“Turn around!” My scuba partner, Uncle Andy, signaled wildly.

I hurriedly spun around (well, as quickly as you can underwater), casting the beam from my headlamp first into the empty, dark blue water, then down onto the colorful reef, and then finally settling on a long, glowing electric eel. About two inches from my face.

Its mouth opened and closed widely, as though it were contemplating taking a bite out of me, and I saw rows of pointy little teeth poking up from its fleshy jaws. I’d been warned of eels before beginning the diving journey, but I hadn’t actually thought through what I would do if I were to come face to face with one. All around me the other divers were moving away, watching me and the eel helplessly.

I swallowed hard, my eyes locking with the eel’s beady, black ones. I thought about my options. If I swam away, it would likely just chase after me and I was pretty sure I couldn’t outrun an eel in my clunky scuba gear. No, that wouldn’t work. I could fill my air belt with oxygen and ascend quickly, but if I did that I would risk denitrification sickness from ascending too quickly. I could also deflate my air belt and let the weights around my waist pull me down to the reef floor, but that would risk hurting the corals and I figured that the eel would just follow me down anyways.

Well, great. Okay, new plan: sit here until the eel got bored? Sure, that sounded better than moving.

After what felt like centuries, the eel seemed to lose interest. It circled around me once, as if to say, “Not this time, human”, and meandered off in an uncertain direction. I released a huge breath I hadn’t realized I was holding, and hurried back over to my companions. We had a drink later that night to celebrate my survival, which my father christened with a “When in Roatán, amIright?”

Perched atop the world’s second largest coral reef, Roatán is a small island located roughly 30 miles off of the northern coast of Honduras. Don’t be fooled by its close proximity to the ever-tumultuous mainland; Roatán has been steadily improving in safety and beauty. It has a dual excellence in that costs on the island are very low and you can purchase things for a very low price, and a sense of luxury because the primary places to stay on the island are beautiful, seaside resorts.

I had the pleasure of visiting Roatán around a year and a half ago. We were there for one week, as part of a small “family reunion” of sorts in which around ten of us traveled down there and majorly splurged on renting a boat specifically so that we could go scuba diving as often as we could while we were there.

The island is famed for its scuba diving excellence, but also has amazing paddle boarding, snorkeling, zip lines, and beaches. If you’re looking for a place to chill for a while, with early morning paddle boarding rides leading up to days full of scuba dives and ending at bars with the cheapest drinks you have ever encountered, this island is the place for you!

Roatan: A Rough Guide

Roatan is full of small villages, and some of them are quite pretty. Most are beachside, like West Bay, and border powder-white sandy shores. Beautiful, yes, but most tourists visiting Roatán are not there for the towns. More likely than not, if you visit Roatán you will stay in a resort, as staying in other accommodations tends to be less safe and not a very good experience.

Kayaking, Paddleboarding, and Canoeing

In your resort (assuming that that’s where you end up), there will likely be access to extensive sea kayaking, paddleboarding, and canoeing gear. Take advantage of the offered resources, because you will not regret it. Each day I spent in Roatán began with a sunrise paddle boarding or kayaking ride along the small cove in which my resort, Anthony’s Key, was located. I have never experienced a more tranquil environment, and every second felt like a deeply meditative experience.

If you aren’t staying in a resort it should still be easy enough to rent one of the above in a nearby town!

Scuba Diving

If you’re in Roatán and you’re not scuba diving, well…. What are you doing in Roatán? The culture centralizes around these deep water dives, and there are very extensive options of dives to choose from. You can dive deep undersea to explore shipwrecks and crawl through wreckage. You can do shallow dives along the reefs to stare at the bright and colorful colonies of fish and far-reaching coral and reef-life. My personal favorite was a shark dive, which involved diving around 40 feet underwater into a shark-heavy area, releasing a bunch of dead fish, and watching as the sharks swarmed. A shark feeding frenzy is a wild sight to see, and I was a bit scared that they would try and come for me once the fish had gone. Spoiler, they didn’t. They swam off on their way, and we spent the rest of the dive collecting the leftover shark’s teeth that they had left behind.

If you are staying in a resort it is definitely easiest to go scuba diving through your resort’s program, though there are also multiple companies on the island to go through if you are not staying in a resort!

Snorkeling

If you don’t go scuba diving, you have to go snorkeling! Guided tours or on your own, the second largest coral reef resides in these waters and it has to be explored!

Zip Lines

Zip lines are an iconic Roatán experience. Cruise from platform to platform through the island’s deep jungles. Along the way you’ll see more iguanas than you’ve ever encountered, and you might see some other critters (toucans, parrots, etc) as well! There are multiple companies on the island to go through, and though it is a little pricey it is certainly worth the cost!

Fishing

Roatán’s calm waters have amazing fly fishing. Charter a boat and have a guide take you out on the beautifully clear waters and cast some lines while enjoying the day. It’s a good way to cruise around and see the island, maybe stop on a few nice beaches, and catch some fish. My father, brother and I went on a guided fishing trip and had an amazing time learning about the island from our guide, catching fish, and just relaxing as we drifted through the peaceful water.

Walking and Horseback Riding on the Beach

If you want to spend the money, take a beachside horseback ride! If you don’t, strolling along the sandy seaside makes for a very pleasant experience.

Stuff to Remember