Country Article / Postcards

The Quiet Life on Guanaja

Date: 01/25/2006

Dear International Living Reader,

Although Roatan is no longer a well-kept secret (this island is the most developed area in the country for expatriate retirement living), Guanaja--the small island that lies almost directly to the east--is still almost completely undiscovered. With no cars, no roads, and a small airport, Guanaja is a charming step into the old world.

This is one of the last remaining unspoiled islands in the Caribbean. Few travelers have explored the island or its surrounding coral-reef cays. Only a handful of expats and retirees have made their homes here. Yet Guanaja is an edenic place, with waterfalls, white-sand beaches, unusual rock formations, and mountains covered with flowers and wild fruit trees.

Experienced boaters are likely to enjoy Guanaja most. (Since there are no cars, boating is the only effective form of transportation.) Wealthy local families live on the surrounding cays, where each small island has only a handful of homes.

The main town on Guanaja is not, in fact, on the island. Bonacca is situated on a small cay off the coast. It’s an overpopulated place, where 5,000 people live on top of one another in houses stacked around narrow walkways and foot-bridges. It’s an experience to visit--but we don’t recommend you move there.

Instead, visit the north side of Guanaja to explore remote and spectacular properties offering majestic views of high cliffs and of waterfalls tumbling down mountains toward miles and miles of untouched beaches.

Plus, prices for large tracts of land on Guanaja are low--and often negotiable.

Janine Goben
Honduras Editor, International Living