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Leaving Coxen Hole, the paved road runs northeast past the small secluded cove of Brick Bay to FRENCH HARBOUR , a busy fishing port and the island's second largest town. Less run-down than Coxen Hole, it's a lively place to stay for a couple of days, and all the accommodation is right in the centre. Harbour View Hotel (tel 455 5390; US$15-25) has reasonable rooms with bath and hot water, while the more upmarket Buccaneer Hotel (tel 455 5032; US$40-60) has a pool and a large wooden deck overlooking the water. The best place to eat is Gio's , by the Credomatic building on the waterfront, where you can dine on excellent but pricey seafood; for more local fare, try Pat's Place , 50m further on. From French Harbour the road cuts inland along a central ridge to give superb views of both the north and south coasts of the island. After about 14km it reaches OAK RIDGE , an attractive fishing port with wooden houses strung along its harbour. There are some nice unspoiled beaches to the east of town, accessible by launches from the main dock. The best place to stay is the clean and pleasant Hotel San Jose (tel 435 2328; US$10-25), on a small caye a short distance across the water from the dock. Launches run from the main dock to the caye on demand (US$0.50). About 5km from Oak Ridge on the northern coast of the island is the village of PUNTA GORDA , the oldest Garifuna community in Honduras. The best time to visit is for the anniversary of the founding of the settlement (April 6-12), when Garifuna from all over the country attend the celebrations. At other times it's a quiet and slightly dilapidated little port with no historical buildings. The very basic Los Cincos Hermanos (US$5-10) offers fairly clean rooms and has an attached comedor. From the end of the paved road at Punta Gorda you can continue driving along the dirt track which runs east along the island, passing the turn-off for the secluded Paya Beach after around 1.5km, where there's a new dive hotel, the pleasant little Paya Beach Resort (tel 924 2220, www.payabay.com ; US$60-80 including all meals). A further 5km or so along is Camp Bay Beach , an idyllic, undeveloped stretch of white sand and coconut palms, though there are plots of land for sale here so things may change soon. The road ends at the village of PORT ROYAL , on the southern edge of the island, where the faint remains of a fort built by the English can be seen on a caye offshore. The village lies in the Port Royal Park and Wildlife Reserve , the largest refuge on the island, set up in 1978 in an attempt to protect endangered species such as the yellow-naped parrot, as well as the watershed for eastern Roatan. The eastern tip of Roatan is made up of mangrove swamps, with a small island, Morat , just offshore. Beyond is Barbareta caye, which has retained much of its virgin forest cover. The Barbareta Beach Resort runs inclusive packages (in the US tel 888/450 3483; from US$220 for three nights), with diving, windsurfing, hiking, mountain biking and fishing tours available. The reef around Barbareta and the nearby Pigeon Cayes offers good snorkelling; launches can be hired to reach these islands from Oak Ridge for around US$35 for a return trip.
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