Roatán Island, Honduras: The Caribbean’s Best-Kept Secret

You won't be able to resist the exquisite vanilla sand of the island's beaches.

And don't even get us started on the crystal-clear water.

With over 130 accessible dive sites, the spectacular water around the three Bay Islands (Islas de la Bahía) — Roatán, Útila and Guanaja — off the north coast of Honduras will take your breath away. Their reefs are part of the world's second-largest barrier reef, teeming with tropical fish, coral, sponges, rays, sea turtles and whale sharks.

If land animals are more your speed, why wouldn't you hop on a horse and gallop along — or in — a beautiful beach?

Get up close (but not too personal) with the monkeys in Gumbalimba Park in West Bay, Honduras.

Or hang out with some sloths at the aptly named Daniel Johnson's Monkey and Sloth Hangout.

Roatán has five zip lines that travel through the dense forest's canopy for nearly a mile.

Get dirty on a dune buggy, if you dare. If you've never tried it before, Honduras' Roatán Island is a great place to start.

The pine-covered hills and the mountainous interior of the island are nothing short of majestic.

The eastern parts of the island are begging to be explored. Some areas of Roatán Island are well suited for the adventurous at heart.

Believed to have been originally carved out of the mangrove forests by the Native Garafuna people, the tunnels were used as hideouts and escape routes by 17th- and 18th-century pirates and buccaneers.

Roatán Island is steeped in history with a cultural background mixed with Caribbean, European and African heritage.

If you've covered Roatán, take the opportunity to explore the other Bay Islands and all they have to offer. Ride on a glass-bottom boat for some stunning reef-viewing, or charter a sailboat for a day.

Explore Útila, the closest to mainland Honduras, by bicycle as it's the flattest. The island is also known to have one of the cheapest dive certification courses in the world, so give that a whirl.

Dubbed the "island of pines" by Christopher Columbus, Guanaja is the tallest of the Bay Islands, so if breathtaking views of the turquoise sea are what you've been dreaming about, look no further.

Útila's party scene is where it's at so if you don't have an early-morning dive the following day, dance until dawn on the beach or at one of the local dive bars.

If seafood gets you salivating, the restaurants on Roatán are just the thing to satisfy those cravings as everything is fresh and cooked on the spot.

While many of the locals speak Spanish and, in certain areas, traditional Garifuna, the most dominant language is English.

Typically less expensive than an all-inclusive, a rental will give you all the comforts of home without being at home. You may have to make your own breakfast but, hey, at least you won't have to wait in line for it.

Honduras isn't a very expensive country to begin with but combined with its low tourism numbers, you can get a lot of bang for your buck, from transportation, accommodations, food and activities and tours.

Be ahead of the packs of tourists, who are unfamiliar with Honduras' Roatán Island, and when it becomes the hot new place, you can say, "Been there, done that." But keep in mind, you might have to do it soon as a slew of resorts, hotels, a shopping mall and a cruise ship port have opened up in recent years.