Zipline & Beach

[I'manewbie]

Need your advice...we are a family of 4 cruising on the NCL Star. Husband and one son want to go ziplining - other son and I are not interested. We all would like to go to the West Bay beach area. What recommendations do you have - do we split up - or hire a car? Looking for suggestions with cost in mind. Thanks so much!

[CRUISING71]

Hello,

 

We are in the same situation as you. My daughter and I are not interest in the Zip. Check out Victor or Rony's tour, they have zip and beach day for those that want to zip for $ 65...and for those that doesn't, they can wait and watch the monkey..then head over to the beach once the zip are done for $ 25 per person.

[I'manewbie]

thx for the reply - so both victor boden and rony offer the fraidycats a reduced price? I was thinking we would either have to split up or hire a driver and make our own tour. It probably doesn't matter because husband and son have never been on a zipline and have nothing to compare with, but who has the better zipline - vb or rony?

[MichelleChell]

Check out Christopher Tours too. They will do anything you want. My Mom toured with them in Nov and has not stopped talking about them. I have them booked in 2 weeks.

[I'manewbie]

I'll check them out.I'm also considering the Jungle top adventures zipline - it's close enough to walk to and then the two zipliners can meet up with the two other members of the family and then go to the west bay beach. unfortunately, no one on this board seems to know much about it...

[mousecrazy]

I'll check them out.I'm also considering the Jungle top adventures zipline - it's close enough to walk to and then the two zipliners can meet up with the two other members of the family and then go to the west bay beach. unfortunately' date=' no one on this board seems to know much about it...[/quote']

 

There is a zip line within easy walking distance of the port (Coxen Bay). You will see their sign from the ship. This is also where the monkeys are.

 

You can easily walk there by going outside the port gates and hang a left; there's only one road.

 

If you leave the port area and walk toward town (to the right...there's only one street), you will encounter guides who will attempt to offer you tours and transportation. You can negotiate with one, then move on until you find the right thing. One thing to know (we didn't know this) ahead of time is that the guy that talks you into taking his "tour" will be working for tips. He has a deal with a driver who you will pay for the transportation. The guide will organize the transportation for you and you will pay the driver separate from the guide. The guide will likely only tell you the cost of the transportation part of the deal. He will later tell you he works for tips. Ask the guide to show you the car/van you will use. Ours was an almost new 15 passenger van. The guide will stay with you the entire day and the car/van will go elsewhere and return at the appointed time. We had a group of 11 and negotiated transportation to West Bay with an island tour for $8 per person round trip. We went to Mayan Princess ($10pp entrance fee) for the day. The guide (Julio) stayed near our stuff and kept an eye on things and was available to answer questions, but otherwise he kinda vanished into the background. The van came back in the afternoon and took us to see the monkeys. We walked back to the ship from there. He walked us to a shopping area near the port gate and split post haste just as soon as we gave him his tip.

 

Bodden or Rony's tours offers this exact thing for $25 per person...so that gives you an idea of the value of negotiating at the port and also what a reasonable tip might be.

[mamajules]

When we were in roatan my son wanted to.zipline but my friend and i didnt. We had rony for our day. We looked at ziplines prior to going and emailed rony. Decided on South Shore. We went to the zipline, got my son set up with a guide and on his way. Rony then took us to bananarama on west bay and went back to get my son when the zip was over. South shore was about 5 minutes or so from west bay

 

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[cruisemainiac]

When we were in roatan my son wanted to.zipline but my friend and i didnt. We had rony for our day. We looked at ziplines prior to going and emailed rony. Decided on South Shore. We went to the zipline, got my son set up with a guide and on his way. Rony then took us to bananarama on west bay and went back to get my son when the zip was over. South shore was about 5 minutes or so from west bay

 

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I would ditto doing something like this. Have your driver lined up ahead of time, whether through Bodden or Rony, both reputable and have great drivers. They will be yours for the day and that will allow you to modify your plans if your driver suggests something interesting. South Shore is a great zip and is close the the beaches and restaurants. If you snorkle, do not miss the chance in Roatan. Also check out the strw market across form the gate at the pier,as well as "Made in Roatan", about 100 yards to the right from the gate. Have fun.

[I'manewbie]

Thanks for the suggestions. One thing I think is becoming clearer - when I first started planning - I thought Bodden and Rony were destinations - now I believe they are the drivers and will take you to different zipline establishments - do I have this right? So when someone says Victor Bodden is excellent - they mean that the service is excellent - not necessarily the zipline they took you to.

[mamajules]

Thanks for the suggestions. One thing I think is becoming clearer - when I first started planning - I thought Bodden and Rony were destinations - now I believe they are the drivers and will take you to different zipline establishments - do I have this right? So when someone says Victor Bodden is excellent - they mean that the service is excellent - not necessarily the zipline they took you to.

 

Absolutely correct. Victor Bodden and/or Rony's Tours are companies that have taxi/driver services available. Both are on the internet so you can look them up and see what all they offer. When you book a driver, you basically tell them what you want to do, where you want to go (for as long as you like - keep watches on ship time and know what time you have to be back). They may make some suggestions, etc. We basically drove around the island some, saw some sights, got some snacks at a local grocery, stopped off in downtown Coxen Hole to shop for trinkets, saw the birds and monkeys at Victor Bodden's farm, took my son to the zipline, and then to Bananarama (no entrance fee) on West Bay for some beach time. I will explain that what you pay for the taxi service (about $25 pp) is for that alone. Any other activities you do, such as a zipline, is an extra fee (I think South Shore was $45). I think there was a small fee to see the birds and monkeys also. Also, these independent tour operators are not allowed inside the port compound at Mahogany Bay - you would walk up a hill (not bad) to the entrance of the compound and outside the gate you would meet your driver. They are, however, allowed to drop you back off inside the port. I definitely recommend going with one of these independent operators - get out and see the island. The beaches at West Bay are gorgeous!

[I'manewbie]

Thank you mamajules! I think the lightbulb finally went on (some of us are slower than others :rolleyes:)

 

Thank you all for your suggestions - I think I now have a grasp of the options and will present my findings to the family!

[mamajules]

Here are a few pictures from our day on Roatan

 

 

 

 

[I'manewbie]

Beautiful! I will skip the first 2 activities...but the last three are right up my alley! Thanks for posting.