Seashell, we walked back in pairs or three somes several nights and it was fine. You just definitely need a flashlight as the beach is dark. Its only a short stretch of beach though and we never had an issue with it. Loafers bar is half way down so there are more people walking around on nights when that bar is open as well. You can also cab it if you don't want to do the night time walk back.
Kathy, I booked my air around December because that was when they first allowed you to use Delta miles on Continental. So I used my sky miles to get there. Other friends booked a couple of months beforehand and got rates around the $500 range, similar to getting to Belize City. The Islena flight from SAP to Roatan was $125 round trip and I booked that online. American also flies to SAP, and Taca and Sol Air fly direct into Roatan from Miami. Continental just is starting its directs from Houston this month, which may be why the rates are high right now. It may drop if they start adding more direct flights or start competing with Taca or another airline.
Andrea