| Page Views: 34,776 Last Visit to Isla de Roatán: March, 2007 | Isla de Roatan, Honduras by Stephen-KarenConn - last update: Jun 17, 2007 |
Roatán is the largest of the beautiful Bay Islands, located off the Caribbean coast of Central America. It is approximately 60 kilometres long, and less than 8 kilometres wide at its widest point, lying between the lesser known islands of Utila and Guaraja. |
| The Methodist Church at Coxen Hole, Roatan |
|  | The capital and most populated town is Coxen Hole, located in the Southwest of the island. There is an airport and a dock for cruise ships here. Other important towns - all of them small - include French Harbour, West End, and Oak Ridge.
Roatan is especially popular with divers, being near the second largest barrier reef in the world, after Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Modern conveniences such as electricity and paved roads did not come to Roatan until the last few years of the 20th century and it is much less developed than most other Caribbean destinations. However, tourism is now growing rapidly and in the past decade it has replaced fishing as Roatan's most important economic sector. |
The first modern population on Roatan came the the island from the British Caribbean. As a holdover of that history, most islanders today speak English, although Spanish is the official language of Honduras and is spoken on the mainland.
On his fourth voyage to the new world (1502-1504) Christopher Columbus came to the Bay islands, visiting the neighboring Island of Guanaja. Soon afterwards the Spanish began using the Islands for purposes of slave raiding, and no original Native American communities survived. | | |
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Stephen-KarenConn's Isla de Roatán Travel Tips
 Comments for Stephen-KarenConn about Isla de Roatán | | | | |
sourbugger Sat May 3, 2008 23:37 UTC
ah-ha, jim 'me lad, pirate country ! where's roger the captain's lad ? | starship Mon Feb 4, 2008 14:31 UTC
Great page! Great tips! You really covered a lot of the island, and your pictures are wonderful. I'm also a cashew lover! I saw them growing in Trinidad once. Thanks for visiting my Roatan pages too!! | angiebabe Sat Jan 26, 2008 09:45 UTC
youve managed to make a really interesting page of a place Id probably never go to but have enjoyed the opportunity to have a tour!and Ive never seen cashews growing on a tree either!thanks a lot! | freddie18 Sun Jul 15, 2007 23:04 UTC
I tour a country not only for the scenery but also want to meet local people and new friends. I like simple places like Isla de Roatan. It is beautiful. Thanks for sharing. |
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