 There is no better place to dive than the crystal clear warm waters surrounding the Bay Islands. Be among the first to explore the untouched virgin dive sites of Roatan.
Surrounded by the Great Western Barrier Reef, Roatan's waters are full of spires and towers of Star, Starlet, and Lettuce Corals, and the best selection of sponges found anywhere in the Caribbean. You'll be delighted with the seascape of overhangs, canyons, fissures, and maze of tunnels along the walls of continuous reef. Excellent underwater visibility gives way to a myriad of invertebrate and fish species.
The reef’s coral wall extends almost from the surface to a depth of 35-50 meters. The visibility is often in excess of 30 meters allowing you to observe deep water fish while observing the diverse reef ecosystem.
Roatan enjoys a reputation for having an amazingly rich ecosystem. At Castaways Cove, you can investigate this ecosystem -- snorkel around the vibrant coral gardens located close to shore or take one of our kayaks on a five minute paddle out to the reef or through the mangrove tunnels.
With a tropical mountainous terrain over-looking the dramatic shore coastline and beautiful sandy beaches, interrupted only occasionally by small villages, Roatan offers the ultimate vacation experience.
And although the spectacular diving and snorkeling draws thousands of tourists here, Roatan remains one of the last undiscovered islands of the Caribbean. Unlike many Caribbean islands, Roatan has not suffered extensive commercialization and retains its laid-back charm. With its colorful history of pirates and indigenous Mayan culture, the Roatan of today offers a wonderful fusion of past and present. Of all the treasures that have been lost here, there are many more still to be found.
Enjoy this quiet corner of paradise by the sea, with the finest diving, snorkeling, sailing and fishing.
- Honduras means " deepwater" and the reef create natural breakwaters and an ideal, calm pool for diving, fishing, swimming and sailing.
- The Bay Islands cover about 92 sq.miles and include Utila and Guanaja, the smaller Morat, Barbareta and St. Helena, just east of Roatan.
- About 70,000 people live in Roatan. The people are friendly, easy going and approachable. Native Roatanians speak English.
- The main industries are fishing, boat building and tourism.
- Waters are clearest for diving when there is the least rain (January through mid July).Temperatures are in the 80s all year ( 28/30 degree centigrade).
- Roatan is not as commercially developed as other islands in the Caribbean so you may not have some of the conveniences you are used to, but this is part of the charm of this paradise island.
The Bay Islands Culture
The beauty of the culture of the Bay Islands, as is with Honduras, is that it was formed through a fusion of the many cultures that first inhabited the islands, a mixture of European, African and Indian races. About 90% of the Honduran population is Mestizo, a mixture of Indian, African and European, this is also known as Ladino.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the islands were home to more than 5000 pirates and buccaneers, and this resulted in English being the predominant language on the islands.
European pirates like Henry Morgan, Coxen, Morris and Van Horn used the island as a base for raiding Spanish ships beginning in the 1600s. They took refuge in the many hidden ports on Roatan, spending time hunting and fishing and lazing about in the tropical sun.
After the Spanish eventually depopulated the islands, the Bay Islands were re-settled first by the Garifuna, who settled in Punta Gorda on Roatan, and later by British-descended settlers from the Cayman Islands, who set up colonies in Utila, Roatan and Guanaja.
The Garifuna story began to unfold a thousand years ago when the Arawak, A South American tribe of hunters and gatherers, moved up the Orinoco River, through Honduras and into the Caribbean Sea, where they traded with the Caribs. The mixture of Carib and Arawak created a new people who came to be known as ´Island Caribs`.
In the 1500s, Europeans b