Beach stop and snorkelling with Daniel Johnson

[dmori]

Hello! Our first time visiting and looking at excursion options with Daniel Johnson (I know seeing the sloths, monkeys and birds up close and personal will be the highlight of my kiddos cruise!).

 

1.) Can anyone provide feedback on the snorkelling and beach stop options? Snorkelling as part of the excursion - is it worth it? We also have personal snorkel gear we generally bring along so doing our own thing in Costa Maya, Cozumel and Roatan is an option. Does it add much substance to the excursion or would my kids be happy just snorkelling around from the beach stop?

 

2.) As far as the beach stop, the website mentions this is done at Las Palmas Resort. Any feedback on the beach/optional food and beverage for purchase itself at this location? How does it compare to the beach accessible right in port (Mahogany Bay)? Im a beach lover so id prefer to spend my time at the better beach/water location. Thanks a bunch! 

[crewsweeper]

You are better off at Las Palmas, IMO.  decent snorkeling off their beach.  Good Beach. Not West End beach but nicer than Mahogany Bay, which has zero snorkeling .

[Guest 2000]

I have not been out with Daniel to snorkel but have often heard very good things. If you kids are up for it, I think it a grand idea. 

 

I have only been to Las Palmas once and it was far to many years ago. Google maps could offer you some idea of what the snorkling could be, compare it to West Bay maps. 

 

By the by ~ West End and West Bay are two different places.  :0) 

[dmori]

Great, thanks for the input! I will wait and see if anyone has any feedback on the snorkelling portion of the excursion with Daniel and decide then if its something id like to add on! 

 

On a side note, if we were to forego the beach at Las Palmas, what is the best beach and swimming location? Any suggestions on how best to arrange transportation to get there? Cheers! 

 

[Guest 2000]

7 hours ago, dmori said:

Great, thanks for the input! I will wait and see if anyone has any feedback on the snorkelling portion of the excursion with Daniel and decide then if its something id like to add on! 

 

On a side note, if we were to forego the beach at Las Palmas, what is the best beach and swimming location? Any suggestions on how best to arrange transportation to get there? Cheers! 

 

 

West Bay is the premiere beach on the island. You have been there, Tabyana is on West Bay Beach. 

 

I would recommend a private driver to take you both to a monkey/sloth place, there are several on the island, and West Bay for the beach. 

 

Jesy at Roatan Driver is my new favorite and she or her team can tell you if what you want to do is possible around traffic and road construction. 

[lamb616]

what is the beach like at Daniel Johnson's? Is it good for swimming.......are there umbrellas available? 

[dmori]

Thanks everyone for your input! We decided to book the Transportation/Hangout/Beach Break option directly through Daniel Johnson's website. My kiddos will love the Hangout and up close and personal visit with the sloths and i'll get in some beach time - I know not West Bay, but timing will be limited and id rather spend less time commuting and more time with my feet in the sand! I did inquire further with Daniel Johnson and the "beach break" is now located at Brady's Cay on Big French Cay (FYI contrary to what DJ's website says as they haven't updated this info yet, but did confirm through FB chat) and they provide boat transportation there included with the excursion. The reviews I did find on Brady's Cay are all great so here's hoping! There are food/drink add on options as well or a la carte. Prices seem reasonable. There are also various water activities available to add on which was a plus for us and the kids. I will update on our visit once we've been and are back - mid Feb 2024. Cheers! 

[dmori]

23 hours ago, lamb616 said:

what is the beach like at Daniel Johnson's? Is it good for swimming.......are there umbrellas available? 

I can't say as I haven't yet been, maybe someone else can provide further insight? The pictures I viewed online look like its a gradual beach/water entry and I do believe there are umbrellas provided with the chair at Brady's Cay - but don't quote me on that. Check out their website at...https://bradyscayroatan.org (I found the website difficult to load on my desktop, but had no issues on my mobile) and I did find more info/pics on their FB page as well as Instagram. Hope this helps! 

[c-leg5]

On 11/30/2023 at 9:59 AM, dmori said:

I can't say as I haven't yet been, maybe someone else can provide further insight? The pictures I viewed online look like its a gradual beach/water entry and I do believe there are umbrellas provided with the chair at Brady's Cay - but don't quote me on that. Check out their website at...https://bradyscayroatan.org (I found the website difficult to load on my desktop, but had no issues on my mobile) and I did find more info/pics on their FB page as well as Instagram. Hope this helps! 

 

So have they taken over the area the ship excursions used to go to on Big French Key or is this a separate area? 
 

Difficult to see how accurate the location on Google maps is.

[dmori]

59 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

 

So have they taken over the area the ship excursions used to go to on Big French Key or is this a separate area? 
 

Difficult to see how accurate the location on Google maps is.

I'm not sure as I haven't been to Roatan as of yet. Here is a screen shot of the area with a pin dropped at Brady's Cay. From what I have seen for excursions with Carnival, Big French Key is still offered, so I feel Brady's Cay is a different location. I could be wrong?!?! 

[c-leg5]

1 hour ago, dmori said:

I'm not sure as I haven't been to Roatan as of yet. Here is a screen shot of the area with a pin dropped at Brady's Cay. From what I have seen for excursions with Carnival, Big French Key is still offered, so I feel Brady's Cay is a different location. I could be wrong?!?! 

Yes that is the map I had seen.

 

I was under the impression one side of the island was for vacation rentals and the other side (opposite Little French Key had been developed for day Visitors and utilized by the cruise ships.  I haven’t heard of Bradys Cay so will be interested to read your feed back. 

[dmori]

7 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

Yes that is the map I had seen.

 

I was under the impression one side of the island was for vacation rentals and the other side (opposite Little French Key had been developed for day Visitors and utilized by the cruise ships.  I haven’t heard of Bradys Cay so will be interested to read your feed back. 

I thoroughly research these things online...to a fault usually lol. From what I could see I could only find posts (reviews, fb posts, and instagram) as far back as roughly 9 months/1 year (looks like Feb '23) ago for Brady's Cay so maybe a new option? The DJ excursion online states a beach break at Las Palmas, but I did clarify directly and they said it is at Brady's Cay and they just haven't yet updated their website. I will be sure to provide feedback! Cheers 🙂 

Edited December 3, 2023 by dmori

[c-leg5]

3 minutes ago, dmori said:

I thoroughly research these things online...to a fault usually lol. From what I could see I could only find posts (reviews, fb posts, and instagram) as far back as roughly 9 months/1 year (looks like Feb '23) ago for Brady's Cay so maybe a new option? The DJ excursion online states a beach break at Las Palmas, but I did clarify directly and they said it is at Brady's Cay and they just haven't yet updated their website. I will be sure to provide feedback! Cheers 🙂 

Thanks, you would think DJ would be able to give more precise description of location and facilities?

 

Anyway enjoy and I look forward to hearing about somewhere new. I haven’t even read many reports of Big French Key which is strange given it is from the ship.

[Grenadinka]

I just contacted them as well about the same type of excursion. And they also told be that it would be Brady's Cay for the beach part. 

[Grenadinka]

The only thing, they also mentioned that there would be no snorkeling at Brady's Cay, and snorkeling at Roatan is a must for us. If you are also interested in snorkeling, double check with them. 

So I am leaning towards Victor, despite some negative reviews. I also contacted Rony tours but they are affiliated with Manawakie Park Sloth's & Monkey Encounter for sloth encounter. 

[c-leg5]

33 minutes ago, Grenadinka said:

The only thing, they also mentioned that there would be no snorkeling at Brady's Cay, and snorkeling at Roatan is a must for us. If you are also interested in snorkeling, double check with them. 

So I am leaning towards Victor, despite some negative reviews. I also contacted Rony tours but they are affiliated with Manawakie Park Sloth's & Monkey Encounter for sloth encounter. 

I don’t understand the “no snorkeling”? The Brady’s Cay website states:

 

The activities that are included in the packages that offer activities are - (Snorkel Gear, Kayaks, Paddle Boards or Aqua Park) *Transportation included * 

4 or more people required for the banana boat, towable tube or touring boat cruise*

and the reviews mention it.

What was in question was, is it a separate new area on the other side of the cay or the area the cruise ship excursions use.

 

 

Victor and Rony are both tour operators, whilst they may have additional discounts at preferential locations I don’t see why they can’t take you to any location you want.

[Grenadinka]

12 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

I don’t understand the “no snorkeling”? The Brady’s Cay website states:

 

The activities that are included in the packages that offer activities are - (Snorkel Gear, Kayaks, Paddle Boards or Aqua Park) *Transportation included * 

4 or more people required for the banana boat, towable tube or touring boat cruise*

and the reviews mention it.

What was in question was, is it a separate new area on the other side of the cay or the area the cruise ship excursions use.

 

 

Victor and Rony are both tour operators, whilst they may have additional discounts at preferential locations I don’t see why they can’t take you to any location you want.

I also didn't understand this part. Here's a direct quote about the Brady's Cay from Daniel Johnsons Monkey and Sloth Hangout "Yes, that would be the best option if you do not want to do the snorkeling". Maybe they meant that there were better places for snorkeling.  As we aren't going to book with them, I didn't ask further. But as I understand, the topic starter is interested in snorkeling and booking with Daniel Johnsons, so I thought it was worth mentioning. 

[misterjohnny]

We just got off the NCL Joy and did the Daniel Johnson excursion. We drove around the island, hit a couple of chocolate shops that make their own, walked around for a little bit on the West End before they took us to the Hangout. Got to hold the sloth, monkeys jumping on and off our shoulders and head, and macaws on our shoulders like pirates.

We opted for the snorkeling, so we changed into swimsuits at the Hangout bathrooms and departed on a little boat right there. Just the 6 in our group. They took us out to the west side of Big French Key and we had a guide in the water with us. They provided all the gear, noodles and life jackets if you wanted them. In the water for 45 minutes or so. We were tired at the end of our snorkel so it was a good amount of time in the water. The boat followed us around so it was a one direction snorkel and he picked us up off Little French Key. Great reef that has not been stepped on by tourists. Lots of reef fish and one big barracuda.

 

We could have stopped at the beach for a while, but our ship was leaving early so we went straight back to the ship. Best value excursion on our 10 day cruise (but we made up for the great value by tipping everyone because they were all so helpful and nice).

 

Definitely recommend Daniel Johnson.

[c-leg5]

57 minutes ago, misterjohnny said:

We just got off the NCL Joy and did the Daniel Johnson excursion. We drove around the island, hit a couple of chocolate shops that make their own, walked around for a little bit on the West End before they took us to the Hangout. Got to hold the sloth, monkeys jumping on and off our shoulders and head, and macaws on our shoulders like pirates.

We opted for the snorkeling, so we changed into swimsuits at the Hangout bathrooms and departed on a little boat right there. Just the 6 in our group. They took us out to the west side of Big French Key and we had a guide in the water with us. They provided all the gear, noodles and life jackets if you wanted them. In the water for 45 minutes or so. We were tired at the end of our snorkel so it was a good amount of time in the water. The boat followed us around so it was a one direction snorkel and he picked us up off Little French Key. Great reef that has not been stepped on by tourists. Lots of reef fish and one big barracuda.

 

We could have stopped at the beach for a while, but our ship was leaving early so we went straight back to the ship. Best value excursion on our 10 day cruise (but we made up for the great value by tipping everyone because they were all so helpful and nice).

 

Definitely recommend Daniel Johnson.

Thanks! sounds like a busy day, glad you had fun!

 

So to be clear for others looking to do the snorkeling- 

 

you took a boat to the west side of Big French Key to Brady’s Key, which is not where the cruise ships go? You drift snorkeled, south of the key towards Little French Key and were picked up in the water between the two and returned to mainland?

 

Do they take you to the underwater submerged sculptures and objects?

[misterjohnny]

1 hour ago, c-leg5 said:

Thanks! sounds like a busy day, glad you had fun!

 

So to be clear for others looking to do the snorkeling- 

 

you took a boat to the west side of Big French Key to Brady’s Key, which is not where the cruise ships go? You drift snorkeled, south of the key towards Little French Key and were picked up in the water between the two and returned to mainland?

 

Do they take you to the underwater submerged sculptures and objects?

Yes, that is correct. As for where the cruise ships go, I don't really know. But there weren't any other boats in the area we were so unlikely they went where we went. We did not see any underwater sculptures or objects, we only saw natural things (coral, fish, etc).

[Laurenran]

Which sloth and snorkel tour did you book? I see 3 different options on the DJ site. One is $45 with no island tour. Two are $55, I think one includes Island tour and one includes extra time at the beach. I’m assuming they all snorkel at the same location? 

[AmandaKaye79]

We are on a tour with Rony  in March and visiting Daniel Johnson's sloth and west bay beach.