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Thank you for your review. I can't seem to find any prices, can you gives us details ?

 

Thank you

They have a website and package prices with lots of choices!! You can also add something if you want while there.

http://www.littlefrenchkey.com/little-french-key-packages/

Hard to believe our Western Caribbean trip has come and gone. Missing it and already thinking about how we can swing another cruise! We sailed on Carnival Magic. She needed to miss Belize due to Hurricane Earl but we were able to dock in Roatan as planned and keep our Little French Key excursion. It met all my expectations. I highly doubt there were more than 300 people. Originally calling for 3 ships in port, Carnival Glory was expected, but did not dock. We arrived early and you could tell there were many hours of preparation...everything was raked, clean chairs were set up all around the island with many more at the ready. The animals were awake, had beautiful clean environments and all looked healthy. Larry the Lion does seem old and tired, but he is being treated far better than his prior circus abuse days.

To get to the shuttle, you walk out through the port gate which is forward and to the left and then head left, follow the sidewalk on the left side and walk down the hill. You will come to the area where tour buses will be waiting. We met our drivers easily; they are in Frenchy's tees. It is a bit of a walk and I know I felt it more because I sprained my ankle on the uneven walkway in Costa Maya the day before not more than 1/2 hour of getting off the ship. Ouch!

There wasn’t enough room on the first van so they called on a 2nd one and we were on our way. Maybe waited 10 minutes, if that.

There was no narration on the way over but my husband sat up front and speaks conversational Spanish and was able to talk with the driver. The drive was quick on the way there and took longer on the way back at 4:00.

When we arrived to Frenchy’s, there were quite a few people signing up for their day activities before us but the 2 ladies at the counter kept it moving. We paid (cash), were given wristbands, drink and food cards and were on the raft boat to LFK in no more than 15 minutes. The boat is partially covered. There was a wave runner, water boot sales pitch demo going on and it sure was neat to see. I think it would take a lot of strength to do that, looked fun and priced reasonably. Anyone in your group can boot up and give it a go. We did not see anyone doing this activity during our stay. We didn't see the helicopter either.

As soon as we got off the boat our group was met by Gerardo. He would be our server and host for the day. First he gave us a thorough tour of the island, showed us all the beaches, kayaks, water boards, jump platforms, bars, spa, the zoo area, snorkel gear pick up and horse area. Even though it seemed there were a lot of people ahead of us, we had no problem finding a private area to set up for the family, in fact there were many areas we could have settled down at. We found 5 chairs together and it really could not have been more perfect.

The day was great. Lunch was plenty and cooked perfectly. We never felt like the place was too crowded and it really was a little slice of heaven. We met a couple who was renting the beach house. They said the day before (which was a Monday), they were the only ones there for 1/2 the day, then another vacationing couple arrived...so they basically had the ENTIRE island to themselves! I learned there are no cruise ships on Monday so keep that in mind if you ever want to rent the beach house.

Ok just got back. We were there Thursday. Larry did not hand out tickets for our trip. We were the only ship and when we checked in the lady working counter said they were expecting about 175 for the day. Larry put us in a private car with Marvin and he zoomed passed the 3 busses to get us ahead of that wave. Marvin said they were expecting to do at least two more wave of busses before everyone got there. Once we paid they do now have these business card like tickets with numbers that are for drinks and food. So here is our experience. 175 was a lot better then the 500 we had last time. Most people seem to hang out in the lagoon as that is where we started the day until it got more busy. Then we headed to the area by the pizza bar which only had about a dozen people there.

 

I think the other reason people like the lagoon compared to the pizza beach/mermaid or the King Neptune area is once you wade in the water the ground is not soft but kinda rocky and pebbly compared to the soft sand. We did not care as both area had swim up bars and great service.

 

Animal update simba is still not back nor is a couple of the sweet monkeys. They did have rosita, Rico and Robert the monkey which came out to play. They do have a jag on the mainland cage that is pregnant with 2 cubs. Also the lion has been moved to his even bigger area and the lions old area is where the have a lion/jag mix cub. At first they said he was just a jag cub but finally the guy who takes care of him admitted that nope in fact it was a mix. I will try to attach a picture of him. Any way for $25 you can get in his cage and he will lick you like a dog and cuddle. Very sweet animal, much like simba. Also the lion lives his nose scratched.

 

With Marvin getting us there before the busses we beat the line and it seems like now they have 5 girls taking money, they said when people pay credit the machine slows down the process.

 

One last observation is when getting off the ship in coxen hole before you get outside there were a couple of booths that had signs for little French key and frenchies. I think what they were selling was just the transportation, then you could just pay as a walk up guest. Also big French key continues to grow on the other side of the lagoon, they now have water inflatables and other stuff. Since there was no carnival ship in port that area was dead LFK people were playing on there stuff and the BFK did not care. People would wade, kayak and paddle board over and no one said anything.

Thank you for your review and the pictures too! I think getting there early is key! Were the owners there and were you able to talk to them?

Take this for what it's worth.. people probably cancel ressies and what not too.

I emailed for update this morning and received the following reply.

Good day,

We are close to 200 guest so far.

See you soon!

Best Regards,

Melissa Dixon

I've read you can look for the Frenchy guys too but don't know how reliable that is and I "think" there is a cap on guests.

Looking at pictures and I really like all the nooks and crannies to hang out!

The loungers

all seem comfy too!

Unfortunately, we were there early for island time and the animals weren't out yet when we got there. Later on, we did see some monkeys and in the jaguar cage I think they had 2 other cats(lions maybe??) and birds. We just looked at them on our way out so didn't get to hold the spider monkey, etc. and they did say at the beginning that there were still no jaguars there because of political business. We did have 1 person go snorkeling in our group of 4 and he is still a novice but he thought it was really good. He said they saw a sunken ship and the Wall which he thought was pretty cool. I definitely think he thought it was worth the extra cost. I did the horseback riding and it was o.k. I liked that I was the only one so it wasn't the typical nose to tail ride but the guide did walk with the horse the whole time. He took us out into the water and around part of the island. I felt it was worth the extra $25, usually those rides are much more expensive.

Sounds good! Didn't think about the horseback but might budget that in. We are very novice at snorkeling too and was thinking just stay and do on our own. Was it the addon that brought you out to the sunken ship? Too bad about all the political business with the animals there.

Mitsugirly, thank you for the pics. You had a very nice day, hardly any people at all!

We just got back yesterday, and thought this was a great excursion!

This is awesome to hear! Did you have other stops along the way and how many baby turtles were you able to rescue?

I visited LFK last Tuesday and I was worried about the crowds with 2 ships in ports after reading the latest reviews. I had reserved 2 spots(they returned my e-mail almost immediately) and I was taking 2 walk-ups with me. We found Larry immediately and they loaded us into a van and we left right away. When we got to Frenchy's there was NO line and I was able to breathe a sigh of relief! A couple of larger groups came right after us but they seemed to check them in fairly quickly and they ended up on our barge. Once on LFK we had our pick of spots and as mitsugirly mentioned there are plenty of beach areas to plop down. I think the 2nd ship did not arrive later because I did notice that all of a sudden it began to get a lot busier. There were still plenty of places to lounge, still some kayaks, etc. available to use just not as many as at the beginning of our day. It never felt too crowded. I think the trick might be to get to Larry/Dave as quick as possible; no dawdling on the ship, port, etc. and you might be able to avoid some of those lines by being first. Beautiful, relaxing place and I would recommend to anyone!!

Nice to hear you had a great time!! I agree, staying ahead of the crowd can have big pay-offs! Curious what you thought about the animals, food, and if you snorkeled, how was it?

Somewhere on CC, I saw that LFK takes awhile to get back to you but they do. So far, two messaged to them over two weeks and not a peek. Anyone have experience somewhere else that has beach, food, toilets and something to do other than laze around?

I would email again. They have been very quick to respond to me so far. No recommendations, this will be our first visit.

I just wanted to say that this has always been "my" experience. We have never had to wait for all buses to fill up the times we have been there. When one is full, it pulls away. So it sounds like they have already been practicing that, but the other poster did not experience it the day they were there. It's hard to tell why this was a factor that day.

Right, things happen in business and leisure that one can't always expect. Grateful to have so many beautiful choices when we travel.

Thank you Mitsugirly for the recent info and pictures. It's good to learn LFK has improved their space with more "areas" for guests. Logisitics can change in a day and sounds like adjusting for the day with more ticket sellers, maybe having 1 bus leave as soon as its full instead of waiting for all 3 to fill will be a beneficial practice to put in to place, maybe one they will do someday.

Vettecruiser1 - Have fun in 2 weeks when you go there! Interested to hear your thoughts with 2 ships in port and the newer spaces added to the island.

It's nice no deposit is needed beforehand so one can email them and ask how many reservations are in the book- of course that doesn't take in to account walk ups and no shows but will still give somewhat of an idea of interest.

Perhaps it is hard to tell the different between rehab and zoo..but any place that chains a wild cat for swimming and photos with tourists is NOT attempting any kind of rehab. This would be my very own opinion , mileage may vary.

 

The whole of the island of Roatan is beautiful, I have no idea why LFK has such a following.

 

Bobby ~ Try this site

I think LFK offered a lot more solitude at one point and I was caught up in that appeal and thought it was rehab and then the animals would be set free in their natural habitats elsewhere. Yes I agree, there is more to Roatan than LFK. Looking at different excursions:)

Gosh the limit number from the owners just goes up and up!

 

A far cry from the original reviews back in 2012 when LFK first hit the boards. My main concern would be how many pontoon boats do they have and how many do they carry safely. I have read about lines to get over there initially but haven't read much about getting back. What about getting a boat back and then transport back to the port if there are 600-700 people?

I know! 6 - 700 just seems like to many people but I think you can leave when you want?? I'm looking at other excursions. I would like to get a better feel for Roatan and although LFK looks beautiful in many pictures, beauty will be everywhere.

Most ships come into and leave port at different times. Last time we were there they stopped letting people on the island at 500(3 cruise ships in port) it took 45 minutes just to pay and get a ferry and it was a bit crowded in the morning then thinned out after lunch. I think I counted 3 boats each could take 40 or so people. They give you a time for your ship that the last ferry to be on to be able to make it back in time. We had no issues and we were back 45 minutes before sail away. I can tell this I will not schedule a visit there again if I see 3 ships.

 

In two weeks we are going back but we are the only ship in port, so I would expect less then 200 will be there that day and the island is plenty big enough for 200 people to spread out.

Thank you! This is the real life (3 ships in port) experience I was wondering about.

Where did you find the information regarding how many ships will be in port that day? That would be useful information for sure! We are going to be there next Tuesday. Thanks!

Good info on this site..

http://ships.cruisett.com/

Your insight is well taken 2000. A bad group here or anywhere else could effect the whole outing. The island seems small from pictures I have seen but I think and hope we'd be able to find a quiet slice. It sort of seems like LFK has grown so in popularity, once being a hidden gem but now becoming more touristy. I've only seen serene pictures so not even sure if there is a real crowd problem. Not one for zoos, I've tried to read up on the animals and thought it was more of a rescue/rehab environment?

hi all, after learning about LFK on these forums I signed my family of 5. I have since learned there will be 2 other ships in port the same day. I was worried about recent mixed reviews regarding overcrowding, etc. so I emailed them. No LFK excursion on the Carnival ships and I didn't see one for Norwegian so should that help with crowd levels? It's great they are becoming so popular and will be the best thing going for many but with huge crowds your tranquil island experience may not be found. I plan to follow up a few days before we arrive but of course their response will not include any walk ups. What are your thoughts?? Can the island accommodate their new limits?

This is my email and their response..

hi! We are counting down the days to our visit on August 2nd! I heard there will be 3 cruise ships in port the day of our

reservation and I'm concerned about crowds. Do you limit how many guests

and do you know how many have signed up so far? Thanks for your time and we look forward to our day with you!

From: info@littlefrenchkey.com

Date: June 28, 2016 at 9:46:19 AM CDT

Subject: Re: Reservation Confirmation

Good Morning,

We have a limit off 600- to 700 guest and once we see we are pack we close

the entrance.

At the moment we are only about 201 guest so far for that day.

Anything keep me posted.

Best Regards,

Melissa Dixon