Boat and Snorkeling in West End (Blue Channel, The Aquarium, Turtle Crossing)
Description
Spend part of your vacation on Roatan exploring the world beneath the island during this exciting snorkeling tour of the West End. Your captain will take you out to some of the best snorkeling spots just offshore. Use the captain’s gear and dive to see the second-largest barrier reef on the planet. You can snorkel to a variety of spots including Turtle Crossing, The Aquarium, and Blue Channel Discover the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, one of the world's largest systems -A captain will take you out to a variety of snorkeling spots -Receive full use of the captain's snorkeling equipment -Snorkel at The Aquarium, Blue Channel, and/or Turtle Crossing
Tour Options
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We can pick you up right in front of the cruise port! We'll have a sign that says "Roatan Tour Guide Association" and has our logo on it! Pick-up/Drop-off are included in all of our tours. We will contact you very soon to send you more information! After booking, please check your inbox! If you require pickup past Dixon Cove, your place of stay or hotel is not included. Therefore, you can choose the option "I will select my pickup location later" and we will message you to discuss your pickup. Keep in mind there's an extra fee for pickup past Dixon Cove, depending on where you need pickup from.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Reviews(252)
Mario was our Guide and did an excellent job. He was very upbeat and informative. He was especially good with our five-year-old and seven-year-old first time snorkelers. He was very patient with us senior citizens. If you’re going to choose one or the three sites, I would recommend the aquarium.
Easy as can be snorkeling experience! My girlfriend and I stayed in West End at an Airbnb, and we literally just walked into town and met our guides there on the boat. We hit blue channel, turtle crossing, and a last spot where they fed the fish and had them swim around us. Beni guided us the whole way and was very nice, 10/10 would recommend!
Nice early start time and convenient pick up at Infinity Bay. The first location Turtle Crossing was a dud, with unhealthy and dead coral and almost no fish. We swam a long time there and wish we had not stopped there. We enjoyed the Blue Channel a lot - beautiful spot with depth, good coral and marine life. The third location at the Aquarium had too many boats, and as we’re experienced snorkelers, feeding the fish was only fun for a moment. Swimming away from the boats was better, and we saw some great species, including leopard rays and flounder. It was recommended we not use fins because we would be so close to coral, but fins would have been perfectly fine and nice to swim with. There was plenty of depth, and again, we’re experienced snorkelers and are conservation minded, avoiding contact with coral. Our guide was super nice, but he didn’t point out any species of coral or fish while we were snorkeling. Very unusual on a guided tour. For the price, the boat was a disappointment. A water taxi with benches and a two stroke engine that wreaked of fuel and was likely leaking fuel into the water. The ladder needed another rung, as stepping up that high was challenging. We weren’t offered drinking water or told to bring it. Usually it’s specified in the tour listing or confirmation email. The only confirmation email came from Viator and didn't include any details other than the date, and the link to tickets didn't work. For the price, the short duration was also a disappointment, especially considering the first stop was not good. Overall, a mixed experience.
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience and for highlighting the aspects you enjoyed, especially Blue Channel, the marine life you encountered, and Valentin's friendliness. We genuinely appreciate all feedback, as it helps us continue improving. We're sorry to hear that the tour did not meet your expectations, particularly regarding the boat and your perception of Turtle Crossing. Regarding Turtle Crossing, we respectfully disagree that the reef is "dead." Coral reefs are living ecosystems that naturally go through different stages and can look very different depending on recent weather patterns, sea conditions, currents, and other environmental factors. Turtle Crossing is actually one of our guests' favorite snorkeling locations, and many visitors describe it as a highlight of the tour. Unfortunately, nature changes from day to day, and while we carefully choose our snorkeling sites, we cannot control how the reef will look on any given day. We also wanted to clarify a few points for future guests reading this review. Bringing your own drinking water is, in fact, listed in the tour description under "What's Included/Excluded." We always encourage guests to read the full tour description before booking, as it also explains important details such as the snorkeling time at each site (approximately 30–40 minutes per stop: Read our "What to Expect section"), the type of boat used (look at the photos), and other information that helps set expectations. Regarding snorkeling fins, our policy is also explained in the tour description. We generally do not encourage fins because, over the years, we have unfortunately seen self-described "experienced snorkelers" unintentionally damage coral with them. However, guests who prefer to use fins are welcome to request them in advance, and we are happy to accommodate whenever possible (Read "What to Expect Section"). We did not receive such a request prior to your tour. After speaking with Valentin, he also mentioned that you requested to move on from Turtle Crossing sooner than planned, which we were happy to accommodate. He then extended your time at Blue Channel to well over an hour so you could enjoy the site you preferred most. We always do our best to adapt the tour when possible so guests have the best experience. Regarding the boat, this tour is designed as a snorkeling-focused experience with minimal travel time between sites. We intentionally use a simple local snorkeling boat rather than a luxury vessel in order to keep the tour affordable while maximizing time in the water. We also offer premium snorkeling experiences aboard larger catamarans for guests seeking a more luxurious boat, but naturally those tours are priced considerably higher. The boat used for your private tour is the same one shown in the listing photos, so guests can see exactly what to expect before booking. We would also like to clarify that the boat was not leaking fuel, and we respectfully disagree with that assumption. We're also sorry to hear you would have liked more commentary underwater. Valentin is a knowledgeable and well-liked guide, and after discussing your feedback with him, he explained that he did point out various coral formations and marine life during the tour. He also felt that, from the beginning of the excursion, much of the focus was on disappointment with the size of the boat rather than on the snorkeling itself. While we're sorry if expectations about the vessel affected your enjoyment, we always strive to provide a memorable experience regardless of the boat size. Finally, while we fully respect every guest's opinion, we do feel that a 2-star rating does not reflect the many positive aspects you mentioned, including enjoying Blue Channel, seeing rays, flounder and other marine life, having a friendly guide, receiving private service, and being accommodated when you requested changes to the itinerary. We have been fortunate to earn over 200 five-star reviews from guests who have enjoyed this experience, and while no tour is perfect for everyone, this review is certainly not representative of the experience most of our guests have. Thank you again for your feedback. We truly appreciate you choosing to snorkel with us, and we wish you all the best in your future travels.
10 / 10 highly recommend. Dani was very responsive and informative after the booking and super helpful with instructions leaving the port. Mario, our guide, was super friendly and knowledgeable about the different snorkle areas and the island. It was very easy to find Mario outside of the port exit and the excursion went flawlessly. I want to come back and experience the island and snorkle areas more because of this experience. Book with this crew, you wont be disappointed.
Mario is a wonderful and knowledgeable tour guide! He is very positive and I had a great experience . The snorkeling was amazing and I can’t say enough about the tour guide he made the experience.
Great experience. Super punctual, and Amy and Wilson were friendly and very kind. Dani was attentive the entire time. 100% recommendable.
I really didn’t know what to expect but just chose this tour based on the reviews. It surpassed all of my expectations. Mario picked up my family of four at the port and took us to west end. We got on their boat and had an amazing snorkeling trip. Just us. We followed up with a dinner at a local restaurant and a tour of a chocolate factory. We got back to the ship with plenty of time to spare. Mario was an amazing guide. Better than any of the ship excursions.
Mario and Valentin were great guides. We took the whole family with swimmers of different skill levels and everyone was able to have a great time. Both guides were very knowledgeable and made sure to watch over everyone.
We booked this trip outside of the sponsored excursions from Royal Caribbean when we were there on Cruise outing. The initial experience was daunting due to the amount of people outside the gate at the port, but finding our excursion guide was easy. We took a walk to a car where we took a ride to the West End where we went to a chocolate factory to watch chocolate being made from Honduras chocolate beans. We then went across the street to the coast where we boarded a boat and went to three different snorkeling spots. They were all absolutely beautiful. We saw many different species of fish, rays, turtles, and beautiful reefs. We finished our day by going to a restaurant before returning back to the port. It was a very unique experience that we would definitely do again. Thank you Rovan and Danny.
Every minute we spent with Mario and Amy only got better and better! (Watch for Amy's bright peachy-orange shirt when you look for them at the port). The 3 snorkeling sites are what you need to try to do while you are in Roatan, as it it the home of the second biggest reef on the planet. Mario took me to his many favorite spots on the each part of the reef. My hubby chose to snorkel closer to the boat with Amy. Next time we go with them, I will message them in advance and ask for a full facial snorkel mask for him. Because Mario shares my enthusiam, he helped me swim faster to cover more of the reef and he also taught me to improve my novice deeper dives under the water. His geniune love for this sport is contagious. They will offer to show you some shopping spots, but as we are not shoppers, we chose to spend more time snorkeling and go back to ship at the end. I cannot wait to see the go-pro video they are sending me of the last stop and it should arrive to my email very soon. You will feel their enthusiam and love for their island.
