Victor Bodden guide/driver recommendations? (MERGED THREADS)

Our group traveled on NCL Pearl on March 23-April3. After reading all the reviews on Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor, we chose Bodden Tours.....and I am SO glad that we did!!!Bodden Tours offers a variety of excursions for you to choose from. The one we chose was Roatan FUN n SUN. Their communication precruise was excellent, pickup at the port was convenient, and their price was VERY LOW...$30.pp The highlight of the whole cruise for me was the visit to Victor's Monkey Business!!! Following a 1 1/2 island tour we were given 2 hours to relax at a beautiful beach resort. Trust me, this tour cannot be beat! Remember to take some grapes for the animals at Monkey Business!

We had the most exciting visit to Honduras with the Victor Bodden Fun and Sun tour. At first I was scared about getting in the cage with the monkeys but they were so much fun! The parrots were fun too. The best was getting to hold the sloths. They are like holding a baby. We also enjoyed the beach. Very clean and excellent service. This tour was a bargain.

We did the private tour with Victor Bodden Tours. We had never been to Roatan and wanted to see the island. Our driver was Isaac. He took good care of us and spoke good English. We were able to see everything we wanted, shop and stopped several places to take pictures. We ate at a resort area. Be detailed about what you want and dont want to see/do. I wish we had ate somewhere local but I didn't specify so we were fine with his choice. We will do again.

We had a wonderful experience with Victor Bodden Tours. There were 6 of us and we opted for the private tour. We chose to zipline...incredible! And the guides were so much fun. Along with that, we got to visit the animals, including holding the monkeys and sloths. We had so much fun doing that. The enclosures for their animals were very clean. Then, since we had so much sun exposure the days prior, we just opted for Big Al to drive us around and give us a tour of Roatan. He did great...he was very knowledgeable. They were very detailed in giving instructions on how to get to them once you reach the port and left no questions about where you were supposed to go and who you were to be looking for. I never felt unsafe in the least. The island was beautiful and intriguing. I highly recommend using them...I will use them again if we make it back to Roatan. I will say...please pay extra attention to their note about using cash to pay. With their banks being very strict, they cannot accept bills that have been torn at all or taped. I had forgotten that and was asked several times if I had a bill that was in better shape...that was not their fault at all, it's just a note for future guests to pay close attention to that detail.

Question for those who have used Victor Booden tours, as this will be our first time. They talk about it being so customizable which is great. Our party of 6 is real excited to go. However, we have two in our party (7 year old, mother in law) that often wear out before the rest of us. If some are tired but others want to go on, will they take part of your party back to the ship and then continue the tour?

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Victor is excellent about responding to questions. I would email him and ask. My guess the answer would be yes. He and his guides work hard to please the customer. Have a great trip.

I had a group of 9, that scheduled the Zip N Dip Excursion with Bodden Tours. As soon as we got to port we followed the instructions and saw someone holding a Bodden Tours sign. We then hopped into a van with our Awesome Guide William. He took us to Zip line. We were the first group that morning and I had never done it before. The staff was great. We zip lined for 2 hours! It was fun and exciting and sure did not seem like it was that long. We were then directed to another guide to bring us to see the different animals there. He was very knowledgeable about each one. The monkeys were cute and everything was VERY clean! The cages and the animals did not smell at all. We then met back up with William and went to Bananarama Beach. We had shady loungers waiting for us. We had some nachos and local beer. The price was very reasonable. There was also security so that you were not harassed by locals to buy things. I would most definitely go through Bodden Tours again. The service was so great I tipped everyone, they truly deserved it!

Anyone have Victor or one his guides take you to a local place to eat during the tour? If so, how was the food/price and was it cash only?

We booked with Bodden Tours in March/April during our NCL cruise. We booked the Fun N Sun Tour which was only $30pp as I recall. We did sightseeing and went to Victor's Monkey Business....which I would have paid the $30 just for that! Then they took us to a local beach resort where we could enjoy all the amenities (snorkeling, water activities, etc....for nominal fees) There you could also eat....but we did not. Their drinks and food prices seemed very reasonable...and the food looked good. We paid in US $.

We had a group of 7 that did the Zip n Dip Bodden tour in Roatan and I would highly recommend it. We all have such a good time.From start to finish it was just great. Very professional, clean and on time. This has been our 3rd tour thru Victor Bodden and all have been as stated and I would recommend.

Hi Victor, our driver Lionel was great. He showed us some areas that we had not seen before and was very knowledgeable. He stayed in close touch at Bannarama and we were never concerned about making it back to the ship on time.Best snorkeling ever (we have snorkeled in Jamaica, Akamul, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Tulum, Belize, Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas, Mahaual) at West End (free from the beach with your own gear). Jerk chicken at Anthony's in West Bay was spicy,moist and great value with rice and beans, plantains, fresh salsa $5.00. Great job Lionel and Victor. Regards, Dan and Lynn:cool:

Visited June 2017

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g303874-d1098762-r494307088-Bodden_Tours-Sandy_Bay_Roatan_Bay_Islands.html#

On the Fun & Sun tour, if there are a couple of folks who don't want to spend 2 hours on the beach, is there something else for them to do? Shopping? Or would the tour bus take them back to the ship if the wished (not sure how far port is from beach). My parents would like everything but the beach. Just thinking about options.

Thank you.

Contacting Victor now to see if we can get Tex as our guide when we are in Roatan. I have toured with him before and he is fantastic!

Highly recommend VB!!!

I'm so happy! We have Tex for our cruise in 2018. Will probably do some of the things we did before but also looking on Trip Advisor to see what's new since we were there in 2009. I love Roatan and so excited that we have Tex. :):):)

We took Bodden Tours on July 6. We traveled on the Carnival Breeze. Before the cruise, I researched different private tours and the professionalism of the correspondence with Victor Bodden made me choose that company. We took a private tour. It was me and my son. We paid 40pp. We got the history of the island from the east end to the west end. I loved it! As an educator, I enjoyed learning about and seeing the schools.

Did out VB tour on July 13 with Liberty of the Seas. First, Victor was great to reserve and easy to work with. When we got there, we had some slow members of our party. They were very patient and kind. Our tour guide was Ron and he could not have been any better! We did the Best of tour with the Monkey (and sloths plus other animals). It was great. Then we saw the beach and just got out for a minute while our mother in law stayed with Ron. He took us to all parts of the island, showed us the schools (2 teachers in group), gave us sample of local foods like apple bananas, iguana, fruit in a bag drinks (he ever found a passion fruit or maracuja one I had mentioned earlier), and cashew fruits. He arranged for a glass bottom boat tour and beach club after we dropped some people back off at the ship. Easily the highlight of our trip and great way to get a non-touristy local flavor. Took a road that showed "normal" houses that went right in the beach. Ron was amazing, highly recommend him and Victor Bodden overall!!!!

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I'm so happy! We have Tex for our cruise in 2018. Will probably do some of the things we did before but also looking on Trip Advisor to see what's new since we were there in 2009. I love Roatan and so excited that we have Tex. :):):)

We have Tex for our tour in September, glad he has good reviews on here!!:cool:

We have Tex for our tour in September, glad he has good reviews on here!!:cool:

He is great. Have a great time.

Does anyone know the name of Victor's brother? We have had him twice but can't remember his name.

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Has anyone done the private tour solo? I know what I want to do and just need a driver for the day. Do you think you would have felt comfortable/safe on the tour if you had been alone?

Has anyone done the private tour solo? I know what I want to do and just need a driver for the day. Do you think you would have felt comfortable/safe on the tour if you had been alone?

Absolutely. We stayed on a public beach for awhile while my MIL drove around with Ron our driver. She said it was actually great as he showed her cultural stuff while we played.

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Has anyone done the private tour solo? I know what I want to do and just need a driver for the day. Do you think you would have felt comfortable/safe on the tour if you had been alone?

Definitely! We had Big Al as our driver and i sat in front with him. My family was in the back, but they were all doing their own things. Al told me all about their island and culture. If my family wanted to stay at the beach, I would have felt completely safe riding solo.

Awesome!!! Thanks jas283a & Sarabell!

Has anyone done the private tour solo? I know what I want to do and just need a driver for the day. Do you think you would have felt comfortable/safe on the tour if you had been alone?

I would feel safe. Normally I would say no not to do a private tour solo. But VB is very reputable. Ask for Tex. We have him next year. I would tour with him solo anytime. You might read through the thread for some other VB guide recommendations.