Roatan BeachesSummary: Roatan Beaches are sprinkled around the island. The azure water laps at the white sand letting visitors to Roatan lose themselves in relaxation of a beach vacation.
People come to Roatan Bay Island looking for one of two types of beach. Some Roatan beaches are pristine and manicured while others are wild and untouched. The island offers plenty of both. West Bay Beach is the Roatan Beach best known by tourists. Its groomed sand is close to the larger resorts on the island and is convenient. It is a beautiful Roatan beach, but it is also more crowded than most. The crowds also grow on “cruise ship day” when hundreds of visitors come to the island from one of the cruise ships at port on Roatan Bay Island. West Bay Beach is a wonderful place to snorkel. Many visitors just grab their masks, fins and snorkels and swim out to the reef. Most of the beach front resorts offer guided snorkel tours, gear and training, but anyone can enjoy the spectacular sites under the sea on their own as well.
If you’re looking for your own piece of sand on Roatan, you should head up to Camp Bay. On the eastern end of the island, Sandy Bay is a great spot to enjoy some relaxation and seclusion. You won’t find many others heading to Camp Bay making it our favorite of the Roatan Beaches. Plan ahead when you’re going to enjoy Camp Bay – there are very few people and even fewer shops around this part of Roatan. Another favorite of the Roatan Beaches is Palmetto Bay on the north side. Not quite as deserted as Camp Bay, but Palmetto will still give you plenty of piece and quite along with plenty of room to lay out your towel. Of all of the Roatan beaches, Palmetto bay offers truly gorgeous white sandy beaches. Paya Bay Resort is another area offering Roatan beaches. If you’re staying at Paya Bay Resort, this beach is incredibly convenient and you’ll never find too many people around. That brings a very laid back atmosphere to the beach – especially in terms of dress code. Two other spots worth mentioning are Anthony’s Key Resort and Fantasy Island Resort. Both of these, along with other Roatan beaches that are part of a resort, charge a use fee for visitors to enjoy the beaches by their resorts for the day. One thing to remember on all of the Roatan beaches is that there are severe restrictions against spraying on most of the island. This includes the beaches. This lack of spraying means that many of the beaches have sand fleas – you’ll want to make sure you bring some bug repellent along with your sunscreen.
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West
End Roatan offers Half Moon Bay Beach. (photo right) Just outside of
the reef off-shore you’ll find wonderful snorkeling here too.
Half Moon Bay offers a pretty thin stretch of beach compared to some
others on Roatan, but when you’re in West End and want to get
your feet in the sand…