Chachahuate is the only permanent settlement in the Cayos Cochinos and the most photographed picture-postcard Caribbean cay you are likely to set foot on. Wooden shacks sit a few metres from the water on all sides; nets dry over coconut palms; chickens wander between the boats. The villagers cook fresh-caught fish over open fires and rent out simple cabins and hammocks for the night.
This is a working community, not a resort. Bring your own water if you are staying — there is no fresh source on the cay, and supplies arrive by boat from the mainland. Most visitors come for a few hours as part of a snorkelling day trip from La Ceiba or Roatán, but staying a night turns the visit into something genuinely memorable. After the day-trippers leave around four in the afternoon the island goes quiet, and the sunsets are about as good as the Caribbean gets.