• 1. Where to Stay
• 2. Where to Eat
• 3. What to Do
• 4. Insider’s Tip
• 5. An Oddball Day

The recently opened Udurau at the Turquoise Bay Dive & Beach Resort has elevated Roatan's level of dining with an eclectic wine list and a wait staff trained in European service. Fish is still the main draw. Order the perfectly seasoned grouper in shrimp sauce.

(Photo: Courtesy of Anthony’s Key Resort)

For island-style fare, head to B.J.’s Backyard (no phone) in the tiny fishing village of Oak Ridge. The open-air, overwater fish shack serves fresh shrimp and bread pudding soaked in rum sauce, mostly to fishermen docked nearby. When sated, rent a dory from B.J.'s docks and row through the neighboring Jonesville mangrove canals. You can row as far as Caribe Point, about an hour round trip.

Dive the perfect beginner's spot with Sueno del Mar Dive Center (800-298-9009), voted best on Roatan by Scuba Diving magazine. It's located on the island’s touristy West End, and skilled instructors will take you fifteen minutes to the novice dive site—the water is 80 degrees, the current is almost nonexistent, and underwater visibility is at 100 feet.

For prime reef diving, head to Mary's Place, where parrotfish, king crab, and hawksbill turtles are abundant. Here, the reef wall is broken in spots, exposing a maze covered in rope-and-tube sponges as well as graceful pink, purple, and yellow sea fans. Book through Subway Watersports, a National Geographic dive center. They have locations at Turquoise Bay Resort and Palmetto Plantation Resort.

Published on Mar 19, 2008 as a web exclusive.