Weekend Travel

The Five-Point Weekend Escape Plan

Reef-Dive for Cheap Off Roatan

Explore the world's second-largest reef, off Honduras’s Bay Islands, while it's still affordable, accessible, and relatively uncrowded.

By Melissa Burdick Harmon
Published Mar 19, 2008

1. Where to Stay

(Photo: Courtesy of Mayan Princess Beach Resort)

To make your diving trip as relaxing as possible, choose an affordable beachfront accommodation that does all the diving-excursion legwork for you.

The recently opened Turquoise Bay Dive & Beach Resort (seven-night dive packages from $966) offers modern rooms in beach-facing duplexes and diving packages that include three daily boat dives and one night dive. Novice divers, take a PADI scuba course in the hotel pool or sign up for the Open Water Diver program for an extra $370—certification takes as little as three days. For excellent local fare, the hotel restaurant can't be beat.

For modern comforts, book a villa suite at the Mayan Princess Beach Resort (from $190). Rooms come with air-conditioning, full kitchens, televisions, and separate living rooms, steps from a 250-foot serpentine pool and a long stretch of West Bay Beach. Customize your dives through the on-site Mayan Divers shop.

Anthony’s Key Resort (seven-night dive packages from $799) in Sandy Bay has been an under-the-radar diver's destination for 30 years. Their Scuba School has programs for kids and pros alike and also houses one of the island's only physician-staffed hyperbaric chambers, used to treat divers who get the bends from resurfacing too quickly. Splurge on an all-inclusive diving package, which includes equipment, three boat dives a day, and two night dives. For ocean views, request an overwater bungalow—the trade winds make up for the lack of A/C.

Fun-seekers looking for a deal, stay at the Luna Beach Resort (from $127; dive packages from $1,199). The standard rooms are bare-bones, but the hotel bar is a nightlife hot spot even for locals, and the resort is a ten-minute walk from the bar-and-café-packed West End (the distance is crucial during spring break). Sign up for the seven-night Learn-to-Dive Package; it includes Open Water Certification, equipment rental, and twice-daily meals.