Sunday, August 30, 2009
Life, Travel, In this Issue...

Dive in

Roatán, Honduras, is a refreshing retreat

By Kirsten Ott Palladino

If you’re not an avid diver, you might never have heard of Roatán. Located in the Caribbean Sea about 30 miles off the northern coast of Honduras, Roatán is home to the second longest barrier reef in the world, second only to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Because of the large presence of coral, interesting and varied sea life is in abundance. Island visitors—whether they’re divers or snorkelers—can easily get up-close and personal with all kinds of creatures, from squeaky dolphins to brightly colored fish to intense sharks. On land, luxury resorts and swank hotels abound, offering a premium home base for adventure-seeking vacationers.

I spent eight days and seven nights on the island, splitting my time between two resorts: Anthony’s Key Resort the first half of the week and Infinity Bay the latter half. The two couldn’t be more different, with Anthony’s being more oriented toward activities, and Infinity a more swank set-up for lounging. My wife and I arrived at AKR on a balmy Saturday afternoon. We—and everyone else checking in that day—were greeted with tropical cocktails and a rundown of the property and mealtimes by the resort’s director. Visitors of AKR buy package deals, so everyone’s meals are included and extra fees are kept to a minimum. Packages are broken down into two categories: snorkeling and diving. (We are snorkelers with diver envy.) If you’re a diver—or an aspiring one—AKR is where you want to be.

Rooms at AKR are serenely simple. Divided into singles and duplexes, the rooms are wooden bungalows nestled in mangroves hovering about 5 to 10 feet above the Caribbean Sea. Higher-end rooms offer air conditioning, but it’s OK if you don’t stay in one of these. The breeze coming off the ocean cools the rooms with ease. All the bungalows are on their own separate island, accessible only by a complimentary water taxi that travels back and forth 24 hours a day. Internet and phones are available only in the open-air hotel lobby. AKR provides a welcome respite from the busy multitasking most of us take on day in and day out.

Located in the Sandy Bay West End, AKR is home to the Roatán Institute for Marine Sciences, a learning center that attracts marine biologists from all over the world. Twenty dolphins are kept in captivity here, though the gentle creatures have plenty of space to live and play in. If you want to play with the dolphins, several options are available. Certified divers will want to partake in dolphin dives. A dive guide takes eight certified divers at a time on a five-minute boat ride to a shallow reef wall, accompanied by a dolphin behaviorist and a videographer.

On the dolphin snorkel/swim, snorkelers gather in 20-feet-deep turquoise blue waters off the white-sand key to play with the dolphins. For guests seeking a more in-depth study of bottlenose dolphins, RIMS offers a two-day course combining classroom sessions with hands-on interaction.  Of course, that’s all just barely scratching the surface of the waters. What lies beneath may be far more interesting. Anthony’s Key Resort was founded by multimillionaire Paul Adams in 1968. An avid diver himself, Adams was drawn to Roatán because of its fantastic diving. He designed the resort to cater to divers with premium programs, boats and divemasters. Guests of the resort (and even guests of other resorts) have access to a myriad of diving activities and classes. Non-certified divers can get certified here by PADI instructors in a two-day course. Don’t have time for the advanced open water course? AKR offers an adventure diver course, which only takes one day (three dives). Additionally, AKR offers a wide variety of specialty PADI courses, such as fish identification, performance buoyancy, night diving, deep diving, administrating oxygen, wreck diving, search and recovery, and underwater navigation.

Snorkeling is a more relaxed activity than diving, since there’s no heavy oxygen tank to worry about. It’s not just surface swimming, though. Snorkel boats leave the dock twice a day, stopping about 100 yards away from the shore, near the reef. Swimming out from the boat and going beneath the surface, I discovered an amazing underwater world I felt privileged to experience. Some coral seemed to stand 10 feet high, teeming with interesting residents—lobster, angel fish, boxfish, flounder, four-eyed butterfly fish, baby tiger grouper, tiger fish, parrot fish and other brightly hued sea creatures.

Later that afternoon, it was time to pack it up and move over to Infinity Bay, a newly minted property on Roatán’s West Bay. The promise of a luxurious restaurant and pampering spa are in the distance (making their debut in 2010), but the infinity pool that pours off into the exquisite ocean view and sports three waterfalls, decidedly posh rooms and very fun tiki bar were ready for vacationers’ delight.

Sumptuous one-, two- and three-bedroom condos feature high thread-count sheets, mahogany furniture, full kitchens with stainless steel appliances and a water cooler, fanned patios with al fresco dining tables, flat-screen televisions, wireless Internet, cable satellite and walk-in showers with rain-like shower heads. But the real charm is Infinity Bay’s devotion to Mother Nature. It’s the island’s greenest resort, with design features to protect the coral reef system that curls Roatán. It should be noted that the barrier reef is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Infinity Bay’s state-of-the-art septic facilities put zero pollutants into the ocean and emit no odors. The resort also installed a reverse osmosis system, making all the tap water throughout the resort and in all its rooms 100 percent potable.

Aside from being bio-sensitive, Infinity Bay is situated on one of the prettiest stretches of beach, framed by picture-perfect palm trees. While we were there, it had not implemented any of its own dive offerings, but the concierge will gladly pair guests up with one of the neighboring resort’s dive excursions, which marries well with the laid-back feel of the island. SP


IF YOU GO


SLEEP

SEE & DO

• 
Zip-line in Gumbalimba Park
West Bay, Roatán, Honduras
gumbalimbapark.homestead.com
• 
Diving, snorkeling, ocean canoeing and horseback riding are offered at Anthony’s Key Resort and Infinity Bay,
• Take a day trip to the Honduran mainland to tour the Copan Mayan ruins, a UNESCO World Heritage site and some of the most historically significant in Central America. 
www.honduras.net/copan

PREPARING FOR YOUR TRIP

• 
IMMUNIZATIONS
Traveling to Central America is certainly riskier than some other parts of the world, and the Center for Disease Control recommends getting Hepatitis A and B shots, along with a tetanus shot.
• MOSQUITOES
Malaria is present on Honduras, but it’s not as prevalent in Roatán, and neither are the mosquitoes. It’s entirely up to you if you want to take malaria pills, but it’s not required.
• 
PASSPORT
A valid U.S. passport is required for entry into Honduras.