West Bay Beach

Located on the north coast of the island of Roatan, West Bay Beach – also called Playa West End – is a popular and beautiful 950-meter-long beach with white sand and some large logs.  This beach is located in the Bay Islands Department of Honduras.  Lonely Planet listed this beach as one of the best beaches in Honduras.  In addition, Forbes also listed this beach as one of the best Caribbean beaches in 2020.  TripAdvisor also rated this beach as one of the best beaches in the world as a part of its Travellers’ Choice awards in 2016, and it is also a favorite of Randall Kaplan, the world’s foremost beach expert who is known as Mr. Beach. 

Although West Bay Beach Roatan has lifeguard towers, lifeguard deployment here may not be permanent.  In addition to lifeguards, there are beach clubs and restaurants that offer other amenities including restrooms, changing rooms, showers, watersports equipment rentals, and beach chairs.

West Bay Beach offers many fun activities including sunbathing, beachcombing, fishing, swimming, paddleboarding, boating, snorkeling, water-skiing, wakeboarding, scuba diving, parasailing, jet-skiing, surf-skiing, kayaking, canoeing, and wildlife watching.

The beach is ideal for beginner swimmers, kayakers, paddleboarders, and snorkelers because the clean water here has gentle waves.  In addition, snorkelers and scuba divers also visit this beach to explore its vibrant nearby biodiversity – the southern end of the beach is ideal for snorkeling.  Many local concessions also organize fun glass-bottom boat tours of the reefs near the beach.

If you are planning to swim, kayak, canoe, or paddleboard here, we recommend being careful because the water here is known to have unpredictable rip currents and dangerous waves. 

If you like taking pictures with beautiful views, West Bay Beach offers amazing Instagram-worthy views of the Roatan shoreline and the Caribbean Sea, especially at sunset.

West Bay Beach does not offer wheelchair access to visitors with disabilities.

Getting to West Bay Beach is easy – this beach is easily accessible from a road named West Bay Road.  There are a few free and paid parking lots near the beach, along with a few free street parking spaces.  If you are staying at the local hotels or eating at some of the local restaurants, you can park your car at their parking lot and then walk to the beach.   

If you want to travel by boat, you can also charter a water taxi to the beach from a nearby community named West End Village.  

We recommend visiting West Bay Beach early because this beach can get crowded quickly

This beach hosts a popular freediving competition named the Caribbean Cup.  In addition, there is a reef system near the beach called the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System – this reef system is one of the largest in the world.

There are many great attractions near West Bay Beach within a 20-minute drive.  Gumbalimba Park is a nature park and amusement center home to many animals including white-faced monkeys, iguanas, and macaws.  In addition, it also has a garden, a pool, a beach area, a souvenir shop, a restaurant, and a cave with a museum.  South Shore Adventure is an eco-adventure park with amazing zipline tours – this tour offers amazing views of Roatan’s jungles.  In addition, you can also explore this eco-adventure park through a walking tour that offers a unique insight into the local biodiversity.  Bodden Tours offers a fun Mayan-style jungle zipline canopy tour – in addition, it also offers a monkey and sloth sanctuary, a souvenir shop, ATV tours, snorkel tours, and boat tours.  Roatan Institute for Marine Sciences is an educational facility that has interesting exhibitions on local marine biodiversity and cultural history – this facility also organizes interesting interactive shows with dolphins.  If you are looking for another attraction near the beach, West End Village is a waterfront community that offers many fun bars, restaurants, and shops – this village also hosts many fun events throughout the year and it also offers boat charters.  There is a beach near the village named Half Moon Bay Beach. 

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near West Bay Beach.  Thirsty Turtle Roatan offers a variety of excellent dishes including steaks, seafood, chicken, burger, pizza, and Caribbean-style dishes.  The Beach Club San Simon has an elegant decor and it offers a variety of great dishes including short ribs, lamb, beef tenderloin, steak tartare and soup.  Naboo Restaurant offers a variety of delicious gourmet dishes with International culinary influences including steaks, pasta, seafood, burgers, salads, and quesadillas.  Argentinian Grill Roatan is known for serving excellent steaks and grilled lobster – it also serves pasta, salads, chicken, soup, and pork chops.  If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby restaurant, Totally Taco serves delicious tacos, along with a variety of other dishes including quesadillas and nachos – it also serves great Mexican beverages. 

If you are looking for a hotel near West Bay Beach, there are many great nearby West Bay Beach resorts.  The 4-Star Kimpton Grand Roatan Resort and Spa offers many amenities including multiple restaurants and bars, a fitness center, a spa, an evening social, and rental facilities for watersports equipment.  The 4-Star Henry Morgan Beach Resort West Bay is another upscale hotel that offers many world class amenities including multiple restaurants, a bar, a gym, a pool, a spa, a dive center, a winery, and a boutique spa.  Another upscale hotel is the 4-Star Paradise Beach Hotel that offers many amenities including a dive center, a souvenir store, a gym, massage rooms, an entertainment room, multiple pools, and multiple restaurants.  A more affordable hotel is the 3-Star Mayan Princess Beach & Dive Resort that offers many amenities including multiple restaurants, two pools, a kids’ club, a beach area, spa services, a gift shop, beach chair loaner facilities, a beach club, and multiple bars.  Another great hotel near the beach is Infinity Bay Spa & Beach Resort West Bay.  If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby hotel, the 3-Star Coconut Tree Cabins West Bay offers many amenities including a diving store, a sundries store, and a restaurant.