CURACAO vs ROATAN! We compare beaches, scuba diving, climate, rainfall, food, cost of living.

[@rickwibbenmeyer8006]

ive been to both. I liked Roatan much better. Curacoa was nice but to European feel to me. Roatan has a step back in time feel. Although Roatan is getting incredibly crowded now and since the cruise ships found it is ultra modern now. I preferred it 30 years ago.

[@PlanFree]

Hi @rickwibbenmeyer8006, we would say we would have to agree with you. We enjoyed our time in Curacao but we absolutely loved our time in Roatan, in the water and out. Seeing Roatan 30 years ago and experiencing the nice quiet life at that time would have been an awesome experience! Thanks for your comment and input, we enjoyed reading it. We also thank you for watching. Please click that like button for us too as it really helps our channel. Welcome! Ayr & Lori

[@Kevin-et5zs]

Thanks for the info! I'm planning to go to Curacao this year and have spent more time in the Bay Islands. I liked Utila the best, but spent more time in Roatan. The population is changing rapidly in the Bay Islands, which were settled by Britain in the 1630's. Britain gave them back to Honduras around 1860, and some of the natives are still mad about that. That's why the place names are English. Check out West End, it's very nice. The pay rates in Roatan are about 5 times what they are on the mainland, so Hondurans who can make the trip naturally would rather go there to work---also the crime rate is far lower in the Bay Islands. The new workers don't usually speak English, so the trend is for more Spanish speakers.

[@PlanFree]

Hey @Kevin, cool and interesting info. Thank you for sharing it! We would have loved to visit Utila, but once we had our villa we just stayed put and explored and learned about Roatan as much as we could. Lovely island. West end is good, ya, we did go there a day or two to chill. For our tastes it was a little resorty and expat heavy. Nice for a change of pace. But we kind of preferred mid island and a little more of a local feel. That's the beauty of Roatan though! Get a vehicle/scooter and the island is your oyster! Out east is pretty special too. So, you're planning to visit Curacao this year, good for you. It's much larger than Roatan and kept us busy for the full 6 months we lived there. We recommend a vehicle because you simply MUST get out to the national parks (many of them!) up island, and visit the M A N Y beaches available that are well away from the busy city areas, and see the smaller communities too that you can really only get to (easily) with a vehicle. All along the western coast, particularily in the north is incredible. Here is one more vid on our channel on Curacao (and there are other vids too if you search our channel) about the beaches in Curacao. Wow! kzbin.info/www/bejne/h3PdZJeDZs-qi7M Great comment and we thank you for writing it and watching. Please share the vid and click the LIKE button for us, it's free and helps a lot. 😘

[@sergiusm6914]

Another great video and another Island to put on our list visit and compareto compare! Thanks!

[@PlanFree]

SOOO many islands.....we know @Sergius M! Thank you so much for watching and commenting, we LOVE that!

[@matthewsalatino6209]

We noticed a two-tier economy in Roatan: one for the cruise ship passengers and foreign tourists, and one for the locals. Living in a sailboat, we generally picked the latter, as it was much less expensive. We put our toe, occasionally in the former for a nice dinner at a restaurant, or grocery shopping at Eldon’s. Of course we partook of reef snorkeling and scuba diving frequently, and my lovely bride got her PADI cert there ($275). What wasn’t mentioned, was that it never gets cold in Roatan, but it never gets too hot. Typically in the mid 80’s, all year. We really enjoyed 2 winters in Roatan.

[@matthewsalatino6209]

Roatan has a big Canadian and American expat community. There are high end, gated housing developments and more “middle class houses. Houses with ocean views are less expensive than in the US.

[@PlanFree]

Hi @Matthew Salatino, what a fabulous comment. Thank you for sharing it! We agree. We lived locally mainly also in Roatan, as we do in every country we live in, so we also noticed what you say. And in fact in any country or island we've lived in with a cruise ship port it's the same. The cruise ports are all built up, prettier, fancier, with more expensive shops with all the souvenirs and locations offerings brought down to the docks or nearby. Cool to see. Once. In our opinion. :) Part of what we promote and talk about in some of our videos is slow travel: some people can live abroad permanently or as a type of a nomad perhaps working online or teaching. So our channel is all about slow travel where we do our best to immerse ourselves locally and really learn a country from "on the ground". Sounds like you have a pretty cool lifestyle also living in a sailboat! You probably have more adventures to tell than we do! We hope you like the vid, please click the like button on it that really helps our Channel grow and things like leaving a comment or sharing or video on your Facebook page also tells KZbin that people like the content we make. 🙏 Thanks so much! 👍😊

[@PlanFree]

Yes, for sure less expensive! It is Honduras after all! Did you put a deposit in? 😂👍

[@suzettelouw3090]

So valuable thank you!💖 Haven't been to Roatan, but live in Curacao and am in love with the island💖

[@PlanFree]

Well hi there @Suzette Weightman, thank you SO much for saying you loved our info! You are quite fortunate to be living on such an interesting island, Curacao. We enjoyed our time there quite a bit. Sooo much to see and do, great food options, nice climate... We are curious as to how and why you choose that island to be your place to live? We made a stand alone video on Curacao, from our time living there. Curious what you think: kzbin.info/www/bejne/omPEcq1sqsSod7M If you are able to get to Roatan to have a look around we are quite sure you'd enjoy it also! Thank you so much for watching, and for the positive comment, we love that! Please click the LIKE button on our videos that you like, that helps us grow! Thank you 😚

[@misskeren1]

I haven’t been to either, but I liked the video.

[@PlanFree]

You're a sweetheart @Anne K Campbell! Thank you so much for letting us know, and thank you for the positive comment! We hope our experience and information helped you to, perhaps, one day make a trip to one or the other. Thank you so much for watching, and commenting....that really helps us grow 😘. Please also click the LIKE button!

[@lisakaye75]

Informative video. It would be interesting to compare the logistics of purchasing a home in either of these islands. Like property taxes, can you have permanent residency, water availability, utility costs, building regulations etc.

[@PlanFree]

These are excellent discussion points that I'm sure many people would be interested in. A good idea for a future video. Thank you for adding your comment!👍🥂

[@Kevin-et5zs]

Hi Lisa, I'm not making a paid ad here, but 7th Heaven Properties has info on Curacao vs Roatan, they've been really helpful to me. I'm thinking Curacao is going to work better for me, but of course YMMV.

[@imagebalivlog8192]

Good morning from bali .,hope all good

[@PlanFree]

Good morning to you too Indra! How are you and how is beautiful Bali doing? 🙏 Still quiet?

[@imagebalivlog8192]

@@PlanFree yes im well thanks🙏 yeahh bali still verry quiet 😢

[@PlanFree]

Ahhhh we can see the photos you post and it looks like you are doing ok and people still call you to go out, yes? That is good! The while world is different now. Every place is quiet! We hope you and your family have all you need. 🙏

[@joelseguin9014]

Thanks for your video. It's interesting to get some compared points of view, especially because we are looking into Curaçao and we know Roatan as a reference. How about the sense of security? We feel and hear and read that Curaçao has a very low crime rate while Roatán can be tougher. Eg you can mugged. What's your experience?

[@PlanFree]

Hey @Joël Séguin, Well first, thanks so much for letting us know you enjoyed our points of comparison. Love that you took the time to comment and ask! We enjoyed living in both places and they are quite different. We personally felt safe in both places, but our lifestyle is pretty low key, for the most part. We did go out a few nights when we lived in Roatan and could see a bit of what you talk about being there and a possibility for sure. But again....during the days? Is there still a risk, say, of being mugged in Roatan!? Which areas would you say? If we had to say, we would probably say that Curacao would be a bit safer. It has a Dutch history/influence and Caribbean background obviously also and there's just generally less violence we have found in Caribbean countries as opposed to Hispanic influenced, Central American countries. Again, that's just based on our experience and our feel in many countries (and especially the two we're talking about here: Curacao and Roatan). Overall we'd say a person might be safer in Curacao. But that is generally! You'll still want to avoid certain areas at night or intoxicated, etc as you would anywhere. Where are you from? We also made a stand alone video on both Curacao and Roatan if you are interested. Perhaps it helps get a feel. Here's our vid on Curacao to help you out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/omPEcq1sqsSod7M Please click the like button on any vids you like and keep those comments coming! 👍

[@joelseguin9014]

@@PlanFree thanks for the response, I appreciate it. I'll check out the Roatán video as well because you mention in this Roatán vs curaçao that shore diving is easy in Roatán, but it's not my experience, at least in the West (West End, Sandy Bay, West Bay). I'm from Montreal.

[@PlanFree]

Our pleasure to try to help you out. Montreal, beautiful city! We're from Edmonton. 😊 For sure check out maybe both of our videos then @Joël Séguin for the diving, free diving and other info. We sent you the Curacao vid already so here is the Roatan vid: kzbin.info/www/bejne/faPMeWuima1_mNU We do think it depends on where you are living in Roatan. We didnt want to stay right in Westend....we wanted a more local feel! We stayed more mid island. We could walk right off the beach, the reef and down over the reef edge....it has been our best free diving experience so far. Anywhere. Curacao though....it had many many beaches and free diving areas also!! You'll just have to go BACK to Roatan and then also visit Curacao sounds like! 👍😊😁

[@joelseguin9014]

@@PlanFree Can you tell exactly in which area you stayed. That's the lifestyle we are interested in as well. We don't like West Bay, West-End is cool, but getting old after a while... We are ready for another slice of paradise...

[@PlanFree]

Haha sure! We stayed at Club Natale, directly south of Brick Bay. It was a vocational rental and perfect for our 3 month stay away from the crowds but close enough to Coxen Hole and amenities. We can completely understand the getting old thing. When looking for a place to book we specifically searched for an area away from all the hotels and resorts. Those are nice to enjoy for a day but we wanted a more chill, local (REAL) vibe. ....and better pricing if possible! We felt puts was still overpriced but it could accommodate 3 couples if need be....so it was big. Do you return to Roatan every year?

[@beachlife7949]

You were most likely renting...but do you know what the electric bills were per month for both countries? We wanted to build in Curacao but the electric scared us off...I heard $700 or more per month for a 1500-1600 sqft home.... please let me know of any utility bills you paid in curacao that you can share..thanks 😊

[@PlanFree]

Hi @Beach Life, how are you? Yes, we were renting, you guessed correctly. We actually rented, longer term, in both in Roatan and in Curacao. We wish we DID have the experience of our own bills to give you a proper answer though, so sorry. And it was a number of years ago now. Had we known that some info would be valuable for our viewers we could have asked, poked around and made more videos on these kinds of topics. Noted! When exploring a new country we always rent for 6 months or so to get a feel for a place, and to make things easier, we do usually end up finding a place that is all included in terms of bills, water, etc. We did find that rents were higher than we expected in Curacao, and it's likely because electricity costs are high there, and in most island countries. And, as expats, a lot of us tend to use a fair bit of air conditioning and want the conveniences that we are used to and like.... those all contribute to a higher electricity bill. It IS the Caribbean.....generally things are always pricier than in, say, Central America. How many different people did you ask regarding what their electric bills are? We wanted to thank you for watching and commenting, we really love when people comment and ask us things. We try to help as much as we can. So, thank you!

[@beachlife7949]

@@PlanFree When I asked realtors they would always say $200 per month...which is higher than I pay in Florida with a pool....but I started asking around to people like the lady selling us Health Insurance, found out her husband owns a construction company and were going to build with them. Then she told me her electric bill is over $1000 per month! 🙄, (but her house is 3000sqft) She said if we built 1600sqft with pool to plan on around $700..our highest bill here in FL with a pool was only $130 and that's because we had guests for a week. The water bills are also very high... I just don't want to spend our retirement money on high priced utility bills lol!! Still on the hunt for paradise! 😊Thank you!

[@PlanFree]

@@beachlife7949 Oh gosh, right we hear you. Nope, you don't want to be committed to crazy high bills, for sure. Well, I'm sure you did your research. If you still have connections there, might you try asking more other expats and also locals what their bills are? For example, when we rent in an area we usually join several Facebook groups and get to know all kinds of people there. We would ask in THOSE groups for people to share their monthly average bills. That's the first place we would check.

[@gregorybessert8636]

What about the government and police presence on both islands

[@PlanFree]

Yes, they are present on both islands. Was there something more specific you were wondering about? Thanks for your comment in question will try to help where we can! Hopefully you liked our video and clicked the LIKE button, that really helps us grow. Glad to have you here :)

[@henryarita5317]

I’m really sorry ,I really love your video,the first language in Roatan is actually English..oops wrong

[@PlanFree]

Well you bring us a good point don't you @Henry Arita! While English IS universally spoken, Spanish does remain the official language of Roatan. Good trivia for all our viewers! Thank for contributing and watching! Are you from one of the islands? Hope you clicked the like button on this vid and we sure appreciate you watching! Thank you!

[@misskeren1]

I haven’t been to either, but I liked the video.

[@PlanFree]

Thank you watching and commenting, we appreciate you. We're glad you liked it, and if have already pressed the like button, we thank you for that too, it helps a lot!