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If you've always dreamed of owning a Caribbean escape, a place you can retreat to a few weeks or a few months a year… maybe full-time eventually, I have good news for you: It's not too late to make a smart investment in the Bay Islands of Honduras.  Roatan, Utila, and Guanaja are truly resplendent. These beads of land set 35 miles off Honduras' northern shore, two hours by air from Houston or Miami, make up a secret Caribbean paradise that has remained affordable not because it's undesirable... but because the masses simply haven't discovered it yet.  High green hills, lush with hardwood trees and palms, provide picture-postcard views to the warm, turquoise waters shimmering below. Bright bougainvillea and hibiscus fill gardens, and passion fruit vines tumble over porch railings. Wide ribbons of white sand cling to the coast in protected coves. Elsewhere, towering rocks jut out into the sea, forming dramatic perches for defiant homes.

Bay Islands of Honduras

I invested there last year, and already my property value has increased 41%. For $35,000, I bought a ¼ acre lot up on a hill, just a ten-minute stroll from Roatan's best beach. Today, the most affordable lot in the development lists for $60,000. 

But you haven't missed the boat. In fact, so many positive developments are afoot right now -- improvements in infrastructure and access, new and better properties on offer, and big-name (read: high-traffic) projects on the horizon -- that 2004 looks to be a particularly smart time to get in.
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Visit The Bay Islands With Agora Travel THE CARIBBEAN'S LAST FRONTIER... fine, sandy beaches... clear, turquoise waters... breathtaking mountain vistas... easy, comfortable living... English-speaking neighbors... and property prices a fraction of what you'll pay elsewhere in the Caribbean. Dream of your own island escape? You won't find a better value or smarter time to invest. For an insider’s introduction, tours of the best properties on offer, and a meeting with the reliable contacts we’ve developed in the decade we’ve been escorting investors there, join Agora Travel on an intimate, First Class trip June 13-20, 2004. Details: call Barbara Perriello 1-800-926-6575 or 561-243-6276 or click here to visit The Agora Travel Website -

I'll give you some more price specifics in a moment, but first let me tell you a little about this place:

· Roatan, Utila, and Guanaja boast long, white beaches and lush, green interiors. This is quintessential Caribbean with crystal-clear turquoise waters and fiery sunsets.

· The snorkeling and diving along this hemisphere’s largest barrier reef is among the best in the world, and here you avoid the crowds that regularly invade Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Barbados, and the rest. 

· The islands are English-speaking, which makes vacationing, living, and doing business here easy.

· The retiree legislation allows you to bring in your car and household goods duty free and to receive your Social Security and pension income tax-free.

· The Tourism Incentive Law provides 10-year tax holidays for qualifying businesses like hotels, restaurants, and other tourist-related services. 
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Perfect Days Have Perfect Sunsets

· The cost of living is affordable. For example, you can hire a live-in maid who will cook and clean for you full-time for just $40 a week. A doctor's visit costs $15 or less. You can buy fresh-caught fish for $1.80 a pound, shrimp for less than $4, and lobster for less than $6.  A loaf of bread costs 60 cents. Grapefruit sells for 10 cents a piece, and oranges go for 6 cents each. Excellent home construction—to standards well over U.S. code—costs $60-$135 per square foot. · And best of all: You can own the tropical getaway you’ve always dreamed of for a small fraction of what it would cost you elsewhere in the Caribbean. On St. John in the U.S.V.I., for instance, one realtor reports that his firm’s average home-sale price in 2003 was $967,894. In the Bay Islands, you can own a comparable property for less than one-third of that. And property values, as I've said, continue to rise. Refreshingly Warm and Genuine Locals American Tom Campbell and his wife Betty, today full-time residents on Roatan, first visited the island in 1999. Tom said, "We were breathless with the beauty of this island. The people were so refreshingly warm and genuine that we knew this was a definite possibility for a place to shed the stress and enjoy an uncomplicated life.  "We bought a piece of spectacular hilltop. We knew that even if we changed our minds about the location, the value of our property would increase, and we could sell it and buy elsewhere. Now the value of our parcel has tripled, so this strategy has served us well."

"Things happen much more slowly here, and services and supplies are not in the abundance that we were accustomed to in the U.S. Some people might find it a little frustrating at first, until they slow down to the pace of life here.  "But that is what makes Roatan such a wonderful place to live. If there was a Home Depot down the road, a Wal-Mart around the corner, and a 7-11 open all night... well, it would be the place we left from. There are no traffic jams, no snarling at each other, no hurry, rarely a raised voice. There are no drive-by shootings or home invasions or random acts of violence. All the stress and disillusionment with life in general that was dragging us down has vanished. And there are plenty of business opportunities here."

Things happen much more slowly here

What's more, as I mentioned earlier, you can still find extraordinary property values. Here are a few examples of what your money will buy today: 

· A charming, three-bed, two-bath home in Turtle Crossing, on the western tip of Roatan -- just a quick 10-minute walk from the island's beautiful West End beach. This doll-house-like cottage up on a hill boasts beautiful ocean views and takes in terrific breezes. It comes fully furnished, high-speed Internet access is available, and you get use of the community pool, too. Asking? Just $164,500.
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Is This Your House?

· Waterfront and garden lots just outside the active beach town of West End list for as little as $18,000. A lot approximately a quarter-acre on the water here is priced at $49,000.  · Half-acre lots in the upscale Parrot Tree Plantation development, where you have access to a 2,000-foot white sand beach, retail shops, and marina slips… and where the views are lovely, you can buy a half-acre lot for $59,000.  · At the exclusive Lawson Rock development, a gorgeous, gated retreat on Roatan's north shore, seaside lots list for $239,000 and up. Hillside view lots start at $79,000, and smaller "village lots" near the community's pool start at $49,000.

· At the Posada del Sol Resort on Guanaja -- red tile roofs and creamy stucco tucked into a hillside, just steps from the beach -- much activity is afoot. The owners have on offer one-third acre lots situated from the Oceanside to the ridgeline on offer from $60,000 to $90,000. Owners will have full use of the resort facilities. 

Big-Name Resorts on the Way 

Two big-name resorts are weighing in with some heavy-hitting marketing power, which should help increase the number of tourists and give a corresponding boost to property values. Wyndham Hotels and Resorts is slated to break ground on Roatan before the end of the year on a new, high-end condominium and resort project on a fabulous north shore beach. 

Pre-development prices start at just $119,900 for a studio, $159,900 for a one-bedroom, and $246,900 for a two-bedroom, which makes this one of the best investment buys going on the island today. (You can reserve yours for just $5,000.) 

What's more, a golf course is slated to go in adjacent to the property, which should broaden further its appeal to travelers and give property values an additional boost. 

The Iguana Bay Kempinski Hotel (a $11.3 million, five-star property) is slated for construction on Guanaja in 2005. The luxury complex includes 36 secluded bungalows, which will reportedly rent for $1,500 a night each. This high-end exposure should lend a decidedly upscale appeal to the islands. 
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Safe, Attractive Investment Climate I've visited the Bay Islands 22 times over the past nine years. And I have to say, it's not just the good-value property deals… the lush, tropical climate… and the proximity to the States that make these islands so attractive. In addition:  · The pro-business, pro-investment government is stable, led by President Ricardo Maduro, a businessman fluent in English and with an economics degree from Stanford. As it happens, he owns a property development in the islands, and so he has a personal interest in seeing tourism numbers and property values there increase.  · Better air access and lower-cost fares make getting to the islands easier and cheaper. Continental Airlines has just announced a new non-stop flight weekly from Houston to start June 12, 2004.

Low-Stress, Comfortable Quality of Life

· You can get the goods and services you need. A deli-grocery called Bulk Gourmet provides locals with a selection they rave about -- everything from vine leaves to potstickers. Several new restaurants have also sprung up, further adding to an already ample selection of ethnic and local offerings. 

· Medical care is adequate, with two small hospitals and several clinics serving the island. Plus, in an emergency, air-evacuation services can now whisk you to the mainland in half an hour. 

· On tiny Utila, the air access is better than ever, and the island's new airport accommodates larger planes. What's more, the Tennessee Valley Authority, together with a newly formed power company, has rewired Utila's town with wind turbines to provide efficient, 24-hour electricity. 

Low-Stress, Comfortable Quality of Life

Though everyone likes a good value, a quest for a more sane existence is what really drew Therese and Michael Bennett to Roatan from San Francisco. They said, "We constantly notice nature here. You hear insects, birds, and the wind or rain in the trees rather than traffic and car alarms. Your skin is so much happier here -- we laugh at all the ads for moisturizers in the U.S. media. You can pretty much throw them away here. You wear less clothing and have the fresh air on your skin all the time. We get claustrophobic back in what we call 'The Excited States.'  Rain sounds so different here, hitting dirt and trees rather than pavement and buildings.

"The key is that you do pretty much what you want to.  If you want a quiet day, you take one. There are no quarterly reports due.  No luncheon meetings 'so we don't cut into the work day.'  No commute. That sense of control over your life is priceless, and almost impossible to imagine until you experience it. It is by far the best part of living here."
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