---
title: "Living in Roatán as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/roatan
description: "Caribbean dive island with a large expat crowd"
dataset: 2026.10.7 (2026-10-13)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Roatán, Honduras

Roatán scores 46.3/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 933 of 1000 cities. There is no open cost-of-living figure yet; expect no dedicated nomad visa, and a measured median download speed of 14.2 Mbps.

Roatán is a Honduran Bay Island on the Mesoamerican reef, with cheap dive certification, English-speaking islanders and expat hubs in West End and West Bay. Power cuts and slow internet are common, imported goods cost more than the mainland and the rainy season runs October to January.

Known for: Mesoamerican reef diving, English widely spoken, West End beaches, Island prices.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 46.3 |
| Cost of living | — |
| Safety | 32 |
| Healthcare | 55 |
| Internet | 52 |
| Visa ease | 33 |
| Getting there & around | 33 |
| Climate | 33 |
| Air quality | 92 |
| Quality of life | 41 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | — | country | 2026-09 | [^2] |
| Central 1-bedroom rent | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Outskirts 1-bedroom rent (basis of the monthly total) | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Homicide rate (per 100k) | 23.92 | country | 2024 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 58 | country | 2025 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 64 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 69 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 14.2 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 7.2 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Starlink residential service | Available | country | 2026-10 | [^9] |
| Nomad visa | none listed | country | 2026-07 | [^10] |
| Entry for US / EU / UK passports | 90 days / 90 days / visa required | country | 2026-02 | [^11] |
| Non-stop destinations (RTB) | 16 | city | 2026-07 | [^12] |
| Restaurants within 3 km of the centre (OpenStreetMap) | 12 | city | 2026-10 | [^16] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 2 / 1 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^13] |
| Comfortable months | 4 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^14] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 8.8 | city | 2023 | [^15] |
| Human Development Index | 0.645 | country | 2023 | [^17] |
| English proficiency band | moderate | country | 2024 | [^18] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 25.8 | 175 | 79 | no |
| Feb | 26 | 104 | 79 | yes |
| Mar | 26.3 | 74 | 79 | yes |
| Apr | 27.1 | 46 | 80 | yes |
| May | 27.9 | 104 | 81 | yes |
| Jun | 28.3 | 186 | 83 | no |
| Jul | 28.3 | 182 | 82 | no |
| Aug | 28.6 | 175 | 81 | no |
| Sep | 28.8 | 192 | 80 | no |
| Oct | 28.3 | 331 | 80 | no |
| Nov | 27.3 | 321 | 78 | no |
| Dec | 26.5 | 200 | 79 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Juan Manuel Gálvez International Airport | RTB | 16 | 12 | 6 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 16, of which 12 international (Wikipedia, 2026-07).

## Similar cities

- [Utila](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/utila) (46.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/roatan-vs-utila)
- [La Ceiba](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/la-ceiba) (43) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/la-ceiba-vs-roatan)
- [Flores (Petén)](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/flores-peten) (43.5) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/flores-peten-vs-roatan)
- [Georgetown](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/georgetown) (53) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/georgetown-vs-roatan)
- [Granada (Nicaragua)](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/granada-nicaragua) (53.6) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/granada-nicaragua-vs-roatan)

## FAQ

### How much does it cost to live in Roatán as a digital nomad?

We do not have a reliable monthly cost figure for Roatán yet.

### Is Roatán safe for digital nomads?

Roatán scores 32/100 on safety. Honduras records 23.92 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2024) and a political-stability score of 58/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Honduras have a digital nomad visa?

No dedicated digital nomad visa was listed for Honduras as of 2026-07. Visitors from the US can stay 90 days visa-free.

### How fast is the internet in Roatán?

Measured median download speed in Roatán was 14.2 Mbps (upload 7.2 Mbps) across 21,415 M-Lab tests in 2024. Measured speeds run below advertised plan speeds everywhere, so compare cities rather than reading the number as a plan.

### Is Starlink available in Roatán?

Yes. Starlink's availability map lists residential service as available in Honduras (checked 2026-10), so a dish can serve as a backup line in Roatán. Check the exact address on starlink.com before ordering, since capacity varies by area.

### Which airports serve Roatán and how many nonstop flights are there?

Roatán is served by Juan Manuel Gálvez International Airport (RTB) with 16 nonstop destinations, of which 12 are international. 6 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-07.

### When is the best time of year to be in Roatán?

The most comfortable months are Feb, Mar, Apr, May. Mean temperatures range from 78°F (26°C) in Jan to 84°F (29°C) in Sep (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Roatán or Utila: which is better for digital nomads?

Utila is the city with the closest factor profile to Roatán in this dataset. Which one wins depends on your weights; the comparison page puts every factor side by side with the numbers behind them.

## Plan a trip

[Where to stay in Roatán](https://navoy.io/hotels/honduras/roatan) on Navoy, the AI travel planner behind Nostos.

## Sources

[^1]: City population (latest census or official estimate), Wikipedia (citing national statistics offices). CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^2]: 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026 (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^3]: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows), WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^4]: Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, dataUNODC. UNODC data, free to reuse with attribution. https://data.unodc.org/datareport/hom-victim (retrieved 2026-10-12)
[^5]: Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100), World Bank. CC BY 4.0. https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^6]: UHC service coverage index, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/uhc-index-of-service-coverage (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^7]: Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/life-expectancy-at-birth-(years) (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^8]: M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024), Measurement Lab. CC0 1.0. https://statistics.measurementlab.net/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^9]: Starlink availability map, SpaceX (Starlink). Factual status cited from starlink.com. https://www.starlink.com/map (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^10]: Digital Nomad Visas 2026, WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^11]: Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations), Ilya Ilyankou (compiled from passportindex.org). MIT. https://github.com/ilyankou/passport-index-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^12]: Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables), Wikipedia contributors; countries via Wikidata. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-24)
[^13]: Walkability and transit ratings (editorial), Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/methodology (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^14]: NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center. Public domain (US Government). https://power.larc.nasa.gov/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^15]: SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04), Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group, Washington University in St. Louis. CC BY 4.0. https://sites.wustl.edu/acag/surface-pm2-5/ (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^16]: OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API), OpenStreetMap contributors. ODbL 1.0. https://overpass-api.de/ (retrieved 2026-10-02)
[^17]: Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023), United Nations Development Programme. CC BY 3.0 IGO. https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/documentation-and-downloads (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^18]: EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band), EF Education First. Proprietary; band cited as a fact with attribution. https://www.ef.com/epi/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)

HTML page: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/roatan