I recently had the opportunity to visit Little French Key Island, located off the coast of Roatan, Honduras.
This private island is a day resort for tourists, especially popular with cruise passengers.
To give you an idea of what Little French Quay is like, we wanted to create a photo tour and provide some information about the experience.
Getting to the island is very easy. We walked outside the Mahogany Bay Cruise Port complex and after a short walk along the sidewalk we arrived at a small parking lot where independent tour operators were waiting to take tourists to various locations.
This is where you'll find Little French Quay's vans and friendly, knowledgeable staff. From here, it's about a 15-20 minute journey to where you can purchase your Little French Quay package and board the boat.
On arrival, you can choose from a variety of packages that include everything from food and drinks to water sports equipment and activities.
After purchasing your package, you'll take a quick boat ride from mainland Roatan (the island itself) to the small island of Little French Key. Little French Key is very close to Roatan and easy to see.
Once you arrive on the island, you can go wherever you like. Most of the island is open to guests, and there are many beaches and hangouts to enjoy.
You can see various animals roaming freely, which is intentional. So don't be surprised if you come across peacocks, monkeys and other wild animals. Ownership of Little French Quay recently changed hands and new co-owners are running things differently than before.
I spoke to one of the owners and he said that animals and guests are allowed to roam freely on the island as long as they don't harm each other.
If you've visited Little French Quay in the past, you may remember that large, exotic animals like lions and jaguars were kept in cages as part of the island's little “zoo” experience. I don't know. Although some of this exotic animal experience remains on the island, their numbers are much smaller as many of the animals have been given new homes.
For those who remain, the owners are building bigger and better facilities. And yes, the days of swimming with and holding jaguars at Little French Quay are over, as the current owners have adopted a more animal-friendly approach to their offerings.
Very convenient for cruise passengers, Little French Quay has a chalkboard listing which ships are in port that day and when guests from those ships should leave the island to return to the ship.
Below is one of several bars on the island. There is a variety of seating around, including swing benches.
Several restaurants and bars offer delicious food and drinks in Little French Key. Enjoy food and drinks while admiring the beautiful scenery.
Visitors can lounge on the white sand, take a dip, snorkel to explore the vibrant coral reef, or take part in water activities like kayaking and paddleboarding.
Deeper: Fire destroyed Little French Quay in 2018 and will be rebuilt