Belize & Honduras excursions

Any suggestions on excursions or independent excursions companies for these 2 Ports? Thanks:)

We used Vitalino Reyes in Belize for our cave tubing excursion. It included transportation and lunch. Price was reasonable & no deposit required. We paid in cash at the port. Their website is cavetubing dot bz. They have other excursions than tubing as well.

There is a whole forum for beleize

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=109

We went cave tubing with Butts-Up cave tubing in Belize and had a wonderful time. Butts-Up!

Air-conditioned bus tour of the city then out to the national park where every tour goes for tubing. They provide everything including lunch. (Beer and rum punch is cheap and cold.) They carried our tubes out to the starting point and back to the shed when we were done - that was a big help to us out-of-shape 50-somethings.

It's a pretty good hike through jungle paths out to the starting point - very scenic and beautiful but hot (we were there in July) and over uneven ground. We made it though and the float back through the caves and down the river was well worth the hike. The younger folk in our group seemed to have no trouble. The guides were extremely friendly and patient with us.

Lunch was a huge, home-made chicken tamale - please be advised that the tamale is very authentic - meaning they wrap the chicken thigh/wing/leg up in there bones and all. VERY tasty but just gotta be careful and pick through it with your fork. I grew up in Texas and I'm used to smaller tamales with ground beef or pork - but no bones - so the first bite was a surprise to me but I got over it and ate it all up.

they were only 45 bucks a person and they often run early-bird specials if you book in advance - just make the reservation, no down payment needed. Pay at end of trip. They say they have never gotten back too late to get on the ship - they have a pretty big fleet of buses and vans and are in constant contact with home base so even if they have trouble, help is very near.

bring closed-toe shoes. No flip-flops or open toe sandals. Water shoes are great. They have them if you don't but I can't remember of they rented them.

Plenty of opportunity to buy souvenirs lol. At the park entrance there are several vendors and the Butts-Up people have a guy that does personalized carvings at their lunch spot.

All in all, great people, great value, great time.

I highly recommend a Victor Bodden tour in Roatan. We did the "Best of Roatan" tour and loved it. Its customizable to your preferences too.

http://www.boddentours.com/

We have used Victor Bodden Tours in Roatan. We booked a private tour and it was just us and the driver. We went only where we wanted to go and did not have to sit thru anything we didn't. Also it was nice to be able to ask him to stop wherever we wanted if something interested us or we saw a photo op. One highlight for me was a stop for a snack/breakfast. I had read about a Honduran food item called a baleada and wanted to try it. I mentioned it to our driver and we stopped to have this at his favourite place to get them...I bought his for him and we had a nice breakfast of this dish. This would not have been possible with a group tour.

I highly recommend a Victor Bodden tour in Roatan. We did the "Best of Roatan" tour and loved it. Its customizable to your preferences too.

 

http://www.boddentours.com/

We have used Victor Bodden Tours in Roatan. We booked a private tour and it was just us and the driver. ..

I'd like to add a hearty Amen for Bodden Tours and we never actually got to do the tour with him We had booked a private tour for 80 bucks total (for 2 of us - I think price per person goes down a little with more people) and had intended to do the same thing - find local food and sightseeing and photo-ops BUT on the first sea-day of the cruise we went to the n00bies show with cruise director and we won a free excursion to Maya Key. Since we had no money in Victor Bodden yet I emailed him to let him know we'd have to cancel on him and he thanked us for letting him know and congratulated us for winning the other excursion and said he'd be there next time we were in Honduras and he'd love to show us around his home island. Frankly, I was impressed by that. He could have been upset we cancelled and maybe he even was - but he never let us know that and was nothing but kind and gracious to us.

So I don't know when our next cruise to Roatan will be but we definitely are going some day and he will be my first call to get set up for a tour.

He could have been upset we cancelled and maybe he even was - but he never let us know that and was nothing but kind and gracious to us..

Victor is a very nice and professional man. I doubt he was upset at all. His only request is to let him know as soon as you can if you have to cancel. Sounds like you did that :)

Victor is a very nice and professional man. I doubt he was upset at all. His only request is to let him know as soon as you can if you have to cancel. Sounds like you did that :)

In the months leading up to our cruise I emailed him several times with different dumb questions we had as this was our first cruise and we just didn't know stuff. He answered every one with infinite patience and good cheer and kept in contact with us like we were the only job he had in the world.

There's no way I could ever go back to Roatan and not give him my business. And we are definitely going back - the only thing my wife wanted to do was go to the cameo factory and she didn't get to do that since we went to Maya Key (which was also a great time but I'm glad it was free lol) so I owe her a trip to the cameo factory.

I am surprised she let me book 2 cruises in the future that didn't include Roatan but the opportunities came up at the right time so we booked them.

She'll get there though. I sure ain't complaining about another cruise! ;)

We'd also definitely recommend Victor Bodden in Roatan. We booked a day that included ziplining, interacting with monkeys, sightseeing and a beach, and the excursion was fantastic.

In Belize, we've done a private excursion to the Lamanai Mayan ruins through Lamanai Belize Tours. It is a LONG excursion (several hours) that involves a long van ride and about a 45 minute boat ride BEFORE ever getting to the ruins site. You don't say how long you are in Belize, so be sure to check with the company and your cruise itinerary to make sure your ship will be in port long enough to take the tour. Also, be aware that this is a tender port, so you need to get on the earliest tender possible. One of the things we really liked about this tour was that the tour group consisted of our family of 4 and another family of 6. The small group allowed us to be able to ask our guide questions and spend a lot more time on the ruins.

Lamanai Belize Tours is family owned, and the excursion included a traditional Belizean lunch homemade by the family. The tour does require a bit of walking, but the pathways were pretty level and easy. Unlike many ruins sites, you can still climb these ruins, and the view from the top of the high temple was spectacular. We had two of our sons with us, and they loved this excursion - it was definitely the highlight of that particular cruise. We would highly recommend it if you like ruins. Be sure to take bug spray because the mosquitos are everywhere.

Snorkeling or cave tubing in Belize. If you like the beach, no excursion needed in Roatan. Just ride the lift to the beach + enjoy.

We are going on the Dream in July and we also have Victor booked in Roatan. But we haven't decided yet who to go with for cave tubing. We are looking for tubes with head rests and also a tour where they carry the tubes for you. What would you suggest?

We didn't use Victor Bodden (I wanted too but my sister decided to plan Roatan and she had ideas) but still would recommend them. When our private tour guide (Murphy's) wasn't at that the meeting place he specified outside the port all the drivers for Victor Bodden's drivers were very helpful. They helped us look for him, and then when he wasn't found they called Murphy for us.

Can't help for Belize we wanted to go to Xunatunich so we took Carnival's excursion.

Our best excursion on this itinerary was a snorkeling tour in Roatan with Radical Adventures. Communication with the owners was easy and my questions were answered promptly. The catamaran sail was great and the crew was so friendly! The snorkeling was very good and our freshly-preparedlunch and snacks were delicious!

Here's their website, but I'd also read their rave reviews on Trip Advisor.

http://www.svfreeradical.com/

I want to Thank everyone for all your information...so nice of each of you to lend your thoughts.... Cant wait to sail...... its my 5th cruise my girlfriends first

Our best excursion on this itinerary was a snorkeling tour in Roatan with Radical Adventures. Communication with the owners was easy and my questions were answered promptly. The catamaran sail was great and the crew was so friendly! The snorkeling was very good and our freshly-preparedlunch and snacks were delicious!

 

Here's their website, but I'd also read their rave reviews on Trip Advisor.

 

http://www.svfreeradical.com/

We've done this one as well, and loved it!

In Roatan we used Victor Boden Tours and they were awesome. There were four of us and we told our driver what we wanted to do. He took us to a great zipling place and to a local area for more local foods and not just touristy things. He gave us history of Roatan along the way and was a super nice guy. If we ever go back we would definitely use them again. Not sure if it is still the same, but they could not come into the port area to pick us up. We had to meet him outside the gates. Well worth the money though.

Not sure if it is still the same, but they could not come into the port area to pick us up. We had to meet him outside the gates. Well worth the money though.

Its still the same. You have to walk +/- 500 yards over that steep hill to get to the tour drivers or you can pay a taxi about 2.00 a person to carry you over the hill. Once the tour is over, the tour guide is allowed to drop you off inside the gates.

Not sure if it is still the same, but they could not come into the port area to pick us up. We had to meet him outside the gates. Well worth the money though.

Once outside the gates, the walk is no more than around the length of the ship. It's not bad at all.

As others have already commented, Victor Bodden Tours are great and very personable especially if you book a private tour. We did a tour 2 weeks ago and I give them a huge thumbs up.

Stay away from Exotic Adventures on snorkeling, you can see more details about that trip on this page.