Victor Bodden "Best of Roatan Private Tour"

[Jaymee287]

We will be cruisind for the first time next June, and we are visiting Roatan as our last stop of our Western Caribbean Cruise! We were looking at booking throught the ship being first time cruisers but, I have done my research well and as a result I don't believe we will be booking any excursions throught the ship a TON cheaper.....but is this a smart mover?

 

I stumbled across Victor Bodden Tours on this website and I read more about getting the driver for the day and it just plain sounds like a GOODTIME! There are 3 of us 22, 21, and 21 at the time of the cruise so this just seems like an awesome thing all 3 of us could pick one activity a piece and then if we could agree upon one as a group!

 

If you have taken this tour can you please tell me if you had any problems. Also if you had a tour guide that you disliked or if you had a fantastic guide that you would recommend! If you wouldn't mind telling me which attractions or activities you had chosen.

 

Feel free to infom us of ANY helpful information, not only about Victor Bodden but as I said we are first time cruisers so for all you experts, PLEASE IMPART YOU KNOWLEDGE! lol :o

 

Thanks

[MDSue]

We will be cruisind for the first time next June, and we are visiting Roatan as our last stop of our Western Caribbean Cruise! We were looking at booking throught the ship being first time cruisers but, I have done my research well and as a result I don't believe we will be booking any excursions throught the ship a TON cheaper.....but is this a smart mover?

 

I stumbled across Victor Bodden Tours on this website and I read more about getting the driver for the day and it just plain sounds like a GOODTIME! There are 3 of us 22, 21, and 21 at the time of the cruise so this just seems like an awesome thing all 3 of us could pick one activity a piece and then if we could agree upon one as a group!

 

If you have taken this tour can you please tell me if you had any problems. Also if you had a tour guide that you disliked or if you had a fantastic guide that you would recommend! If you wouldn't mind telling me which attractions or activities you had chosen.

 

Feel free to infom us of ANY helpful information, not only about Victor Bodden but as I said we are first time cruisers so for all you experts, PLEASE IMPART YOU KNOWLEDGE! lol :o

 

Thanks

Please check out some of the other posts regarding Victor Bodden yours. you'll find 100's of reviews. I have used him on each of my visits and highly recommend him, his guides and his tour. We used Hanno and were very happy with him. I have read positive reviews about many other guides also. Basically, your guide will have plenty of suggestions and will take you to a variety of places and give you some history along the way. You can sepnd as much or little time as you like at any destination you choose. I definitely recommend a visit to see the monkees and animals at his home. He has quite a nice set up. You can also zip-line from there. There are a variety beaches to choose from, some more sandy and clear, others better for snorkelling. The iguana sanctuary is fun also, but I would think zip-lining would be a must for 20 somethings.

Have a great time!

[badgambler]

I would highly recommend Bodden for a day of sightseeing while in Roatan. We booked with Bodden prior to our departure via email. We paid cash to our driver the day of our tour.

Our driver Frankie was there waiting when we got off the ship. We told him we wanted to zipline so he immediately took us to South Shore so we were ahead of the cruise tours. Ziplining was a blast. We were the only people there when we started. He then took us around the island stopping at our will for photo ops and even some shopping. Then we went to a little restaurant on the beach for a light lunch. Again, we were the only one’s there. It was beautiful. We toured some more and then ended up at the beach for an hour or so where we swam and relaxed. He returned us to the ship in plenty of time so we still had time to shop near the pier before returning to the ship.

I would highly recommend using Bodden for touring Roatan. You avoid the cattle herd of the cruise tour and it is much more relaxing. Not to mention, cheaper. And, you get to see what you what you want and stay as long or short as you like. No waiting on 40 other people.

We paid $80 for the two of us for the day. We tipped Frankie an extra $20 and some chocolate bars! Ziplining was about $40? Per person.

ABSOLUTELY, do your own thing and you are safe with Bodden

[Kat128]

I just got back from Roatan after sailing on the NCl Jewel. Roatan was one of my favorite ports. My friends and I are around the same age as you and we loved the Victor Bodden tour.

 

Our driver was Jorge and he was fantastic!!! I would highly recommend him and if you can please do request him. I think that you would love his tour.

 

Jorge took us to some great spots around the island to take photos and see the amazing views from the high peaks. We stopped by a beautiful house that his friends owns. He has a small bar with cheap prices. Usually it's only a stop for cruise passengers but we got to go for free. Great house with nice company. After that we went to see the monkeys and other animals. What a great time! We got great pictures and enjoyed playing with the animals for a while. After that stop, we went to West End Beach. Nice beach but the water wasn't too nice due to the weather the previous day. They had a nice bar and a great tree house hotel room we got to visit. After that we went back to the port area for some shopping.

 

The tour was an amazing deal. Jorge was great and we got to meet Victor too. He was nice and made sure everything was in order. Roatan is a beautiful place and I really hope I can visit again soon.

 

I hope you have as much as a good time as my friends and I did in Roatan.

[lovevacadays]

I agree with the previous posters. Victor Bodden tours is the way to go. You can't beat the price and the experience. Just got back and others on our ship had done ship's tours or just not gotten off the ship. Boy did they miss out on a beautiful island. When you book with Victor he gives you several things you can choose to do but once you get your tour guide he will add or subtract anything you want. If you let them know what kind of things are of interest to you they will make sure you get to do them. We had Tex as our guide. He was great. He has lived on the island all his life and had many interesting details to impart. He definitely would be a good guide for people in your age group as I'm sure he can recommend some places and things you might particulary like. He even took us by his home and we met his two dogs. He lives in a small home on the beach. There is a little pier in front of his home and you can see the place where folks go to swim with the dolphins from this pier. He actually took us on a drive in the van right on the beach - it was awesome. Roatan is a beautiful island and with Victor's tours you get to see so much more of this island than evidently the ship's tours get to see. We also had lunch at Half Moon Bay Resort which was a spectacular experience.

[nybumpkin]

We loved our tour with Victor's company. We opted for the iguana farm, which was a lot of fun - there are some other animals there as well. We then took an island tour and stopped at several places for pictures. We asked our driver for a lunch recommendation, and he took us to Blue Bahia Resort on Sandy Bay. It's a small resort owned by a couple who moved to Roatan from California. Lunch was very good and had a wonderful beach view. We then went to Victor's house, played with the monkeys (one fell asleep on my shoulder), then back to the ship. It was a great tour.

[TeacherCruiser09]

Thank you for all the posts! I am going to Roatan in Dec and will be going on a private tour with Victor's company. I believe we are going to have a driver named Tex. It will be myself 25 and my sister 27. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to ask to go on the island? Or just let the driver do the work?

[lovevacadays]

Teachercruiser - we just got back from Roatan and had Tex. He's great. He will make recommendations if you don't have anything particular in mind. What do you like to do?

[TeacherCruiser09]

Teachercruiser - we just got back from Roatan and had Tex. He's great. He will make recommendations if you don't have anything particular in mind. What do you like to do?

 

I think we want to go ziplining. But, that is about as far as we have gotten. I'm glad he makes recommendations! What are some things that you did?

[bad973]

Based on numerous great reviews on CC and the reviews on Victor's own website www.BoddenTours.com I've booked the Best of Roatan tour. I will want to see Carambola Botanical Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Cameo Factory, island tour and photo ops, beach lunch and some shopping. I'm not into ziplining or snorkeling but he has those to offer too.

I submitted a reservation inquiry via his website and have had several prompt e-mails from him answering my questions in great detail. Very reliable and prompt.

Barbara

[Jaymee287]

I think we are planning to book through him for our June 2010 cruise. I have also done my research and read TONS of reviews. CC is great for first time cruisers like the 3 of us! I think we are planning to also visit the Botanical Garden for the Jungle trail, Iguana Farm, Victor's Monkey's, Snorkel/visit the beach, lunch, shopping. There are so many possibilities. Victor is FANTASTIC about replying to emails very quickly at that! He has also told me that if there is something you find through your research or hear about and you would like to do just let him know and he'll arrange it. I'm thinking massage on the beach! :cool::rolleyes: We will be ages 22, 21, & 21 at the time of the cruise! :) We want to get the most out of it, so why not a massage on the final day!

[Kerry&LuAnn]

We had a great experience with Victor Boden Tours. All of Victor's email communications were prompt and informative, which helped immensely in our vacation planning. Our guide Will was a wonderful man and spent the entire day with us, driving us all over the island to get a taste of the beauty, culture, and history of Roatan. We visited the Sherman Arch Iguana Preserve, Victor's Monkey Business, and the Roatan Tropical Butterfly Garden. It was great fun interacting, up close and personal, with iguanas, monkeys and tropical birds! We also visited the West End and had a delicious lunch at a restaurant that Will suggested. Before returning to our ship, we stopped at the Stone Castle Cameo Factory. Thanks to Victor and Will, our visit to Roatan was the highlight of our cruise!

[NitaBcruising]

There were 9 of us and we had a private tour with Victor Bodden, with his cousin Derrick as our guide. It was fantastic! We had asked for a scenic tour, Butterfly Gardens and Monkey Business. We enjoyed both of those places and the animals at both, especially the monkeys we got to go in with in the cage!

While we were touring, we asked if there was any place near to see how their people live, rather than just the touristy places. He took us to the Garifuna Village, along the coast. We saw guys fishing, kids fishing and playing on a small pier. We stopped at a store to buy sodas and enjoyed the interaction with the locals! That part of the tour was the highlight of the day!

Very accomodating and enjoyable tour! All 9 of us loved it! It was the best tour on our 4 ports. :)

[Kramer995]

Victor Bodden Tours are THE BEST. I emailed a list of things I wanted to do, and we did them. Our guide drove us past two shipwrecks and took us to several places that were great photo ops of the cruise ship. We saw the monkey and zip line at Bodden's property. A++++++ all the way. We finished the day at the West End for a little shopping and beach time. Our guide kept pushy vendors away, so we could enjoy our time at the beach. I can't say enough good things about them. :-)

 

Heather

[legalwife]

I LOVE THIS BOARD!!! Again, I have to say it.

 

Just sent our inquiry and requests for October. Yes, I book early.

 

Victor sounds great and thanks so much for sharing.

[Jaymee287]

I'm a SUPER ORGANIZING FREAK lol! I have had a list made for things I need to do and get since we booked in June! 1 year in advance lol IT'S A'OK lol

[JIMMYDAMA]

WE HAD A FANTASTIC TIME WITH VICTOR BODDEN TOURS. WE HAD ALI AS OUR GUIDE FOR THE DAY. HE WAS TRULY WONDERFUL AND HELPFUL.

DW, DS 16, DS 11, DD 11. WE WENT TO THE IGUANA FARM FIRST, THE KIDS HAD A BLAST THERE (THOUSANDS OF IGUANAS), AND MARINE LIFE TO VIEW.

NEXT ON TO THE ZIPLINE AT VICTOR BODDENS MONKEY BUSINESS. IT IS THE NEWEST ZIPLINE IN ROATAN AND ALI POINTED OUT THAT IF YOU ZIPLINE THE MONKEYS ARE FREE. HAD TO BEG THE KIDS TO LEAVE. THE SPIDER MONKEYS ARE SO FRIENDLY, BUT THEY WILL TAKE YOUR DRINK OR HATS. AWESOME TO SEE IN ACTION!

WE ASKED ALI TO TAKE US TO A NICE RESTAURANT OVER LOOKING THE WATER. ALI TOOK US TO HALF MOON RESORT! TRULY AWESOME AND THE COCONUT SHRIMP WERE FANTASTIC! LINK BELOW

http://www.roatanhalfmoonresort.com/restandbar.html

 

THE KIDS RENTED SNORKEL GEAR AND WE SWAM RIGHT THERE AT THE RESORT THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON. WE ACTUALLY SAW MORE FISH RIGHT THERE THAN WE DID ON OUR BELIZE SNORKEL TRIP THE DAY BEFORE.

I DEFINITELY RECOMMEND ALI AND VICTOR BODDEN TOURS. ASK FOR HIM (ALI) WHEN YOU CONTACT VICTOR. ROATAN WAS THE BEST PART OF OUR CHRISTMAS CRUISE!

WE WERE TRULY THE BOSS FOR THE DAY!

THANKS ALI!

[rlessig]

We are booked with Bodden for our first trip to Roatan in 2/2010! After reading sooo many positive reviews and researching our options - it was a no brainer! I know that we are visiting the monkeys, the cameo factory, and west end. Mahogany Bay looks nice but I want to see the island, not my cruise ship!

[lornajones]

Just got back and went ziplining, monkey tour, island tour, shopping, beach it was great. We had Pilo and he was very nice and informative. We will use Victor again if we are able to return to Roatan.

 

Walk from port is not far at all took maybe five minutes and there was a guide just outside the gate with a Victor Bodden sign. Once signed in a car will come pick you up and take you to the central location were all the tour guides are waiting. A person even needed a ride from the port and one person road in with the driver and picked up the handicapped person so please use Victor even if you are disabled they are allowed to pick you up. Only restriction is they can only pick you up everyone else in your party will need to walk the five or so minutes up the small hill.

[Fldw126]

I will share my VB experience. We did not like our tour driver Ann. She hardly spoke unless we prompted her. She was very quiet the whole time.

 

None of us had ever been to Roatan before and wanted some information. We had planned on shopping, beach, monkey and island tour. The island tour was not much, or she did not take us very many places and where she did it, she did not tell us much about it. We had to ask her questions to prompt her to talk.

When it came time to shop, she brought us to ONE place, which is apparently one where they all stop, as we saw several other VB tours in the small shop as well. There was not much in the shop anyway. Some carved trunks, some vases, linens etc.. Then she told us the public beach was closed and recommended another place, that was 5.00 to get in and included a drink. We went there, the beach area was very small, she stayed at the car the whole time, did not come down with us, as VB had said they would stay on the beach with you to watch your stuff in his email. There were a lot of peddlars for braclets/massages etc.. We had lunch in the little food place there, which took forever but food was fine.

There were others we saw on VB tours there as well, that we saw at the monkeys etc..

The animals were the best part of our day, we loved seeing them all, there are more than just monkeys, birds, deer, the anteater was funny, as soon as we walked up he assumed the position so we could scratch his back.

To us it just seemed like she took us to places that maybe they get some kickbacks for. (as she was given tickets and gifts at both places)

We expected more I guess. We had a good day overall but it was not anything I would rave about and we would prob just do Mahogany Bay if we go again. Just know exactly where you want to go, we should have gone online here for more tips so we would know the names of places to go etc.. so when she only took us 1 place we could have known there was more etc..

[MDSue]

I will share my VB experience. We did not like our tour driver Ann. She hardly spoke unless we prompted her. She was very quiet the whole time.

 

None of us had ever been to Roatan before and wanted some information. We had planned on shopping, beach, monkey and island tour. The island tour was not much, or she did not take us very many places and where she did it, she did not tell us much about it. We had to ask her questions to prompt her to talk.

When it came time to shop, she brought us to ONE place, which is apparently one where they all stop, as we saw several other VB tours in the small shop as well. There was not much in the shop anyway. Some carved trunks, some vases, linens etc.. Then she told us the public beach was closed and recommended another place, that was 5.00 to get in and included a drink. We went there, the beach area was very small, she stayed at the car the whole time, did not come down with us, as VB had said they would stay on the beach with you to watch your stuff in his email. There were a lot of peddlars for braclets/massages etc.. We had lunch in the little food place there, which took forever but food was fine.

There were others we saw on VB tours there as well, that we saw at the monkeys etc..

The animals were the best part of our day, we loved seeing them all, there are more than just monkeys, birds, deer, the anteater was funny, as soon as we walked up he assumed the position so we could scratch his back.

To us it just seemed like she took us to places that maybe they get some kickbacks for. (as she was given tickets and gifts at both places)

We expected more I guess. We had a good day overall but it was not anything I would rave about and we would prob just do Mahogany Bay if we go again. Just know exactly where you want to go, we should have gone online here for more tips so we would know the names of places to go etc.. so when she only took us 1 place we could have known there was more etc..

Sorry you had a bad time. I would recommend that you email Victor and voice your concerns. I'm sure he would really appreciate your opinion and it would be helpful for future customers. We loved our guide [Hanno] so much that we requested him a second time on our next visit.

p.s. I loved the anteater! He really did love a good back scratch.

 

[RN1986]

Just returned from our tour with Laura from VB. She was OK. We loved driving around Roatan. Beautiful and we felt safe. We ended up going to Bananarama beach to swim and snorkle. I would not recommend this. Too crowded and not very beautiful but the snorkling was very good.

The animals a VB were great . My kids loved them and so did i. Our guide stayed with us on the beach the whole time.

It was a really great way to see a beautiful spot.

[czimm]

RN, did you choose Bananarama, or did your guide recommend it? We will be there next week with Victor Bodden and Bananarama was my first choice for a beach and snorkeling stop...

[RN1986]

We did not choose Bananarama. It was the only spot that we could enter to a public beach. All the hotel beach fronts were fully booked. Bananarama was not at all prepared for the amount of people. They ran out of beer and soft drinks. We were taken there by our driver, through a very muddy parking lot that i really didn't think we would get our of. Big sink holes. Leave lots of time to get back to the ship. My kids snorkled there and said it was really good. People we met paid 30 pp which was arranged through Bananarama for the day which gave them transportation, a beach chair and 1 drink. When they arrived there was not a chair for them--very busy. They made lots of noise, got a chair and free drinks/food for the day. We did VB tour for 25 pp, saw the island, monkeys etc and then just apid $5 for a chair rental.

Honestly, I would not go back there if there are a lot of boats in that day. Wall to wall people and not at all beauriful.

[czimm]

Thanks for your help, RN. We requested "Ali" as our driver, and will probably avoid Bananarama. Thanks again!