There is one “highway” that traverses the island. The road more or less follows the high country of the island. The 2 way road passes through many towns and villages as it meanders from the Western point of the island to the Eastern end. Driving on Roatan can be an experience. On the open road where top speeds rarely exceed 40 mph you will encounter major pot holes in the pavement. Many times there will be someone standing in the middle of the road asking for a donation. In return, they may or may not add a shovel full of dirt into the hole. Privatized road repair!

In the cities like Coxen Hole there is a lot of congestion. Traffic seems to flow fairly well and the driving is not too stressful as long as you don’t freak out if cars, trucks and motorbikes honk their horn (or not) and pass on the right or left. There are a lot of taxis on the island so you can expect some “professional” drivers to take a few shortcuts that you may not approve of back home. Like stopping in the middle of the street to talk to another cab going the other direction, effectively blocking the entire street. Overall, driving is not hard or stressful once you get past thinking you know how it should be done based on your country of origin.

The further East you travel from Coxen Hole, the less populated you will find the island. The road gradually rises to a ridge affording spectacular views of the reef. Feeder roads drop down towards the beaches and many communities of the island. Feeder roads can be rough after the rainy season. Most are dirt roads that are not maintained until the rain stops. Once the rain has stopped for a couple weeks, usually around mid February the Municipal starts to get the road graders out to make the roads passable with passenger cars again.