Jeep excursion or dune buggy excursion - Which one?

[milomlo]

I am looking to see which one is the best? They both sound fun, but I want opinions from those of you who may have done them. I have two boys ages 12 and 8. Oh I am also looking at booking this through Island Marketing, not through Carnival.

Thanks in advance.

[Chilehead]

Well, we just did the dune buggy excursion through Island Marketing two weeks ago and loved it! We took our fifteen year old son and six year old daughter and they both loved it too.

 

We snorkeled at an awsome spot and stopped at a little town to shop and stopped at a few road side stands and even stopped at a private local tequilery and got a tour and free samples of all of their tequilas.

 

The fresh guacamole and salsa that they made for us for lunch was outstanding and the chicken was very good too.

 

The coolers on the buggies were well stocked with Mexican beer, soda, and bottled water.

 

We actually drove around the entire island and saw the more pristine back side of the island, which was georgous albeit very windy (we were there about two days behind tropical storm Alex which later became hurricane Alex). We weren't able to eat at the beach because the sand and salt was pelting us so we ate lunch at the tequilery.

 

We loved this excursion.

[Chilehead]

We booked other excursions at Roatan through Island Marketing and I recommend them very highly.

 

The only slightly downside to the dune buggies was that Island Marketing told us that the meeting spot (Divers Memorial) was within walking distance; it definitely is not. The cab ride only cost us five bucks, though. If you get there early like we did, there are a lot of little shops across the street where you can do a little shopping while you wait.

 

I didn't really talk to anyone who did the jeeps so I can't really help you there.

 

I hope this helps you. Cheers and have fun.

[kokonutkroozer]

I looked at Island Marketing's website and in the description of the tour, it mentioned that you need to be able to drive a stick shift. Well, I have very limited experience, but I "could" drive a stick if my life depended on it. I may stall quite a bit in the beginning, but could probably eventually get moving. Would this not be the best option then? Perhaps I should do something like ATV instead. We are a family of 4 (dd 14, ds 9). Was the dune buggy a 4 person model or did you have to split up?

 

Also, how far would you estimate the meeting place from the International Pier? I will try to find a map if you don't know.

 

Thank you.

[milomlo]

Thanks Chilehead. I appreciate the information.

@kokonutkroozer I think for the ATV the kids have to be 16. I looked at this one too as we all have ATV's here at home and thought they'd like that, but must be 16 to do that one.

 

Anyone know anything about the Jeep one?

 

Also @ Chilehead - I am assuming that the taxi will take US dollars huh? What about tipping the guide on the excursion are we suppose to do that?

[Chilehead]

The buggies were four person buggies. We all rode in one.

 

If at least one of the people in your group of four doesn't drive a stick fairly well then I would probably skip this one Kroozer.

 

The paperwork said that the meeting place was six blocks away. Perhaps...if their blocks are a half mile long. I'd say that it was aproximately 9 - 10 miles away; about a 6 - 8 minute drive. It is located on the same road as the pier, though.

 

Yes, the cabs as well as everywhere we went to from roadside stands to the tequilery and little shops on all of the islands we visited all take U.S. dollars.

 

You may want to do a little homework onboard ship regarding the exchange rates before you arrive. I can tell you, though, that Cozumel is 1 U.S. dollar = 10 in Cozumel currency. I almost fainted when I spent $120 on tequila and agave nectar at the tequilery and my receipt said $1200...lol. They assured me that my card would only be billed $120 U.S. and sure enough when we got home and checked, my card was only billed $120.

 

None of the guides on any of our excursions asked for tips but we tipped all of them. Most of the people on these islands aren't wealthy and probably make the bulk of their pay in tips. Of course how much you tip is up to you and we tipped based on how good they were and the amount of time that they spent with us, anywhere from $5 to $20.

[milomlo]

Chilehead you are FULL of helpful information. One more question that I can think of right now, well 2.

 

1. Being that this excursion is 5-6 hours and in an open vehicle, did you or your kids get sunburned or have any issue with that?

 

2. Did you snorkle? My 8 year old really want to snorkle. I know the jeep excursion says for sure snorkle.

 

I think we'd like the dune buggy better than the jeep, but I think these 2 items might be the kicker.

[Chilehead]

I'm happy to help.

 

1. We had no issues with sunburn at all. My whole family had a decent base tan already and used no sunscreen at all. I'm sure that if anyone in your family hasn't had much sun yet that some sunscreen would take care of any sun issues that you are concerned about.

 

2. Yes, we snorkeled. We brought our own snorkel gear but they supplied gear for everyone as well. I think that we were supposed to have snorkeled at least one other beach on the far side of the island as well had it not been so windy (darned tropical storm Alex).

 

The spot that we did snorkel in was nice. It wasn't a reef but there were large sunken...well, they looked a lot like big clay pots. These "pots" held a lot of different sea life. When you swim up to the "pots" clap your hands under water as loud as you can and the fish will all come swimming out for you to see. We saw one VERY cool fish that I haven't taken the time to identify yet but it was awsome.

 

Our six year old daughter had never snorkeled before but she took to it like a pro. She loved it. We are boaters, though, so she grew up around water.

 

If I can make one recommendation... If you are planning to do a lot of snorkeling and it is in the budget, I would highly recommend investing in a good underwater camera. They start around $300 or so. We looked at them but ultimately decided to try the disposables. Big mistake! There are no disposables with flash and the pictures came out rather dark, which was very disappointing. Especially since we went scuba diving in Roatan for the first time and clear bright pictures would have been a great suvenier since who knows if we will ever do it again. And I'm certain that we will never do it again while my kids are this age. Crisp clear bright pictures of my kids in front of all of those neon colored fish would have been great. Also, if I want to share those pictures online, I would have to scan them, which further diminishes the already poor picture quality. Anyway, on a trip like this, especially with kids, it's a well worth while investment. You'll never have the opportunity to take these pictures with your kids this age again!

 

BTW...my daughter didn't scuba, she snorkeled around the boat with a crew member while my wife, son, and I were underwater. I did get one decent picture of her looking down at us in her snorkel gear. Awsome!

 

If you have any more questions, just let me know.

[milomlo]

Thank you so much! I have booked the dune buggy excursion...:D

[Chilehead]

Cool. Let me know how you liked it when you get back.

 

Have fun and cheers! :)

[milomlo]

Chilehead,

I have a couple more questions for you. Did you book through Carnival?

I booked with Island Marketing and now I am worried that we won't get back in time.

Did you have any problems with this? On the website it says the tour will run to 3:30 (just 30 minutes to depart time), then the reservation said til 4:00, now my confirmation says 3:30. The website says they will shorten tours to have you back in time. I am horribly worried about it now. :o

[Chilehead]

I booked directly through Island Marketing, not Carnival.

 

The taxi office is right next door to the place where you start and return from the dune buggy excursion and it's less than a ten minute ride back to the ship. Just let them know what time you have to be back and they'll make sure that you're back in time.

 

We got back with plenty of time to spare. Don't sweat it, you'll be fine.

[milomlo]

Chilehead - Well we are back! Had a FANTASTIC TIME on this excursion. Omar was our guide. He was hilarious and took us to amazing sites. The blow hole spot was awesome! Did you go there? The little man at one of the spots we stopped at (before the blow hole stop) made me the most amazing FRESH pina coloda right there on the spot. Opened the coconut and everything. It was awesome.

 

I do have to say we were a little worried at first as the taxi drivers acted like they didn't know where the divers memorial was and said the needed an address (which I wasn't given). But it all worked out great! Thank you for your great review!:D

[Chilehead]

Cool. I'm glad you had fun.

 

We didn't get to see all of the sites on the far side of the island because it was terribly windy when we were there. We were just a couple of days behind tropical storm Alex...before it became a hurricane. So, no, we didn't get to see the blow hole. I did, however have a pina colada fresh out of the coconut. Good stuff!