travel: Where the Reef Begins

At Anthony’s Key Resort in Roatán, Honduras, the day begins at the dock. Several dive boats sit lined up in the water, each one assigned to a group of guests. Chalkboards at the dive center show the day’s schedule, and you simply sign up for one, two, or even three dives. Your equipment stays in a locker, so you don’t have to haul tanks and wet gear back and forth to your room. It is an uncomplicated system, and that pretty much sums up Anthony’s Key.

The resort is wonderfully laid-back. Although there is a “resort feel,” it never feels formal. A bathing suit and sandals are perfectly appropriate, and nobody seems particularly interested in dressing up when there is an ocean waiting just offshore.

The property stretches along the western end of Roatán and across several small islands. A small boat carries guests from the main island to the smaller island where the overwater bungalows are located. That is where we stayed, and it quickly became one of my favorite parts of the trip.

From our bungalow, the view stretched across the Caribbean, with wide-open water and sunsets that seemed to get better every evening. At night, the sound of the small waves gently lapping underneath the bungalow was almost hypnotic. It was the kind of sound that made it easy to forget what time it was.

Most mornings, though, the dock called.

Exploring the Reef

The diving is the centerpiece of Anthony’s Key, and the convenience of the operation makes it easy to build your entire day around it. There is something satisfying about hopping on a small boat to get to the dock, checking the chalkboard, finding your boat, and then grabbing breakfast before heading out. The boat ride to the various dive sites is short, as the reef sits just offshore from the resort and hugs the coastline.

Roatán lies along the Mesoamerican Reef, a vast system stretching roughly 1,000 kilometers along the Caribbean coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. The second-largest reef system in the world, it is also one of the region’s most important marine ecosystems. It’s guarded by a network of marine protected areas and conservation programs, although, like reefs around the world, it faces serious pressures from warming waters, coral disease, pollution, and other environmental threats.

From a diver’s perspective, though, what stands out is how much life is still happening beneath the surface. On our dives, we saw angelfish, grouper, manta rays, and a stingray nestled into the sand. There were colorful sponges, sea fans, and plenty of smaller fish moving through the coral. At one point, our divemaster pointed out a seahorse — easy to miss unless someone knows exactly where to look.

That was one of my favorite things about diving here. Not every memorable sight was something large or dramatic. Sometimes it was simply noticing what was hiding in plain sight.

For divers looking for a little more excitement, Anthony’s Key also offers a shark dive, adding another level of adventure to the dive schedule. This dive was one of my favorites, as several sand and blacktip reef sharks swam freely around us.

Out on the Water

My wife, Emily, spent several days exploring the reef from a different perspective, joining the resort’s snorkeling boat trips.

The staff handled all the equipment and took the group to different locations, leaving her free to concentrate on what was in the water. She came back talking about turtles, colorful reefs, puffer fish, and schools of smaller fish. One of her favorite discoveries was a group of squid lined up in almost perfect size order. Another was a patch of huge starfish spread across the seafloor.

I liked that the snorkeling felt just as effortless as the diving. There was no complicated preparation—just get on the boat, get in the water, and see what is there. And the boat rides themselves are part of the experience. From offshore, Roatán looks lush and wonderfully tropical, with green hills rising behind the coastline. Once you’re floating above the reef, the island seems to disappear altogether.

The Pleasure of Staying Put

Anthony’s Key is a vacation package resort, which means there is very little reason to leave once you arrive.There’s a pool, a spa, yoga classes, and a recently opened gym, but most of our free time naturally seemed to drift back toward the water. We had a couples massage at the spa, a great way to relax and take a break from diving.

Then there’s the food. After a morning of diving, lunch became something I genuinely looked forward to. The food was excellent, and the service was consistently attentive without feeling formal. The wait staff worked together throughout the dining room, which meant someone was always nearby without anyone hovering.

The daily soups were an unexpected highlight. There was a different soup at lunch each day, and several were good enough that I found myself wondering what would be on the menu before I even sat down.

Dinner was more of an adventure. We tried almost everything — fresh catch, lobster, and steak — and rarely regretted ordering one more thing to share. And after a day in the water, a well-made cocktail from the full bar was exactly what was needed.

An Afternoon with Dolphins

The dolphin encounter at Anthony’s Key is one of the resort’s signature experiences, and it is easy to understand why. Guests can choose between two encounters: snorkeling underwater with the dolphins or entering waist-deep water and allowing the dolphins to come to you. We chose the latter.

Standing in the water, we waited for the dolphins to approach on their own. When they did, the experience felt surprisingly personal. They swam right up to me, close enough that I could gently touch them, stroke their backs and even rub their bellies. At the end of the encounter, I was able to cradle one briefly for a photograph.

It’s a very different experience from watching turtles or barracuda on a reef. Those encounters are wild and fleeting. Here, there is time to truly interact with the animal, which made the experience especially memorable.

Beyond Anthony’s Key

Although we were perfectly happy staying at the resort, Anthony’s Key offers several ways to see more of Roatán. For example, we took an afternoon excursion to Maya Key, a small island where guests can enjoy a barbecue-style lunch, visit an animal sanctuary, and snorkel from the pier. The setting makes it an easy change of scenery without giving up the water that is really the focus of the trip.

We also left the resort grounds on our own for a visit to Victor’s Monkey & Sloth Sanctuary. The sloths can no longer be held because of safety concerns, but we were able to get close enough to touch them. We also held monkeys and had parrots sit on our shoulders.

It was a fun afternoon and a chance to see another side of Roatán, but I was happy to return to the resort. By then, we had settled into the rhythm of Anthony’s Key.

There was always another dive to look forward to, another meal, another sunset over the water. The boats were waiting at the dock. Our gear was ready. Dinner would be there when we came back. And our bungalow was sitting over the water, where the small waves would be waiting beneath us.

For us, that was the luxury of Anthony’s Key. Not extravagance. Not formality. Just the freedom to spend a few days following the water wherever it led.  anthonyskey.com.