Uncrowded Paradise: 10 Reasons the Bay Islands Should Be Your Next Cruising Destination
The Bay Islands are absolutely stunning and it amazes me that more cruisers and charterers don’t check this island group out. In my opinion the diving is better than the Cayman Islands and the anchorages are as good as any in the Eastern Caribbean. While the Bay Islands are part of Honduras, they have completely different histories and English is the first language of the Bay Islands. The islands are also known for their huge shrimping fleet. With all that said let me show you our top 10 for the Bay Islands.
10. North shore, Roatan – Roatan is the main island and is surrounded by parts of the MesoAmerican Barrier Reef. It seems like anywhere you go you find great snorkeling and diving, but if you visit any of the entrances through the reef on the north shore you will surely have the place to yourself. The one downside is the anchorages are not super protected like the south side. Our favorite thing on the north shore was the Roatan Institute for Marine Sciences at Anthony’s Cay Resort. They have a dolphin show and a great museum.
9. Guanaja – The second largest island in the Bay Islands is rarely visited, so as a boater you will not be competing for space. Most of the over 5000 people live on a group of small cays that have been joined together with bridges and canals and is called Bonacca (known as the Venice of the Caribbean, which is a big stretch). Walking around this town is amazing to see how closely packed the buildings are built. On the north shore you will find some great beaches and a hike to a waterfall we loved. Just don’t stop at the lighthouse for a visit, because it is actually someone’s home which we did not realize until we were inside. Haha. The south shore has several barrier islands to explore.
8. Jonesville Bight, Roatan – There are tons of deep bays on the south side of Roatan and each has its own attractions and fans. This is ours because we loved visiting the boater’s only Hole in The Wall Bar with the pet monkey. We also enjoyed taking a tour through the mangrove channel, which is part of a system that connects much of the southern coast so a small boat can travel without going outside the reef. Speaking of the reef, when the winds and seas are down it is great to snorkel. Finally, Jonesville Point Marina is available for anything you might need.
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7. Port Royal, Roatan – Farther east on the south coast is a cool bay that is not as deep and protected, but has lots of good snorkeling and diving. This bay was first settled by English pirates and the snorkeling off Fort Cay is my favorite…especially if the seas are calm and you can be on the outside of the reef. Lime Cay is another entrance into Port Royal and offers good barrier reef snorkeling. Inside the bay is a set of rocks called Cow and the Calf that you can snorkel. If the winds are not too high you can even anchor overnight at the east end of the bay…just make sure to stay out of the way of the channel into the next bay, because the local boats come whizzing through.
6. Helena Island, Roatan – The eastern end of Roatan is actually another island with a swampy mangrove field separating the two. Here we had a blast exploring the channel through these mangroves from the south shore to the north. On the south side this channel starts in Mr. Field’s Bay and right at the entrance is some great snorkeling. Around the corner in the small village, you can find some amazing home cooking at Jerline’s Place and a visit would not be complete without a tour to see the caves.
5. French Cay Harbour, Roatan – The final bay on the south side of Roatan has a lot to offer starting with access to fuel, water, groceries, and town from the Roatan Yacht Harbor. The much prettier bay is in between Fantasy Island (offering a nice cruising community) and Little French Cay (a fun day resort). Little French Cay has several big cats in cages to check out (this made us a little sad) and on the main island there are a couple monkey & sloth parks you can visit. My favorite part of French Cay Harbour is the snorkeling. If it is calm, you can snorkel or dive outside of the barrier reef, but even when it is blowing 30 knots, we had a blast snorkeling inside the reef.
4. Cayos Cochinos – The smallest of the Bay Islands is actually a collection of over a dozen tiny islands known as the Hog Islands in English and makes up a national park. Many of these islands are private, but we moored off the biggest island and found amazing snorkeling at Pelican Point and on the north shore. We were also welcomed into the Garifuna community on Cayo Chachahuate and were amazed to see this great community thrive even though there was no power or running water.
3. Utila – This is the western most island and is a backpacker diving island at heart. There are so many places you can dive and snorkel around the island from the barrier reef protecting the main anchorage all the way to the small cays on the west end. Plus, it is rumored this is the cheapest place to scuba dive in the Caribbean. In town you will be mesmerized by the small town feel and simply walking around is a joy. I do highly recommend you visit the Kanahau Utila Natural History Museum to see some great artifacts from the islands and the Jade Seahorse is a very artsy, small hotel built using bottles, tiles, shells, ceramic plates, bottle caps, etc.
2. West End, Roatan – On Roatan the most popular places are West End (town) and West Bay (anchorage). The southern end of West Bay has all the resorts and the north end of the bay is the town with tons of restaurants and shops to check out. In between you will find water taxis shuttling people back and forth. As with the rest of the Bay Islands, there is a barrier reef offering awesome snorkeling and diving. In fact, I found my new all-time favorite snorkel site at Blue Channel. As the name implies, this is a channel through the reef and offers a wall on either side going from a couple feet below the surface down to 30 feet. All along the southern wall I found caves, tunnels, and cuts. I had so much fun I made us do it 4-5 different times.
1. Utila road trip – Our #1 finds us back on Utila renting a scooter to see the rest of the island. This land tour had so much to offer that I could not wait to take our friends on it when they visited. The highlights were climbing to the top of the lighthouse on Pumpkin Hill, crawling into a cave filled with bats, swimming in an open-air fresh water cave, seeing Scott’s driftwood art work, and having hot chocolate, brownies, and ice cream at the Utila Chocolate Factory.
Have we perked your interest in the Bay Islands with our top ten list? We hope so because it became one of our top cruising grounds in the Caribbean.
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