Private tour for 2 or just use taxi?

[murphyis1]

We are trying to decide if we should book a private tour w/Victor Bodden or just use taxi service. We want to go to West Bay Beach to snorkel. I figure we'll probably rent chairs at Bananarama, leave our non-valuable stuff there, and walk down toward the rocks to snorkel from the beach. With just two of us, would the Bodden tour be JUST the two of us, or would they group us together with someone else doing the same thing? After snorkeling, and maybe some lunch, we thought a nice scenic drive back to the ship would end our day. The private tour appeals to me because the driver would stay with us, therefore we could return to the ship anytime we're ready. I've read on the boards that if using a taxi, you pretty much have to have a pre-arranged time for pick up from the beach. Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks!

[Falls Cruiser]

It's all according to what you request from Bodden. IF you want only the 2 of you all day, you can do that for I think $40 each.Then pay extra for any other thing you want to do. If the beach is free then your only cost would be the driver for the day. I would recommend the private driver. We had Hanno and he took us for a tour all around the island and it was wonderful. He stayed with us through all our activities and kept the van locked if we got out. We zip lined, did monkey business, toured the island, snorkeled and ate lunch at Half Moon resort, visited the orphanage and shopped. It was well worth the $.

[viking69]

We hired a private driver, Carla, through Theris Dixon on Isla Roatan. The cost was $40US per person (just 2 of us) for the day - tour, snorkeling (Half Moon Bay), shopping. She stayed with us through the day. The driver will let you know about local tourist attractions and any associated fees.

 

With Theris (therisroatantours.com) you can reserve with or without a deposit.

[trenter33]

what do you do on the tour viking69? how long was the tour and would you do it again?

[PatfromPa]

I have just returned from my cruise and Ihad booked a private tour with Rony's tours. We had our own van with a driver the entire day for $25.00/pp. We did what we wanted and the driver was so courteous and spoke fluent English. Very nice experience and well worth it. We went to Infinity Bay for the beach at $15.00 a person and the beach was one of the nicest I have been to in the caribbean. This was my first time to Roatan and I like to take a tour of the island first b efore beach time. Again Rony' tours was a great experience.

[jdvmd]

I have just returned from my cruise and Ihad booked a private tour with Rony's tours. We had our own van with a driver the entire day for $25.00/pp. We did what we wanted and the driver was so courteous and spoke fluent English. Very nice experience and well worth it. We went to Infinity Bay for the beach at $15.00 a person and the beach was one of the nicest I have been to in the caribbean. This was my first time to Roatan and I like to take a tour of the island first b efore beach time. Again Rony' tours was a great experience.

 

 

We booked yesterday with Rony's Tours for transport to and from Infinity Bay. Now I have been told that another couple that did this recently nearly missed the ship because Rony didn't show when he said he was going to at IB. This is making me very nervous. We are signed up for a shuttle at $20 a person RT and then would pay IB an additional $15 for their day pass.

Question: Did you also sign up for a shuttle and you just lucked out with a private driver? Did you have any problems with the pick-up time? When did you leave? Rony is saying 30-35 minutes after the ship docks. Any help would be appreciated.

[punkin35]

We just booked with Victor for the private driver. My family (husband epecially) gets bored easy on the history stuff. And, I wanted to see the island. So, this way we can leave and move on to the next stop whenever we, or he gets ready. No waiting on a group.

[JenaMH]

We did a taxi at our leisure so we weren't rushed to get off the boat in the morning. Had a very nice driver that took us all over the island and waited on us while we swam. It was $35pp for 3 of us.

[98Charlie]

We've use Rony several times. We have always just hired the cab for the day and never had a problem. The driver has been with us 100% of the time.

 

NOTE: If you are going on Carnival you will have to hike up and over a hill to get to any private tours.

 

Charlie

[jdvmd]

We booked yesterday with Rony's Tours for transport to and from Infinity Bay. Now I have been told that another couple that did this recently nearly missed the ship because Rony didn't show when he said he was going to at IB. This is making me very nervous. We are signed up for a shuttle at $20 a person RT and then would pay IB an additional $15 for their day pass.

Question: Did you also sign up for a shuttle and you just lucked out with a private driver? Did you have any problems with the pick-up time? When did you leave? Rony is saying 30-35 minutes after the ship docks. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Just to update:

We were in Roatan on Tuesday and I decided to stay with Rony. It was a great decision and our family has decided that we will use Rony whenever we visit Roatan again.

 

We ended up having two extra people from our roll call join us and all it took was a simple email to Rony to include them. His communication is spot on.

 

Essentially, we had a private van to go to Infinity Bay resort, and Rony's dad, Cameron, was our driver. Though we didn't ask nor did he mention he was doing so, Cameron stayed with us the entire day.

 

Infinity Bay was beautiful. However, the weather was horrible. Blowing rain. We made the best of it and stayed under the shelter of the bar. Cameron was there the entire time and made sure I knew where he would be in case we wanted to leave earlier. If he went to the van, he let me know. A wonderful gentleman. Came back with an umbrella.

 

Rony was waiting for us when we got off the ship and he knew exactly who we were. Rony advises that you exit Gate No. 7. When we docked, I tried to figure out where Gate. No. 7 was. Just stay with your left side to the ocean and walk past the last shop. Cross the street.

 

Be advised that on the Epic, we ended up being on mountain time, or two hours behind Miami time. Upon meeting Rony, he explained what happened with the previous poster. I didn't bring it up but he did. I think that says something for Rony.

 

Also if you go to Infinity Bay, your $15 day pass includes towels so you don't need to bring them from the ship. We had ours and they did come in handy after the rain storm.

 

Infinity Bay was 20 minutes back to the Port of Coxen Hole.

[PatfromPa]

Glad to hear you had a great experience with Rony' Tours too. I was surprised to hear the negative review and the time problem, as any communication I had with Rony was always exact and correct. Anyway I'm glad to hear your positive experience and I really enjoyed my time in Roatan with Rony's tours.