Tabanaya or Victor Bodden

[Boatingmom]

We really just want to go to Tabayna Beach. Should we hail a cab, or get the island tour with Victor Bodden and get some pictures and monkeys thrown in?

[Irishlinny]

I think a cab will cost you around $30 each way...not absolutely sure (but it's a hike!). I would highly recommend going with Victor Bodden...they are awesome and you get the driver for the day. He will bring you anywhere you want (but it's $100...do you have others going with you?)

We just had Marty as our guide for 4 of us last week and he was wonderful! We went to Victor's to see the animals (way different than the 2 baby monkeys we saw in 2007!)...it's quite an operation now and the animals are rescues ($5 charge per person)...we loved it. Then we went to the beach for an hour and a half, and then off for some view shots and local shopping. Wonderful day, and it is always worth it to get away from this port and see this beautiful island:)

[MamaParrotHead]

We did Tabayana through the ship (which I'm normally not a huge fan of doing). It was around $30 per person and included lemonade, water, iced tea at the beach for the duration of your stay. Depends on how much beach time you want...we wanted max beach time and were there around 4 hours, I think. It was gorgeous and one of our favorite parts of the entire cruise.

[ladeeesquire]

Considering the prices people are quoting for the cab ride I'd probably go with victor's also. We had 4 adults and 1 toddler and it was $100. Its so reasonable and then you don't have to wait for another cab to be called. Plus we stopped by a local store and then while we were at the beach the guide sat at a table and watched our cameras and stuff. Really good value for a whole day with guide and car at your disposal.

[texasbluebonnet]

How was the food at tabayana? They mention barbeque on the NCL description.

[camofwilliamsburg]

On PCL it is $49, worth the price to get there and have lunch? Or do it on own with Island Marketing for 32 and it includes a free drink each and chair and transportation at Bananarama.

 

My friend is set on Tabyanna and loves the ease of the ship tour, and enjoys the lunch with the wonderful fruit she says. She told me the bbq chicken is just alright.

 

Anyone know if the local area puts together this bbq and if anything is authentic to the island, or does PCL make it and bring it over and set it up.

Is it a repeat of the BBQ served on Princess Cays?????

[123followme]

We hired George as our driver for our recent day trip to Roatan via RCCL. We were told that he would take us whereever we wanted to go. We had prearranged a snorkle trip and butterfly garden stop, with some "just beach" time as well. We wanted to get away from the cruise ship crowds as we had been here once before.

1. We were immediately taken to "a friend's house", which was also a "friend" of every other bodden driver. (HMMMM) to get a great view, and possibly buy things (they hoped).

2. We were then taken to another stop for a view with every other driver, and more things to possibly buy.

3. The butterfly garden. Birds were great and beautiful. BUT THE BUTTERFLIES ARE DEAD. They said the neighbors burned their ground and they were having to try and get more. There were maybe a dozen at the most. We were not told this upon arrival, and were still charged the full amt.

4. "I know a great place for lunch" Yeah, it belongs to Bodden! There are dogs and cats cirlcling your feet. The food is horrible, and if you have any doubt about who owns it...just turn around, and you will see your driver seating people at tables! And it's really $$$ to boot.

There were the same drivers trying to drop people off here to swim and snorkle. IT's a complete scam. When we confronted our driver about it being so obvious, he just sadi" you want to file complaint?"

We went for the snorkle as the lunch took forever, and we were running out of time. Turns our=t the snorkel guy is NOT through Bodden, and he told us that they like to not pay him at all. So he made sure we did. Which is stated that we may have to do in their fine print, but rather interesting given the day we had had. The snorkle guy took us and our 3 kids out and escorted us around personally and was really nice. Showed them animals, conch, and what not. His boat is glass bottom, and he will bring food to feed the fish as well.

He was the best part fo our day. Bodden is a scam unless you want to demand each and every place you want to go. Do not trust them to reccommend even something as simple as a place to eat.

[BPutnam]

We purchased the Tabayana beach break through the cruise line (Celebrity) as there were only 2 of us. It was around $60 each included snorkeling and lunch. The lunch is okay. I don't think it would qualify as "authentic" although I believe it is made by local women who work there. They served BBQ chicken, burgers and hot dogs, cole slaw, rice and beans and fruit. The snorkeling was fantastic. There was a snorkeling guide to show us the reef. They also big inflated water slides. The bus back to the pier ran every 1/2 hour from 1:30 on, so it was a lot more flexible than the description in the brochure implied. You can get a massage for $25 per 1/2 hour. And the prices in the gift shop were cheaper than those at the pier (at least for the items I bought)

[texasbluebonnet]

Thank you for your review of Tabyana Beach. Do you remember how long the ride was to the beach from the pier? Was the beach crowded? Were you able to get a beach chair? Was the snorkeling from the pier?

[jeeterbug]

we just got back from a RCCL cruise today and used victor bodden on thursday for our "beach break excursion". we had robbie as our driver and he was awesome. we told him where we wanted to go (foster's beach), and he took us there w/o any problem. he was very knowledgeable and personable. he also drove cautiously and anyone who's been there before can vouch it's a dog eat dog adventure on the couple of paved roads on the island. he gave one of the guys in our party his cell phone so if we wanted to stay later or leave sooner than the time we all agreed on to pick us up, we could call him and let him know. we kept to our agreed time of 2pm and he was there ON THE DOT to pick us up and take us back to the port. we'd definitely book w/them again.

[cruisemainiac]

As I was reading this I was surprised and sad for you that you had such a negative experiance with Victor. We've gone with him 5 differant times and I'll admit the first one was more touresty than I would have liked but every other time, I was taken to exactly where I wanted to go to do exactly what I wanted to do. I then realized that it seems like you only joined to slam him when I saw exactly this same response on another thread and these are the only two postings you've ever had. I think you'll find hundreds off people on these boards that have had nothing but a positive experiance with Victor and to call him "a scam" is over the top. It sounded like you had some set things you wanted to do but I'm sure at Georges' suggestion mad a couple of other quick stops, youre choice.

 

We hired George as our driver for our recent day trip to Roatan via RCCL. We were told that he would take us whereever we wanted to go. We had prearranged a snorkle trip and butterfly garden stop, with some "just beach" time as well. We wanted to get away from the cruise ship crowds as we had been here once before.

1. We were immediately taken to "a friend's house", which was also a "friend" of every other bodden driver. (HMMMM) to get a great view, and possibly buy things (they hoped). The views in Roatan are fantastic and they are to be shared. You can't slam people on a poor island for offering a few thing for sale. Just say no thanks.

2. We were then taken to another stop for a view with every other driver, and more things to possibly buy. If this "things to buy" is such an issue then I can't wait to hear what you think of Cozumel, Jamaica, Grand Cayman... you get the point

3. The butterfly garden. Birds were great and beautiful. BUT THE BUTTERFLIES ARE DEAD. They said the neighbors burned their ground and they were having to try and get more. There were maybe a dozen at the most. We were not told this upon arrival, and were still charged the full amt. This place is not run by Victor, you asked to go. The fact that you weren't happy with it has nothing to do with him. The fact that some of the butterlies are dead didn't even occur to me when we were there. The young man escourting us spent 15 minutes talking about each butterfly, their life cycles and so on.

4. "I know a great place for lunch" Yeah, it belongs to Bodden! There are dogs and cats cirlcling your feet. The food is horrible, and if you have any doubt about who owns it...just turn around, and you will see your driver seating people at tables! And it's really $$$ to boot.

There were the same drivers trying to drop people off here to swim and snorkle. IT's a complete scam. When we confronted our driver about it being so obvious, he just sadi" you want to file complaint?" I don't believe this place is owned by Victor, if we are even talking about the same place, and I think we are. What you call a scam of your driver taking you to the table some would call service. We go almost every time we're on the island and order what ever the freshest fish is and are always happy with the meal. I don't think $8 for a blackened grouper sandwich is "$$$". As far as the snorkeling, my kids say it was as good as the glass bottom/snorkel boat trip.

We went for the snorkle as the lunch took forever, and we were running out of time. Turns our=t the snorkel guy is NOT through Bodden, and he told us that they like to not pay him at all. It's clear on Victors web site that you are to pay your fee to the boat to the Captain as this operation is seperate from Victor, not that Victor won't pay him . So he made sure we did. Which is stated that we may have to do in their fine print, but rather interesting given the day we had had. The snorkle guy took us and our 3 kids out and escorted us around personally and was really nice. Showed them animals, conch, and what not. His boat is glass bottom, and he will bring food to feed the fish as well. This is the only thing we seem to agree on.

He was the best part fo our day. Bodden is a scam unless you want to demand each and every place you want to go. Do not trust them to reccommend even something as simple as a place to eat. I think I've made myself clear on this point, 'nuff said.[/quote]

 

[BPutnam]

Do you remember how long the ride was to the beach from the pier? Was the beach crowded? Were you able to get a beach chair? Was the snorkeling from the pier?

 

I would say it was about 1/2 hour back to the ship from Tabayana. The beach was somewhat crowded. There were plenty of beach chairs and there are staff who will help you find a chair (he moved 2 into a more shady spot for me) and also act as "security" to watch everyone's things. There is a fence and on the other side it is much less crowded but there are lots of locals who are selling stuff and no chairs. You could walk over there along the water. We snorkeled right from Tabayana beach. The coral is only about 10 yards out but it was great to have the guide to help us swim through a channel and get around to the other side of it. Later my husband went a few hundred feet down the beach and there was some nice shallow snorkeling there (while I was getting my massage)

[texasbluebonnet]

Thanks for the information. It sounds great.

[CouponMom]

Is Tabyana a private beach? One site I read said all beaches in Roatan are supposed to be public, yet the RCCL excursion page says: " This is a private beach and you may only access it with a tour ticket." We were hoping to rent a car (we really like to take our own adventures?!) and maybe go to this beach for snorkeling.

[Irishlinny]

Is Tabyana a private beach? One site I read said all beaches in Roatan are supposed to be public, yet the RCCL excursion page says: " This is a private beach and you may only access it with a tour ticket." We were hoping to rent a car (we really like to take our own adventures?!) and maybe go to this beach for snorkeling.

The beaches are public. You can buy tours through the resorts there (Fosters, for example), or through the cruiseline, and they may include lunch, transportation, etc...for that you would need a ticket. Otherwise you can go there with a driver or I guess rent a car. Drive carefully...it's very mountainous with alot of twists and turns;)