ROATAN, HONDURAS  The Bay Islands of Honduras offer a very different world from that of mainland Honduras. The Islands history, which includes many disputes between the Spaniards and the British during colonial times, with the British actually controlling the islands most of time, has given the islands a unique heritage. There are several islands within the department, with three larger ones being the most popular with tourists: Utila, Roatan and Guanaja. English is so widely spoken in the Islands, that some people don't even speak Spanish, despite the fact that this is the official language of Honduras!
Getting to the islands is an easy task these days: Isleña Airlines, Sosa Airlines and Atlantic Airlines all have service to all three major islands on a regular basis, in addition, Roatan has ferry service provided on the M.V. Galaxy Wave, and Utila also has service provided by the Utila Princess Ferry, both of these from La Ceiba. For schedules you can check our section in the transportation section at the front of this guide.
Of the three islands, the largest, and most developed for tourism is Roatan. Roatan is a long island, measuring almost 40 miles in length and with a total landmass of 49 Square miles. The island has a mountainous backbone and is totally Since the 1960s, Roatán has been a hub for scuba divers attracted to its well-preserved barrier reef, the world's second largest.
The main tourist drag is a sand road lined with coconut trees and hand-painted signs touting $2 beers. Backpackers in flip-flops and scuba divers still wearing wet suits wander between dive shops, colorful souvenir stalls and fruit stands. Restaurants with thatched roofs are cooled by ceiling fans, and a seafood dinner can be had for $10.
 Though most Americans have never heard of Roatán, the place is well on its way to becoming the region's next "it" spot. Cruise companies, airlines and foreign real-estate investors are moving in, bringing new construction projects -- and potentially hundreds of thousands of tourists -- with them.
Royal Caribbean just inked a deal to build a $30 million extension to the island's cruise terminal, while Carnival is spending $50 million on its own port of call, which it says can handle as many as 7,000 passengers daily when it opens in 2009. Following the lead of other Caribbean islands, Roatán will become a duty-free zone next month -- a huge draw for hotel developers. Last winter, Continental launched a nonstop flight from Newark, N.J., cutting a 10-hour-plus trip with several connections to about five hours.
For now, Roatán remains a throwback. There are no major chain hotels. Most resorts have two dozen rooms or fewer, and many are locally owned. Stay on the island more than a few days and you'll probably start to recognize visitors and locals alike relaxing at a beachside bar around 6 p.m., drinking frozen Monkey La Las, a blend of ice cream, coconut cream, a dash or Kahlua and usually vodka.
 But the scenery is in many ways similar to other Caribbean islands, with white-sand beaches, turquoise water and hammocks strung between palm trees. There are densely forested parts of the island, too, and rolling hills covered in palm and fig trees. At Gumbalimba Park, you can take jungle canopy tours and explore pirate caves.
Colorful houses are perched on stilts, with lines of laundry hung underneath. Locals are a mixture of black Caribbeans; a growing number of American, Canadian and European expats; and Spanish-speaking Hondurans from the mainland who have moved to the island looking for higher-paying work. Still, much of the population here lives in poverty, with the average monthly wage about $185.
The island's diversity comes from its colorful past. The first permanent settlers were the Paya Indians. Then, during the 1700s, pirates controlled the island, followed later by Carib-African Indians, or Garifuna, from St. Vincent. In the 1800s, freed black slaves came from the Cayman Islands. The descendants of each group populate the island today, and most locals speak English, as well as Spanish. Roatán and the other Bay Islands officially became a part of Honduras in 1859.
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