Roatán Map

Description: This map shows towns, villages, roads, trails, peaks, and airport on Roatán Island.

Description: This map shows streets, roads, beaches, rivers, buildings, airport, parking lots, shops, hotels, and parks in Coxen Hole.

Description: This map shows streets, houses, buildings, cafes, bars, restaurants, hotels, restrooms, shops, churches, and parks in Coxen Hole Town Centre.

Roatán is an island located in the Caribbean Sea, approximately 65 kilometers off the northern coast of Honduras. It is the largest of the Bay Islands (Spanish: Islas de la Bahía), which form a department of Honduras. The island stretches about 77 kilometers in length and reaches up to 8 kilometers in width at its widest point.

Roatán sits directly atop the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the second-largest coral reef system in the world after the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. This geographical position makes the island one of the most significant diving and snorkeling destinations in the Western Hemisphere.

The island's main administrative center is Coxen Hole, also referred to as Roatán Town. Other notable settlements include French Harbour, Oak Ridge, West End, and West Bay. French Harbour functions as the primary commercial and fishing hub of the island.

The pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Bay Islands were the Paya (Pech) people. Christopher Columbus reached the Bay Islands in 1502 during his fourth voyage to the Americas. Following European contact, the islands changed hands multiple times between Spanish and British colonial powers throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. Under the Wyke-Cruz Treaty of 1859, Great Britain formally ceded the Bay Islands to Honduras.

The population of Roatán is ethnically diverse. It includes descendants of Garifuna communities — people of mixed Afro-Caribbean and indigenous Arawak origin — as well as descendants of English-speaking settlers and Spanish-speaking Hondurans from the mainland. As a result, both Spanish and English are widely spoken on the island, with English remaining common among native islanders.

Tourism is the dominant sector of Roatán's economy. The island receives a substantial number of cruise ship passengers annually, with the Port of Coxen Hole serving as the main cruise terminal. Scuba diving, sport fishing, and beach tourism are the primary attractions. Roatán also has a growing community of foreign retirees and expatriates, particularly from North America.

The island is served by Juan Manuel Gálvez International Airport (IATA: RTB), located near Coxen Hole. The airport operates direct flights to several cities in the United States, Canada, and Central America.

Roatán's natural environment includes coral reefs, mangrove forests, and tropical broadleaf vegetation. The surrounding marine ecosystem supports a wide variety of species, including sea turtles, moray eels, whale sharks, and numerous reef fish species. Conservation efforts are ongoing due to pressures from coastal development and tourism.