Victor Bodden "Best of Roatan Private Tour"

[voneuchre]

i know they are private but we prefer to be with others, can you request to be with a larger group or are the all individual bookins?

[hfitzger]

Can you go to Pirates Canopy Tour with VB or will he only take you to his?

 

How is his zipline? Safe? adventurous?

Thanks

 

Just returned from our Bodden tour last week-- had a private tour booked and when we went to Victor's place to settle up our charges, we ended up doing the zip line (that we hadn't planned-- did feel some pressure to purchase this $180 add-on for our family of 4).

 

It was our first time zipping, and we did have fun on the experience and felt safe with our two guides. Some of the zips do take place over open fields, so if you are wanting the "zipping-through-the-rainforest" experience, you might be better off with a different facility for zipping. If you are experienced zippers, you might want a more exciting place as these were probably pretty tame lines compared to others... (they were plenty adventurous for us as first-timers with young kids, but probably not intended for thrill seekers! :)

[tarheelmjfan]

Thanks to the feedback here, we booked our tour. Victor said it appears Hanno is still available, so I'm hoping we got him. I'm assuming he speaks very good English. We've reserved private tours before, & could barely understand anything our guide said. Needless to say, that definitely detracts from the tour. As long as I can understand them & they don't try to take us from one place to another for them to get kickbacks, I'm good. :) We've had that happen on tours too. :rolleyes:

[lovevacadays]

Thanks to the feedback here, we booked our tour. Victor said it appears Hanno is still available, so I'm hoping we got him. I'm assuming he speaks very good English. We've reserved private tours before, & could barely understand anything our guide said. Needless to say, that definitely detracts from the tour. As long as I can understand them & they don't try to take us from one place to another for them to get kickbacks, I'm good. :) We've had that happen on tours too. :rolleyes:

 

Hi - did you put in a request for Hanno with Victor? If he's available Victor will allow you to book a specific guide. We toured with Tex. It was fabulous and we didn't at all feel like we were being taken to places he got a kickback. We picked and chose what we wanted to do. He did suggest our lunch place which we loved.

[Bookmarker]

We just got back from our trip. I booked with Victor and requested Lany. We had a terrific day. Lany gave us a wonderful tour. He gave us a lot of info about the island and each of the towns that we drove through. We had a couple of stops for pictures (views/shipwrecks), shopping (lencan pottery and mahogany products are popular), monkeys (absolutely hysterical - hang on to your hats and sunglasses). We did not zip line or do any type of beach stay. We had lunch at Celeste Island Cuisine at West Bay Lodge. Definitely try the baleada. Mom had shrimp and said it was delicious. I had the grouper and thought it was delicious as well. Overall we had a terrific day and my mom wants to know when we are playing with the monkeys and having baleadas again.

[tarheelmjfan]

Hi - did you put in a request for Hanno with Victor? If he's available Victor will allow you to book a specific guide. We toured with Tex. It was fabulous and we didn't at all feel like we were being taken to places he got a kickback. We picked and chose what we wanted to do. He did suggest our lunch place which we loved.

 

I requested Tex, Ali, or Hanno. That was the names I picked up from here. We're booked with Hanno. I guess Tex & Ali were already booked. It sounds like we'll be happy with Hanno. I'd love to hear more experiences from people who toured with him too.

[tarheelmjfan]

Just returned from our Bodden tour last week-- had a private tour booked and when we went to Victor's place to settle up our charges, we ended up doing the zip line (that we hadn't planned-- did feel some pressure to purchase this $180 add-on for our family of 4).

 

It was our first time zipping, and we did have fun on the experience and felt safe with our two guides. Some of the zips do take place over open fields, so if you are wanting the "zipping-through-the-rainforest" experience, you might be better off with a different facility for zipping. If you are experienced zippers, you might want a more exciting place as these were probably pretty tame lines compared to others... (they were plenty adventurous for us as first-timers with young kids, but probably not intended for thrill seekers!

 

 

We just got back from our trip. I booked with Victor and requested Lany. We had a terrific day. Lany gave us a wonderful tour. He gave us a lot of info about the island and each of the towns that we drove through. We had a couple of stops for pictures (views/shipwrecks), shopping (lencan pottery and mahogany products are popular), monkeys (absolutely hysterical - hang on to your hats and sunglasses). We did not zip line or do any type of beach stay. We had lunch at Celeste Island Cuisine at West Bay Lodge. Definitely try the baleada. Mom had shrimp and said it was delicious. I had the grouper and thought it was delicious as well. Overall we had a terrific day and my mom wants to know when we are playing with the monkeys and having baleadas again.

 

Thanks for the reviews. :) I love hearing what others did to give us ideas on what to request. We already know our DS wants to go zip-lining & see the monkeys. Other than that, we want to have a bit of a local's experience. I'd like to get a glimpse into their every day life & see their churches, schools, etc. We definitely don't want to shop. I don't think we'll go to a beach either. We have water tours at our other 3 ports.

Edited June 19, 2011 by tarheelmjfan

[Meshee]

Just booked Best of Roatan with Bodden Tours. We want to see the monkeys and go to West Bay Beach and Sightseeing. We are not interested in Ziplining as one in our group is scared of heights. Which tour guide should I request?

[flyingandcruising]

Can someone please tell me where they take you at West Bay Beach during the best of Roatan tour? is there a locker to store items?

 

Thank you

[lovevacadays]

Just booked Best of Roatan with Bodden Tours. We want to see the monkeys and go to West Bay Beach and Sightseeing. We are not interested in Ziplining as one in our group is scared of heights. Which tour guide should I request?

 

 

We had Tex in 2009 and he was fabulous. He mentioned he and Ali were the most requested guides at that time.

 

Enjoy your day in Roatan. Our day was one of my favorite days ever spent in the Caribbean.

[Shutterlady]

We have this company booked also for Thanksgiving week. I was wondering what everyone does with their belongs when they let you play in the water or on the beach for awhile. How do you keep your cash and id safe while you aren't in plain sight of your belongings?

[Voyagers]

We took the Bodden tour last week and ended up at Bananarama, which is located on West Bay beach. There was no entry fee and chairs rented for $5.00 each. We walked down to Infinity Bay to snorkel, which was great. We kept our belongings with us but we were in a van that was locked while we were at the beach.

[packedandready]

Love the idea of planning just what we want to do. Would love to do some shopping, sightseeing and snorkeling. Usually the best snorkeling is done from a boat. Does anyone know if VB can set up a boat snorkeling trip along with a land part? Thanks

[lovevacadays]

Love the idea of planning just what we want to do. Would love to do some shopping, sightseeing and snorkeling. Usually the best snorkeling is done from a boat. Does anyone know if VB can set up a boat snorkeling trip along with a land part? Thanks

 

Yes, if I remember right he can - of course - an extra charge. Have you contacted him yet via email? He is very responsive with his answers to any questions you have. I actually emailed him a few months ago to get the name of the restaurant we ate at (toured with them in 2009) and he answered me. Sometimes their internet is slow so it may take a few days but he will respond.

[hookedoncruises12]

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!

 

 

Hi Kerry&LuAnn! I see you did the Victor Bodden tours. We booked them for Dec and got Tex as our guide. I see you did the Cameo Factory and also the butterfly garden. How did you like those 2 areas? How is the West End beach? Can you snorkel there? Where did you have lunch at West End and how were then prices for lunch? Sorry for all the questions lol :D

Edited July 12, 2011 by hookedoncruises12

[Joyride37]

I may be giving us blondes a bad name, but the whole price thing is for some reason giving me confusion. We are doing the zip line, with the monkey thing with a possible trip to a beach and some food. ugh. sorry.

[Joyride37]

We got Tex as our guide, per some conversations here on the boards.

[gkjta]

I also booked Tex for our trip in February after reading through everything on these boards.

[gadawg66]

Can anyone who has been on Victor's tour via CCL tell me approximately how far the walk is from ship to tourguide? My father walks with a brace and I don't want him to be uncomfortable.

Thanks!

[hfitzger]

Hello... There is a pretty steep hill to climb to reach the outside tours, including Bodden. Our family did fine with it, but if your father has a brace, I probably wouldn't attempt it. We were there in April and it was hot and humid already in the morning when we arrived in port which made the steep walk more unpleasant.

 

On a positive note, you can take a taxi from the bottom of the hill near the port for a few $$ per person and it will take you up the hill to the tour operators. From what I understand, you can also have one person in your group walk (or take taxi) up the hill to meet the Bodden people, and then their vehicle can come down the hill to meet the rest of your party and then be on your way. They just can't drive down the hill to the port unless they are accompanied by a "tourist" inside the car with them. They will also deliver you to the port at the bottom of the hill at the end of your tour (since you're in the car with them! :)

[gadawg66]

Hello... There is a pretty steep hill to climb to reach the outside tours, including Bodden. Our family did fine with it, but if your father has a brace, I probably wouldn't attempt it. We were there in April and it was hot and humid already in the morning when we arrived in port which made the steep walk more unpleasant.

 

On a positive note, you can take a taxi from the bottom of the hill near the port for a few $$ per person and it will take you up the hill to the tour operators. From what I understand, you can also have one person in your group walk (or take taxi) up the hill to meet the Bodden people, and then their vehicle can come down the hill to meet the rest of your party and then be on your way. They just can't drive down the hill to the port unless they are accompanied by a "tourist" inside the car with them. They will also deliver you to the port at the bottom of the hill at the end of your tour (since you're in the car with them! :)

Thanks for your help! That's what I needed to know...:cool:

[hfitzger]

Thanks for your help! That's what I needed to know...:cool:

 

You will have a great time in Roatan and on your Bodden tour. It was the highlight of our ports when we were on the Legend, and we would love to plan another trip to Roatan!

[lovevacadays]

You will have a great time in Roatan and on your Bodden tour. It was the highlight of our ports when we were on the Legend, and we would love to plan another trip to Roatan!

 

Amen to that! Loved Roatan and our tour with Tex from Victor's company:D:D:D

[51Frazer]

Looking for a good place to post our Best of Roatan Tour with Bodden Tours and this looks like a good place as any. I will do this in steps. I have photos with the attached .pdf files. I could figure out how to get the photos to appear in the post so I did it that way. Enjoy and if you have questions, ask away.

[51Frazer]

Part 1:

Our Bodden Tour Shore Excursion. We chose the Best of Roatan.

 

We arrived to Roatan aboard the Carnival Legend on Friday, Feb. 24, 2012. The ship’s itinerary had us there from 8:00 AM to 2:30 PM. Due to docking issues we were not able to dock until 9:00 AM but they pushed out our return time to 3:30 PM to make up for it. We probably didn’t get off the ship until about 9:30 or so. It was no fault of the ship but it’s just the way or family was functioning that morning. We made our way thru the shops and all at Mahogany Bay and walked up the hill on the road which leads out of the area. Once we headed down the other side of the small hill there were several different tour groups asking (or begging) for us to tour with them. We had already booked with Bodden Tours and had requested Tex as a driver so we were all set. Once we found a Bodden Tour rep, they had us already on their clipboard with several other names associated with other drivers. They checked our name off and called out to Tex.

Our Bodden Tour Shore Excursion Part 1.pdf