After a two week stay on my favourite island, I once again realized  just how much Roatan has going for it. Here are the top five things I believe makes Roatan such a great place to visit over and over and over again:

5. Balmy evenings - it is always warm at night. You never need a sweater, jacket or long-sleeved shirt. Even dining or having a drink directly over the water; the temperature is ideal.

4. It's small - Roatan can be driven, explored and played with from one end of the island to the other in one day. I've done beach hopping on more than one occasion!

3. Beaches - a whole range of beaches exist. Everything from West Bay Beach, its restaurants and bars and water activities to the secluded Paya Bay and Camp Bay beaches at the eastern end. Sometimes you can find you're the only one on a beautiful stretch of sand. For a small island, there is no shortage of beachfront.

2. Food - I love food and Roatan has some of the greatest selection of restaurants and eateries. Dining al fresco is a favourite of mine and in a place like West End, there are literally dozens of places to do just that. Decks, patios, piers, tables in the sand, you name it, you can dine under the stars and watch the sun set over the Caribbean Sea.

1. Taxi cabs are cheap - getting around has never been so easy and affordable. Because there is only one main road that runs the length of the island, cabs are constantly passing by. All you have to do is look the least bit interested in catching a ride and the cab will beep at you and pull over if you want. Sometimes you will be sharing a cab with others (collectivos in Spanish) which makes the ride even cheaper. Many times my short ride from Sandy Bay to West End cost me L25 (about $1.30USD). A ride from Sandy Bay into Coxen Hole was about the same.

A schedule of typical taxi cab fares are listed on the Getting Around page of this website.

Landed on Roatan Saturday at noon. Only 2 hours and 17 minutes non-stop from Houston. So far on this trip, there have been many wow moments; much of them involving food...

Saturday night  –Blue Marlin Roatan. Live music and dinner while we sat over the water on Blue Marlin’s patio. The sky lit up behind us with lightening in the distance. That was too cool! Oh and the menu? Conch balls, fresh fish sticks (REAL fish, not that fake stuff we get at home!) for starters.  Chicken sate, locally caught fish, lobster, shrimp, with vegetarian options. Centre of West End

Sunday – Barefeet Bar. For dinner, drinks and dancing. This is a local hotspot and I made a few new friends. Huge wooden tables raised out of the sand floor make this place uber cool. End of the strip in West End

Monday – picked up Caribbean lobster tails in Coxen Hole and friend grilled them in the oven- I’ve never had such tender lobster before! Melted in your mouth.  Spent the evening sitting out on the deck, watching the sun set over the ocean.

Tuesday – Rudy’s. Couldn’t wait to go back to try another tropical smoothie. Banana-strawberry is your classic indulgence when needing to cool off in the middle of the day! Toward end of West End strip

Blue Channel. The Italian owners at the Blue Channel in West End made us some of the best pizza I’ve had outside of Italy. Seriously – they have it goin’ on! Gorgonzola, prosciutto, oregano, fresh tomatoes. I ate way too much and don’t regret it a bit. Center of West End

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Photos and write-up by Eliza Boquin

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