The two main islands are amazingly different, while I hear that the third guanaja is pricey but great too. The news from the third island is that it has no roads, is secluded, has more couples resorts, less night life, yet pristine waters, coral, diving for experienced divers, and everything you want in a secluded tranquil style. Utilia is the opposite in that it is full of life, albeit chill with relaxed island pirates and fisherman, while everyone dives or knows much about it. Roatan is a mix of them both with the tourist area of west bay, nice classy, and beautiful, or Westend similar to Utila in cheap, artsy, village type feel with limited beach. The best part of Roatan is that a taxi ride away is a different town, culture, hotel, view etc.
Roatan is known for its white sand beaches overly populated by cruise ships, called west bay. However the rest of the north coast has great beaches, mostly far off to the east, which leads to a costly taxi ride for Honduran standards, yet moderate prices for a private driver. There you can enjoy near empty beaches for a family, group of friends and a more private secluded experience with less diving and more relaxing. The east side has the reefs some mile out, so snorkeling requires a boat or much effort, while west bay has corals within 20 feet of the shore and easily accessible, albeit overly touched and damaged.
The excursions are plentiful from the not so fast or impressive zip line canopy tour with walk through a monkey zoo and petting of toucans to visits to secluded towns. Remember to not say you are from a cruise ship, as prices rise some 25% at tourist attractions, rather claim a hotel or something else. I recommend at least a visit to French harbor to see how the fishermen live or Punta Gordo the oldest settler village with a unique Garifuna lifestyle. It has great conches for free and inexpensive tourist things, while also being a bit out of the way. The locals will take you through some of the mangroves near French harbor, yet resist, as you will only see some of their trashy backyards with limited wildlife. I heard that horseback riding and visiting the mangroves on the north side near Sandy bay were much better, as the fotos and one on one tour guide made it seem more personal, informative, and enjoyable. The botanical gardens were also well loved with ample information about the flora and plenty of exotic plants, not so easy to find in one place.
My favorite part was the iguana zoo, which allows you to feed iguanas see thousands in one place, in trees, sunning themselves, fighting, or climbing a tourist to get at the free leaves and banana peels you get for free to feed them. There are monkeys in the back in need of attention, as well as some other animals. Be careful of the claws of the iguanas, so wear thick jeans, not shorts, and prepare to become a tree. Unfortunately, iguana is hard to come by in food form, despite being a staple of the local population for centuries. This is due to their turn to Christianity and its Old Testament ideas of not eating certain reptiles, which is really helping the conservation efforts, so that you can see plenty of iguanas in the wild during your canopy tour.
The snorkeling is the best on Roatan, yet the second reef is far better to see the coral, while the inner reef has much more animal life. The best times to see the turtles are in the morning or evening, as they round the western shore heading for the grass growing in the shallows in front of the nicest apt for rent & a sports bar. The restaurants offer good food, fresh fish, and eels for a show. Bite on the beach was by far the best restaurant, while they all were decent, albeit $12 or over 200lps per dish. West bay lodge was great with excellent food, lobster ballades for $5 or burritos, which can’t be found on Utila for a similar price. Otherwise, the hotels are pricey and not that exceptional. It is best to rent a flat or do couch surfing to save money. Westend has cheaper prices, the best arts and crafts, mostly from Guatemala or other parts, yet beautiful & pricey. They also have more dive shops, a very similar culture to Utila. West bay, however, is worth the extra price, so that you don’t pay for taxis to drive over and you have a better choice of restaurants, albeit pricier and less local. There are thousands of Canadians, who mostly live off to the south of West bay, which has a nice stroll through their suburban beachside housing and petrified coral formations. They are worth a visit with their impressive formations and water sprays.
In all Roatan offers more for a higher price, yet couch surfing and westend provide cheaper housing, while west bay offers the best of the best, unless you want seclusion or an artsy hippy feel. Sandy bay and further east have more seclusion and less access to the reefs. Diving is not as inexpensive on Roatan, yet divers with experience would appreciate it more due to better kept reefs.
Utila is by far the best dive site in the world, while also a nice party spot. It has a great mix of cheap digs, nice fish places, and expat foods, so that you can eat well, explore new foods, all on a budget. RJ’s is the only restaurant that grills everything well, so that it is hard to get a table and hard not to eat two dishes of the best food for little, while tipping the staff is essentially their earnings. There are always specials, like sushi at Indian wok on Tuesdays, free drinks at Tranquilas on Thursdays from 10-11. It is best to read the flyers along the one road to know how to eat/drink well for less. If you want good expat food and a chat with the locals for gossip interesting stories of ending up on the islands or the recent murders & intrigues the sports bar skid row is a great hang out. While the drinks are not amazing at tree tonics, the art is worth the visit and perhaps a stay in one of its bungalows. It has an impressive Hundertwasser like glass or marble based patterned walls & sculptures. Also the pathways allow for excellent secluded chats, while the tree house bar has the party atmosphere with local dive masters or dive masters to be hanging out behind the bar.
The dive shops all vary, yet nearly all are good. Some have excellent housing, pricey, and very social Greek life style like vision world, while some of the best rated dive shops like UD dive shop offer the best international ratings. Altons is run by the mayor and provides discounts. While the larger dive shops offer great equipment, larger groups, and north side trips, they tend to have multiple dive instructors herding around the pupils. This leaves the experience largely to the people. The smaller shops have fewer students, with a dive crew of 2-5 including dive instructor, so that octopus, turtles and other rarer animals are easily discovered. However, the dive shop is mostly dive masters in training and a family feeling, rather than a traveling party place. Still, in the end you gain more skills, see more, can meet people at the bars, and get to talk more with experienced divers, along with diving for fun. Still, the north coast has dolphin sightings, and better coral reefs, so do try to get a trip there.
I recommend getting certified, at least advanced, yet it will run around $500. The advanced dives really show you more, while allowing you unrestricted dives later in your travels and much more confidence and sights. The dives to do are deep water, wreck, night, and foto, if you can afford it, as well as navigation skills. I found the wreck the most impressive, while dive the most awe inspiring and exhilarating. Deep water was just amazing to notice the depth, change or colors, and pressure. It was not surprisingly different, minus the dangers. The beginner dives provide you with untold information, such that you are at the end speaking in dive lingo with hundreds of jokes, motions for fish, and mixtures of communication fun. I recommend only doing the further dive courses, if you want to work as an instructor or in a dive shop, as they take time, lose their fun, while are essential to be a lead diver or rescue your fellow diver or yourself. Debbie my dive instructor was amazing, such that I trusted her in everything. The bond underwater is great, such that trust and watching out for your buddy or the next lion fish is a shared joy and thrill.
The short version is that Utila is best for diving, and night life, while Roatan is the superior destination, if your budget allows for it. The biggest techno party in America is on one of the cays in July, which leaves the island a great Berlin love parade on the beach. Few sleep in hotels, so regardless of housing, you will sleep on the beach to wake up at the first beat to party until the next nap. Drugs are rampant, yet danger is low on the island. Regardless, the locals are known for not letting opportunity walk them by, so don’t be stupid.
What have your experiences been? Do you think Utila is better than Roatan? Do you want to know more about diving? Do you have a story about Guanaja or the other islands? Has anyone been to the Sunjam?
No comments:
Post a Comment