Ocean Breeze Villa

You'll meet your shuttle driver just outside the arrivals door at the airport and enjoy a scenic drive through the mountains and the jungle. Just before you arrive, you'll hop out of the shuttle and board a sturdy panga — a Villa staffer will then take you by boat on a short ride to Ocean Breeze. You'll be greeted by the Villa's wonderful staff and be guided to your room. When you're settled, you'll be offered a signature cocktail or you can pour your own rum and Coke or a chilled Salva Vida and take in the views of the Caribbean right off the Villa's incredible oceanfront deck. 

For die hard anglers, check the surf break for tailing bonefish and triggerfish. If you wish, grab your 7-weight rod and a pocketful of Gotchas and start fishing. Or, just relax, stretch out in the hammock or grab a nap after a long travel day amid the air-conditioned splendor of your own private room. As evening approaches, the Villa's staff will have an appetizer at the ready and it could be anything from deep-fried plantain chips and fresh pico de gallo to conch ceviche or fried shrimp. Enjoy another chilled cocktail as dinner is prepared. 

After an incredible, locally inspired and expertly prepared dinner, pour another cocktail or wander next door to the Reef House for cheap drinks and lively conversation with locals and expats who will happily give you the inside scoop on anything you might like to do in the beautiful little community of Oak Ridge. 

For anglers, it's time to shake off the rust of your saltwater cast. You'll meet your guide after breakfast behind the Villa and be transported to one of several stunning oceanfront flats where you'll begin your hunt for Roatan's lively bonefish. These fish travel in groups of four or five, and they tail in the shallows on both incoming and outgoing tides. Walk and wade with your guide (very little fly fishing is done from the boat), and prepare to be amazed when he finds fish on these grass-covered flats that you likely would never see. It might take a shot or two, but, eventually, you'll hook up and the real fun begins. 

Non-anglers in the group will enjoy a leisurely breakfast embark on an activity they've booked ahead of time, all with the help of the Villa's staff. This day, it's a snorkeling adventure highlighted by the rare — perfectly safe — opportunity to swim with lemon sharks and rays over a host of gorgeous sandy shoals about a 45-minute boat ride to the east. These gregarious fish are curious and harmless. Nevertheless, be smart and don't get too close. This experience can be life-changing for some. 

After determining that you're ready for something more challenging than bonefish, your guide suggested a pre-dawn departure that will put you on the some of best permit flats in the Caribbean. Once there, you'll again walk wade, paying close attention to your guide — he'll very likely see the fish you won't and put you in the right position to make the cast.

The non-anglers back at the Villa will gather up their snorkeling gear after a leisurely breakfast and head to the end of the dock. There, in the gentle waves of the Caribbean, they can snorkel the morning away within sight of the Villa, and hop back inside for a delicious lunch. You'll meet your vacation crew around 4 p.m. for cocktails and appetizers before dinner and then, once the meal is done, you'll all wander next door to the bar for a nightcap.

Having tried both bones and permit, your guide suggests something totally different. After breakfast, you'll board the panga and motor just a few minutes away to a big industrial boat basin. You might be wondering what you're doing in this gritty and odd locale ... until you see the 70-pound tarpon rolling. Grabbing a 10-weight and Tarpon Toad, you'll start casting. Eventually, your fly and the tarpon will meet up, and what happens next is fly fishing's version of a rodeo. If you hook a big one, you'll be busy for an hour. If you're a spectator, man the camera. Roatan's tarpon are acrobatic like a saddle bronc and as mean as an angry brahma. 

Back at the Villa, the rest of the group boards a panga and rides to the water taxi stand where they'll take an air-conditioned Villa van, first to the iguana farm for some up-close time with Roatan's indigenous reptiles, and then to the local zipline for some heart-stopping thrills. You'll meet your angling friends back the Villa for appetizers and cocktails. Then, rather than dinner at the Villa, you'll board the funky little Tiki Boat for a sunset dinner cruise you'll never forget.

There may not be a better angling destination where an accomplished fly fisher can notch a "grand slam" — catching a permit, bonefish and tarpon all in the same day — than the flats around Ocean Breeze Villa. You'll start early, and hope to notch a permit in the low, morning light. On the same flat, you'll begin your hunt for bonefish, and, if you're lucky and you connect with both prized flats fish, you'll motor across the bay to a known tarpon hangout. If it all comes together, you can have your slam before lunch. If it doesn't, it was sure fun to try. 

Back at the Villa, the non-anglers hop aboard a tour where they'll join other snorkelers and scuba divers on a visit to the second-largest barrier reef in the world. Here, over one of many sunken ships, they'll revel in the warm, clear waters of the Caribbean for a few hours before heading back to the Villa to meet their angling friends. Tonight, fish tacos on the deck and some spincasting off the dock for jacks and snappers. 

Remember that 10-weight you used for your big tarpon in the boat basin? Grab that rod and venture out into the blue on the Villa's very own twin-outboard cruiser. And you don't have to go far — the blue water begins 100 yards off the beach. The Caribbean around much of Roatan is hundreds of feet deep within easy sight of land. Today, you're chasing a school of blackfin tuna and bonita. Cast a Clouser into the fray and, with a little luck, you'll be into a fish that feels like you might have hooked an F-150. You'll spend the day cruising the shoreline in search of more tuna, dorado or, depending the season, dorado or big barracuda. The sun is bright, the beer is cold and the fish ... well, when you arrive back at the Villa with sashimi for the whole gang, you'll be the hero. 

For the non-angling crowd, a leisurely tour of Roatan's mangrove maze is in order, and it comes replete with a talk about the region's pirate lore and some of the coolest scenery in the Caribbean. You'll have lunch at a funky little restaurant on the water, and motor home to the Villa in time for evening cocktails. 

It's your last day at Ocean Breeze Villa, and it's all happened so fast. This day, you give the guide the day off and wander the flats on your own in search of bonefish, permit, triggerfish and more. Your non-angling friends are frolicking in the Caribbean off the Villa dock and, as hear the occasional happy exclamation, you're quietly planning a sequel to this incredible trip.