Honduras: Roatan

Nov 2025

Roatán lives up to the hype. Once a pirate lair, it’s now a world-class island destination—uniquely Caribbean, beautiful, and surprisingly good value. The diving is solid, the vibe is relaxed, and I’m really glad I made the effort to come here while on a Pan-American motorcycle ride.

I spent five days diving (10 dives total) with Native Sons Diving in West Bay, and it was one of those rare travel decisions that works out perfectly.

I started on the mainland in La Ceiba, transporting my bike to the islands on Dream Ferry. Because of schedules and logistics, that effectively limited me to visiting just one island—Roatán or Utila.

Despite the common online narrative that Roatán is more expensive, overly touristic, full of cruise ships, and easily accessible from the U.S., I chose Roatán—and I’m glad I did.

After researching dive centers, I narrowed it down to Native Sons Diving and Chili’s Resort, both of which had stellar reviews. I booked both, and it turned out to be an excellent call.

Chili’s Resort is an old house—super basic, but comfortable, clean, and cheap. The dive center is on the property, which makes everything effortless. Also on-site is Yahongreh, hands-down the best local “fast food” spot in West Bay. Across the street is a beautiful beach and arguably the island’s best beach bar.

Seriously—this is one of the best places I’ve stayed anywhere in the world, especially when you factor in value and convenience.

The diving around West Bay is solid. Visibility is good, there are nice walls, sandy bottoms nearby, and healthy enough coral. You won’t see massive schools of fish, but there’s plenty to keep things interesting: lots of lobsters, huge snails, decent reef fish variety, rays, and the occasional turtle.

Native Sons runs three dives a day, all at nearby sites. The boat is large and roomy, and it returns to the shop after each dive, which keeps things flexible and relaxed.

One of the best parts: there’s no hard commitment. You can do one, two, or three dives a day as you feel like it. One afternoon, I wasn’t planning to dive and was sitting on the beach when I saw the boat loading for the last dive. I asked if I could join—and five minutes later I was on the boat, geared up, heading out.

The price was extremely fair—about $25 per dive, with equipment included. Combined with the island vibe, easy logistics, and laid-back professionalism of Native Sons, Roatán ends up being excellent value for a Caribbean dive destination.

Between the island atmosphere, affordability, seamless setup, and consistently good diving, Roatán is a destination I’d happily return to. And I would absolutely dive again with Native Sons Diving and stay at Chili’s Resort.

Dive Center: Native Sons Diving

Cost: ~$25 per dive (equipment included)