You have just landed at Juan Manuel Gálvez International (RTB), by Coxen Hole on Roatan — a long Caribbean island in Honduras's Bay Islands, fringed by the Mesoamerican Reef, the second-largest barrier reef system in the world. This guide covers the taxi ride west, West End's dive village against West Bay's resort beach, where to sleep, the 19% hotel tax, the first baleada, and the reef and mangrove days that fill day two.
You just landed in Roatan. The airport sits by Coxen Hole — West End is about 25 minutes west, West Bay about 35 — with an Airalo eSIM live for maps and taxi fares, dollars accepted beside lempiras, taxis unmetered so agree the fare first, and the reef days that fill first worth booking ahead through GetYourGuide.
Find your arrival stop, hotel, and first meal. Stays, sights, and landmarks in Roatán — live hotel prices plus the key places from this guide.
Map not loading? Open the map directly ↗
Touch down at RTB and make one decision well: your base. The airport sits by Coxen Hole, the arrival town, but almost nobody sleeps there — West End, the walkable dive village, is about 25 minutes west, and West Bay, the resort beach, about 35.
Set up data before you leave home — an Airalo eSIM loads in minutes, so maps and hotel messages work from arrivals. For a longer Honduras trip, compare Saily and Yesim.
The arrival checklist, in order:
If a delayed flight wrecked the arrival, AirHelp checks whether the airline owes you compensation.
Journey times are approximate and refer to the listed stop — not necessarily your hotel. Allow extra time for waiting, walking, and connections.
The posted rate chart by the exit is US$25 for one passenger and US$30 for two to West End or West Bay; taxis are unmetered, so agree the fare before you ride and note the taxi number
Booked ahead at a fixed price, with the driver waiting in arrivals; some West Bay hotels run a free airport shuttle for guests — Infinity Bay among them — so ask your hotel before paying
Walk out to the main road and flag a minibus to Coxen Hole, then a second minibus west to West End; colectivos run about US$1 to 3 a hop by day, stop anywhere you wave, and thin out after dark
Rental desks sit at the airport and one main road runs the island's spine; a car earns its keep on east-side days to Oak Ridge and Punta Gorda, not on the West End to West Bay hop
Roatan runs on one main road, unmetered taxis priced by destination zone, colectivo minibuses that stop anywhere you wave, and water taxis linking West End and West Bay for about US$5 in daylight. The rides in from RTB:
Choose the taxi with bags or a late arrival — check the posted rate board and agree the price first. Choose the colectivo only in daylight with a light pack: it is the local's ride, and it drops you in the middle of West End.
Prefer to be met? A Kiwitaxi transfer or a Welcome Pickups driver puts a name board in arrivals at a fixed price — and some West Bay hotels, Infinity Bay among them, run a free airport shuttle, so ask before you pay anyone. Driving yourself, price the pickup on AutoEurope first: a car earns its keep on east-side days, not in the west end.
In the west end, walk: the strip is ten minutes end to end, and the water taxi to West Bay takes 10 to 15 minutes. After dark, ride a taxi — fares rise at night, so agree the number first.
Start in West End, the island's working village: one beachside strip of dive shops, cafes and docks along Half Moon Bay, where the reef sits a short swim offshore. Snorkel the bay in the morning, when the water is glassiest.
Walk the strip and read the dive boards as you go. Roatan is one of the cheapest places in the Caribbean to learn to dive — pick a PADI or SSI shop with recent reviews and small groups, not the lowest quote.
Ride the water taxi south to West Bay for the beach afternoon: white sand, calm clear water, and reef close enough to snorkel from shore at its southern end. On cruise days it fills by midday — go early.
Call into the Roatan Marine Park office in West End for the reef rules before your first dive — no touching coral, no gloves, reef-safe sunscreen only. The park patrols the reserve that makes the diving here what it is.
Browse GetYourGuide for reef days and island tours, and compare Klook when stacking activities.
Sleep at the quiet southern end of West Bay Beach — the island's flagship resort, with a spa, pools and beach cabanas behind the sand. Book it for the fullest-service version of Roatan.
Stay mid-beach at West Bay in condo-style suites with full kitchens — 113 rooms, two outdoor pools and a children's pool, a swim-up bar, free breakfast and a free airport shuttle. Book it for families and longer stays that split time between the pool and the reef.
Bed down on the main road in West End — a small hotel eight minutes from Half Moon Bay; Roatán's hostels are not on the booking map, and this is the honest West End alternative. Book it for beach-village value.
Pick the base before the bed. West End suits divers and anyone who wants dinner a short walk away; West Bay suits a beach-first stay and families, a water taxi or a US$8 to US$15 taxi hop from West End's bars. Coxen Hole is for arrivals and admin, not for sleeping.
Book ahead for Christmas, New Year and Easter week. Check whether the quote includes the 19% hotel tax — many rates are shown before it.
Eat island food first: baleadas — flour tortillas folded around beans, egg and cheese — for breakfast, and grilled fish and lionfish where the boats land. Lionfish is the order with a purpose: it is invasive on the reef, and eating it is encouraged. Three first stops:
Watch the sunset from the beach bar that anchors West End evenings — cold beers, bar food and the village drifting past. Arrive before the light goes; the deck fills fast.
Taste bean-to-bar chocolate made with Honduran cacao on the main strip — free samples, a short tour, and bars that travel home well.
Eat grilled seafood at the long-running local favourite a street back from the water. Go early or expect a wait.
For food tours, browse the Roatan listings on GetYourGuide.
Three days cover the island's range: the reef, the family circuit of animals and beaches, and the quiet east most visitors never reach. Carry water and reef-safe sunscreen.
Four and a half hours: three stops minutes apart, from shallow marine-park water to the reef wall and its drop-off, then a beach break to finish. Rated 4.8, from about US$75, pickups included. Check availability →
Six hours built for families: a nature park of sloths, monkeys and macaws, then West End and its chocolate factory, and a finish on West Bay Beach. Rated 4.8, from about US$64. Check availability →
Five hours east: ride through fishing villages to a motorised cayuco, drift the mangrove tunnels where pirates once hid, then snorkel off French Cay. Rated 5.0 from recent reviews, from about US$65, pickups included. Check availability →
Leave a spare morning for the Galaxy Wave ferry from Dixon Cove to Utila, or for Gumbalimba Park's zip lines near West Bay.
February to May is the sweet spot: the driest months, calm seas and visibility that can pass 30 metres. June to September stays hot with short downpours and softer prices. October opens the rainy season — the wettest stretch runs to January — and hurricane season runs June to November; Roatan sits south of the main track, so direct hits are rare, but storms can cancel boats for a day. Christmas, New Year and Easter are the price peaks.
Count in dollars; the lempira follows at about L27 to US$1 (October 2026). A baleada costs about US$1 to 3, a local lunch US$7 to 13, dinner in West End US$20 to 40. A two-tank dive runs about US$80 to 110, an open-water course US$350 to 500 — among the cheapest in the Caribbean.
A backpacker in a dorm, cooking some meals: US$50 to 80 a day before diving. Mid-range — a West Bay suite, restaurant dinners and a snorkel day: US$200 to 300 a day for two. A splurge day passes US$400.
Tap items to check them off — your list is saved on this device.
Pack for reef days, hot sun and one heavy downpour — October can deliver all three before lunch. This is the full list:
Add the Roatan extras: reef-safe sunscreen only (the marine park asks for it), repellent for sandflies at dawn and dusk, a dry bag for boat days, and a mask and snorkel if you own them.
✓ Visa-free entry for eligible passport holders
Spanish is Honduras's official language, but Roatan runs bilingually: islanders of Afro-Caribbean descent are native English speakers, and dive shops, hotels and taxis work in English all day. Garifuna communities around Punta Gorda keep their own language and music. A little Spanish still opens doors in Coxen Hole.
Four phrases do most of the work:
Sort your entry paperwork before you book anything non-refundable. US, Canadian and most EU nationals enter visa-free for up to 90 days — shared across the CA-4 countries (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua), not 90 per country. British nationals have needed a visa in advance since 15 August 2024; only cruise passengers on a short pass are excepted, while their ship is docked.
Your passport needs six months' validity, and immigration can ask for proof of onward travel. Every traveller must complete the online customs declaration before entering and leaving, and show the QR code. A yellow fever certificate is required only if you arrive from a risk country, such as Panama or parts of South America and Africa — arriving directly from the United States needs none.
Roatan's taxis are unmetered and priced by zone, and the classic first-day loss is the airport ride quoted at double the going rate. Check the posted rate board at the airport, agree the price in dollars before the door closes, and note the taxi number.
West End, West Bay and Sandy Bay are walked by visitors every night; unlit beaches and isolated stretches between villages are not the place for a midnight stroll. Ride a taxi for the dark legs, and keep phones low-profile in Coxen Hole crowds.
Tap water is not for drinking — hotels supply purified water. On the reef, look and never touch: coral breaks under a fin kick, and lionfish spines and urchins punish a careless hand.
Dengue circulates in Honduras, so use repellent at dawn and dusk, when sandflies join the mosquitoes on the beaches. Roatan has private clinics and a hyperbaric chamber for divers; for anything serious, dial 911, and hold insurance with evacuation cover.
If you liked Roatán, try these next:
The Americas
The Americas
The Americas
The Americas
The Americas
The Americas
The Americas
The Americas
The Americas
The AmericasThe arrival, the two bases and the taxes, in short.
Taxi fares checked against the posted Roatan rate chart and 2026 traveller reporting, October 2026; entry rules against US State Department and UK government guidance; hotel tax against Honduran hotel terms (15% sales plus 4% tourism).
A taxi from the rank outside arrivals: the posted chart is US$25 for one passenger or US$30 for two to West End or West Bay — about 25 minutes to West End, 35 to West Bay. Taxis are unmetered, so agree the fare first. The budget route is two colectivo minibuses via Coxen Hole, about US$3 in total.
West End for divers and eating out on foot — one walkable strip on Half Moon Bay. West Bay for the beach itself: white sand, calm water and the resort hotels, a 10 to 15 minute water taxi from West End. Coxen Hole, by the airport, is the admin town, not a base.
US, Canadian and most EU nationals enter visa-free for up to 90 days, shared across the CA-4 countries — Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. British nationals have needed a visa in advance since 15 August 2024. Everyone completes the online customs declaration before entering and leaving.
No — drink bottled or purified water, which hotels supply. US dollars are a second currency here: tourist prices are often quoted in dollars, but carry small, undamaged bills, because torn notes are refused and change is scarce.
19% is added to the quoted rate — 15% sales tax plus a 4% tourism tax — and many hotels quote in dollars before tax, so compare totals. The international departure tax is normally already in your air ticket.
February to May: the driest months, calm seas and the clearest diving. October to January is the rainy season, and hurricane season runs June to November — Roatan sits south of the main track, so direct hits are rare, but storms can cancel boats for a day.
Taxi fares change — the posted rate board at the airport and your hotel desk always win.
Landing soon? Get the printable PDF — the essentials from this guide, formatted for your phone:
One email with your Roatán PDF (guide version: Oct 2026). Fare changes and new guides after that. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Airport transfers against the posted Roatan taxi rate chart (US$25 for one passenger, US$30 for two, airport to West End or West Bay) and 2026 traveller reporting (colectivos US$1 to 3 a hop, water taxis about US$5). Entry against US State Department and UK government guidance, October 2026: visa-free 90 days for US, Canadian and most EU nationals under the shared CA-4 allowance, a visa in advance for British nationals since 15 August 2024, six months' passport validity, the online customs declaration, and yellow fever certification only from risk countries. Hotel tax against Honduran hotel terms: 15% sales tax plus 4% tourism tax, added to the quoted rate; the international departure tax is normally included in the air ticket. Seasons against 2026 climate reporting: driest February to May, wettest October to January, hurricane season June to November. GetYourGuide's Roatan hub was opened and read, October 2026; the three tours are taken from its listings — their product pages would not render for a full read, so titles, durations and prices are as listed on the hub. Expedia returned rate limits (HTTP 429) during this build, so hotel URLs are empty pending the confirmation pass. Photo credits as in the guide data. Last verified October 2026.
Affiliate disclosure: hotel names, transfers, experiences, and products linked in this guide may earn After You Land a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices and times were checked in Oct 2026 and change often — confirm before you book.