Glass-bottom boat and snorkel trip on the West End reef

Off West End the reef starts close in. About 200 metres out, roughly where the white buoys float, coral sits 10 to 30 feet down before dropping away into a wall, part of the Mesoamerican Reef that runs past four countries. The glass hull shows it to anyone who would rather stay dry, and the snorkel stop puts the rest in the water over it.

All of this lies inside the Bay Islands National Marine Park, patrolled by the Roatán Marine Park, a local nonprofit with its shop in West End. It asks visitors for a voluntary reef fee and gives a bracelet in return. It is also campaigning against sunscreens with oxybenzone, octinoxate and similar chemicals, so bring a reef-safe one. Cruise-ship days crowd the water and the village, and prices along the beach climb with them, so check the cruise schedule.