Coxen Hole is the largest town on Roatán, the capital of the Bay Islands department, and where the daily ferry from La Ceiba docks. It is not a tourist destination in itself — a low-rise grid of supermarkets, ATMs, government offices, the central market, and the cruise port at Mahogany Bay — but most visitors pass through at least once, either coming off the ferry or buying supplies the resort shops don't carry.
The waterfront and the cruise pier have been smartened up for the day-tripper trade; the rest is workaday Honduras. The central market, on the back streets, is the best place on the island for cheap baleadas and a sense of the local population. Pickpocketing is occasionally an issue around the port; otherwise it is calm.