What's on in Roatán, Honduras through the year

Peak crowds — Cruise season, Christmas and New Year

• Rule

  Marine park fee for divers

  1 Jan – 31 DecBook early

  Every diver and snorkeller pays the Roatan Marine Park an annual fee, collected by the shops as a wristband. It is what pays for the mooring buoys and the patrol boat, and the shops check for it. Source ↗

Still on: Norte fronts (15 Oct – 28 Feb (usually)), Cruise season (15 Nov – 30 Apr (usually)), Christmas and New Year (20 Dec – 5 Jan)

Busy — Cruise season

• Nature

  Whale sharks in the Bay Islands

  20 Feb – 30 Apr · usuallyDive season

  The reliable encounters are off Utila, an hour west by boat, where the shelf drops into deep water and the boils bring plankton up. Roatan gets occasional sightings on the north shore; late February to April is the run.

Still on: Marine park fee for divers (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Norte fronts (15 Oct – 28 Feb (usually)), Cruise season (15 Nov – 30 Apr (usually))

Peak crowds — Semana Santa, Cruise season

• Season

  Dry season on the reef

  1 Mar – 31 Aug

  March through August is the settled half: the wind drops, the north-shore walls hold their visibility, and boats run every morning. August is the hot, still end of it, when the surface goes glassy.

• Holiday

  Semana Santa

  29 Mar – 5 AprEaster & Holy WeekCrowdedBook earlyClosures

  The mainland takes the whole week and comes over. West End books out, the ferry from La Ceiba sells out days ahead, and plenty of businesses shut from Thursday to Sunday. Source ↗

Still on: Marine park fee for divers (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Whale sharks in the Bay Islands (20 Feb – 30 Apr (usually)), Cruise season (15 Nov – 30 Apr (usually))

Peak crowds — Semana Santa, Cruise season

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Marine park fee for divers (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Whale sharks in the Bay Islands (20 Feb – 30 Apr (usually)), Dry season on the reef (1 Mar – 31 Aug), Semana Santa (29 Mar – 5 Apr), Cruise season (15 Nov – 30 Apr (usually))

Peak crowds — travelers describe it as peak season

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Marine park fee for divers (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Dry season on the reef (1 Mar – 31 Aug)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Hazard

  Hurricane season

  1 Jun – 30 Nov

  The island sits west of the main Caribbean track and direct hits are generational here, Mitch in 1998 being the one everyone names. The season still brings the wettest weeks and the loosest change policies. Source ↗

Still on: Marine park fee for divers (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Dry season on the reef (1 Mar – 31 Aug)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Marine park fee for divers (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Dry season on the reef (1 Mar – 31 Aug), Hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Nature

  Coral spawning nights

  20 Aug – 25 Sep · usuallyDive season

  The reef spawns on the nights after the late-summer full moons and the shops run boats out at nine or ten. A slow, strange dive in the dark rather than a spectacle, and the timing slips by days. Source ↗

Still on: Marine park fee for divers (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Dry season on the reef (1 Mar – 31 Aug), Hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Busy — Honduran Independence Day, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Honduran Independence Day

  14–16 SepNational holidayClosuresCrowded

  Schools parade on the 15th and the islands take the day with them: banks and offices shut, the ferry runs a holiday timetable, and the mainland comes over for the long weekend. Source ↗

Still on: Marine park fee for divers (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov), Coral spawning nights (20 Aug – 25 Sep (usually))

Quiet — one of its worst months for weather

• Season

  Norte fronts

  15 Oct – 28 Feb · usuallyWind seasonRiskClosures

  Cold fronts sliding off the North American mainland reach the island every few weeks through the winter, giving two or three days of wind and chop that shut the north-shore dive sites and push the boats round to the south side.

Still on: Marine park fee for divers (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Busy — Cruise season

• Season

  Cruise season

  15 Nov – 30 Apr · usuallyCrowded

  Two terminals, at Coxen Hole and Mahogany Bay, and on a four-ship morning West Bay beach is a different place entirely. The schedules are published months ahead and worth reading before you pick your days.

Still on: Marine park fee for divers (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov), Norte fronts (15 Oct – 28 Feb (usually))

Peak crowds — Cruise season, Christmas and New Year

• Holiday

  Christmas and New Year

  20 Dec – 5 JanChristmas & New YearCrowdedBook early

  Honduran families and returning islanders arrive together, and the dive shops run their fullest boats of the year. December often behaves like the dry season despite the calendar, which is why the fortnight sells out. Source ↗

Still on: Marine park fee for divers (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Norte fronts (15 Oct – 28 Feb (usually)), Cruise season (15 Nov – 30 Apr (usually))