maya key

We loved Maya Key. We took a boat to our little oasis right from the pier. It literally is a five minute ride. When we arrived my sister and I did the sea lion encounter. It was amazing. I never knew there was a South American Sea Lion. We got some amazing pictures and learned a lot of interesting information. The beach was so relaxing and peaceful. Lunch was the best out of all the islands on the cruise we visited. The walk around the island seeing all the rescued animals warmed this animal lover's heart. The animals had clean cages, lost of space to roam, and seemed very content. They were all awesome. The monkeys were the most active but you could definitely tell they were happy and well taken care of. I loved the staff, everyone was nice, polite and very friendly. I even learned a new way to cook rice, with coconut water. Going to try it soon. This oasis is a must for any traveler to Roatan Bay.

Often times, the advertising embellishes a bit too much and your expectations aren't met. I would say that Maya Key provided everything it said it would. They are very convenient to the cruise ships (5 to 15 minute boat ride depending on which dock you come in too). They offer a varied selection of animals and an amazing variety of tropical plants. A Mayan temple re-creation is there, although having visited a real Mayan temple the day before, we didn't spend much time there, but it was realistic enough. There are a variety of local animals, primarily caged and a few roaming free. There is a beach and snorkeling area, a large pool and plenty of room to stretch out. The snorkeling was great and we saw a wide variety of different fish. The lunch was good and well organized. Overall, we were very happy with our visit and the value. There were a couple of negatives, - Sand fleas as many others have mentioned were present and my wife got quite a few bites, which cleared up in a day or so. - The key is right across from the airport. When we were there, that meant being on the landing path. There were several very close planes (my wife claimed she could count lug nuts). - The snorkeling while good is fairly exposed. Based on observation, I would say this side of the island is typically windy. There is also a current that has to be contended with. Bottom line, this is probably not the place to do your first snorkel unless you have practiced elsewhere. When we were there, a father and his 2 children were there, one of which had never snorkeled at all and I was concerned for their safety. While they do have staff present, they weren't there to watch your every move and in fact, weren't paying attention at all at some points. So good snorkeling, but be aware of the conditions.

We booked Maya Key through our cruise line. It was so convenient, we got off the ship and the boat was right there!! A few people had issues with bug bites at the beach, but luckily they didnt bite us. The pitch of the sand at the beach is pretty hard to get in the water, but if you enter/exit the water near the dock its much easier. We didnt snorkle. We swam a bit.....we went with little guided tour and we went into one of the monkey cages, the monkies were climbing all over us. We were able to hold a small crocodile and we held a big stick with a parrot. The food was very good, we didnt drink anything alcoholic, just water and iced tea. The banana chips were delish. People were feeding the iguanas so they were pretty "friendly". At one point a parrot said hello when I walked by and i thought I had imagined it....I kept looking around for a microphone or speaker. We watched the turtle feeding, got to hold a turtle and we saw the sealion feeding. We missed the shark and stringray encounter, but we did see them resting. Warning, there is a pelican on the dock that is very protective of the baby turtles!! I went to peek at one and the pelican snapped at me!!

We really loved this location. Nice long pier that allows you to drop right into the reef and snorkel. Beautiful tropical fish and coral. We also added on the shark and ray encounter which was fantastic. It was topped off with a yummy traditional Honduras meal. Highly recommend.

It was pretty, but the sand fleas on the beach were horrendous. I walked by one woman who was covered in red blotches about 1/2 the size of a dime. I thought that she had the measles! Later I noticed my own bites, mostly on my legs. You don't feel them biting, you just get the red blotches for a few days. The food was good, but fill up your first time through the line, as there are no second trips. The Mayan exhibit was really good, the animal exhibit okay. It is for a laid back day of mostly laying on the beach, sand fleas and all. There is snorkeling available, I believe it was $18 to rent, but it was crazy rough water and windy the day we were there, February 23, 2015. Overall it's okay, but I wouldn't go back again.

This private island is loaded with many different places to swim or just lay in a chair or even to get into the pool. There was a pier that you could walk out on and go snorkeling. They even had a underwater trail to follow as you snorkeled.The food was great, but as an added bonus, this island also has an animal rescue and rehab center. At noon they came around and I went with a group of brave souls to help feed the animals. The highlight was getting in the cage with and feeding the capuchin monkeys. A very nice place to go and I would highly recommend it.

We had such a blast on Maya Key. The best part of the island is that there is so much to do. Other than the nice beach area, they had a pier perfect for snorkeling, an animal sanctuary where they led tours on how they rehabilitated the animals, a sea lion habitat, a replica of Mayan ruins with a museum, and a great gift shop. We really enjoyed our day and keep talking about wanting to return!

I had read a lot about Little French Key and it sounded great, but Maya Key was listed on the Royal Caribbean shore excursion list so went with that instead. We were not disappointed. The island is beautiful and a very short boat ride from the port. They have a small zoo type operation in conjunction with the resort which was very well maintained and home to many exotic animals who have been rescued and could not have survived on their own in the wild. Lunch was provided and was good Caribbean type fare, chicken, black beans and rice. Just a nice relaxing spot to spent the day.

We booked a shore excursion to Maya Key through our cruise. I have to say it was a great time on the island! From our ship to shore it was a 3 minute boat ride. Once we got there we were given a quick run down of the island, things to do, what to see etc. Then it was on to the island! Being a part of the cruise shore excursion lunch was provided at no cost. They do have a bar that you can buy drinks from otherwise water and (I believe) lemonade was free. If you do buy a drink, try the Monkey La-La, delish! The island is an 11 acre property that houses a wildlife rescue for animals, a couple of small beaches, pool area with lounge chairs and a recreated Mayan Temple that you can tour. The beach area was small, but there are plenty of chairs and there weren't too many people when we went which was nice. As another poster mentioned, there was sea grass that accumulated on the beach when we first got there, but after a 45 minute walk around the entire island it was cleared up. I saw numerous people raking the sand and cleaning up in general.The bar/pool area was nice as well. Pool was very clean and plenty of chairs around the pool as well.Animals. As mentioned they do rescue/take in animals that have been abused etc. All are kept in chain link fence enclosures or wired cages. Jaguars, ocelots, a cougar, Capuchin/Spider/Howler monkeys, lots of parrots, some crocodiles and toucans are some of the animals you can view and take pictures of. They also have sea lions as well that you can pay $32.00 and swim/play with in the water. Along with sharks. That I didn't do! It was a relaxing time being on the island and I'm glad I went!

My boyfriend (33) and I (24) went and layed out in the sun for awhile, ate, checked out the replica Mayan Ruins and animals, then went back to the ship. Not very exciting for us & was kind of bored since we're more on the adventurois side. There's snorkeling, but i'd rather swallow a battery than snorkel. The food was AMAZING!! There was these banana chips, I wish I could've gotten enough to take home.

I did a lot of research and booked Maya Key based on good reviews. I booked through our cruise ship. We took a short van ride, about 15 minutes, from Mahogany Bay to Coxen Hole. From there a very quick boat ride to the island. The location of the island is terrible, if there is a cruise ship docked in Coxen Hole that is what you will see as you approach the island. That and trash. There was trash everywhere! The water was absolutely disgusting with the amount of trash floating in it. The island itself is okay, I think the owners are trying very hard to create a nice experience. This I why I have mixed feelings, if this island were someplace else, maybe further away from the mainland it would be nice, but with the amount of disgusting trash that was in the water it was just very hard to enjoy it. They do have a nice pool area, and the animal areas were nice, they seem to be doing a good job with those. The beach area they have is small, and the swimming area was not too nice, the water was full of sea grass and sea weed and is only about a foot deep, you really can't swim in it, maybe it is okay for very small children. THE SAND FLEAS WERE HORRIBLE THE DAY WE WERE THERE! I have been on 8 cruises (4th time to Roatan) and this is the first time we have had a problem with sand fleas. There is a long dock that takes you out to the deeper water for snorkeling. The water was pretty rough the day we were there, I had to give up on the snorkeling so I didn't see much. There is a rope underwater that you follow, be aware that in some areas the coral is very close to you, with a strong current you can easily be pushed into the coral, this happened to quite a few people on the day we were there. There were lots of cuts and scrapes not to mention damage to the coral. We were also getting stung by something in the water, I'm not sure what it was but we all had bites on us after getting out of the water. We had to swim through a lot of sea weed, maybe it was caused by that, I don't really know, but it was not pleasant. I commend the owners for what they are trying to do with the animal rescue and I know the amount of trash being dumped in the ocean is not their fault, but I have been to other beaches on Roatan that are much nicer with better snorkeling, I will be going back to one of them next time I am there.

We enjoyed the lunch buffet and then headed straight to the absolutely GORGEOUS beach.Picture this: White sand, palm trees, calm, clear and warm water in January! Snorkeling off the end of the pier was fun but did not see tons of fish.They also have some animals to check out.This is a spot that is like a postcard for the Caribbean and I do highly recommend.

My primary interest in Maya Key was for the snorkeling. Actually, I enjoy freediving (breathhold diving) and wanted to enjoy it in Roatan. I was not disappointed. I found a considerable amount of life at the reef off of Maya Key. Check out my 2 freediving underwater videos of Maya Key on my youtube channel by searching for FLBUM57.For snorkeling, go to the end of the pier and follow the trail of floating bottles tied to the bottom. At the end of the trail lies a cluster of coral heads which are great for snorkeling. Continuing slightly further offshore leads to a wall which provides for interesting freediving. I dove to a maximum depth of 62 feet. Deeper diving than that looked to be uninteresting. In fact most of the interesting life is in the shallower water and easily accessible by snorkeling. I experienced no currents and the water was 80 degrees in January. So, I just wore a skin.For my fellow experienced freedivers... No flotation vest is required if you do not wish to wear one. They permit you to wear a weight belt without question. All of the interesting life is shallower than 50 feet. There was no thermocline down to my max depth of 62 feet.I stowed my gear bag on the side of the dock which had a wall behind the bench seat so that it wouldn't get knocked into the water. I took my cash and ID with me in the water. However, I did not feel the need to rent a locker as access to the island was limited to guests and employees.A meal is included with your day on the island. However, as others have mentioned, you only get to go through the food line once. They mark your arm band to insure that you don't go through again. However, I'm a big boy and they gave me more food when I asked for it during my one pass through the line. They loaded up my plate and I was comfortably full. The meal was tasty and I enjoyed it.The best way to enjoy the rest of the Island after snorkeling is by taking the tour. The time of the tour is posted on a board as you first enter the island from the ferry dock. If you take the tour, you'll see everything, you'll learn something, and you can ask questions.Overall, the day on Maya Key represents a good value and I really enjoyed myself.

This place is soooo beautiful. It is amazing. The snorkeling is pretty good, but for us the highlight was the natural beauty of the island. It was amazing! Did I say amazing? :) Our group ranged in age for 74 to late 30's to teenagers to a 5 year old and we all loved it. It was everyone's favorite excursion off our cruise ship.

Maya Key was fantastic! Definitely the best snorkeling we've ever done. Plenty of shade under a number of trees. Small beach area, but from it you can walk a pier for maybe 150ft or so. At the end of it are some ladders that take you into a shallow area of water and you can start swimming around with the fish and checking out coral. There are some parts where the coral is just a couple of feet below the surface and you have to either go around it or float above it and let the water take you over. Plenty of colorful fish. Didn't see turtles or rays or anything like that though.There's also a ton of animals on the island that have been rescued or donated and the staff appears to take very good care of them. Sea lions, crocodiles, jaguars, 2 or 3 different kinds of monkeys, several tropical birds, nurse sharks, etc. Really loved this part of the attraction. Lunch was included and was okay - some salad, fried fish, chicken, stuff like that. I wish I could comment on the drinks at the bar, but I was far too busy snorkeling and checking out the wildlife. Lockers are available for rent. There's a pool there as well if you don't care to get in the ocean. Large gift shop with your usual souvenirs (shirts, mugs, etc). Snorkeling equipment (and flippers) available for rent.