Do I need to hire someone to take me to a beach in Roatan

[keene state mom]

I read many posts that people hired , someone to take them to the beach, in advance and that person stayed with them, is it that unsafe. Can I take a taxi, and if so which beach would you go to .

Thanks

[firefly333]

Im assuming you want to go to West End? Yes, just grab a taxi near the port, they range from $25 to $30 a person round trip, so you should be able to get one pretty cheap if you have a couple of people.

 

This is on the way to West End, isnt the water gorgeous. Be sure to get away from the port where its very ugly.

 

 

PS I dont really know what other options there are, Ill wait for someone else to answer you. I do know the area is known for scuba and snorkeling, I saw lots of coral/rocks and didnt go to a beach.

[skylock]

I read many posts that people hired , someone to take them to the beach, in advance and that person stayed with them, is it that unsafe. Can I take a taxi, and if so which beach would you go to .

Thanks

 

It is not unsafe. It is a very small island with a very poor road system and not that many people.

 

I am sure there are taxis, but I can never remember seeing any and I stay at Los Rocas every other year for a diving trip.

 

Just get off the ship after everyone else has left. Go out past the fence and there will be people offering tours. Negotiate. Do not take their first price. You have to go a pretty fair drive to go a beach. Beware they have a really big problem with sand fleas. You never see or feel them, but you will have red blotches on your skin. It does not itch. Just tak25 mg benadryl before you go to bed and they will mostly be cleared up in the morning.

 

I love Cozumel, but if I was able to move down there somewhere, Roatan would be my first choice.

 

If the kids are bothering you while you shop, hire one of them for a dollar and they will keep the other people away from you and carry your stuff.

[ZsuZsu]

Roatan is not a very "developed" port. There is very little outside of the gated pier area. There is some shopping inside of a large tent inside of the gated area, and then a few small "shacks" on the main road outside of the pier. When we were there, we did see quite a few taxis lined up outside of the gated area, but some people told us that they were not terribly comfortable walking around on their own as some of the vendors/taxi drivers were pretty aggressive... The island is beautiful though! Knowing that it was not a port like Grand Cayman or Cozumel that was very used to the "tourist trade" we felt more comfortable arranging our day in advance.

I have heard great things about Victor Bodden and his tours/drivers, but since there were only 2 of us and we were just looking for a nice beach, we opted for a Carnival excursion to Tabanya Beach for the day- the cost was very reasonable...

Check the Roatan posts on the Ports of Call Board for more info and options- you just need to be comfortable and happy on your vacation!

[Hogladyrider]

We were in Roatan last September. We opted for the Carnival excursion to Tambayana Beach for $39 pp which covered roundtrip transportation at your leisure. It was well worth the price.

 

It is an approximate 30 minute ride on steep roads, that aren't the greatest!

 

You return to the ship at your leisure the transporation runs every 30 minutes back to the ship, we stayed until the last minute.

 

The snorkeling from shore is awesome, the scenery is breathtaking and there are lounge chairs, shade if you want,food, great drinks and nice sand!

 

I have photos posted with a link in my signature of our Glory western 9/07 cruise if you want to view the beach.

 

We will do this excursion again when we visit Roatan this Sept. via the Legend, no headaches about missing the boat and the price was reasonable.

Susan

[firefly333]

It is not unsafe. It is a very small island with a very poor road system and not that many people.

 

I am sure there are taxis, but I can never remember seeing any and I stay at Los Rocas every other year for a diving trip.

 

Just get off the ship after everyone else has left. Go out past the fence and there will be people offering tours. Negotiate. Do not take their first price. You have to go a pretty fair drive to go a beach. Beware they have a really big problem with sand fleas. You never see or feel them, but you will have red blotches on your skin. It does not itch. Just tak25 mg benadryl before you go to bed and they will mostly be cleared up in the morning.

 

I love Cozumel, but if I was able to move down there somewhere, Roatan would be my first choice.

 

If the kids are bothering you while you shop, hire one of them for a dollar and they will keep the other people away from you and carry your stuff.

 

There are taxi's lined up right outside the fence area that are the ones I felt safer taking, that wanted $30 pp that came down. We did get offers of lower fees on taxis once we ventured out a ways from the port.

 

As far as the sand fleas, they are on any beach, not perculiar to Roatan. I lived in S. Florida and they would put up a sign when they were present. They come and go. If they were there a lot no on would want to go to the popular S. Florida beaches. They are also known as "no-see-ums" locally where I lived. No one seems to know why some times of the year they seem to come into the shore. Im sorry your trip to Roatan was marred by them, I hate insect bites, but I dont want to see folks think they are peculiar to just that one place.

[KLTCRUISER]

We visited Roatan last March and it was our favorite port. We hired a cab outside the fence for 9 of us in 1 van. He took us up to zip line, then took us to a amazing beach. It is a poor country be we found the people to be wonderful. Outside the gates and to the left there was a little market selling wonderful local wood products. We loved Roatan and can't wait to return.

[clackey]

Very easy to grab a cab. We had a driver take us to a beach that he recommended, dropped us off to be picked up at a specified time. He showed up 2 hours early because it started to rain. Returned us to the ship and we didn't have to pay until we were back to the ship. I wish all ports were this easy.

[Grayce]

Roatan is one of my favourite ports. When we were there in Dec. 2005 we hired a van at the port. I think we paid $40 for 5 people. For that we were taken to a secluded beach on the west side with fabulous snorkeling right there. Beautiful palm trees, shade, loungers, food and bar service. There were very few people there. Nobody bothered us hawking things at the beach. We spent 1/2 the day there. The drinks were really cheap. The driver returned exactly when promised. He took us on a driving tour around the island and then returned us to the port. There was some shopping at the port selling mostly handicrafts.