Coxen Hole, Roatan tide times

Coxen Hole is Roatan’s main town and the functional capital of the Bay Islands department of Honduras. It is not a beach destination. What it is: the ferry terminal for services to La Ceiba on the mainland, the main commercial hub of the island, and the port of entry for anyone arriving by air at Juan Manuel Gálvez International Airport, 3 km to the east. The waterfront here is functional infrastructure — fuel dock, freight pier, ferry terminal — not a resort beach.

The tidal regime is the same as the rest of Roatan: mixed semidiurnal, spring range 0.3–0.5 m above Chart Datum, neap range 0.1–0.2 m. In a working port context, these small increments still matter. The ferry dock has a fixed pier height calibrated to the mid-tide level; at spring high water the gangway angle is shallower and boarding is more comfortable. At spring low water the gangway steepens and there is 0.3–0.4 m more drop from the pier edge to the ferry deck. This is not a safety issue under normal conditions but it affects the ramp angle for passengers with heavy luggage or mobility constraints.

For the Hedman Alas and Galaxy Wave catamaran ferries that link Coxen Hole to La Ceiba (roughly 2 hours; services typically at 07:30 and 14:30, timetables subject to change), the operational consideration is dock-face water depth rather than gangway angle. The ferry dock is in 2.5–4.0 m of water at mid-tide; at spring low water, depth drops to 2.0–3.5 m. These catamarans draw 1.0–1.5 m fully loaded; there is adequate clearance at all tidal stages. The practical impact of the tide at the ferry dock is negligible for scheduled services operating to the current timetables.

For private boat operators and liveaboard dive vessels using the Coxen Hole anchorage, the picture is more nuanced. The anchorage area east of the ferry pier is in 3–8 m, exposed to the northwest quadrant. At spring low water, vessels anchored in 3–4 m have reduced scope options; deeper-draft vessels — anything over 2.5 m — should anchor in the 5–8 m zone east of the main pier. The holding is reported as moderate over sand and rock; divers have described the bottom as mixed sand and coral rubble, which means anchors can foul on reef structure.

The town itself is compact and walkable from the ferry terminal. The main commercial street has grocery stores, a pharmacy, a hardware store, and the Municipalidad (town hall). The fish market near the main pier is the practical resource for anglers looking to sell catch or buy live bait; it is open from roughly 06:00 to noon on weekdays, with the best selection arriving with the early-morning panga fleet. Tidal timing affects this: pangas working the outer reef depart around 05:00 on the ebb and return when their catch is full, typically 07:00–09:00 on a morning fish.

For photographers, Coxen Hole’s visual interest is the waterfront life rather than natural scenery. The ferry arrivals and departures, the painted pangas, the fish market — these are the subjects. Low-water mornings, when the dock pilings are fully exposed and the waterline is at its lowest, show the layered wood and barnacle texture of the old pier structure. The east-facing waterfront gets direct morning light until about 10:30.

Anglers passing through Coxen Hole on the way to West Bay or the East End resorts can arrange guide charters through the operators who work out of the main dock. The eastern tip of Roatan — near Punta Gorda and Old Port Royal — has significantly more productive inshore fishing than the tourist-heavy west end; reaching it requires a 45-minute panga ride from Coxen Hole.

All tide predictions for Coxen Hole come from the Open-Meteo Marine gridded model. Timing accuracy is ±45 minutes; height accuracy is ±0.3 m above Chart Datum.