Need Help! Roatan- What excursion should we choose

[sinita]

Hi Everyone, my boyfriend and I will be traveling on the Pearl Feb 22, 2009 and I have almost everything booked.

We are a young couple who enjoy cruises( 26 and 30).

I have excursions booked on two of the four stops (belize and Cozumel) and need to decide what to do in Roatan.

 

Here are my three choices:

 

1- Jolly Roger Catamaran and Gumbalimba Park excursion (80$/ each):

I have this currently booked but cannot find any reviews about this excursion. I know there are a couple of threads currently open, but not much information was generated. Has anyone taken this excursion? We love to snorkel and I would like to see the monkeys, but is it worth 80$ each?

 

2-Fins and Flippers (20$/each plus 8$ snorkel gear):

I read great reviews about this place saying how great it is and relaxing. We want to snorkel and see lots of fish and am wondering if we should go here?You can leave when you want and it doesn't cost 80$ like the first excursion I mentionned.

 

3- Victor Bodden private tour (40$/each plus extras)

I read alot of great reviews concerning this tour operation. It seems people absolutely love doing this tour, however, for someone who wants to snorkel, see some animals and shopping, would this be a good option?

 

I would love to hear everyone's opinion. I know that alot of people absolutely love Roatan and I want to make this stop as memorable as possible.

 

thanks in advance for your time!:cool:

[illiniwahoo]

we ziplined in roatan, but our friends went to fins and flippers. they said the snorkeling was better than in grand caymen or cozumel. there were some animals there, and some shopping as well, at what they saw as very reasonable prices. but there were sand fleas. just bring bug spray and you should be fine (they were, but noticed those without spray getting bitten). it sounds like a great excursion for the price!

[skyview851]

We visited Fins & Flippers a little over a week ago while on the Pearl. We walked off the ship, down the street & waited on their private dock for maybe 10 minutes for the boat to take us to the resort. The ride to the island is very short (5 min maybe?). The day that we were there, there were 30 people signed up to visit, so there were plenty of chairs everywhere. The pool area is really nice, and the restaurant had great food at reasonable prices. The fundido's were fabulous!

The snorkeling here is some of the best that we have ever seen. The water is clear, there was no current, and the reef is in terrific shape. If you like to snorkle, you should really visit fins & flippers. As a side benefit, they have a huge gift shop with some of the nicest items we saw anywhere on our cruise.

It was a very nice day, the only down side is the sand fleas. I understand the fleas are all over the island, so if you go to any beach, put bug spray on before you leave the ship. I probably ended up with 20 or 30 bites. I never knew I was being bitten-never felt the first thing. Folks who used bug spray seemed to be fine. My plan was to use the spray if I was being bothered by the fleas, but since I never knew they were on me, that didn't work too well. I learned my lesson!

Even with the fleas, I recommend fins & flippers. Great island, friendly staff, cold beer and good snorkeling. What more could you want?

[scitchr]

We just returned from the Pearl. I was getting online to post a recommendation for Victor Bodden and saw your thread. I highly recommend this tour. You step right off the ship and someone is there to introduce you to your driver. We had Ronald. He knew alot about his island and was interested in sharing his info. You can make the day into what is right for you. We were with my parents (80's), so we took a tour of the near end of the island. Then we opted to pay the $10 day pass into the Mayan Princess resort. It is laid back and very nice. Beautiful pool area. We had lunch there and hung out at the beach a bit. They have lounge chairs for the beach and there is some shade if you prefer that. Then we walked down the beach past Bananarama to snorkle at the reef there. Not a long walk at all. Ronald went with us and watched our belongings while we snorkled. He also got some lounge chairs for us at the resort we were snorkling near. We would not have been able to do that on our own. You could spend a lot of time at the beach. Go for the Mayan Princess for the extra $10. Ronald said they are now charging $10 at Banarama for the use of chairs (used to be $5). We also visited Victor's home and played with his white faced monkeys. They are a real kick. You can enter the cage with them. They jump all over you and try to pick your pockets, remove your hat. Very fun. So, go for the Bodden tour. Well worth it!

[sinita]

Thanks so much for both recommendations!!

I am still indecisive as both reviews highly recommend both Fins and Flippers and Voctor Bodden tours...hehe

 

I guess we'll have to flip a coin and decide what one to take!

 

Has anyone even done the catamaran and Gumbalimba Park excursion? There is hardly any info concerning this ship excursion.

 

thanks Everyone!

[teacher_md]

I am trying to decide between Fins and Flippers and the Victor Bodden tour as well. Sounds like you get more with the Victor Bodden and you can opt to go to a resort. the monkeys sound fun! -aj

[sptrout]

I am trying to decide between Fins and Flippers and the Victor Bodden tour as well. Sounds like you get more with the Victor Bodden and you can opt to go to a resort. the monkeys sound fun! -aj

 

There are monkeys at Fins & Flipper also, as well as a small friendly cat (Ocelot if I was to guess, in a large enclosure, but comes right up to the fence).

 

We were at F&F last week and had a great time. Would be there right now if I could:(

[sinita]

Thanks for the responses. I think we might go with the private tour. You can go snorkeling and check out some monkeys too! Just seems like a more custom day excursion.

Fins and Flippers is more relaxing I am assuming? Are there monkeys you can hold and play with? I am caught up on the idea that we can actually hold a monkey! haha..

I booked both at the moment and have to decide tomorrow which to choose. We got Ali as a driver for the Victor Bodden tour. Is he good?:)