Victor Bodden Pros and Cons

Hi there! My husband and I just booked a tour with Victor Bodden:we are first-timers to Roatan. From the forum, we found lots of positives with his tours, which is why we went ahead and booked. We found his website, along with his info on TripAdvisor, and it all sounds excellent. Does anybody have specifics, either pros or cons, with his tours, or do you have advice for what we need to know?

-We found videos for the walk to the taxi, up/down the long hill.

-We aren't interested in the monkeys or zip lining, just to see the sights, a beach to lounge at, and to maybe eat at a restaurant.

Any current information would be helpful (we will be in Roatan next Tuesday): thanks!

If you are doing a private tour with Victor, contact him ahead of time telling him how you picture your day. That way the day's oreder of events, timing, changes can be decided ahead. Easier for you and them.

If interested in off beach snorkeling at West Bay, make sure you request enough time and that stop.

Have to say, all pos and no cons the time we used Victor's services.

Great deal to have your own private driver for the day. (versus the costs of the unregulated taxis in Roatan)

We did this just last week and it was the highlight of our cruise! Our driver's name was Laura and I highly recommend her. She showed us the island and was a great tour guide.

We did go see the monkeys and you really should try it. There are more than just monkeys -- Tucans, parrots, deer, lemurs, and the cutest anteater! She took us to a great place for lunch and I had the best lobster I have tasted and it was only $20 for two huge tails. She also took us to a great snorkeling spot, and also took us shopping.

Not really a downside, but do be aware you have a little bit of a walk to get to where they pick you up. And it was a bit disconcerting because the signs were ominous about "no security beyond this point" and there was no sidewalk. We had my mother with us and it was physically taxing and a bit scary for her. In hindsight, we should have taken a cab. But had she not been with us, it would not have been an issue at all.

I can't say enough positive things about Victor Bodden tours!

We did this just last week and it was the highlight of our cruise! Our driver's name was Laura and I highly recommend her. She showed us the island and was a great tour guide.

 

We did go see the monkeys and you really should try it. There are more than just monkeys -- Tucans, parrots, deer, lemurs, and the cutest anteater! She took us to a great place for lunch and I had the best lobster I have tasted and it was only $20 for two huge tails. She also took us to a great snorkeling spot, and also took us shopping.

 

Not really a downside, but do be aware you have a little bit of a walk to get to where they pick you up. And it was a bit disconcerting because the signs were ominous about "no security beyond this point" and there was no sidewalk. We had my mother with us and it was physically taxing and a bit scary for her. In hindsight, we should have taken a cab. But had she not been with us, it would not have been an issue at all.

 

I can't say enough positive things about Victor Bodden tours!

Did you do a private tour? Do you remember the name of the place where she took you for lobster?

Your tour sounds like what I'm looking for, we already booked but I'm not sure I want to go all over Roatan getting in and out of the van with 14 other people at each stop...

Thanks

Donna

Pickup will be different depending on which port you are disembarking....

Did you do a private tour? Do you remember the name of the place where she took you for lobster?

 

Your tour sounds like what I'm looking for, we already booked but I'm not sure I want to go all over Roatan getting in and out of the van with 14 other people at each stop...

 

Thanks

Donna

It was a private tour, just the three of us, $30/per person for the whole day -- great bargain. The lobster is the same place as the snorkeling. Sorry I don't recall the name of it but Victor will know. Shoot him an email. He is very responsive via email.

No con's; all PRO's . we used VB for a private tour and we included the island tour, iguana farm, monkey's, stop off at a grocery store/shopping for drinks/local snacks/stuff. As we were driving around taking in all the sites the island had to offer we made it to the highest peak for some nice pictures along with stopping anywhere we wanted. We had lunch in hut on the water that our driver took us to for what the locals eat. We bought our driver his meal and I think we spent less than $20 total for 3 of us. We made it back in time to walk around, take the chairlift at Coxen to see what me missed or should I say didn't miss. Good value for $$ and we will most likely do the same in Nov.

Btw, there's a staircase for the hill, so that cuts out walking up a hill. When we did the walk and got down to where all the independent operators were, it was a little confusing and could be intimidating since everyone will ask you if you want a tour. I'm originally from NYC so I'm used to that. Just find the Victor Bodden sign that a rep will be holding who is also wearing the tshirts. There were a few tour operators that pretended to be part of Victor Bodden.

We did a private tour with 2 couples from our roll call. We requested the monkeys and an island tour. We also stopped at the supermarket to get some coffee. Our driver, Tex took us to great locations for photos and brought us to a nice bar for a drink at the west bay. We really enjoyed the private tour because we didn't need to follow a schedule and wait for a larger group to be done shopping or taking photos. I've heard on other reviews that people did not get enough time at the beach because the group was large and taking a long time with photos.

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Booked the Zip and Dip with Victor Boden Tours. The bus was full with cruisers from other ships in port, so we and another couple we did not know, were escorted by Victor in his personal SUV for the day.

We were the 1st to arrive at the zip lines, and the Wife of the other couple did not wish to zip, so there were 3 of us with 2 guides (talk about personal service). Brenda loved the zipping more than I (I am not saying I did not enjoy it, just not as much as Brenda, even though she came in hot at one of the stands and took out the guide and the tree, no blood no foul), she is more of daredevil of the 2 of us, and was zipping (flying) no hands spread eagle by the 3rd line, I think there were 12 lines altogether?

About half way thru the course, they asked if we wanted to stay on

the low lines or go to the high lines, I voted for the low lines, but was out voted (I could have stayed on the low lines, but succumbed to peer pressure).

The monkeys were cute at Victors petting zoo,and I have some great pictures of Toucans sitting on my head and shoulder. After zipping Victor took us to Bananarama Beach Club where he set us up in a couple beach loungers with umbrellas. Had a couple beers and then walked back up the access road to a little hut where Mama fixed lunch for the locals. After struggling with a language barrier (they do not get a lot of Gringos coming for lunch) we had the best fried chicken, rice, beans plantains, cold Coke for $5.

After lunch walked down to in front of Infinity Bay Resort and snorkeled right off the beach, very nice snorkeling, wish I had more time to explore the reef further.

Victor picked us up when we had agreed, took us on a short tour

with a lot of personal experience knowledge, on the way back to the ship. The perfect day.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND Victor Boden Tours!

We just returned yesterday and did the Zip and Dip with Victor Bodden. Can't say enough good things about them!

I have a very large yellow streak on my back but was determined to do the zip lines. Thankfully, one of the guides realized how scared I was and he zipped with me every time with the exception of two small ones I managed to do on my own. I felt so much better and was happy I got to experience it. The rest of our group just loved every inch of it and they did the extra high zip lines. Afterwards, we toured the monkey's and did a little shopping in their store before William, our driver, took us to the beach.

A great day that I would do again in a heart beat, although I think I will stay on the ground next time :p I've crossed off zip lining from my bucket list :rolleyes:

Personally, we would never use his again. Our guide spent most of the tour telling us how little Victor pays them, making us feel compelled to leave a large tip and buy his lunch (which was at friend's of the guide and was closed up when we arrived-they had to bring food out and reset the lunch). Tipping to be nice will never happen again..... Also, the zip line he has is in his "backyard" and is over what I would call a normal pasture. It would be terrific for children whom you would like to introduce to zipping, as it is not high up and the zips are fairly quick. IMHO I would not take this again, but maybe we just had a bad day. And if you want to see the West End, speak up right away and let them know. We drove through there so fast is was insane, with no time to stop and get out at all.

We booked the sun-n-fun tour with Victor Bodden based on all the positive reviews here. The other two people who were supposed to be with us didn't show up so it ended up just being two of us.

I personally would not do this again. Our tour guide barely spoke the whole day, and when he did we couldn't hear him because the windows of the car were open and he didn't speak loud enough. If we asked a question he answered it in a half hearted way, but he didn't volunteer any information and was obviously just trying to get the day over with.

Seeing the island was nice, the monkeys were cool, and the beach was good, but not great. We enjoyed the day, but we enjoyed it in spite of our tour guide - he certainly didn't add anything to our day.

I guess it's just the luck of the draw as to what tour guide you get, but it seems to me that they must not screen them very well.

That being said, the island was beautiful and I wouldn't hesitate to go back. I just wouldn't use Victor Bodden again.

I agree. We switched to Rony. Victor is a wealthy landowner with lots of "drivers". I think he has gotten so big that he hires people just to have enough drivers. Rony personally meets everyone. On one of our tours, it poured all day. Rony kept calling our driver to make sure we were finding things to do. He kept apologizing for the rain. He's really a sewer guy and every passenger means a great deal to his small business.

What beach were you taken to and for how long???

I hope you let Victor know. He can't afford negative posts here and will accept your criticism.

It didn't happen here, but we had a bad experience once with a tour and let the owner know that day. We were refunded our entire amount.

I agree. We switched to Rony. Victor is a wealthy landowner with lots of "drivers". I think he has gotten so big that he hires people just to have enough drivers. Rony personally meets everyone. On one of our tours, it poured all day. Rony kept calling our driver to make sure we were finding things to do. He kept apologizing for the rain. He's really a sewer guy and every passenger means a great deal to his small business.

Who is Rony? How do I find him?

We used Victor in 2009 and had a great time! But that being said I don't want to zip line again or see the monkeys again, so I'm looking for something new for when we go in June.

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Hmm I am booked with Victor for April..I hope this doesn't happen to us..

We got lucky last week and had Tex as our driver. He was wonderful! Definitely recommend!

We did the following:

Snorkeling the reef in front of Infinity Bay Resort

Celeste's for lunch

Played with the monkeys

General tour of island

Had a wonderful day and would definitely request Tex if we go back and choose to do something similar with our day.

Who is Rony? How do I find him?

We used Victor in 2009 and had a great time! But that being said I don't want to zip line again or see the monkeys again, so I'm looking for something new for when we go in June.

 

 

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ronystours.com He is awesome. I know Victor has some good reviews too - we just choose to support a smaller company. Rony is a great support to his family and community. We've toured with him at least 5 times - awesome every time!

If you want to see the east end Rony would probably be better than Victor IMO, and as above poster said , he is a little smaller scaled..

adult photo sharing

Thanks everyone! We just got back today and had a blast in Roatan with a VB tour!

Our guide's name was Cardi/Cardy. We did a private tour just the two of us (my husband and I) and it was $80 for the both of us. We took a taxi from the port to the VB pick up because it was SO HUMID. Yuck.

It took a few minutes for our taxi to get there: one road on the island can cause for some traffic delays. They were very apologetic and the person we waited with called and double/triple checked on our driver.

Once Cardi arrived, the meet-up man told him what we had requested online (best of Roatan with beaches and shopping). We started on the east end and he was very good at explaining things we passed. We then ventured up a high hill for a beautiful view and he took our pictures up there.

Upon going back down, we stopped for some shopping at an indoor store that had 30% off discounts. We then visited West End (more food/shopping, free beaches: he said West Bay had nicer beaches but it was $10 per person to get in).

We had lunch at Half Moon, followed by a quick swim and lay out in the cove near their restaurant. We loved the food (blackened fish, homemade coconut bread... YUM) and were pleased that it was a secluded area (other Americans/cruise travelers there with VB guides: must be an agreement they have together). Fair prices, we loved that it wasn't crowded.

After that, we headed back and he dropped us right off at the cruise port. We took lots of pictures, so I will upload them soon on here.

I was so anxious about this, but I would book again (especially if we could have Cardi!). Thanks again for all the info, everyone!

Chrissy

Sailing on Caribbean Princess, March 8-15, 2014

I agree with the other poster that you need to let Victor know you were not pleased with the tour. I emailed him months ago about a bad review I saw on another site just so he was aware of it. He thanked me and said he was going to take care of the situation.

We are using Tex for our first time with VB in April. I will be sure to let everyone know how things went on our tour!

Personally, we would never use his again. Our guide spent most of the tour telling us how little Victor pays them, making us feel compelled to leave a large tip and buy his lunch (which was at friend's of the guide and was closed up when we arrived-they had to bring food out and reset the lunch). Tipping to be nice will never happen again..... Also, the zip line he has is in his "backyard" and is over what I would call a normal pasture. It would be terrific for children whom you would like to introduce to zipping, as it is not high up and the zips are fairly quick. IMHO I would not take this again, but maybe we just had a bad day. And if you want to see the West End, speak up right away and let them know. We drove through there so fast is was insane, with no time to stop and get out at all.

So sorry your day was sub par. We are scheduled for VB in April with Kenny. I had heard a lot of good things about him. Would u mind telling me who your driver was or at least if it was Kenny. We haven't been together as a family in some time and are really looking forward to sharing roatan, one of our fav ports, with our daughters who've never been. Want it to be an extra special day. Thanks

We booked the sun-n-fun tour with Victor Bodden based on all the positive reviews here. The other two people who were supposed to be with us didn't show up so it ended up just being two of us.

 

I personally would not do this again. Our tour guide barely spoke the whole day, and when he did we couldn't hear him because the windows of the car were open and he didn't speak loud enough. If we asked a question he answered it in a half hearted way, but he didn't volunteer any information and was obviously just trying to get the day over with.

 

Seeing the island was nice, the monkeys were cool, and the beach was good, but not great. We enjoyed the day, but we enjoyed it in spite of our tour guide - he certainly didn't add anything to our day.

 

I guess it's just the luck of the draw as to what tour guide you get, but it seems to me that they must not screen them very well.

 

That being said, the island was beautiful and I wouldn't hesitate to go back. I just wouldn't use Victor Bodden again.

So sorry your day was sub par. We are scheduled for VB in April with Kenny. I had heard a lot of good things about him. Would u mind telling me who your driver was or at least if it was Kenny. We haven't been together as a family in some time and are really looking forward to sharing roatan, one of our fav ports, with our daughters who've never been. Want it to be an extra special day. Thanks

Personally, we would never use his again. Our guide spent most of the tour telling us how little Victor pays them, making us feel compelled to leave a large tip and buy his lunch (which was at friend's of the guide and was closed up when we arrived-they had to bring food out and reset the lunch). Tipping to be nice will never happen again..... Also, the zip line he has is in his "backyard" and is over what I would call a normal pasture. It would be terrific for children whom you would like to introduce to zipping, as it is not high up and the zips are fairly quick. IMHO I would not take this again, but maybe we just had a bad day. And if you want to see the West End, speak up right away and let them know. We drove through there so fast is was insane, with no time to stop and get out at all.

I'm sorry that one bad guide ruined your experience. I certainly hope you reported it immediately to Victor as he would NEVER tolerate that kind of behavior from an employee...his livelihood depends on good employees and happy guests.

We are booked with him for a second time next week and I can easily say that my day with VB tours in 2010 was the BEST shore day ever, out of 9 cruises.

Gina