM, OSUZorba said:

We used Discover Roatan last week. I know others have had good experiences, but I would not recommend them. Copy and paste from my post in another thread:

 

The car ride was not private. But beyond that they sold an 8 am, 8:30 am, and 9 am departure time and grouped us all together. We had picked 8, and they made us stand around for 45 minutes waiting to leave. Finally at 8:40 they decided to leave. They took the long way around the island to get to Infinity Bay (45 minute drive) because they had to drop off two groups at a dune buggy place. Since it took so long to get there we all asked to head back earlier than needed since it only took 15 minutes getting back along the direct route.

 

But since we left the port at 8:40, they left the 9 am family behind who had to get a different taxi to Infinity Bay. Then they had no idea what time pick up was and got left at IB also. The IB hostess called the driver and he returned to pick them up.

 

I would highly recommend against Discover Roatan based on my experience.

 

Infinity Bay was awesome, though, and after being there again I was very glad I went there instead of Tabyana.

 

You can get a taxi from the port through Infinity Bay and it ends up being the same cost as Discover Roatan, I think I am going to do that next time. I've also done a private car in the past that worked out really well.

 

2 hours ago, bigrednole said:

Glad I saw this. I was told when booking with them that our transportation is 100% private for my family of 3. I just messaged them again to get confirmation. We are not sharing a shuttle or ride with anyone. I am now thinking of canceling with them if they cannot confirm we will have a private driver and vehicle.

I had emailed them asking a few weeks ago and they did indicate it would be a shared van with people from our cruise. I don't mind a shared set-up, but there needs to be a specific start and end time. The experience @OSUZorba had would not be cool with me.

 

I booked a different excursion that after some research, I think it meets all that I was looking for above. @bigrednoleI will come back and recommend (or not) based on my experience next week, in case you need to switch tour providers.

[bigrednole]

@vinotinto Thank you. I contacted them this morning and they confirmed that we have private transportation for our trip. They were very accommodating when I booked to insure we had private. This was before the gas price boom. So, I will be sure to tip our driver more or even offer to fill their tank.

[finoky]

21 hours ago, bigrednole said:

@vinotinto Thank you. I contacted them this morning and they confirmed that we have private transportation for our trip. They were very accommodating when I booked to insure we had private. This was before the gas price boom. So, I will be sure to tip our driver more or even offer to fill their tank.

We used them last week. Six of us to Infinity Bay and our van was private coming and going back to the ship.

[bigrednole]

3 hours ago, finoky said:

We used them last week. Six of us to Infinity Bay and our van was private coming and going back to the ship.

I confirmed with them that we have a private driver. That was the main thing I was concerned with. I am fine if they go do other things while we are at Infinity Bay. I just didn't want to be in another group's schedule. We will see the sloths, monkeys first thing then off to the beach.

[RodanandFileds]

How long does it take to get to Infinity bay?

[finoky]

I remember it being about 30 minutes.

[Yakker1749]

So after my internet searches I ended up booking Infinity Bay AI for the day as opposed to a 3 stop snorkel.  Based on what I saw the snorkeling in front of IB is impressive and there is "path" to the drop off that's not too far away.  I booked through Discover Roatan, which says it provides private transportation, which I'm sure that will include others from our ship or another one docked there at the time we are there.  Not worried about that part.

 

Let me know if there's anything else that would be beneficial to know.

[jean87510]

On 4/8/2022 at 2:18 PM, Yakker1749 said:

So after my internet searches I ended up booking Infinity Bay AI for the day as opposed to a 3 stop snorkel.  Based on what I saw the snorkeling in front of IB is impressive and there is "path" to the drop off that's not too far away.  I booked through Discover Roatan, which says it provides private transportation, which I'm sure that will include others from our ship or another one docked there at the time we are there.  Not worried about that part.

 

Let me know if there's anything else that would be beneficial to know.

if you walk down the beach to the left where the rocks are, I thought snorkeling there was pretty good offshore.  We went to infinity back in February and it rained, Ocean was rough, I had some difficulty getting out to the reef line in front of hotel something I never had before but I made it.  We had a lot of seaweed plus jelly fish as well in front of hotel.  This was my experience.  Yours may be different.  Just be aware of the jellyfish.  They were the little guys that I hate as I can't always see them in time.

[Yakker1749]

Going in July, hopefully the seaweed won’t be bad and the jellyfish have dispersed.  Thanks for the info 

[SG65CB]

On 4/8/2022 at 2:18 PM, Yakker1749 said:

Let me know if there's anything else that would be beneficial to know.

 

I've been there a couple of times and there was some seaweed on the beach, but no jellyfish. Must be a periodic thing. 

 

The snorkeling near shore is good but you need to swim out a bit to get to the best snorkeling. There are threads discussing how to get out there because there are places where the coral reef comes close to the surface of the water which creates an obstacle course. Here is one thread, if you scroll down you will find a map and discussion how to get to the best part of the reef:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2738365-west-bay-beach-snorkel-photos/#comment-59518973