Roatan Honduras snorkeling tours put you in the water on the reef that runs along the island, most of them from a boat. You get the gear and a guide, and most fares pay the fees as well.
Three stops by boat from Big Bight: a starfish garden, the Blue Channel and a shipwreck. Mask, fins, vest and entrance fees are in the fare, with water, juice and fruit. The drive to the boat takes 30 to 40 minutes.
From $112 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
The short one: about two hours port to port, a licensed guide and mask, snorkel and fins, from the crew's own dock a short drive away. Up to 30 guests. Tips are the only thing the fare leaves out.
From $55 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A guided paddle round a mangrove harbour, then a reef snorkel close by, with ten guests at most. The kayak fee, gear and water are in the fare; breakfast and lunch are not.
From $55 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Ninety minutes on the reef after dark, two minutes from the operator's base, with a guide, the gear and up to twelve guests. Hotel pickup only, from 5:30pm, so it suits a night on the island, not a ship call.
From $70 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Guides in the water at three reefs on the south side, a wall, a marine park and a third reef, then about an hour on a small cay. The fees and taxes are paid. Lunch and soft drinks are not.
From $75 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Your own driver to a drift snorkel of about 80 minutes, an animal sanctuary and some three hours at a beach club. Fees and taxes are paid; lunch and drinks are yours to buy.
From $85 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A 45-minute guided snorkel at Blue Rock, five minutes by boat from the sand, plus an eco-park and a West Bay resort day pass with chairs, pool and showers. A private vehicle throughout; bring a towel.
From $88 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Human-powered water bikes across the harbour and its mangroves, a reef snorkel, then a beach break on the operator's own island. Six hours, up to 27 guests. Kayaks and banana boat rides cost US$10 each.
From $89 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A boat and captain for your party alone, off West End: three spots two or three minutes apart. The crew snorkel without fins to spare the coral. Pickups further east cost US$15 to US$30 extra, paid in person.
From $100 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Three stops in three hours: a starfish garden, the Blue Channel and a shipwreck, with gear, entrance fees and a snack of fruit in the fare. You are collected at the port.
See this tourA snorkeling tour here is a guided swim on the reef that runs along the island's shore, with the mask, fins, vest and snorkel handed to you. Roatan sits on the Mesoamerican Reef, the second-largest barrier reef in the world, and the coral starts a short swim or a short boat ride from the beach. You do not need to dive, and you do not need a certificate.
Most trips follow the same pattern. A driver collects you at the cruise port or your hotel, drives you to a dock, and a boat takes you to two or three spots. A guide swims with you, points out what is under you, and counts heads at the ladder. Then you are driven back, usually three or four hours after you left.
The reef and the water around the island are protected as the Bay Islands National Marine Park. The Roatan Marine Park, set up by dive operators and local businesses in 2005, asks visitors for a voluntary US$10 reef fee and gives a bracelet or token in return. No tour here requires it.
A sanctuary day shows you sloths and a beach. A snorkeling tour puts you face down over coral, starfish and reef fish. If the reef is why you came, every other kind of tour here only shows it from the sand.
From a beach you swim out and back. From a boat you are dropped at the wall, the channel or the wreck, and picked up when you are done. You see three spots in the time a beach swim gives you one.
The three-reef trip puts snorkel guides in the water as well as on land. On the most-booked boat, one traveller noticed that on a windy day the crew moved the boat to collect snorkelers, so nobody had to fight the current. That matters if you have not snorkeled before.
Every snorkel fare includes the gear. Most also pay the entrance fees or the fees and taxes, so you bring cash only for lunch and tips. The exceptions are the water-bike day's extras and the pickup surcharges on the private West End boat.
If you searched for a boat tour, this is where it lands: every boat trip here is a snorkel or dive boat. There is no sunset cruise, glass-bottom boat or catamaran sail among these tours.
The drift snorkel on the private beach-club day also goes out by boat from the club. If you want more time on board than in the water, none of these is a cruise.
West Bay and West End both have reef you can reach from the sand. So why pay? Here is how the two compare, from the listings' own terms.
| A snorkeling tour | Snorkeling from a beach | |
|---|---|---|
| How you reach the reef | By boat, kayak or water bike | You swim out from the sand |
| Spots in one outing | Two or three | One |
| Gear | Mask, snorkel, fins and vest in the fare | You bring or rent your own |
| A guide in the water | Yes | No |
| Transport from the ship | Pickup and drop-off in most fares | A taxi, arranged by you |
| Fare, per person | $55 to $112 | A beach day pass, if you want a chair |
See the three-stop tour from $112
The beach is cheaper and freer. The tour is the easier choice on a first visit, and the only way to reach a wall, a channel or a wreck. If you want both, the Blue Rock snorkel and the beach-club day each give you a guided snorkel and hours on the sand.
Guides in the water at a wall, a marine park and a shallow reef, then about an hour on a cay. The fees and taxes are paid; bring cash for lunch.
Check availabilityHow to fit a snorkel into the hours your ship gives you is in our timed plan for a cruise day. The guide to prices and fees adds up what each trip costs on the day.
Not sure the reef is your day at all? Our guide to choosing a tour sets out every kind of tour side by side.
Would a sanctuary day or a private driver suit you better? Every tour is compared on Roatan Honduras Tours.