Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion.
The Bay Islands offer visitors lodging options from nearly every point on the pricing scale and can accommodate guests for stays as short as one night or as long as a year. Rooms range from neat and rustic diving hotels to astoundingly luxurious beachfront villas, satisfying budgets of all levels. Prices elevate slightly during the high season, typically from January to June, with rates peaking around Christmas and Holy Week. September is considered the best month to visit, as it narrowly misses both the high season and rainy season.
Roatán is bursting with all-inclusive resorts, many of which feature dive schools, spas, condos, and family-oriented activities. The HM Resorts brand manages seven hotels and resorts. West Bay is home to most of these properties, although Parrot Tree Plantation, Fantasy Island, and Turquoise Bay are located toward the island's center. Dive hotels and bed-and-breakfasts are concentrated in West End, whose one-mile beachfront strip of restaurants, bars, and nightlife attracts Roatán's younger crowd. Sandy Bay has boutique hotels, bed and breakfasts, cabins, and Anthony's Key Resort. Outside of the western end of the island and select resort spots, however, you'll only find hospedajes (small, very basic hotels) or local motels.
Utila Town, on the island's southeast end, is home to a slew of dive resorts and charming beachfront hotels. Lodging at most dive schools is open to everyone, but divers are given priority if space becomes tight. If you're a light sleeper, opt for a place just outside the town center; a 15-minute walk from the heart of the action can buffer nearly all of the sound of barhoppers at night. Further south are the gorgeous campuses of Laguna Beach Resort and Utopia Dive Village. Larger-than-life mansions on the northeast end are secluded and face the open turquoise waters. Some houses are private, but others are rentals ideal for groups of five or more.
Lodging is limited in Guanaja. Only a few all-inclusive dive resorts remain after competitors shuttered up following damage inflicted by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. Bonacca has a couple of budget motels with basic accommodations. Graham's Place, on a private key just off the main island, is hands down the most well suited place for tourists in Guanaja. If you've got a little extra to spend, the Villa at Dunbar Rock offers private luxury combined with some of the most pristine diving in Guanaja.
This clean and comfortable lodging is the go-to lodging destination for most backpackers visiting the area. In an idyllic setting on Half Moon Bay, it consists of dorms and a cluster of cabins with shared baths. If you want more privacy, there are larger cabins with private baths. Native Sons Dive Center is located here as well, so it's a popular choice among divers staying in the area.
This budget hotel is a solid option for low-key travelers. The rooms are simple and clean, and some have private patios facing the sea. The hotel's restaurant and bar offers traditional seafood and Honduran dishes.
Cabins painted pale blue with peach terrace railings add pleasant touches to this waterfront lodging on stilts. The budget hotel is a comfortable substitute for the dive resorts and hostels that occupy the main town's shoreline. The sandy campus is nestled between popular beachfront bars.
The name of this East End community project means "the beach's edge" in Garífuna, and true to its name, two cabins in the middle of town face glittering waters and neighboring cays. Each cabin is equipped with a shared bathroom, three bunk beds, one double, and a single. Fans and electrical outlets are charged by solar panels. The restaurant out front serves traditional fare like fried fish and rice and beans. Stays can be arranged through Honduras Tourist Options or with the hotel directly.
A good budget option is this simple, no-frills wood lodge with a coral beach facing the harbor that is perfect for sunning. The hotel is a close enough walk to the bars and restaurants without being subjected to the late night noise.
