Victor Bodden guide/driver recommendations? (MERGED THREADS)

[MDSue]

Dose Bodden ask for a deposit prior to arrival? Payment in full before arrival or pay at the end?

 

I notice several people mention you can request your guide. Who would be your favorite?

My sister and I have used Hanno twice. He does a great job. It seems that many people who have done tours with Victor love their guides, so there probally isn't a bad choice.

 

You don't pay until the end of your tour.

[penetangjudy]

It would be a good idea if it would work but until you've met the people, you don't know if you want to spend several hours in close proximity with them. :o

 

 

You are totally right and I didn't even think of that. Sometimes I am naive and I think that 'everyone' is just nice and friendly(and tolerable) while on vacation....silly me :rolleyes:

[researching]

After reading all these reviews and checking out the website, I booked with Victor this morning. We are going to have Lionel as our guide. It's my husband and I and our two young boys. Our 4 yr old is even free which I thought was nice. It's our last port call on the Legend, so maybe it's saving the best for last!

[MDSue]

After reading all these reviews and checking out the website, I booked with Victor this morning. We are going to have Lionel as our guide. It's my husband and I and our two young boys. Our 4 yr old is even free which I thought was nice. It's our last port call on the Legend, so maybe it's saving the best for last!

I hope you'll have a wonderful time. We were on the Legend in March. We loved the ship and of course loved Roatan. The 4 stop itinerary is great:)

[noledave]

We booked "Tex" for a VB tour on June 12th aboard the Carnival Legend. What an outstanding day we had. We had arranged to do our own tour that included Carmbola Gardens, The Cameo Factory, VB house with the monkeys, a stop at a local grocery store, West end Beach, and other general sights of interest. This was by far one of the best excursions we have ever been on anywhere in the caribbean. Tex, known as the "best quarterback on the island" answered our many numberous questions, and showed us many sights that made our day pleasurable. We met Victor and his wife, and there is more to see at his house than just the monkeys. For example, a cashew tree! There were 4 of us and for $25 each it was a real bargain. We loved Roatan! If you have any specific questions email me at fsufsudave@aol.com.

[ShannLC16]

My husband and I used Victor Bodden Tours when we were in Roatan this past March. Not only did we have a wonderful day, but Victor's customer service continued past our vacation...

 

I had purchased a fish statue from his shop at the zipline location. Due to MY bad packing, the sculpture broke on the way home. I was extremely upset as I collect a fish statue/sculpture from every island I visit and now I had no more from Roatan. I wrote an email to Victor providing hinm with our very positive feedback and also expressed how sad I was that I no longer had the fish statue. A few weeks later, guess what arrived in my mailbox??? Victor had taken it upon himself to mail me a replacement fish. How kind!!! THAT is customer service.

 

I would recommend Victor's tours to anyone. We had Ben as our tour guide and he was wonderful - good sense of humor and really got in everything we wanted to do that day.

[strat84]

I agree with everyone. We just got back from the Valor and had Ann provide our Island Tour. This essentially amounted to a drive to Half Moon Bay where we relaxed, drank beer and snorkeled. A trip to Victor's where 3 of us did the zipline and monkeys...the others watched and enjoyed them. Then Ann showed us West Bay Beach and took us back to the ship. At $25 / person, it was very much worth the day. We kept our things locked in her van and she just pretty much hung out and did whatever we asked. She was never intrusive on our relaxing time at the beach, but she was near enough that whenever we had a question or concern, she was right there to help.

 

This was by far one of my favorite excursions and I would highly recommend Victor to anyone that asks.

 

Feel free to ask any other questions if needed.

 

Jeff

[karen327]

Alli is also an excellent guide. He took us to a private place where we could snorkel and he watched my dh and ds like a hawk since they didn't have life jackets. He is a certified rescue diver. He also helped us get the best deal on wood items to take home.

[Naomi John]

Just wondering if anyone has recently returned from Roaton and used Victor Bodden?

[watchdiva]

Hi Naomi - does April '09 count as recent? It was a fantastic day with a great driver (Tex) - my review is on tripadvisor.com.

 

I'd recommend Victor and his group in a hearbeat!

[noleswin]

This guy runs a top notch outfit. Our guide was Ben and we went straight to Victors place because the boys wanted to zip line. I really don't believe he has the best zip line on the island but our boys loved it. They went 2 times and Victor said if they wanted they could stay there and play all day. We did make them go with us to their dismay. Went to Westbay. Beautiful beach. Also went and had lunch at a local place that was great. Nice tour and will definately use them again if we go back to Roatan.

[gam888]

Booking Victor Bodden tour when we get to Roatan in September. Need recommendation for a tour guide's name that people have enjoyed so I can request it. We are a family with 3 teenagers. Would prefer someone who speaks good English, has a good knowledge of the island, witty and not pushy. Any feedback on the activities you have done are welcome as well. One review I have read on CC the writer mentioned there was only 1 monkey in Victor's farm, is that true? I would expect to see more than that since most people seem to really enjoy visiting there? Which beach is a nice sandy beach, we might or might not want to snorkle, but want a mix of things to do to get a taste of the island. Thanks

[gypsygirl]

Booking Victor Bodden tour when we get to Roatan in September. Need recommendation for a tour guide's name that people have enjoyed so I can request it. We are a family with 3 teenagers. Would prefer someone who speaks good English, has a good knowledge of the island, witty and not pushy. Any feedback on the activities you have done are welcome as well. One review I have read on CC the writer mentioned there was only 1 monkey in Victor's farm, is that true? I would expect to see more than that since most people seem to really enjoy visiting there? Which beach is a nice sandy beach, we might or might not want to snorkle, but want a mix of things to do to get a taste of the island. Thanks

 

We had Ali for our driver and he was very good. There were several monkey at Victor's house. We had the two little ones around our necks. Victor's drivers will take you where ever you want to go.

[awsum9]

we had victor himself, there were 6 of us, all adults, he was great. we did island tour and then to his place for zip lining. I'm pretty sure there were several monkeys there. It was a great day and glad we went with him instead of a ship tour

[watchdiva]

We were with Tex (native to the island) and had one of the best tours EVER......he's certainly as fluent (if not more than:D) in English as DH and I. He loves his island home and gladly will share his love of the island with you.

 

One of the highlights of our day was visiting Victor's home and playing with the monkeys. Trust me - there were definitely more than 1 - at one point DH and I each had 3-4 monkey's climbing all over us, sitting on our heads, grabbing on to our legs etc. It was one of the funniest and sweetest moments that we could possibly have wished for.

 

Victor has high standards for his drivers and you most likely will have a great experience no matter who you tour with.

[Starbright7966]

I was in Roatan for my honeymoon in May. Tex was amazing. He speaks great English, very easy to understand. He knew his island and was very sweet. he will let you know where the best places are. But of course you pick where you want to go.

[MDSue]

We have had Hanno twice. We liked him so much on our first trip, we requested him again on the second. His English is very good and he also is very knowledgable about the island and things to do. He is very flexible and will offer a variety of ideas. If there is a certain activity you prefer over another, he will go out of his way to accommodate your wishes. Definitely not pushy at all. All of the guides are just out to provide an enjoyable experience for you. It is a much different experience than your typical planned cruise excursions. You get to decide how to spend your day, but they will provide plenty of options.

[snowball's mom]

Ali was our guide this past March. His English is excellent, and we learned a lot about life on the island from him. He is an extremely nice person - it was a pleasure to spend the day with him. We went to the iguana farm, to Victor's house to see the monkeys (there were quite a few of them in the cage), and then to a lovely bay for snorkeling.

[letsgocruz1]

We have used Janet twice and plan to again in Oct. She is very sweet, her English is fluent. She has lived on the island all of her life and is very knowledgeable about it.

[gail811]

We had Cardi. He was wonderful to our group, all ladies, ranging in age from 10 to 74! My sister needed assistance in and out of the van because she has weakness on her left side (result of a stroke) He was patient and took very good care of her during our day there.

 

[pjtulsa]

We had Cardi. He was wonderful to our group, all ladies, ranging in age from 10 to 74! My sister needed assistance in and out of the van because she has weakness on her left side (result of a stroke) He was patient and took very good care of her during our day there.

 

 

I have used Cardi twice, once last October with my Girl Scout troop and this past June with my family. Cardi is a true gentleman, we felt very safe with him. He is an excellent driver and his van is large and spotless. He was very informative and if we were to need a driver again I would not hesitate to request him again. :D

[salboz]

Victor is very determined that all of his guests have a great experience so I don't think you really need to request a certain guide. They are all excellent or they don't work for Victor. In the beginning, he had only one monkey so that people could play with one without spending extra money to do so. Now, there are several as well as other animals which is why there is now a $3.00 fee which helps take care of the animals. It is much more of an "up close and personal" encounter with the animals than you would get elsewhere.

[gam888]

Thank you all for replying my post, I have requested Tex based on the response and other posts I have read in Cruise Critic. Thanks again! Anybody has a picture of Tex to share?

[lovevacadays]

I am going to be checking in to this tour. I'm sure all enjoyed because the animals were well taken care of. Just want to verify that. What is the experience like where the monkeys are?

 

What other things have you done on the tour. It sounds like all the tour guides are very good and this is a reputable company.

[MDSue]

I am going to be checking in to this tour. I'm sure all enjoyed because the animals were well taken care of. Just want to verify that. What is the experience like where the monkeys are?

 

What other things have you done on the tour. It sounds like all the tour guides are very good and this is a reputable company.

The monkees and other animal are at Victor's home. He also has a zip-line and small shop there. The enclosures were roomy, and spotlessly clean. For a small operation, I felt the animals were very well taken care of. We had a blast with the monkees.

Here are a few pictures from our recent trip: