What should my kids do in Roatan?

[UHHS]

Hi, we are going to a Western caribbean cruise in a 1 week and my children are age 4-9. The zipline is Roatan seems very popular but my kids may be little young for that. We will hire a driver for the day. I am trying to decide whether to let my husband and older children do the zip while the rest of us tour the island for an hour or so or we should all do some fun things together. What is your experience? Do you have any recommendation for things to do in Roatan? Thanks much!

[clansac]

I posted a similar thread for our February trip and didn't get many responses. So we made our own plans- we hired Victor Bodden to take us to Sante Wellness Center where I will get a well-earned massage:) DS and our son (who will be almost 5) will snorkel and play on the beach. DS is more of a seashell hunter than a wild and crazy kid so it'll be fine. Then we'll go for lunch, a visit to the iguana farm and an afternoon visit to a school. I told Victor that the last part was most important to me- I really want DS to see a school and see how other kids live, even if it's for 15 min. I'm hoping if we go by right after school is out he can play soccer or run around with them for a little bit.

 

I'm petrified one of the monkeys will bite him so we're skipping anything monkey-ish! Weird- I'm not afraid of the iguanas biting him though!

[sandi1967]

Hi,

We are going on the Glory on July with our 5 kids, I also posted this question. I emailed V. Bodden and I think that we will do his tour. I know our older kids would love the zip line. (our kids ages will be 15, 13, 11, 6 and 3) not sure I want my 3 year old or 6 yr old zipping through a jungle. I may have my husband do that with our older ones. We do want to see the monkey's and iguanas. My kids now think that sounds more fun than swimming with dolphins. I have heard so many great things about Victor...he responded w/t one day to my email too.

 

Have fun!

Sandi

[rebeccalouise]

Roatan is a very primitive place. We just got a taxi and had him take us to the beach. He came back for us at the alloted time and it was really one of the best Caribbean experiences I have had- simply because there weren't all the usual shops at the pier. It was rustic. The beach was nice- we had the usual things kids like at the restaurant there- chicken tenders, etc. My son speaks conversational Spanish (he was 17 at the time) and I think this made an impression on the driver. Maybe that's why he treated us so nicely. I loved Roatan but don't expect it to be like Bermuda or St. Thomas.

[HappyChick]

they were 3 y/o and 9 mos old in January 07. We booked an excursion to a small, private resort Barefoot Caye. We booked it through Shore Trips, but I don't see it listed anymore. Anyway....it was a wonderful day they had a very nice place, great pool, excellent beach, decent snorkeling, kayaking, and great food (including a homemade key lime pie that was incredible!). They picked us up @the pier and brought us back at the end of the day.

 

You could try contacting them directly: http://www.barefootcay.com/

 

Lisa

[UHHS]

rebeccalouise and Happychick:

 

Thank you so much for your suggestions! Can I ask how much you paid for the taxi driver and the cay, respectively, so I have a sense of price range for this island?

 

From reading the posts on cruisecritic, we plan to book a driver for the day. He charges $25 per person (we have 8 total). Do you think that is a reasonable price? He has a routine for his cruise ship customers and the 1st one is zipline but I think we are not crazy about it. I am more interested in seeing the life there and the beach. Do you have any additional suggestions?

 

I plan to report my eexperience when I come back end of this month so other friends on this board can get my 1st hand information. Thank you all for replying to my post.

[rebeccalouise]

I want to say that it was $ 50 for the roundtrip to the beach.

[lvz2cruz]

Tabbyana Beach is beautiful. Your driver will set a time to pick you up. I think our family of 5 paid a total of $50 for the taxi r/t and had a wonderful day.

We met 2 families that brought a suitcase of clothes to donate to an orphanage. They set this up in advance and were met at the ship, taken to the orphanage to donate, given an island tour and taken to a beach for a few hours. The driver for the day was free in exchange for the donation. I do not have this website but thought it was very interesting.

[Ga_Crusin]

We went to the Iguana farm with our two kids (6 and 8) and their cousin (8). It was reasonably fun. You see lots of iguanas and can hand feed them. And by lots, I mean LOTS. Dozens and dozens. They're all semi-wild, so they just roam around. There were a few other displays in additiona to the iguanas but I don't remember what so they weren't very memorable. The farm is worth maybe 1/2 hour of time. But the farm is really just a family with some land trying to protect and endangered animal, so I was happy to be able to support their efforts.

 

After the farm, we had the taxi driver take us to a nice beach and we hung out for a few hours and swam, etc. But, we were all bitten terribly by some kind of small sand fly and didn't even realize it. I'd feel something, and swat at my back, but not see anything. When we got back to the ship, we were all covered with massive red welts. They weren't very itchy or anything, and went away after a day or two, but we looked like we'd contracted a fatal tropical disease. So if you feel an odd pricking sensation, put on bug spray!

[katyjeka]

Another vote for Tappyana Beach. Wow, it was beautiful and my dh, 3 girls, and I had day we'll never forget. The beach and water was the best!!! Have a great trip. Janice

[HappyChick]

rebeccalouise and Happychick:

 

Thank you so much for your suggestions! Can I ask how much you paid for the taxi driver and the cay, respectively, so I have a sense of price range for this island?

 

 

UHHS,

 

Sorry for the delay in replying. I think we paid $70 per person for the day. But, I don't think they charged for the kids (definitely not my younger son).

 

Lisa

[atakkat]

We sailed to Roatan last February and hired Victor Bodden for the day tour. What my kids remeber best is the canopy tour(zip line). They were 8,6 and 4 at the time. We also di the iguana farm and Tabbayana beach. I could have did without the iguanas but it was interesting and the kids loved feeding them. But by far the zip line is still talked about and my kids are super bummed the age limit in Jamaica is higher. Have a great time, you can't go wrong with Victor.

[2112]

I think a trip to a beach is the best thing to do with kids in Roatan. A couple warnings though. Roatan is in a Malaria area. I wouldn't recommend giving your kids anti-Malaria pills for several weeks because you are in Roatan for 1 day - BUT I would make sure you use insect repellent with DEET and have them back to the ship well before dusk. Second, Roatan beaches are notorious for No-See-Ums. Use Avon Skin So Soft applied thickly will solve the problem as they can't bit through it. Don't let my post scare you out of visiting Roatan, I just think you need to take a few precautions you might not think about.