Victor Bodden or Rony for private tour?

[carspg]

I've read the reviews on this forum and it looks like people have good things to say about both!

 

Both of them have availability. Based on all the good things I've read about both I'm extremely confused on which to book :confused:.

 

We are looking to do a zip-line, the beach, sight seeing, etc.

 

Any suggestions on which one should I book?!

 

Thanks :)

[Electricflyer]

You most likely will get a great tour with either. I can only speak for the Victor Bodden experience that is the only one I have used. I know Victor was in business in 2005 when we were there last and is most likely been in business a little longer than Rony. In 2005 there were only 2 ships a week making Roatan on their schedule. We were on NCL Sun at that time. I've seen very good reviews for Rony also. Toss a coin in the air and have fun.

[IAMACRUZAHOLIC]

Victor Bodden was EXCELLENT!! We were just there last December. Wonderful driver. Was with him all day. Was driven around in a mini-van. Definite knew where to take us and then in the afternoon, dropped us off at a beautiful hotel with a wonderful beach! He asked what time we wanted to leave? I said to give us 2 hours. I figured he would leave and come back - no he stayed at the hotel with our drivers! Never left. I honestly have to say that Roatan is up there as my favorite port! And Victor Bodden made it that way! My kids were 13 and 23 and each of them had a great time too. Have a wonderful time!!

[IAMACRUZAHOLIC]

Just to let you know - the driver will ask what your interest are/what you want to do? He'll take you to the best places! We did the zip line, wonderful sight seeing and the beach! Recommended a good lunch stop too!

[kcbryan]

We can only speak for Victor Bodden but we had a great time in Feb 2009. There were 5 of us in our party ranging in age from 4 - 66. We had a minivan for the day. Our driver was great. We told him we wanted to see the island, do the zip line, and head to the beach. It was raining when we got there and we were afraid the day was going to be a bust. We toured the island for awhile then ended up at the zip line. We were trying to decide whether to do the zip line in the rain. Since we didn't know when our next opportunity to zip line in Roatan would be, we decided to risk getting wet. By the time we got the gear on, the rain stopped, and the sun started breaking through. The guides were great. My DS (4) loved it as well. He zipped monkey style down the last two runs. He wanted to run through the course again. We then went to see the monkeys. It was tough to get him to leave. Then we went to the beach, I suspect the same one that the previous poster mentioned. Very clean, decent snorkeling from the beach. Driver waited with us. Full sun the whole time there.

 

If we are ever in Roatan again, we will definitely do the same thing again. Maybe a little less island tour time, and more time at the beach and the zip line/monkeys. Partially we were avoiding the rain, but also we had not been there before and didn't know what was available on the island.

 

Moral of the story, don't bag the day even if the weather looks horrible when you get off of the ship. It looked like the day was going to be ruined, and we had sun most of the day.

[Irishlinny]

We've used Victor Bodden twice and loved it! We had Marty this month and he was superb! I have also heard good things about Rony's. Either way, I'm sure you'll have a good time! Stop at Victor's house before the beach and see his animal sanctuary...very nice, and they are rescues (or born there). This is a baby of the babies we held on our 1st trip back in 07.

How can you resist?

 

And 2 slightly younger brothers holding each other...adorable!

 

Roatan's "state" bird

 

Beautiful views from the top of the mountain

This is exactly why we leave the port area...you can't beat it!

[lovevacadays]

Our tour with Tex from Victor Bodden's in Nov 09 was so incredible. However, from reading the posts on both companies it appears you can

't go wrong. The only folks who might miss out on this fabulous island are those that stay within the "compound" that Carnival has created in Mahogany Bay. I can't express to those reading the absolute beauty I saw and appreciated in this island doing an independtent tour.

[NextOne]

We used Victor Bodden earlier this month and had a wonderful day. If you have the opportunity, ask for Francisco as your guide. He was terrific!

[alys]

Booking with Bodden Tours is easy and Victor is very efficient in returning emails and scheduling exactly what type of tour or day you would like. Ali was our driver - excellent.

It was a rainy day - missed some of the picturesque views - but saw the whole island.

Prices very reasonable - cash payment at the end - This company is a total PLUS!!!!

[#1TravelMom]

I have read great reviews for both and they both do the same tour basically. We've used ronystours.com every time we've visited Roatan and have nothing but great things to say about him and his guides. Rony is wonderful. His company is small enough that he emails you personally and meets you at the gate personally, but his company is big enough that he can accommodate larger groups. I just prefer to work with a smaller company-he always remembers us and is an all-around awesome guy! He is very particular about his guides. Last month when we were there - it rained all afternoon(we still had a great time). Rony must have called our guide 3 or 4 times and told him to tell us how sorry he was. I couldn't believe how much he was apologizing for the weather-no way he could control that! The guide said - he just wants every single person to have a spectacular tour. We will definately use Rony again and highly recommend him!

[Delta Dear]

Rony was wonderful. We toured with him in Feb. He provided an excellent tour that included all that we wanted to see and more. It was more like riding around the island with a personal friend vs. a tour with a tour guide. Rony is fantastic.

[mamajules]

Rony was wonderful. We toured with him in Feb. He provided an excellent tour that included all that we wanted to see and more. It was more like riding around the island with a personal friend vs. a tour with a tour guide. Rony is fantastic.

 

I completely agree. We had Rony himself as a guide. We talked, joked, laughed. He was so personable, friendly, and genuinely cares about his customers. My son loves to zipline, but its not my thing, nor my friend's that was with us. We got my son set-up with a guide at South Shore and once he was underway. Rony took us to Bananarama (we wanted some beach time - not far from South Shore Canopy), got us set-up there, then went back and retrieved my son from the zipline and brought him to us at Bananarama. Can't recommend Rony enough!

[SIGARSTEVE]

Just got back from Celebrity Eclipse and used Rony last Thur 12/02/10.

Recommend him highly. We did is 4 hour tour which turned into 5+.

We booked for 6 but added 2 more that morning. Rony got us the bigger van so we would have more room and brought along his cousin Mike as an additional guide. For the group. Between the both of them they gave us a very knowledgeable tour of their island and answered all our questions. We saw the entire island, stopped numerous times for photo ops and shopping, went to the monkey farm and ended at the beach. You will not be disappointed

If you go with Rony.