Maya Eden Eco Park Excursion

[LuCruise]

Anyone booked this excursion through Royal?  If so, any feedback?  We booked it for now at a good price but also looking at other options.

 

We've been to Roatan 3x and trying to figure out what to do for our next cruise.  Coming with a 19 and 16 year old.  We're pretty low key and our older one doesn't love beaches.  In the past we've done the following:

1. Private tour.  It did stop at the Sloth and Monkey park, which also had birds.  I assume this is not the same place (as it didn't have much else, unless we just didn't venture further)?  

2.  Xocolati Tour (Royal excursion). This was a chocolate making tour which was good but not a repeat item.

3.  Maya Key Private Island (Royal excursion).   It was ok.  The beach we stopped at our first time was much nicer.  Not sure a repeat thing (our older one wasn't with us)

 

Any other suggestions?  Both tours had someone explaining the history and culture of Roatan.  Note that for excursions, we are more comfortable booking one with Royal.

Edited June 23 by LuCruise

[OCSC Mike]

4 hours ago, LuCruise said:

Private tour.  It did stop at the Sloth and Monkey park, which also had birds.  I assume this is not the same place (as it didn't have much else, unless we just didn't venture further)?  

 

Possibly Manawakie? We went there earlier this month as part of a private tour. Was there a brief speech at the beginning telling you about some history of the island?

 

That was my only excursion on Roatan and we pretty much never book excursions through RC anymore so I don't have any other recommendations, sorry. If you change your mind and want another private independent tour I do have an excellent recommendation for that.

Edited June 23 by OCSC Mike

[LuCruise]

5 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Possibly Manawakie? We went there earlier this month as part of a private tour. Was there a brief speech at the beginning telling you about some history of the island?

 

That was my only excursion on Roatan and we pretty much never book excursions through RC anymore so I don't have any other recommendations, sorry. If you change your mind and want another private independent tour I do have an excellent recommendation for that.

Not sure.  We booked with Cleve's tour with another family and the first stop was the place you could hold the sloth (best pictures!), go in the cage with the monkeys (didn't like that as they are violent) and go in the cage with the birds.  I don't remember much else there though.

[OCSC Mike]

11 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

Not sure.  We booked with Cleve's tour with another family and the first stop was the place you could hold the sloth (best pictures!), go in the cage with the monkeys (didn't like that as they are violent) and go in the cage with the birds.  I don't remember much else there though.

 

Maybe not then. There was no bird cage at Manawakie, just a couple macaws outside. You could hold the birds first, then the sloths, then the monkey cage. And those monkeys weren't violent at all, they were adorable and just jumped all over the place (including onto my shoulder) before moving on. They did try to pickpocket people though and one really liked my wife's Apple watch, lol.

[cruisetravel8]

On 6/23/2024 at 12:43 PM, OCSC Mike said:

 

Possibly Manawakie? We went there earlier this month as part of a private tour. Was there a brief speech at the beginning telling you about some history of the island?

 

That was my only excursion on Roatan and we pretty much never book excursions through RC anymore so I don't have any other recommendations, sorry. If you change your mind and want another private independent tour I do have an excellent recommendation for that.

 

[cruisetravel8]

Hello, We're stopping in Roatan on RCCL with one other ship in port.  We're thinking of a private tour?  Which one would you recommend.  Thank you!

 

[OCSC Mike]

On 7/19/2024 at 12:16 PM, cruisetravel8 said:

Hello, We're stopping in Roatan on RCCL with one other ship in port.  We're thinking of a private tour?  Which one would you recommend.  Thank you!

 

We went through RonysTours but wound up with an amazing tour guide who does his own tours and just picks up shifts with Rony if he's free. His name is Cardy.

 

He used to work as a scuba divemaster and an aquatic EMT of sorts for several resorts in Roatan over the years. He will take you anywhere you want from sloths to the beach to sightseeing... but also less touristy stuff if you're interested. We drove all over and even visited a local school to drop off donations that my teacher wife had collected. He also got us into a resort for free to look around that normally charges $20pp.

 

He can be reached at youthwithmission@gmail.com. After that he will be happy to chat with you via WhatsApp or FB messenger.

 

I'm sure anyone from Rony's can drive you to see sloths, the beach, etc. but Cardy has so much extra knowledge and is such a genuinely nice guy that it really adds to the tour no matter what you specifically want to do.

[#1TravelMom]

We've toured with Rony at least 12-14 times.  He is completely trustworthy.   I highly recommend him and his drivers for a great day.  We've been to all the monkey and sloth parks.  Mayan Eden is our favorite.   The monkeys are just roaming around, not in cages.   This park is best when you are not with a ship tour.   With Rony  you can stop at other sights if you like.   No timelines or groups of people.   Take a much time as you like. Perfect day!

[LuCruise]

11 hours ago, #1TravelMom said:

We've toured with Rony at least 12-14 times.  He is completely trustworthy.   I highly recommend him and his drivers for a great day.  We've been to all the monkey and sloth parks.  Mayan Eden is our favorite.   The monkeys are just roaming around, not in cages.   This park is best when you are not with a ship tour.   With Rony  you can stop at other sights if you like.   No timelines or groups of people.   Take a much time as you like. Perfect day!

What else is at Mayan Eden?  The monkeys are my least favorite as they can be aggressive.

I'm OP...we prefer to stick with ship tours, plus we've done the Roatan tour before. Mayan Eden Eco Park seemed ok from the Royal description but it's hard to tell.  You enjoyed it there?

[#1TravelMom]

Yes, it's our favorite of all of them.   We've been there 6 times.   Our kids want to go back every time we are in Roatan.  The monkeys are not aggressive at all.   They are in the trees and roaming around.   Your guide will hold out food and they will come.   Otherwise, they won't even come to you. There are sloths and a large snake to hold as well as toucans and parrots.  Spider monkeys and some other animals are in cages.   There is also a suspended bridge for some nice pics.  

 

I certainly respect everyone's opinion.  However, we have known Rony for 15+ years and trust him completely.   Also, if you want nice pictures with the animals, it is difficult if you are on an excursion with 40 people who also want pictures.   It's nice to just sit and watch the animals and take your time.  Mayan Eden is only 10-15 minutes from port, so not far too and from the ship. 

Edited August 3 by #1TravelMom
Correct spelling

[LuCruise]

40 minutes ago, #1TravelMom said:

Yes, it's our favorite of all of them.   We've been there 6 times.   Our kids want to go back every time we are in Roatan.  The monkeys are not aggressive at all.   They are in the trees and roaming around.   Your guide will hold out food and they will come.   Otherwise, they won't even come to you. There are sloths and a large snake to hold as well as toucans and parrots.  Spider monkeys and some other animals are in cages.   There is also a suspended bridge for some nice pics.  

 

I certainly respect everyone's opinion.  However, we have known Rony for 15+ years and trust him completely.   Also, if you want nice pictures with the animals, it is difficult if you are on an excursion with 40 people who also want pictures.   It's nice to just sit and watch the animals and take your time.  Mayan Eden is only 10-15 minutes from port, so not far too and from the ship. 

Thank you.  Appreciate the feedback.  It's a good sign too if you have returned multiple times.  I wasn't sure if our kids would have been "done there, done that" as we did see sloths, monkeys and macaws on the first tour listed, which was a private tour (no idea what location we went to though in Roatan).  We did hold the slots on that tour with photos, so it's not an issue not to have that done second time around if we stick with Royal tour.  Thanks for the description of what they have.

 

Good to hear positive feedback about Rony tour.  I've heard his name (person/company) mentioned before, with only good things.  Can check him out too.  Thanks.

 

If our kids were beach people, then we would just go to one of their beaches as they are beautiful, but our other port day will be a beach day at CoCo Cay so probably enough for them (Royal cruise). 

[mattR]

What are all the tour options with this company?  

[#1TravelMom]

If you are talking about Rony's tours, you can see the options on his website.  Choose the freestyle tour. This will give you a driver for the entire day. You can choose where you'd like to go and how long you would like to stay. Your driver could also make suggestions after speaking with you.

 

We've been there many times - our favorites are Mayan Eden,

South Shore canopy zipline and

West Bay Beach - the crystal clear water is amazing!