So my boyfriend and I decided it was time to take our relationship to the next level. We were going to take a vacation. We have taken weekend trips before, but we haven’t gone anywhere that we couldn’t drive to in a couple hours. This was going to be a big one. Planes, a dog sitter, the big suitcase. We are off! One little thing… where the hell are we going?
The thought was exciting, but completely daunting. International or domestic? City, nature, or beach? Oh god! Do I want to spend a week with him in a bikini?! Eventually it was decided that “yes. I could survive that wardrobe choice”, and we began trying to narrow down the options for a beach vacation. I started by searching Groupon’s Getaways section. They have a lot of packages and deals on resorts. Even though we didn’t book through them, it did give us plenty of good ideas to jump off from. Let’s see… East coast, west coast, or tropical? Definitely tropical. Now that that has been narrowed down, there are only about a million places we could go! We both felt that we should take advantage of the opportunity to visit somewhere that we had never been, but we couldn’t nail down a place and it was beginning to really stress me out. Ugh! Planning a vacation should not be this taxing! Then, it just clicked. Why not go back somewhere that we both loved? I spent a day in Roatan as part of a cruise, and Jacob spent a couple days there while he was doing a study abroad as a poor college kid. Both of us figured that this meant this was somewhere that we hadn’t fully experienced yet. Spoiler: We were so right! Finally! We had a destination and could start planning! Once we did, everything started to slide into place far more easily than trying to pick somewhere to go.
Now, when we tell people where we went, the response is almost universally “where?”. Well, let me introduce you to this little slice of paradise if you haven’t heard of it yet. It is a little island off the coast of Honduras thats only about 35 miles long. It is surrounded by the world’s second largest barrier reef (after the Great Barrier Reef), which provides some amazing opportunities for diving and seeing ocean life. Trip Advisor gave us a lot of really great ideas and information on the island prior to taking off, so it is definitely worth looking at if you’re planning to go!
1. FLIGHTS– One of the closest international airports is IAH in Houston. We started checking on flights and discovered that this was going to be breezy! IAH has direct flights to the island every other day (not the mainland, and no ferry needed!) On top of that, it was much closer than I thought. It was only about a 2 1/2 hour flight.
2. Convenience– We opted for an all-inclusive stay which drastically narrowed down our options. We ended up at The Mayan Princess Resort and could not have been happier. Obviously, an all-inclusive is a little more expensive than just booking somewhere and fending for yourself for all of the other things you may need, but the convenience really helped make the trip as relaxing as possible! They had a snack bar open most of the day, three scheduled mealtimes at their buffet, and 3 a la carte restaurants that you could make reservations at. They had several full bars that were open all day, beachside service, complimentary kayak rentals, and a dive shop on site in case you forgot anything or wanted to plan any dive excursions aboard their own dive boats. Dive trips and the spa cost a little extra, but all of the inclusions made for the easiest, most relaxing trip! On top of all the amenities offered by the resort, we stayed in West End so everything we wanted to do was very easily accessible. We could walk down the beach to little shops, restaurants, and bars (even at night). When we went snorkeling, we grabbed our equipment and just started swimming out from the beach. The reef is right there! You are in the reef before you are in water too deep to stand. It is incredible. And the day we went deep sea fishing, the captain picked us up right off the beach. I don’t know if all of the Roatan resorts are this convenient, but it would be hard to compete!
3. U.S. TRAVELER FRIENDLY– Currency was something I hadn’t considered (who doesn’t do that when traveling abroad?!). Lucky for me, even though Honduras has their own currency, everywhere we went accepted U.S. dollars. Phew! Next, the language. I can’t say that everyone on the island spoke English, but it was close.
4. FISHING–
I know that not everyone out there wants to go get sweaty and covered in fish scales on their vacation, but I grew up on the water so it seemed natural to me! Since we didn’t know anyone in the area, we turned to Trip Advisor and chose Capt Enrick & the Wahoo Slayer. It was a good trip and we got on the fish fast, but the thing that I was stunned by was how short of a ride it was until we could put out our lines! I am so used to fishing in the Gulf of Mexico where you have about a 60-90 minute ride out to a rig or somewhere else where you might find fish. In Roatan the ride is only about 10 minutes until you get to the far side of the reef! Capt. Enrick did a good job at finding the fish. We were only out for several hours in the morning, but landed some barracuda, tuna, and a hammerhead. Sharks are a protected species on the reef, so it was catch and release. It was amazing to feel the power of this great predator and then send him back on his way. Cant Enrick filleted our tuna for us and packed it up to go. We found a little restaurant on the beach that cooked our it for us that night and it was delicious!
5. IT’S LITTLE KNOWN–
Almost every time people we tell people that we were going to Roatan, they gave us that same puzzled look. This only became more confusing for them when they learned that we were going to Honduras. As beautiful as the Bahamas and Jamaica are, they can be a little crowded, and that is one thing that really sets Roatan apart. If you are looking for a more authentic vacation, a large portion of the island is still undeveloped and you can walk up and down the beaches and only see a handful of people once you get past the resorts, which aren’t that crowded themselves.
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