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Victor Bodden guide/driver recommendations? (MERGED THREADS)

RealDeal

By RealDeal,
in Roatan

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Old Cars

Old Cars

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We also had Lionel as our guide last week on January 28th. He was great. Be sure and request him when making reservations. We did the Mayan Canopy Tour also and visited with the monkeys. In fact, Victor was one of our guides on the Zip Lines. Lionel suggested a place at West Bay for lunch. We ate on a covered patio right at the waters edge with people snorkeling nearby.

 

All in all, this was one of the best tours we have ever taken on any island or port we have visited in 10 cruises. Having the ability to do what you want to do all day with a personal guide and driver at $25 per person is the best. Bodden Tours is the way to go while in Roatan.

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tiggerfan616

tiggerfan616

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We used Victor last week and had Tex as our driver he was great. He Has grown up on the island and tells you alot about his family and the island itself.

We went to the iguana farm, did an island tour, victors for the monkeys, had lunch on a nice beach then stopped at the orphanage and still had plenty of time to shop by the pier.

 

You cannot go wrong with Victor he runs a top notch business

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Familytraveler5

Familytraveler5

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The tour of Roatan provided by Bodden Tours, and our tour guide Lionel, was by far the highlight of our 7 day cruise! There were 7 of us travelling together and we got our own private tour of the island. We went to see the iguanas, did the zip line on Victor's property which was perfect for our younger children (ours are 7 and 9) because of the self-braking, played with the monkeys - a highlight!!, had a great lunch at a local restaurant and then finished the day with snorkeling. Fun-filled day that never felt rushed. Lionel was an exceptional guide and we really feel like we got to see and experience Roatan. The guides for the zipline and that were helping with monkeys were spectacular as well! The rest of our cruise included Belize, Cozumel and Key West and this by far was our favorite stop - in large part because of the exceptional hospitality provided by Victor Bodden and his staff.

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DireMongoose

DireMongoose

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Where are some other good places to have the tour guide take us to? We're not interested in zip lining and don't like the idea of monkeys climbing on us (since they have claws and might poop on us!).

 

Don't miss the monkeys! They're really small and cute, and pretty domesticated and fun. At least, we weren't clawed nor pooped on and had a great time with it.

 

We've got one picture of a monkey climbing on me reaching into the pocket of my shorts where my wallet was that we tell people is it doing its impression of my wife, and another picture of a monkey climbing on my wife and pawing at her cleavage that she tells people is it doing its impression of me. I guess you'd have to be there but we got a pretty good laugh out of it.

 

Beyond that...

 

We went somewhere (West End, I think?) to walk around and shop for a while. I asked our guide (I feel bad that I can't remember his name right now -- he gave us an awesome day) for a recommendation for a restaurant with lobster and shrimp, and he took us to one in that area that was simply awesome. I've never had coconut shrimp or mojitos that good before or since. He also took us to a nice beach.

 

I can't remember what exactly, but I know there are also some other options like an iguana farm. If you e-mail Victor for suggestions or other ideas I'm sure he'll have some.

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Charpit418

Charpit418

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We did a Victor Bodden Tour on February 10, 2009. We were a group of 4 and our guide was Tex. We would all highly recommend Tex for his knowledge of his island and for a fun and enjoyable tour. We toured the island, did the Mayan Jungle Canopy zip line, the monkeys and then had a relaxing stop at the Infinity Bay Beach Resort. We met Victor at the zip line and he is very personable and runs his buisiness very professionally. Anybody going to Roaton can not go wrong booking with Victor Bodden. You basically get to choose whatever you want to do and for how long you want to do it - all at super reasonable rates. Who could ask for more?

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DaniGus

DaniGus

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Hi, I just confirmed Roland for May 6th. It was easy and fast through their website. Victor emailed me back very quickly, guess the internet is doing well right now! LOL I just requested Roland on the form and he said he was available. Can't wait! Now just need to set up the other ports! Thanks for all the great recommendations on this site. I will let everyone know how it went.

Dani

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SraLiz

SraLiz

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but I have a couple of questions about the VB tours.

 

I see you all posting the price of $25 per person and doing things like zip lining and iguana farm. Is the zip line and iguana farm an additional price? I uderstand the visit to the home with the animals is $2 per person extra.

 

We are a family of 5 (kids 16, 14 and 12) and my sister also going so I am wondering what to do that day in Roatan. We are doing the Lost Mayan Adventure in Beliz so another day of zip lining doesn't interest me.

 

Can anyone tell me about the school? As a teacher I would be interested in this, do you actually get to go in and speak with children or teachers? Are they in session in July? ******************************?

 

If we just wanted to visit the iguana farm and then head to a beach, is it worth the $25 per person or should we just grab a cab? Would you recommend this tour group over say a day at fins and flippers?

 

THanks!

Edited by Host Kat >^..^<
soliciting donations or discussion of bringing supplies, donations not allowed. See sticky thread regarding donations.
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dlz2

dlz2

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We had Robbie for a tourguide last week and he was very nice. Would take us anywhere we wanted to go. We did the Zipline which is a blast! Visited the little monkeys which are right there. Did the glass bottom boat and snorkled for a little bit. Had a great lunch at a restaurant he brought us to. Everything was priced separately so you can spend as much as you want. I highly reccommend Victor Bodden tours. Very friendly and helpful. Wish I would of remembered to go to his house to see his monkeys, but the ones at the zipline were really cute so maybe I didn't miss out.

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marilynj58

marilynj58

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We booked Victor Boddens tour last week off of the Carnival Valor.

WOW, you can't go wrong with these tours as you get to do what you want to do.

We had ALI, (pronounced All Lee) he was so accommodating, so helpful, quit, and humble. But so informative when telling us about the island. We were only in port for 6 hours and we wanted an hour at the market BUT we still got to see all the highlights we wanted.

It was just 2 of us on our own private tour for $40 a piece.

Highlights were:

Seeing where and learning how he lives on the island, meeting part of his family, he has 6 little kids, it still amazes me how they were all so clean and clothes so white when his wife has a basin and washboard to keep all the clothes clean. WOW, so incredibly friendly people. Aly works 3 plus jobs to keep his family feed and educated. He spoke very good, understandable English, which is a big plus!

We went to the Botanical Gardens (an extra $6 fee) and it was gorgeous, jungle terrain, beautiful flowers and vegetation, with walking paths, and wooden bridges. Ali didn't have too, since it is a self guided tour, but he took us in, walked around with us, and answered our questions to what was what. Offering to take our pictures in all the lush jungle. This is a great idea of something to see if you like plants and want to actually walk in a jungle. It's very little walking and very easy terrain to walk in.

Ali took me to a glass bottom boat to go out snorkeling from. I was the only one on the boat, with the driver, and another boy/guy to show me the reef. This was an extra $15 (for my own private tour) Of course, I gave each a nice tip. While I was snorkeling my girlfriend got to sit on a beach and relax with her coconut milk. After this tour, Ali had a coconut he had someone cut the top off and put in a straw for me, "to refresh me"! I smiled and said YUM YUM, but it was hard for me to drink the luke warm coconut milk and I dumped it when he wasn't looking. I felt bad, he meant well. But, I then had them cut it up and ate all of the coconut inside. Very Good!

He took us for a short drive in his car on the beach, which was really neat. Stopped at a beach to see some dolphins and people doing the dolphin encounter. It was a beautiful, serene area.

Ali also took us to his 2 sons private school and showed us the classroom and teacher. Wow, happy smiling kids, with very primitive classrooms.

WOW, after this tour it really makes you realize the difference in cultures and I'm still trying to figure out how I can make a difference in their lives.

Their income is so low, but yet he says it costs more then $200 a week to feed his family. Ali also builds houses and when we talked about woodworking and the tools, he said that a brand name chop saw would cost $1000 US money, when we can buy the same thing here for closer to $200-300. So of course, he doesn't own one. He is also a minister and told us about his church.

So if going on this tour ask for Ali! He's the best! And you won't be dissapointed. This tour was one of the highlights of our trip.

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DanL

DanL

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When I booked I requested Tex or Lionel based on reviews here. When I arrived Lionel was unavailable so got Juan Carlos. Great day & Bianca, Victor's daughter guided us at the house.

 

Juan Carlos was great -personality, knowledge, language & did all we asked for & more. I highly recommend him.

 

BTW Victor has 28 guides according to JC.

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  • 2 weeks later...
PegySue

PegySue

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I just arrived back from Honduras. We booked a private tour with Victor Bodden for a party of seven. We did not do the zipline as we have done it before. William was our tour guide and he was absolutely wonderful. Answered all of our millions of questions, was very cordial and had a great personality. I dont know if you can ask for a specific driver but I would bet that Victor would accommodate you any way that he could. Everyone that was assocaited with Bodden Tours was wonderful. I dont think you will be disappointed.

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PunkinsDad

PunkinsDad

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Thanks to everyone on this thread for all the excellent information. Our extended family (Myself, my DW, DD and DS + my MIL and FIL) will be in Roatan on April 11th on the Carnival Legend.

 

This will be the third Caribbean cruise for our little group and we were looking for something a little different. My wonderful MIL (Mary......are you listening.... :) ) expressed interest in a tour that would show us the real human and cultural side of one of our ports....not just what you see from the "usual" tours.

 

In particular, we want our children (DD 9 and DS 15) to visit the school. I think it might be educational for them to see how other children of the world live and learn. At the very least, I hope it will give them an appreciation for the life they enjoy at home.

 

I'm by far the most extensively traveled member of our family. I've been all over to world, to wonderful luxurious places and to heartbreakingly poor and depressing places. I try to impress on our children just how blessed they are to be growing up in the United States, but I think that seeing the reaility of a 3rd world school, and how truly happy the children are to be able to attend and learn (I've never failed to see a school in a country like Honduras where the children were not thrilled to be able to attend a school) that perhaps it will make an impression on them.

 

We have heard so much about the natural beauty of Roatan.......I can hardly wait to see it!!

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imluvncruzn

imluvncruzn

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What did you do on your tour? I will be there in two weeks with my family (a group of 11). What was your favorite thing to do ther, what would you say is a do not miss?

 

Hi! We were there in January with our group of 11, as well. We did not book ahead of time but found Victor Bodden's booth when we got off the ship. It's not hard to find them. They wear yellow shirts and hold Victor Bodden signs. I asked him if they would take our group of 11 for $20pp and he agreed immediately. Our driver was William, who is Victor's brother. We all rode in one van. He took us to Victor's to see the monkeys ($2pp). It was so much fun. We played and fed the monkeys for a long time. My entire group loved it. Next we tried to go to the Mayan Princess but they were full and were no longer giving out day passes. Instead William took us right down the road to Bananarama. Free entrance to beach, great bar and live music. From there we hired a local guy to take us snorkeling at the blue channel. The snorkeling was AMAZING. The best I've seen in 5 cruises and at any other port! We haggled down the price and ended up paying $15pp (we had our own gear). William stayed at the beach with us all day. It was our favorite port!

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excitedtocruise

excitedtocruise

Posted
Posted (edited)

Need some input, I will be going to Roatan next week with a group of 11. Victor knows that I am a CC, so asked if I wanted to request a guide, any suggestions to those in the know?

Edited by Host Kat >^..^<
Post merged into exisiting thread re same topic
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kenrod

kenrod

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Need some input, I will be going to Roatan next week with a group of 11. Victor knows that I am a CC, so asked if I wanted to request a guide, any suggestions to those in the know?

 

We took a Victor Bodden tour along with two other Cruise Critic folks on February 10, 2009. From what I've seen, all the guides are terrific.

 

Our guide on that day was Lionel. He is really down to earth and knowledgable. Also, everytime I tried to take a picture when he was driving the van, he would pull over to the side and actually let me take a decent picture. Of course I was sitting in the front seat, so he could see what my intentions were.

 

At Victor's house, I met Victor, and he is also a down to earth fellow.

 

Whatever choices you make on your Victor Bodden tour, you won't be disappointed!

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Elaine515

Elaine515

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Posted (edited)

Our tour guide with Victor Bodden will be Roland. Ever have him, hear of him? Please give me your thoughts on him. I am a little bit worried only because there are 9 of us from ages 5 up to 80!!!

 

Thnx...

Edited by Elaine515
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MrsPiggy549

MrsPiggy549

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Our tour guide with Victor Bodden will be Roland. Ever have him, hear of him? Please give me your thoughts on him. I am a little bit worried only because there are 9 of us from ages 5 up to 80!!!

Thnx...

 

Things have sure changed at Victor's home since 2007, except the price of admission! We went into a huge cage and had 4 or 5 monkeys jumping all over us...The monkeys are only caged on tour days, otherwise, they roam freely, returning to their cages (on their own) for food and rest. There were many smaller cages with monkeys and beautiful birds. Victor assigns personal guides to explain about the animals and answer all of your questions...This was the best $2.00 we ever spent!

 

Aside from Victor's home, we enjoyed our stop at the Iguana Farm; what a riot to see hundreds of these adorable creatures scurrying about, trying to eat the juicy leafs we were given to feed them.

 

Our lunch and snorkel stop was outstanding; the food delicious and the underwater sites awesome...We never felt rushed, even though we did so many things in just one day, including a stop at a cameo factory.

 

Our tour guide took us to every stop we had requested and explained about the magnificent sites, as we traveled along in A/C comfort. The many stops were very interesting and the tour was very well planned and paced.

 

I would not hesitate to book with Victor on our next trip to Roatan and we cannot wait to return!

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