• New immigration process
• Airline update – Dallas meetings
• Extreme Roatan
• Volunteering as a lifestyle
• Roatan Travel Network
• Real Estate News
Welcome to the newly designed monthly newsletter from Roatan Life! Each month we will let you know about any significant events on the island, including social, sporting and lifestyle news. We’ll also tell you what properties we feel are noteworthy and help you plan your next vacation.
Planning a lifestyle change, or even just a vacation, can be stressful, when just the opposite is what you’re trying to achieve! So Roatan Life Real Estate and Roatan Life Vacation Rentals are here to offer some guidance and make you feel at home.
New Immigration Process
Last month the Honduran government instituted a new, digitalized process for all people entering or leaving Honduras. This is most evident at the airports, which caused a massive disruption at all airports the first week. I’m happy to report that Roatan Tourism Board jumped on the problem very quickly and persuaded the Ministry of Immigration to send 12 agents and several more immigration booths to Roatan temporarily. New agents from Roatan have been hired and are in the process of being trained.
The process requires fingerprinting and a digital photo of each person, as well as some personal information, which is input into the system, one time only. Once you have done this, you will be in the system and your information will pop up each time you enter or leave the country. It is the same system used in most countries of the world, Honduras is just now catching up!
At immigration in the airport, it is taking an average of 2 and half minutes per person, which is cut in half once you are in the system. If you are traveling to anywhere in Honduras and have not yet been entered into the system, you can save some time by pre-registering on-line at prechequeo.inm.gob.hn. The page is in Spanish, but here is a translation: See attached.
Airline Update
Members of the Roatan Tourism Board traveled to Dallas earlier this month to meet with officials from American Airlines, SPIRIT Airlines and Southwest Airlines, to discuss a marketing campaign in the Dallas area. SPIRIT already flies into Honduras and will look at the feasibility of flying directly into Roatan as a future destination. Southwest Airlines is expanding it’s routes into the Caribbean, so the Tourism Board took the opportunity to pitch Roatan. American, United and Delta Airlines currently fly directly into Roatan from the U.S. Stay tuned….
Extreme Roatan
Saturday, the 18th October the Blue Harbor Tropical Arboretum in Roatan hosted the first Extreme Roatan mud and obstacle run. The event offered two course options, a 4.5km and 9km. The course included natural obstacles such as hill climbs, creek bed crossings and man made obstacles like mud crawl throughs, climbing ladders, tire mountains and mud pits.
Over 150 participants took part in the event, traveling from as far as San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa, La Ceiba and San Salvador to participate. The event is not a timed run and there are no first or second places. It was all about participation, enjoyment and some muddy fun. You could run or walk the course, but entrants climbed and crawled their way through the obstacles and through the diverse natural setting.
The Extreme Roatan team is working on plans for future events in Roatan and you can stay up to date on all the information through their website at www.extremeroatan.com or the event Facebook page at www.facebook.com/extremeroatan.
Volunteering As A Lifestyle
If retirement is your plan and Roatan is your choice, you’ll need to consider how you will fill your time here. There’s certainly a lot to do, and some people find a business niche to fill while others choose to slow their lives down. There are many opportunities to give back to the community by volunteering and depending on where your interest or experience lies, education, health, Rotary Club, Lions Club and teaching English are popular areas. Some web sites to check on:
Education: www.pierrotan.org
Health: www.clinicaesperanza.org
Music: www.steelpanalley.org
Roatan Travel Network
We live in a digital world these days, so if you are planning your first trip to Roatan, I know you’ll be looking for information all over the internet. Roatan Travel Network can save you a lot of time. Not only is it an extremely informative site, but also the network is broadcast in over 70% of Roatan hotel rooms. In fact, as you wait in the passport control line at the airport, you’ll see Roatan Travel Network on the television monitor, so you can get a head start on the vibe of the island! Take a look: www.roatantravelnetwork.com
Real Estate News
The Roatan Real Estate market has shown a very solid gain this year with sales up in volume and price. It looks like the long slow down is over and things are starting to turn north. If your interested in learning more about our market and seeing if there are properties that fit your vision let us know or check out my website at www.myroatanrealtor.com
New Vacation Rental Options
Roatan Vacation Rentals continues to grow its inventory and provide the best locations, value and selection for your upcoming trip to Roatan. Here are a few links to some new to the market rentals to consider for your next trip to Roatan.
Bells Hideaway – This 2 bedroom 2 bath luxury cabin is located in Sandy Bay just a few steps from the beach and is a great value. This is a very popular option for someone looking to consider an extended stay for multiple weeks or months as well and with those types of stays we can negotiate a longer stay rate. Check it out at: Bells Hideaway
Lawson Rock Beach Club Angelfish 100 – This brand new to the rental market unit is BEACHFRONT (like walk out your door into the sand beachfront) and in the high demand upscale Lawson Rock community just a few minutes from West End and centrally located to shopping, airport etc. Very well appointed 1 bedroom, 1 bath with overflow pull out couch for another single or child. The ocean view will not disappoint. Check it out at: Angelfish 100
