Maya Key Roatan (The Best Honduras Excursion For Families)
Are you thinking about booking the Maya Key Roatan shore excursion? Wondering what there is to do on this Honduras island key?
You are in the right spot! We recently spent a day on this amazing private island retreat. I’m so excited to share with you some of the awesome things to do on Maya Key Honduras and why this cruise excursion is worth booking!
In this post, we are going to list the top things to do on a Maya Key excursion from snorkeling at the amazing reef to experiencing a Maya Key animal encounter. We will even tell you all about the Mayan key experience with ancient ruins and museums.
This Maya Key private island retreat is awesome!
Let’s explore all of the fun things to do at the Maya Key Roatan Resort.
If you want to save this information for later be sure to pin this to Pinterest.
This post may contain affiliate links (Including Amazon) that will give me a commission at no additional charge to you.
How Do I Get to Maya Key Roatan?
Once you book your Honduras excursion to Maya Key you will be given instructions on where to go for the boat that will transport you to Maya Key.
First, I need to tell you there are two ports in Roatan. Maya Key is very close to Town Centre Port of Roatan. All cruise lines except Princess, Carnival, and Holland America will be at Town Centre Roatan Port.
If you are planning a cruise on a cruise line other than those 3 mentioned above you will be very close to Maya Key.
If you book through the cruise you will meet your boat transport immediately as you exit your ship. If you book through the resort you will have to find a water taxi at the port.
If you prefer to have a guide you should book a guided Maya Key adventure. (This adventure does not include lunch.) There is another full-day Roatan adventure that includes snorkeling at Maya Key as well.
I highly recommend booking a Maya Key Roatan cruise shore excursion.
Things to Do on Maya Key Honduras
Once you arrive at Maya Key you can do a number of things. If you want to hit the beach first or if you would rather walk around Maya Key to check out what it has to offer, it is up to you.
One thing we noticed when we arrived was that Anthony Key was written on the boats and other areas on the island. I think they did a re-brand to Maya Key a few years ago. So if you do see that on the transport boat or somewhere else don’t be nervous, you are in the right spot.
Now for the fun part, let’s explore everything on Maya Key private island retreat.
Someone told me before we went to Honduras that the snorkeling was some of the best in the entire Caribbean. Wow, they were right!
I can’t even describe how amazing the snorkeling at Maya Key was. There is a long bridge that leads out to the coral reef. You can walk out and enter the water and be at the coral reef.
Renting Equipment
We brought our own snorkel gear and did not need to rent any. Rentals are available if you need it. I recommend purchasing it ahead of time and bringing it with you on your cruise excursions.
It costs around $30 to rent everything you will need. Although we had our own equipment we did have to rent a required life vest for about $6.
Snorkel at Maya Key
The coral reef in Honduras is part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef which is the longest reef in the Western Hemisphere. It runs 600 – 700 miles from the Yucatan Mexico area which includes, Costa Maya, Cozumel, and Cancun down to Honduras.
It is one of the best areas of the barrier reef because it is easier to access in Honduras. You do not have to take a boat, you can walk right out to it and start exploring the underwater paradise.
My Experience at Costa Maya Honduras
I have never seen anything while snorkeling that was this amazing! It was unbelievable. It was better than Hawaii, better the Mexico, better than Florida. Seriously, Unbelievable!
The coral was huge a there were hundreds of fish and creatures all around. I am a pretty strong swimmer, so I ventured out pretty far. It was amazing!
You could snorkel all day and not get bored. Maya Key has a fantastic snorkeling area for sure.
2. Animal Sanctuary
Right when I got on the island I was so excited to see all of the exotic animals.
There are birds like macaws, toucans, and parrots. There are also monkeys, jaguars, and even crocodiles. There are sea lions and other animals. A lot of the animals at Maya Key are rescue animals.
Animal Encounter Tours
There are tours given but you can also just walk around and check them out. I just walked around and did a self-guided tour. If you do have a guide they will tell you how each animal ended up on Maya Key.
3. Mayan Key Ruins
Routan has the famous Mayan ruins of Copan, and Maya Key has a replica of these ruins. This is the Mayan key experience.
You can walk up on the replica of the Mayan Plaza and tour the Mayan Ball Court. There is also a Mayan Interpretation Center and an Ethnic Honduran Art Center.
I walked all around the replica and enjoyed the museums. There are really cool artifacts to check out.
4. Resort Pool
My son does not love the sand, and salt water of the beach. He prefers a nice pool. Maya Key was perfect for him because there is a nice pool where you can relax.
We swam for a long time. He had a great time. The pool has two parts. There is a shallow area and an area that is a little deeper.
There are also beach chairs all around the pool so this is a great place to relax and read a book!
5. Lunch Buffet
If you book your Maya Key Roatan excursion through the cruise line, it will include lunch.
We took advantage of this meal and loved it. It was really good. I loved that it gave us a chance to try some new foods. The chicken was awesome!
Maya Key Lunch Tip
The best way to go through the buffet is to load your plate up. It is not an all-you-can-eat buffet. So you basically get one trip. I don’t usually load my plate so I didn’t get a ton because I thought I could go back if I liked it. Not So!
Go ahead and get what you want the first time!
6. Relax on the Beach
There is a nice little beach on Maya Key. There are beach chairs all around.
You can walk right from the beach to the ocean. In the ocean, there are water toys that you can climb on and enjoy.
If you want ultimate relaxation this is the area you will want to enjoy. There were lots of families enjoying a swim and building sand castles.
8. Maya Key Gift Shop
I love getting souvenirs while visiting fun destinations. The Maya Key gift shop is full of fun items. You can get Mayan ruins or just a plain T-shirt. There are lots of options.
There are a few specialty items at the gift shop. The Lenca pottery and the Junco Baskets are favorites. The Lenca pottery is black and white and dates back to pre-Columbian times. The Junco Baskets are made in Honduras from the indigenous Junco reed.
Located inside of the gift shop is where you will find the equipment rental facility as well as locker rooms with showers.
Are you Ready to Book Maya Key Roatan Resort?
Maya Key Roatan Private Island Resort was awesome! I highly recommend it! The snorkeling was out of this world! The food was wonderful and the animals were awesome to see!
If you have a Honduras cruise stop this Maya Key excursion is a great option on Roatan! Have so much fun!
Cruise
We love to cruise. We have been on the Oasis of the Seas and the Allure of the Seas. Both are awesome cruisers for first-timers. When we went to Maya Key Roatan we left out of Galveston and hit Roatan, Cozumel, and Costa Maya. It was an awesome cruise.
Facebook Group
If you have any questions be sure to join my Planningaway Travel Community on Facebook. This is a place where I post travel deals, and you can ask any questions about your upcoming trips!
the Maya Key Roatan resort looks like such an ideal and relaxing place to visit! I would love to go snorkeling in those crystalline waters!
The snorkeling was amazing!
I love your description of how awesome the snorkeling is at Maya Key Roatan Resort. I would visit just for that. But the animal sanctuary also looks wonderful.
It was a great excursion!
Maya Key Roatan sounds and looks like the perfect shore excursion! And would definitely want to check out the snorkeling!
The snorkeling was unbelievable!
Maya Key Roatan excursions all look amazing! I’d enjoy all of them. Excellent tip about the buffet lunch. I wouldn’t know to load my plate up!
I know right! I always like to start small!
These look like exciting excursions for Maya Key Roatan! I would love to see the animal sanctuary!
So many cool things to see!
Are travel deals for families really worth it, or are they just a way for companies to make money off of families looking for budget-friendly vacations?”,
“refusal
I love to compare prices. I always look at the company’s website first and then I compare prices on Priceline, Booking, and so on. If you want to find the best deal it takes a little bit of research and checking all the travel sites is where I always start. I have found amazing deals on Priceline for hotels. On our first trip to Europe (2008) we used their we pick for you option and ended up staying in Marriott and Hilton for less than $50 a night!