Roatan Sunsplash Tours - Our Disasterous Day in Roatan

I wanted to share my review of Roatan Sunsplash Tours in hopes of saving others from the kind of day we had in Roatan:

I booked the private catamaran tour more than a year in advance and paid a deposit. I was advised that the boat could hold up to 40 people, and I had to pay for a minimum of 17 people. When I advised Stephanie a few weeks in advance that we only had 11 people, but would still pay for 17, she said that just meant we would have plenty of room. The night before the excursion, I emailed her that we had 14 people. She seemed a bit put out saying they may not have enough food. I advised that food wasn't a big concern.

The day of the excursion, we arrived outside of the port. We were met by a man who said he was our guide. He told us that there was a problem with the catamaran, and we had been "upgraded to a 50 foot yacht." Our driver then pulled up in a small van that would have been tight with 11 people. Thankfully, our guide also had a car, and we put three additional people in that. We survived the 20 minute drive to arrive at a secluded dock area. When I did not see any boats suitable for our size group, I asked which boat it was. Our guide indicated a fishing boat docked at the pier. I immediately advised that this was not suitable for our group. Upon closer inspection, I said this would absolutely not do. He called Stephanie and gave me the phone.

Stephanie claimed she did not advise me of the problem with the catamaran the night before because she thought she would have it fixed and did not want to upset me. I advised her that this boat was not a yacht. It was a fishing boat. She continued to claim this was an upgrade despite the fact that it didn't even have comfortable seating for eight people. I informed her that I would not be paying the agreed upon rate for this boat. When I told her what I thought it was worth, she insisted on more. Because I had 14 people in a secluded area with only her staff, 20 minutes from the port, I felt I had no choice but to agree to pay what she insisted on. In tears, I hung up the phone.

At this point, eight people in our group said there was no way they were going on this boat, and the driver took them back to the port. Six of us decided to try and get something for our money, and boarded the boat. We informed the crew that we just wanted to be taken to the beach so we could get off of the boat, relax and shop. An hour later, there was still no beach in sight. They had insisted on taking us to see the dolphins in captivity, and were driving very slow. Finally, we just insisted they return us to the dock and take us back to the port.

The "international open bar" was a cooler with some beer, water and soda. The "appetizers, snacks, fruit, lunch and baked goods" was a tray of chips with a mango guacamole, some chicken salad on bread and pineapple. None of us were confident enough to try the sandwiches.

In short, this company did not even come close to delivering what they promised, and took us for a ride. They did not make up for the shortcomings, never apologized for the horrible experience, and complained that the money I gave them did not even cover their expenses. I would NEVER EVER book a tour with this company again, and would recommend you avoid them as well.

I am so sorry you had such a rough time.

Free Radical has heaps of good press here, why did you not book them?

Sent from my SM-G920T using Forums mobile app

Give your review on trip advisor. Many people look for reviews on there.

I agree. Local companies live & die by good reviews and word of mouth.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

people are getting that a huge portion of the reviews on sites like TA are fake.

I have posted my review on Trip Advisor as well. As for the other company mentioned above, I had not heard of them before I booked this one. Thanks everyone.