Are there taxi's in Roatan??

[bearswife]

Are there taxi's in Roatan that I can get at port? Does anyone know how safe or how much also?

 

Thanks

[chinaplus]

Yes, there are many taxis. Yes, they are safe and the drivers are knowledgeable and interesting.

[stranger1001]

My wife and I were initially apprehensive about Roatan, especially since the owner of the first store we went into tried to cheat us. We wanted to hire a taxi for the day but were concerned about safety/reliability, price, etc. But we got lucky -- the taxi driver we hired was very friendly, totally honest, listened to what we were looking for and very eager to please. He took us on a fantastic tour of the island and to the best beaches (West End for snorkeling, West Bay for swimming and relaxing), and it was definitely a better value than any shore excursion package, and he drives a clean Corolla -- no crammed minivans. We paid $70 but he probably would have gone lower. Since we're planning to do the same cruise (NCL) next year, I got his name and number:

 

Fidel Ponce

1-504-33-04-05-03

1-504-445-23-63

 

One is cell, the other landline -- I don't know which is which, but he said he would love to have cruiseship passengers call him and arrange in advance.

[runner15km]

Just beyond the large building in this pic http://travel.webshots.com/photo/135...61622896nUSCcm is where the taxi's are. Ask the taxi spotter for a English speaking driver to take you on a tour of the island

Our driver Jose was great told us about his family and life on the island. He took us to Fosters Beach, a zip-line and shopping for local crafts. He was with us for 4 hours for $25.00 per person

[98Charlie]

We've been to Roatan 5 times in the past 5 years. It's one of our favorite ports. Last time (November this year) we started looking for a cab just outside the gate. The spotter was quoting either $80 or $85 for the day. We told him no thanks. He was somewhat argumentative that this was the going rate because of fuel prices, etc.

 

The previous trip (April this year) we had paid $40 for the day. We walked on down the queue of cabs and ran into a driver that that took us for the day for the same price.

 

We walked about 80 yards to where his car was parked off the street. The driver spoke great English, the car was new, and he took us everywhere we wanted to go.

 

At any rate, we got his email address for future reference. Click Here for the email link. I know that next time we will try to arraing for him to meet us at the gate.

 

Charlie

[bluehorizonlover123]

I have emailed a number of tour operators to try and get a ride to a West End beach for our upcoming cruise and they are coming back with a price of $25 pp for 4 of us or a total of $100 for a ride to and from a beach. Another guy came back with a price of $28 pp for the ride.

 

Why do these people think they can rip us off for a simple cab ride to and from a beach. The ride is 30 minutes each way.

 

I can get a ride to the airport from my house which is a 45 minute ride for $30 total. How come they can charge $50 each way for a 30 minute ride. It just is not making sense to me.

 

I might as well do a tour thru the ship for $37 pp and it will include chairs, free drink, etc. Is it only me or does this scenario seem crazy to any others going to Roatan or having returned from Roatan.

[bluehorizonlover123]

Ok so how come everyone is viewing my thread and no one is answering.

 

I have gotten a total of 3 replies from cabbies in Roatan.

 

One wants $28 pp to take us to the beach and back to the ship. For 4 of us.

 

One wants $20 pp to take us to the beach and back to the ship.

 

One wants $25pp to take us to the beach and back to the ship.

 

All of the beaches in Roatan are free to use but you can not use their chairs or bathrooms unless you pay them $10 pp. One of the cab drivers would get us onto Bananarama Beach with an armband if we paid him $38 pp.

 

Is this a racket or what???

[CruiserWKB]

One reason is that they are hoping to get an all-day fare, not just a trip to the beach and back.

[bluehorizonlover123]

Yeah that is what I am thinking. Plus they are not regulated. I was reading that if we lived there locally they would only charge us $1 US to go to the beach and $1 US to go back. But since they see dollar signs when the cruise ships come in they charge whatever they feel like.

[TxLnghrnz]

Yeah that is what I am thinking. Plus they are not regulated. I was reading that if we lived there locally they would only charge us $1 US to go to the beach and $1 US to go back. But since they see dollar signs when the cruise ships come in they charge whatever they feel like.

 

Yep, Blue... But this is the way it is in American cities where tourism is the #1 industry, too.

 

In San Antonio, tourists get hosed on the Natural-Gas powered River Taxis...and, yes, as locals we pay less. Restaurants on the River Walk charge MUCH more than the same restaurants located elsewhere in the city for the same menu. Tourists are over-charged to go to the top of our "Hemisfair Tower", locals get a discount...and can even go free with the right information.

 

Sometimes when you are in a place where income is dictated by tourist $$, you have to pay a little more than you do "at home".

 

You may want to look at renting a car in Roatan for the day (but, be careful...from what we found out on the last trip there, most mandate that you pay all of those insurance charges that are optional in the U.S.)

[Jeanne B]

I think the "taxi drivers" on Roatan typically act as tour guides, not just a taxi ride, and like another poster stated, there are no published taxi rates. Victor Bodden is probably the most popular tour guide on Roatan and he charges $25/pp (for 4 or more people, $80 total for 2 people) and when we were there in 05 we used a tour guide who also charged $25/pp so I think this is pretty much the going rate. You might be able to bargain with a taxi driver for a little less if you wait until you get to the port and only want to go to the beach.

 

Regarding the chairs, we vacationed in the USVI's last year and it seemed as if the chair rentals at most of the beaches there were either $5 or $10/pp so I don't know that it's totally unreasonable (or unexpected) what they're charging $10 for beach chair rentals on Roatan.

 

We love Roatan, it's one of our favorite ports and I'm really looking forward to our second visit there in March (we have Victor Bodden booked for the day).

[98Charlie]

If it is just a "beach & back" ride, the driver will be commiting to doing just that. If the ship docks at, say 10 AM the driver takes you to the beach with a pick up time of maybe 3PM (just examples). Chances are that he won't be able to find any other fares and still make his commitment to you.

 

IMHO you are going to have a difficult time finding any driver for less than $40 or 50 since they will be giving up any other fares for the day. Since you still have chair rental on top of that and if going to the beach is all you want to do, you may as well do a ship tour.

 

Charlie

[bluehorizonlover123]

Yeah Charlie that is what I am thinking. But the time I pay $20 pp for the taxi and $10 pp for the beach chair and bathroom use I might as well pay $35 to the ship and get a free drink thrown in there too. That is my thinking on this too. But my other option is forget these beaches and just go to Anthony's Key and call it a day.

[98Charlie]

We're not beach people so we usually grab a cab for the day.

 

We ordinarily *************** and stop by the newly built library ************. We'll have the driver take us to a restaurant. Again usually a recommendation of one of the locals and never been dissapointed. We finish up the day with some shopping in Coxen Hole and end up at the Blind Tiger for a Salva Vida beer (or three). You can see the ship from the patio. Here's a shot:

There are also some other "touristy" things like the Iguana Farm, maybe a butterfly farm, the Cameo Shop (kinda pricey but you can watch them make Cameo"s), & Zip Line. If you have a driver you can go to as many as time will allow and if you get tired of what you're doing, have him haul you to the next spot on your list.

 

Did you click on the email link for Ronny in my previous post. The price is still going to be in the 40-50 range. But, good English and a new car.

 

Charlie

[bluehorizonlover123]

Actually Ronny has been very helpful and the cheapest. We are going to use him for our day on Roatan. The only problem I have is that every time he writes to me it goes into my spam for some reason and I have to watch for his emails.