Review - Snorkeling with Roatan Getaway Tours

[JustThinking23]

Hi, I just returned from a Panama Canal cruise, and I hope to review the whole cruise, but not sure when that will happen. In the meantime, I want to at least review our tour in Roatan. 

 

It was my family’s first time to the island. After reviewing all that there was to do and see, we chose snorkeling as our primary activity. I saw that many folks just walk / swim to the reef from the West End beaches. We have snorkeled a number of times over the years, but are not experts. I was looking for a bit more guidance over where to go, what to see, etc. 

 

Searching on line, I found Roatan Getaway Tours. http://www.roatangetawaytours.com/  Jim was very responsive with my questions back and forth. I ended up scheduling a private tour for my family of 5. (My kids are between 18 and 22). A few weeks later, my daughter said she really wanted to do a sloth encounter. Jim said no problem to change our tour a bit. 

 

Two weeks prior to our cruise, Norwegian changed the itinerary which switched our day in Roatan. I emailed Jim. He said he was aware, and no problem at all. 

 

When we arrived in Roatan, Jim’s wife, Katelyn, met us across from the entrance to the port. We went directly to AJ’s to see the sloths. It looked like we were the first visitors that day, but it also looked like a place far too small to take a bus load of visitors to. We all had pictures with the two sloths. Then we had pictures with a parrot, then we all went into the cage with 6 small, playful, monkeys. The workers there all seemed to really enjoy working with the animals, were very knowledgeable  and we never felt rushed. 

 

After the animal encounter, we drove a very short distance to meet the boat for snorkeling. Jim was the captain, Preston was our in water guide and Katelyn came along for the ride. We ended up doing three separate snorkel stops along a fairly quiet (people wise) part of the reef.

Preston was an awesome guide for us. He was identifying all of the fish. He would free dive down to point out lobsters, eels, and all sort of interesting fish. He also took pictures of the fish, and of us snorkeling which was a huge bonus. We ended up in the water for hours, until we were all exhausted. They had water, soda, fruit, and snacks on the boat for us. 

On the ride back to the ship, Katelyn was explaining all of the different tours that they do, and how they are in the process of developing a beach pavilion to include in their tours. 

 

Roatan seemed like a lovely place to return to, and we would not hesitate to book again with Jim and Katelyn

[RedE2Go64]

Thank you for this review. Our group sounds similar to yours. The sloths/monkeys sound interesting to us but really the snorkeling is what we are after. We don't have a lot of experience snorkeling but we hear that Roatan is great for it, so we want to take advantage of it. Were you snorkeling by the reef that I read so much about? Did you consider the stop at the sloths to be worth it, in terms of time lost snorkeling and extra price? Then again....how often do you get to hold a sloth, right?? lol

[JustThinking23]

The reef extends from Belize to Panama, so yes we were on the reef. Where we were didn't sound as crowded as the West End. Saw plenty of colorful fish and Coral. Again, with an in-water guide naming things and finding interesting things to point out to us.

 

The slot/ monkey encounter was about 2 doors away from the dock, so no additional driving. This was a small place, it was basically a house with animal cages on the side and back. It was about a half hour visit. $10 per person. Plenty of photo opportunities. I felt it was worth it.

 

Besides, if you are not too strong of swimmers, snorkeling can wear you out!

 

We wish we had brought swim shirts. The sun screen did not protect our backs enough, even reapplying a few times...