First time trip Jan 27th!

Hello! My girlfriend and I will be traveling to Roatan for the first time in two weeks! We are so excited. We arrive January 27 and leave the following Sunday. We will be staying at Marble Hill Farms near Punta Blanca. We are actually considering Roatan as one of the Caribbean destinations that we will move to, so we didn’t want to get too caught up in the tourist areas of the West end. We are going to rent a car and plan to drive to the West end at least one day, possibly staying overnight.

Would love to hear advice, encouragement, warnings… Anything you’d like to share! We are really looking forward to seeing the island and real estate opportunities as well as just chill on the beach. Thanks!

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Welcome to Roatan, and to our forum.

Here at your service should you need anything. Where will you be renting a vehicle from? Depending on your schedule, you may be better off renting a driver in his own vehicle or getting around on a Taxi.

While in Roatan, consider a lunch date with a real estate agent…he/she can make the difference as you consider Roatan as a future home island.

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@jimscott007

You will love Roatan!

Since you are staying on the east side visit Camp Bay and Oakridge both places are very different from the west side.

other than that ENJOY your possible new home.

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We haven’t decided on a place, but really wanted to get out and explore the island while we are there so we thought a car would be the easiest. It looks like we can get a cheap car for about $25 a day, or $175 for the week. I wasn’t sure how easy it would be to get a taxi because we are staying on the east side. And I figured a driver would be more expensive but I’m definitely open to suggestions!

We definitely want to meet up with a real estate agent. Do you have any recommendations?

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The are a handful of agents on this forum, which I will let them introduce themselves, but a few of the more responsive agents in the forum are:
@Anna
@jorgechavezonroatan

Regarding transportation, you seem to have good lead and the right price point. You can also rent 4wheelers for the day and if the weather is nice and you don’t need to go far, consider mixing that idea into your plans.

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Awesome! Thank you for tagging some agents! The more we read and see about Roatan the more we like it. One of the goals of the trip is to leave with rock solid idea of how much it would cost to live there and how it would “feel” to live there. That is one of the reasons I wanted to reach out to the expat community.

Thanks again!

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A couple other questions that have popped up:
Would it be feasible to take a water taxi from Marble Hill Farms into the West End/West Bay in the morning and then back at night? I’ve heard that you should be careful about driving at night because of the pot holes.

We are also considering a day trip to Utila. Any advice?

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No problem, you are welcome.

Water Taxis are not suppose to be operating at night. So I wouldn’t plan on the night return.

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Ok! Did not know that about water taxis but that makes sense haha! Thanks.

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Everything is possible here in Roatan but I wouldn’t recommend to take a water taxi from Punta Blanca to West End since is a very long distance. I would come to West End take a water taxi to West bay and stay the night, you can leave in the morning so you avoid driving at night.
There are good hotels in West End where you could stay:

  • The Beach house
  • Mr Tucan Hotel
  • Lost Paradise
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Yes!

you can go for the day however there are no ferries that return on the same day unless you rent one, there is also the option to go on the Utila Dream Ferry and spend a night.

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY COST
UTILA > ROATAN 10:15 AM 10:15 AM 10:15 AM 10:15 AM 10:15 AM 10:15 AM 10:15 AM $30.00
ROATAN > UTILA 2:00 PM 2:00 PM 2:00 PM 2:00 PM 2:00 PM 2:00 PM 2:00 PM $30.00

Are you divers?

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Hmm, maybe we do Utila next time.

My girlfriend has dived before. I haven’t really lol. But we want to! Do you have any recommendations?

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you can try the discover scuba first to see if you like it or start your open water, it takes around 1 week for you to do it. the discover scuba you can do it when you go to West End, im sure all dive shops are great but two I’ve dove with in West End are Roatan Divers and Ecodivers.

She can maybe do a fun dive while you do your discover scuba.
there is Snuba too, have you heard about it?

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@jimscott007, you cannot (must not) allow your girlfriend to go diving without you…after all, scuba is a buddies sport! - I happen to agree with @loaroa that a discover scuba dive would be a good idea during your stay. There are several great dive shops on Roatan. Here are a few who belong to this forum and who have done a nice job in the past taking care of guest like you. Let us know if you need anything else.

OCEAN CONNECTIONS (@adam)
BLUE ISLAND DIVERS (@Blueisland)

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Thank you for the endorsement @RoatanOnline! We would certainly agree that the “discover scuba” or “Try Scuba” is best enjoyed with your partner. @jimscott007 As mentioned before, a certified diver can get in the water with you and accompany you on your Try Scuba dive. I would recommend coming over and getting started one morning at 8am with gear fitting and paperwork. Your partner can dive on the 9am dive while you are practicing some skills in the confined water and preparing for your 11 am dive. You will then both accompany the instructor on your very first open water dive on one of the most impressive reefs in the world. You will most likely surface from you dive and immediately say “GIVE ME MORE!” If you decide you want to certify, we will credit you $50 toward your next scuba level certification. And remember, you can purchase this experience right here on the link provided or feel free to come over to our slice of heaven and let Maria get you signed up! Enjoy Roatan and we hope to see you soon.

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Hi, Jim, @jimscott007
You can email me at Anna@moskowitzhq.com We can discuss any questions you have regarding Real Estate, your timeline to relocate, residency requirements and more.
There’s a lot to learn and we’d be happy to share!

Anna Mos

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Great, thank you. Will you be on the island the week of the 27th? We’d love to see what is available and get an idea of the possibilities.

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Thank you for the information! We definitely want to dive while we are there so we will be looking you up!

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You’re very welcome. Look forward to hosting you @Blue Island Divers Roatan or @ The Salty Mango Bar and Grill ;-).

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