About Guanaja
Guanaja Island Details
Guanaja is the most mountainous, greenest, wildest, and least populated of the 3 main Honduran Bay Islands. It sits about 10 miles off the east tip of Roatan, but it seems much farther because almost all the Roatan development and population is an additional 40 miles away on it’s west end.
Guanaja is about 11 miles long and 2-3 miles wide. There is one road on the island that goes a whopping 2 miles from Savannah Bight on the east side to Mangrove Bight on the west. All other transportation is by boat. Toward the middle of the island is a canal that cuts through the island that allows shallow draft boats to traverse from one side to the other. The island has a small airport next to the canal.
There are few places left in the Caribbean that offer spectacular diving without crowds. When we dive, we almost always have the site to ourselves.
Approximately 11,000 people live on Guanaja, with the majority being on a small Cay on the east side called Bonacca, or Low Cay by the islanders. It is at Low Cay where most of the island commerce happens. It is a funky place with walkways and canals, making one think of a very small, scrunched-up Venice.
The main industry of Guanaja is still fishing. Because of that, it can be challenging finding “American” or “tourist” items in the stores and shops since there just aren’t enough tourists or expats to make it worth the store’s efforts.
Guanaja, like all the Bay Islands, spent quite some time under British rule and the island was mostly populated by pirates, cutthroats, and African slaves. This all gives the island a look and feel of many other Caribbean islands with their unique form of English being spoken, although this is somewhat changing by the influx of Spanish-speaking Latins from the mainland.
The Island is surrounded by reefs – being at the end of the Meso-American Barrier Reef – and the entire island and its surrounding reefs and Cays are protected as a World Heritage Site.
Christopher Columbus stopped here on his 4th voyage to the New World and it is said that it was here that Europeans first encountered a strange concoction made from cocoa beans called chocolate. He called Guanaja, the island of the pines because of Guanaja's unique combination of palm and pine trees.
Travel Info
Getting To Guanaja
Please note that we try to keep this information current but the airlines and ferry can change schedules with little notice.
Miami, Atlanta, and Houston have direct daily flights to Roatán, and Dallas and Denver offer direct flights too, though less consistently. In the off-season, September through December, many flights run on weekends only, although American Airlines continues to fly into Roatán on weekdays. Most flights arrive around noon. From Roatán, you can reach Guanaja by commercial flight, charter plane, ferry, or private boat.
Commercial flights:
CM Airlines flies direct between Roatán and Guanaja on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, weather permitting. The flight leaves Roatán at 3:00 pm and returns from Guanaja at 8:30 am. Fares are around $100+ per person each way. Baggage is limited to 40 pounds in total, with all bags and carry-ons weighed together, and each extra pound is $1, so we recommend packing light.
Charter flights:
A couple of charter companies fly 5-seater planes directly from Roatán to Guanaja. The flight takes about 20 minutes and costs about $750 to $800 each way. Each plane can take up to three divers with their equipment.
Ferry:
The Galaxy Wave ferry is a one-and-a-half-hour ride and the most popular way to arrive. It runs from Roatán to Guanaja on Fridays at 1:00pm and Saturdays at 4:00pm, and from Guanaja to Roatán on Saturdays and Sundays at 8:30am. That means you can leave home and arrive in Guanaja the same day on Saturday, and on the way back you can leave Guanaja and be home the same day on Saturday or Sunday. For this reason, we do all our group trips and most individual trips from Saturday to Saturday.
We can take care of everything for you. We’ll pick you up at the Roatán airport, shuttle you to the ferry, and do the same on your return, and we’ll meet you at the ferry dock in Guanaja. We buy your tickets and add them to your trip invoice. The price is $150 per person round trip, or $75 per person one way, for first class tickets and the shuttle.
If you prefer to make your own arrangements, especially if you’re a group of two or three, you can save some money. A taxi from the airport to the ferry terminal costs about $25 to $30. You can buy tickets at the terminal (they can’t be bought ahead online), and they run about $35 to $50 each way depending on your age and whether you choose first class or regular. You’ll repeat the process in reverse when you leave.
If you’re prone to seasickness, take a motion-sickness pill about an hour before the trip. They hand them out free on the ferry, but by then it may be too late.
Private boat:
Hiring a boat is also possible and usually costs around $500 to $600. This option depends on the weather, since most of these boats aren’t big enough to cross comfortably in high seas.
We can help:
We’re always happy to help you plan the Roatán to Guanaja leg of your trip. If you choose the Saturday ferry, we’ll handle your tickets and transfers. If you’d rather fly, we can help you with a commercial or charter flight. And if you want to hire a boat, we can help with that too.