Roatan has so many fun activities to offer!  Beaches and diving are the most popular ones, but there are lot of great things to do away from the water too.  If you're up for some adventure, you should try an ATV tour.  Even if it's raining, the tours still go, and part of the fun is getting all messed up in the mud :)

ATV Jungle Tours are located just west of Los Fuertes, so about a 30-40 min drive from the hostel (you can take 2 buses, or work out a rate with a taxi, or they can arrange round trip transfers for $10).  They also do buggy tours.  There are lockers to store your things while you're out on your tour, as well as showers, bathrooms, and drinks for sale.  I'd recommend packing a change of clothes- we didn't realize how dirty we were going to get!

I'd never been on an ATV before, so I wasn't sure what to expect.   Being a mom of 2 boys has meant that I've tried a lot of stuff that I wouldn't normally have chosen on my own, and going on ATVs was no exception- Auri had been super excited to try it, so we headed out on this adventure together.  

When we arrived, we got kitted out with bandanas to cover our hair, helmets and goggles (we didn't bother to wear the googles on the ride- Auri got pretty splashed up as he was more adventurous than me, so he probably should have put his down over his eyes).  We went with 2 guides, who went through the basics of how to use the ATVs, and then we were off!

The trails go through a hilly, jungle part of the island, with lots of mud puddles (at least during rainy season!).  Soon my feet and legs were caked in mud.  Auri was pretty much covered in mud from head to tow!  The ATVs were pretty easy to drive, other than a little tricky sometimes to steer (I ran off into the bush once, so did Auri).  I just kept to the course- Auri said he looked back, and I had a look of intense concentration :)   Auri was loving it, doing donut holes and picking up some serious speed.  

The final verdict?  If you're looking for some action adventure and feeling like a kid again, ATV tours are just the thing!  Even for wimps like me, ATVing can be pretty fun, though if I'm going to do something with mud, a mud wrap and a massage at a spa are more my style :)  

There have been a few new activities that have started up in the last few years, so I thought it was about time to update my list of activities that I send out to guests to include any options that might be interesting.  I prefer to visit a place and see what it's like before suggesting it to anyone, so today I went to check out Manawakie Park.  I recruited  Sylvia to come visit with me.

Manawakie Park (named with the island pronounciation for Man of War Cay, the area near where they're located) is on the island that runs along the north side of the island between Sandy Bay and French Harbour, also known as Mud Hole road. They're open from Mon through Saturday, from 7am to 4pm, and the cost is $35 per person ($18.40 for kids 5-11).  They offer free transportation as long as there are at least 2 people.

Their super friendly staff is headed up by William.  The park offers guided tours through different sections- old school building styles, bush medicine, island history, all with lots of local knowledge provided, as well as an animal section that has macaws, monkeys and sloths.  There's a snack shop and a gift shop on property, and a professional photographer if you'd like to purchase any photos of your experience.

The monkeys are hilarious.  The guide warned us that they're pickpockets, to make sure to take anything out of our pockets, take off sunglasses, leave our purses behind before going in the monkey cage.  I thought I had followed the instructions, but in 2 seconds I realized that I had left a 20 lempira note in my pocket, because that was all the time that it took for Poncho to get over to me and rob me!  He quickly scurried away with his ill-gotten gains, and stubbornly refused to return the money, preferring to rip it to shreds.  The monkeys are also a little cheeky, they stuck their heads down both of our shirts to check out what was down there.

For me, the best part of the tour was hearing our guide explain about how various plants and trees are used medicinally.  I've been on the island for 23 years, and have learned a bit about bush medicine, but I learned some new stuff today.  Did you know that you can boil the leaves from a lemon tree and breathe in the vapour to help with headaches?  I have a little lemon tree growing in our yard, I know what I'm going to try next time, instead of reaching for a bottle of tylenol :)  

It's been a year since the pandemic started, and coming up to a year that I haven't been down to the wonderful island that is normally my home, and to my hostel that fills me with such joy.  I've been up in Canada working another job in order to keep us afloat, and the travel restrictions that Canada imposes makes it pretty much impossible to pop down for a quick visit to check in on things.  I feel very grateful that I have such wonderful staff keeping things maintained and taken care of, but boy, do I ever feel homesick!  I've booked several tickets on flights back down, that were all cancelled, so I'm biding my time, and hoping it will be this summer.
What is it like to have a tourism-based business during a pandemic?  Well, as you can imagine, it's a year of challenges.  The country was completely shut down with borders shut from mid-March 2020 until the end of August.  Once the borders opened, businesses were given an extensive list of biosecurity protocols to follow.  There were several months of no bookings, and now is still a small trickle, not enough to cover our expenses, even with our employees working part-time.  It's our 10 year anniversary this month, but I'm not there to celebrate.  We will weather this storm, even though it's given us a beating.  We look forward to better days ahead when travel becomes easier again, to welcoming back return guests, and to meeting new guests.  I'm so looking forward to hanging out on the front porch with a mix of people of all generations from all over the world!  And the pool, definitely looking forward to being back at our wonderful pool, basking in the warm Caribbean sunshine.

Don't forget about our magical little spot!  Put us on your calendar as soon as you're able to come down for a visit!  

Honduras opened its air borders for international flights near the end of August, and its land borders in October.  International arrivals must have gotten a negative Covid test taken within 72 hours prior of their arrival (test must say 'negative'- if it says 'not detected', you'll be denied boarding), as well as completing an on-line precheck-in form.  
The government sent out a lengthy document of all the protocols that need to be followed by businesses, including temperature reading of all guests on arrival, as well as daily temperature taking of staff, hand sanitizing stations, mask wearing, physical distancing markers, and cleaning and sanitizing protocols for accommodations.  
Unfortunately, flights from various airlines have been changed and cancelled, which makes the logistics of trip planning pretty difficult.  All the Canadian airlines that normally have direct flights to Roatan during the winter months cancelled their flights, and the two week quarantine that Canadians need to do when returning to Canada creates some pretty big obstacles.
If you have a month or more to come down, it makes it easier to work around the various obstacles.  Roatan is a beautiful spot to spend the winter, and the island is sorely in need of some tourism.  The hostel has economical rates- the longer you stay, the better rates we can work out for you, so just send us a message and let us know your plans.  

I think it would be hard to be in the world right now and not have felt some kind of impact from the Corona pandemic.  Countries around the world are imposing restrictions to halt the spread and protect the health of their residents.  In Honduras, there is a complete shutdown of travel in and out (air and sea) with the exception of a few planned Canadian flights that will be coming empty to take Canadians from Roatan back to Toronto and to Montreal.  The governor is working hard to coordinate with anyone who isn't on one of these flights, to arrange other flights to pick up foreigners who are trying to get back to their home country.  We don't yet have any reported cases of Corona on the island, but as it can take awhile for symptoms to present, there is a shut down of all non-essential businesses (so only supermarkets, banks, hospitals, gas stations hotels/hostels and restaurants for take out are allowed to be open), a curfew has been imposed and people are encouraged to stay in their homes/hotels and not travel around the island unless they're going for groceries or something essential.
How does this affect me as a business?  Well, I'm not empty yet- there are guests here that had planned to leave that can't, and others that were going to be here for a long stay that are still here.  

Planning to visit our beautiful island?  If you're going to be flying in, our Roatan airport, Juan Manuel Galvez International Airport, RTB as the letters to represent it, has domestic as well as international flights.
For Canadians (and Americans who might find it worthwhile to cross the border for their flight), in the winter months, there are direct flights offered from both Toronto and Montreal.  Canadian airlines that offer flights to Roatan are the charter companies Air Transat and Sunwing (though they promote packages, it's also possible to just book the flight, Mon and Thurs flights only), and now West Jet is also starting to fly to Roatan for high season, on Sundays.  You can sometimes find excellent deals.  I find the Skyscanner site is a good way to search for best pricing- instead of plugging in specific dates, you can opt to search for through by month, which will come up with all the different pricing options.  Travelers coming from the west side of Canada might find it more advantageous to fly with West Jet through Belize, catching a TropicAir flight from Belize straight to Roatan, or a red-eye with Avianca through El Salvador, then getting the direct flight from El Salvador to Roatan.
From the States, there are direct flights with Delta (from Atlanta) on Saturdays, United (through Houston) several days of the week, and American from both Dallas and Miami on select days.  
If you're not finding good enough pricing, another option is to look for flights to San Pedro Sula.  There are more airlines that fly to San Pedro Sula, including Spirit from Houston and from Fort Lauderdale, so sometimes it can work out cheaper going that route.  You'll need to factor in the cost/time to get to Roatan from San Pedro Sula, to make sure it's worth your while.  The domestic flights between these 2 spots takes about 40 minutes and costs around $115 each way (sometimes you can find one a bit cheaper), with CM usually being the most reliable, and SOSA and Avianca also offering options.   If you'd rather take a bus to La Ceiba (3 1/2 hrs, $5-20 depending on the bus) and then catch the ferry from there (1 1/2 hrs, around $33), it does save you some money, but ties up quite a bit of time.  Lanhsa also offers flights from La Ceiba that are almost the same cost as the ferry, if you wanted to bus and then fly from there.
Traveling through Central America and want to come over?  Direct flights from Belize are daily with Tropic Air, and from El Salvador with Avianca.  If you'd rather bus/boat your way, for ferries, there are 2 ferry companies.  The Utila Dream has a daily ferry from the neighbouring island of Utila to Roatan (as well as ferries between Utila and La Ceiba), and the Galaxy Wave has twice-daily trips from la Ceiba to Roatan.  There are no regularly scheduled boats or ferries between Belize and Roatan, though sometimes private boats make the trip.
​Need some help?  Send us a message and tell us what you're looking for, and we'll see if we can help you with finding the best route.

Why would anyone be traveling with a pet?  Actually, it isn't as uncommon as you might think.  I've had several hostel guests stay with their pet.  Maybe they've adopted a dog along their travels, or the hostel is a temporary home while they look for a more permanent place to live on the island.  We also have guests that have been living on the neighbouring island of Utila, and are flying back to their country through the Roatan airport.  Whatever reason you might have a furry friend along with you, Roatan Backpackers' Hostel does allow pets in certain accommodations.  There's a deposit that is fully refundable provided your pet hasn't gotten on the furniture or caused any damage.  Not all accommodations allow for pets (in consideration to other hostel guests that might have allergies or aversions, we don't allow pets in any rooms with shared facilities, so no pets in dorms or rooms that share bathrooms, and then door from the room must immediately exit to the outside, not to a hallway).  If you are leaving your pet in the room when you're not there, you'll want to provide us with a way to contact you, in case your pet hasn't adjusted well and is causing a disturbance. You'll be responsible for cleaning up after your pet. There's a great spot to walk dogs along the beach just a few minutes from the hostel, if you'd like 
We have several of our own outdoor pets, so it'll be your responsibility to make it a smooth transition. 

If you've had to leave your pets at home for logistical reasons, you are welcome to shower your love on our dogs!

Lately it seems like there are new gas stations popping up everywhere.  Petrosun is the main one- there are Petrosun gas stations in West End, Flowers Bay, Coxen Hole, just after Los Fuertes and at French Harbour, and now a new one has opened up across from the airport.  BIP used to only have 1 location, just west of Los Fuertes, but they've now opened a new station with huge store, near where the new municipallity building is being constructed. 
Gas stations aren't just for gas.  They all have a store with them, not only serving the basic convenience store kind of items, but also serving meals.  All the Petrosuns have great baleadas, tortillas made fresh right behind the counter, as well as serving pastelitos, sometimes soup (their conch soup is great!), and other plates of food.  Some of the Petrosun stores also now have an E-Coffee, Blimpies subs, and Pizza Inn pizza, as well as a wide selection of drinks, and big beer cave (my kids like to see how long they last standing inside it in the cold).  The new BIP store has hot dog machines, extensive fridge section with alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, and Dunkin' Donuts, though the donut shelves were empty when we stopped by to take a look (apparently they receive them every day at noon).  Another BIP station is breaking ground in Sandy Bay.

April 12th is a celebration called Settlement Day in the Garifuna community of Punta Gorda, Roatan.  The date marks the occasion when the Garifuna people first landed on Roatan, after being exiled from St. Vincent (for more on the history of Garifuna, see this article: https://roatan.online/roatan-garifuna-people ).  The day's celebration includes a reinactment of the boats landing, a parade and partying into the wee hours of the morning.