Enjoy drinking beer in a tropical setting? Well do I have the perfect excursion for you! Roatan Brews and Island Views offers guests a chance to tour a local brewery and partake in a tasting flight, all in the captivating scenery of Honduras. Built on a 60 acre parcel of land in the Palmetto Valley of Roatan, the Roatan Island Brewing Company offers in-depth tours of how they create their tropical ales.
We booked this excursion through Royal Caribbean Cruise Line on our recent Western Caribbean cruise itinerary. It should be fairly obvious since this excursion is a brewery tour but it's worth mentioning that the excursion requires a minimum 21 years of age for all guests hoping to participate.
The excursion was advertised as mild activity level with minimal amounts of walking and standing. They recommended we wear comfortable walking shoes but I'm happy to report that the activity level was less than mild. The excursion length was 3 hours and 15 minutes, which I thought was a perfect amount of time to spend off the ship. The tour started at 10:30am, with a meeting time of 10:15am on the pier ashore. There was another option for later in the day but we preferred the 10:30am time. It gave us some time to sleep in and then we were back on the ship in time for a late lunch.
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| Our shore excursion tickets |
For excursions booked through Royal Caribbean, your shore excursion tickets should be delivered to your stateroom. Our tickets did not arrive to our stateroom so we had to visit the excursion desk. There was a long line of other guests who were also missing their tickets at the excursion desk so make sure you leave yourself enough time before your excursion meeting time in the event that you also don't receive your tickets. You'll need to remember to bring your SeaPass card and valid ID when you disembark the ship.
Our scheduled meeting place was Zone 4, on the pier ashore, but we weren't sure exactly what that meant. Luckily, signage at the Roatan pier was very easy to read and we found our meeting spot relatively quickly.
We met our guide for the excursion at the meeting location and after a short wait, we were able to board our air conditioned motorcoach. The ride to the brewery took about 20 minutes and during that drive our tour guide told us some history of Roatan. Our guide was wonderful. He was very friendly and funny, which made the 20 minute ride go by very fast.
We arrived at the Roatan Island Brewing Company where we were treated to a flight of beer tastings accompanied by some snacks. Before our beer tastings, one of the owners of the brewery reviewed the 12 beers and ales they had on tap, providing thorough details on the flavor profile, ABV (alcohol by volume) and IBU (international bitterness unit) of each option. The excursion price included a tasting flight of 4 beers but there was also an option to upgrade to an 8 beer tasting flight for an additional $5. We decided to pass on the 8 flight option (it was a quick excursion and I didn't think I could drink that much in that short amount of time). It's worth noting that there were a couple non-alcoholic beverage options on the menu available.
I enjoy beer but I'm not a fan of IPAs or anything that feels too heavy or rich. Light beers are my preference so I was pleasantly surprised to find a lot of options on their menu that I would enjoy. The owner did a great job of explaining each option on tap so I felt confident when I placed my order that I would be happy with my choices.
In addition to the tasting flights, we were also served a small plate of locally-made sausages and pretzel bites. The snacks were delicious! I'm a big fan of pretzel bread and this one did not disappoint. If you're looking for a little more than snacks, there is also a full food menu available.
After we enjoyed our food and drinks, the owner gave a brief tour of the brewing process. It was really neat to hear what all goes into making their tropical ales. If you aren't interested in taking the tour, you can enjoy cornhole, foosball, ping pong, classic arcade games or board games.
The majority of the excursion takes place indoors but there are some outdoor spaces at the brewery to enjoy. You may want to bring a hat and sunglasses with you, just in case. And don't forget to apply sunscreen! The sun is very strong in the Caribbean so it's better safe than sorry.
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