Honduras

OVERVIEW

Roatán is the largest and most popular of the Bay Islands. About 50km long and just 2km to 4km wide, it is surrounded by a rich living reef, making it a paradise for divers and snorkelers. It’s also big enough to keep non-divers interested, with botanical gardens, butterfly and iguana farms, family recreational areas, canopy tours, and winding dirt roads leading to small villages and isolated bays. And if you just want to relax, parts of Roatán, especially West End and West Bay, are as idyllic as any tourist brochure, with clear turquoise water, colorful tropical fish, powdery white sand and coconut palms.

Even before Jacques Cousteau popularized diving, the Bay Islands attracted treasure hunters of a more literal sort. Pirates and buccaneers used the islands as a base for attacking Spanish galleons laden with precious metals, woods and other New World bounty bound for Andalusia.