Roatan Excursions

[ritzcruise]

I'll be on the Voyager next month. Any ideas for excursions on Roatan (no scuba certificate). Just looking for what people have done and liked/disliked. Not a big fan of just sitting in the sun on a chair.

 

Or probably most important any bad experiences.

[SecretSK]

We've been to Roatan twice and both times we went the "easy" route because it was one of our favorite days on both cruises. If you like to snorkel, you'll love Roatan. The reef there is amazing and so close you can get to it just off the beach.

 

We have been to Tabayana Beach twice and enjoyed it both times. It can be a beach day if that's what you want, beautiful beach, simple surroundings and bar service with fruity drinks.

 

If you like to snorkel, it's perfect because you can swim out through the shallow grasses and reef and then the reef opens up and drops off to deeper water. It's like swimming in an aquarium, absolutely breathtaking. If you follow along the reef, you can actually make a loop back to the shallow on the other side (guys in canoes protect the very shallow reef in the center). We went out multiple times and found something different each time. Schools of fish, giant coral, I even saw a gar.

 

I know many people use private tour companies, like Victor Bodden. I look forward to hearing their input. We went with the familiar this time, but we'd be willing to explore our options in the future!

[TEXASMUNK]

Roatan is considered the third best dive locale in the world.

If you want to do it simple, taxi over to the west end, you can rent snorkel equipment from several shops on the beach, or bring your own.

We always head to Foster's. Very friendly folks, they have a small charge for a beach recliner for the day. We take a short walk to the right (when facing the water) to Bite on the Beach for a Lobster lunch (18 different ways to prepare it and an ice cold beer).

[ritzcruise]

Thanks, I had saw the stuff for Tabayana Beach and it sounds pretty good. I also looked at some of the Victor Bodden options which seem pretty good. I'm hoping to see a few more responses before I make a final call. Still have some time to make the decision.

[Tim,n,Sue]

We took a Victor Bodden tour and it was excellent. The tour was tailored to what we wanted to see. Only my wife and I went on the tour so we had time to everything we wanted. The cost was very reasonable. We went to Victor's house during the tour to see his colection of animals (monkeys etc).

[VOLLEYBALLDUDE2000]

We went to Fin's and Flippers. Awesome snorkeling, nice beach and great food. Unfortunately they have upped their prices after being bought out. Not sure how much it is now. We paid 125& US with equipment for 4 in 2008.

[orchid4me2003]

We had taken a Sail & Snorkel tour and it was great. We were on a beautiful catamaran.

[JeffersonSea]

We had our 3 yr old son with us, and visited Roatan last year. Since we couldn't snorkel or scuba, we decided to take the excursion to the monkey sanctuary and gardens. I believe the excrusion was named something like Parrotts, Monkeys and Snorkel, or something like that. It takes you to Gumbalina Park.

 

My son loved the birds and monkeys (which run free and will climb all over you) and they do have a small beach area. The only bad part was that it was fairly hot that day, and there is a lot of walking involved. They do have a small lunch grill available also for burgers and dogs, etc.

 

We did hear many good things about both Fins n' Flippers and Tabayana beach from the people that went. Very few complaints. There is also a small typical touristy shopping area right where you get off the ship, but I wouldn't recommend continuing past there into the little town area. You will get swamped with small kids begging for money or to escort you somewhere.

 

Here are a couple pics from the monkey and parrot stops:

 

 

[MDSue]

Thanks, I had saw the stuff for Tabayana Beach and it sounds pretty good. I also looked at some of the Victor Bodden options which seem pretty good. I'm hoping to see a few more responses before I make a final call. Still have some time to make the decision.

I've gone with Victor Bodden on both my visits to Roatan. The reason is the flexibility. You can pretty much pick and choose what you want to do and how much time to spend at each place. As they drive around, you will also learn a lot about the island and stop at scenic overlooks along the way. On our most recent trip, we went by Victor's monkee business, which is located on a beautiful piece of property where he lives. Besides the monkees, which are hilariously fun, you can interact with parrots, deer and other animals. He had a zipline there also. Afterwards, we went to a nice snorkelling beach, where we got free chairs by the water. We went out on a snorkel boat [Richard on the Ocean Explorer] and did some of the best snorkelling ever. We ate lunch there and then did some sightseeing and shopping. The iguana sanctuary is really fun too, we did that two years ago. I have posted picture on the Roatan boards under Victor Bodden tours. The two of us had our own private guide [Hanno] for the entire day. We always felt safe, welcome and had the best of times. I highly recommend this option. If you ask for Hanno, I know you'll have a great guide. Enjoy!

[novalab]

We also took a Victor Bodden tour on our visit to Roatan 2 summers ago. It was an all day tour & our driver was excellent. They plan your itinerary around all the sights & excursions that you want to see & do. My DS & DD wanted to zipline so part of our tour was to one of the zipline locations (can't remember the name of the zipline:rolleyes:). It was raining off & on that day but our guide kept us busy & dry. We toured a large area of the island, stopped at local souvenier stands (the local wood carvings & pine needle baskets were wonderful!) & visited some of the lovely beaches. Also visited the iguanas & parrots at the iguana farm.

 

At the end of our tour, we were taken to Victor's house to visit with the animals in his mini-zoo. They get you back to the ship in pleanty of time to shop in the market place that was at the port.

 

Had a great day on a beautiful island.

[electro]

Zip lining!!:D

I've been ziplining in Roatan twice. Once about 4 years ago with a ship sponsered tour and again this past Nov with Island Marketing.

Abosutely the best tour going!

 

 

Lois

[ssb]

We also took a Victor Bodden tour on our visit to Roatan 2 summers ago. It was an all day tour & our driver was excellent. They plan your itinerary around all the sights & excursions that you want to see & do. My DS & DD wanted to zipline so part of our tour was to one of the zipline locations (can't remember the name of the zipline:rolleyes:). It was raining off & on that day but our guide kept us busy & dry. We toured a large area of the island, stopped at local souvenier stands (the local wood carvings & pine needle baskets were wonderful!) & visited some of the lovely beaches. Also visited the iguanas & parrots at the iguana farm.

 

At the end of our tour, we were taken to Victor's house to visit with the animals in his mini-zoo. They get you back to the ship in pleanty of time to shop in the market place that was at the port.

 

Had a great day on a beautiful island.

 

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We did the same.

 

Not an ship excursion!

 

Just walk off ship and go to one of booths.

Select the things you want to do.

They put you in cab with a licensed tour quide they all use!Cost is per cab i believe. Not # of people.

Double up if you like.

 

AT BOOTH * They will say they will throw in the monkeys in price but when you get to monkey farm they charge you. BS

Get a coupon or reduced price on tour before you leave the booth just outside the ship.!!!!!!

 

Also you can go to pay beach or non pay beach!!!

Ate lots ceviche and quacamole and drank local beers on beach.

None on the ship!

 

Really enjoyed the island.:D

 

Neat little pier bars (cheap beer) on street off ship pier.

and rum at $2.50 a bottle in shops and good local coffee bags.

And another good nice bar right at ship.

Both bars great.

[pkrchkr]

We did horseback riding and Tabyana beach resort..the riding is nowhere near as good as Randi's in Maz but it was fun. the resort was gorgeous, great hospitality and very nice day a the beach...

[joejo]

We went to Fin's and Flippers. Awesome snorkeling, nice beach and great food. Unfortunately they have upped their prices after being bought out. Not sure how much it is now. We paid 125& US with equipment for 4 in 2008.

We had a great day at Fins and Flippers in April 2009. We filled out an online reservation in advance, which was free to do, and then it was $20 pp. We just had to walk a few blocks to the water taxi.

 

We did some snorkelling, there is a pool and chairs, but the beach isn't that great on Anthony's Caye though. There is a huge gift shop with a lot of clothing options, a bar/resaurant, and if you walk around the island it is an ecological zoo.

 

I can't seem to find their website anymore though :confused: When were they bought out?

[MDSue]

We had a great day at Fins and Flippers in April 2009. We filled out an online reservation in advance, which was free to do, and then it was $20 pp. We just had to walk a few blocks to the water taxi.

 

We did some snorkelling, there is a pool and chairs, but the beach isn't that great on Anthony's Caye though. There is a huge gift shop with a lot of clothing options, a bar/resaurant, and if you walk around the island it is an ecological zoo.

 

I can't seem to find their website anymore though :confused: When were they bought out?

They are called Maya Key now. They have raised the price a bit since you were there, but I understand they bought additional property too.

[jackietex]

We hired a taxi driver and spent most of the day at Foster's. Dh and two of our kids went on a snorkeling excursion hired at Foster's. On the way back our original driver stopped and we went ziplining, which was very fun!

[Hogfan87]

We were in Roatan last week. We used Rony's Tours. (Rony, himself, was our guide.) It was a great day. He took us wherever we wanted to go. We started the day riding horses. It's a great way to see the island. So much fun! Rony set that up for us. After that, we just drove around town, went to a school, the iguana farm (way cool!), to see the monkeys (wouldn't do that again), to lunch and then snorkeling, shopping and then more sightseeing around town. . I highly recommend Rony's Tours. He was fabulous!

[cbaser]

I've been to Tabyana the past two summers. It's probably the best snorkeling I've ever experienced. The flexibility of being able to walk in from the beach is wonderful, that way the folks in your party that don't want to snorkel all afternoon can lay on the beach, play in the shallows, have a nice lunch in the shade, etc. We're doing a different itinerary this year so I'm going to miss Roatan and Tabyana, but my wife wanted to see something different this year. I loved Roatan and the beach/reef at Tabyana so much I've considered taking a weeks vacation there. There is a new resort built adjacent to Tabyana that sells and rents vacation condos called Infinity Bay (Google it). Check out their website and look at the photo gallery and you'll see some good shots of the view from the beach.