Areas of Roatan
Oak Ridge
A fishing town of houses on stilts around a deep harbor, and the starting point for mangrove trips.
Oak Ridge is one of the old Caymanian boat-building towns on Roatan's East End. It is built around a sheltered, deep-water harbor, where many houses stand on stilts over the water and boats do the work that roads do elsewhere.
It is also where most visitors meet the mangroves. Local boatmen run trips through the narrow channels nearby, and boats leave from here for the small islands off the East End.
Come here if
You want a boat ride through the mangroves, a look at an old island fishing town, or a base for trips to the islands off the East End.
Read before you go
Things to do in Roatan: the island from West End to the East EndMangrove tours from Oak Ridge, and how to fit them into a day on the East End.
The Bay Islands of Honduras: Roatan is only the startBoats leave Oak Ridge for Barbareta and the other islands off the East End.
The Caymanians who made Roatan EnglishThe Caymanian families who built the island's boat-building towns.
Port Royal, when Roatan was a pirate harborPort Royal, past Oak Ridge at the far eastern end, and its pirate history.
On the ground
- Mangrove trips
- Local boatmen run trips through the mangrove channels, and some offer saltwater tubing through the canals. Go with a guide who knows the way.
- The harbor
- Houses on stilts line the water, and boats are how many people here get around.
- With kids
- A boat ride past the stilt houses is a big hit with children.
- Getting here
- Plan on an hour or more from the west end by road. Leave in the morning and make a day of it.
- Cash
- Bring lempira for small restaurants and shops out here.
Checked November 2026. If something here has changed, tell us and we will update it.