Need advice on Roatan excursion

Hi,

We've tentatively booked a private excursion in Roatan through Victor Bodden at the recommendation of others here. We'd like to make a quick visit to the monkey zoo, and then head to West Bay Beach to spend most of our day there (snorkeling with our own equipment and relaxing on the beach).

Here's where I'd really appreciate some advice. It will cost our family of 4 $100 for the private Bodden tour, but we think we'd also like access to a resort so we can have use of their facilities (especially restrooms; my daughters are weird about using the restroom in the ocean LOL). We like the looks of Infinity Bay, but that will cost us another $100. :confused: I've also seen that for $120 we could get day passes at Bananarama, which includes transportation.

So now I'm wondering,

-Should we just book Bananarama and cancel the Bodden tour? I'm not sure it's worth the extra money to have a private tour guide that will take us to West Bay Beach, when we can get the transportation included with our day pass? I'm also not sure if the monkey zoo is worth the extra expense of Bodden tours (another $20 to access the zoo)?

-Should we stick with the Bodden tour and not buy a day pass? Is there public beach access without a day pass somewhere? Are there public restrooms accessible without a day pass?

-Should we stick with the Bodden tour and purchase a day pass also? I don't want to spend more $ than necessary, but I also want to ensure my family has a great time.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! TIA! :)

As I recall, Bodden's driver take you to a beach where you don't have to pay any entrance fees. Or take you to a restaurant on the beach where you can go swimming/snorkeling if you want to. That may have changed. But if others don't confirm or say where you go or what was included/ excluded in their tour, email Victor and ask. Do the island tour where you set your own itinerary. I thought Victor's tours took everyone to his place for the monkeys, etc. No extra charge. Has that changed?

Thank you crewsweeper,

The Bodden tour that I have reserved is the private tour where we can set our own itinerary. But it does cost an extra $5pp for the monkey visit/"zoo". The email he sent does say he could take us to an area of free beach access, but it doesn't sound like any amenities are included (rentals for chairs and equipment are listed, but no info about public restrooms). He does list day passes as an option, but I feel like if I need to purchase day passes to have restroom access, then maybe I should just book a day pass that includes transportation and cancel the Bodden tour? :confused:

If it was me and you want to do the monkey thing, I would stick with Bodden and then have them take you to Bananarama or Beachers. I believe it is a $10 pp add on for those places. Infinity Bay is great and all but you can save some money going to Bananarama.

Thank you. The monkey thing isn't a big priority; we just thought it was a cool add-on to our Bodden tour. We mainly want to hang out and snorkel from the beach (with our own equipment). We'll have our 2 daughters with us (ages 7 and 13), so we want to avoid any major party scenes, which is why we were considering Infinity Bay over Bananarama. However, we can get $30pp day passes to Bananarama that include round trip transportation. So we're trying to decide:

-Bodden tour to Infinity Bay ($200 total for transportation + day passes, + $20 to visit monkey "zoo")

OR

-Private taxi to Infinity Bay ($100 day passes + cost of taxi, which I'm thinking would be cheaper than Bodden)

OR

-Bananarama ($120 day passes + transportation)

:confused::confused::confused:

Thanks again for any advice!

We always hire a Bodden driver no matter what we decide to do. Last time it was just my wife and I and we had the driver take us to Bananarama until about noon, then to West End Village for a leisurely lunch. I wouldn't trade having my own personal driver for double the money saved. For us it's a convenience we can afford and believe is that important. Every driver we have had is over the top grateful for the work and we have always felt compelled to tip well based on the excellent service we have had. If you've never done it in Roatan I suggest you spend the extra money if you can afford it.

And I'd be very surprised if RT taxi for you from Mahogany Bay to Infinity Bay Resort is less per person than Bodden.

I think the day pass at IB has restrictions on facilities you can use. Double check what's included or not included.

Bananrama (as my Bro- Craig and your fellow Texan recommends) or Beachers would be my choices. Beachers is $45 pp including transportation, so it's a bit more than Bananarama. http://www.beachersroatan.com/cruiseship-packages/

Plus, once you are at the resort, you can walk up and down anywhere along the beach. I wouldn't consider Bananarama a "party scene" type of place. If there are several ships in port(s) that day, (I think 4 would be the max), you'll find all the beaches relatively crowded. If only 1 or 2 ships are in it'll be less so. Plus summer is not usually "high season" for the island.

Hoping both you and Bro don't get washed away in the flooding. No tubing on the Guadalupe for now, please! And stay out of Humble (my old stomping grounds) too. Have a great cruise!

We always hire a Bodden driver no matter what we decide to do. Last time it was just my wife and I and we had the driver take us to Bananarama until about noon, then to West End Village for a leisurely lunch. I wouldn't trade having my own personal driver for double the money saved. For us it's a convenience we can afford and believe is that important. Every driver we have had is over the top grateful for the work and we have always felt compelled to tip well based on the excellent service we have had. If you've never done it in Roatan I suggest you spend the extra money if you can afford it.

How much does it cost to hire a Bodden driver for the day for the two of you? (Total cost, not per person :) )

Thanks

How much does it cost to hire a Bodden driver for the day for the two of you? (Total cost, not per person :) )

 

Thanks

Two people for the day - $80.

Thank you to everyone for your helpful replies. After a little more research, we decided to book a Tabyana beach break through Carnival. It was $45pp (including RT transportation) for the private beach excursion, and it got great reviews. We reluctantly cancelled our Bodden tour, as it just didn't seem very cost effective for us to hire a private taxi and then pay for day passes to be able to use facilities, especially since we mainly just want to snorkel from shore with our own equipment and lounge on the beach a little. The Carnival excursion just seemed to make the most sense for us. Thanks again for your input! :)

And thankfully my area of town hasn't had any flooding, but I am ready for the rain to stop and the sun to come back!! :D

Thank you to everyone for your helpful replies. After a little more research, we decided to book a Tabyana beach break through Carnival. It was $45pp (including RT transportation) for the private beach excursion, and it got great reviews. We reluctantly cancelled our Bodden tour, as it just didn't seem very cost effective for us to hire a private taxi and then pay for day passes to be able to use facilities, especially since we mainly just want to snorkel from shore with our own equipment and lounge on the beach a little. The Carnival excursion just seemed to make the most sense for us. Thanks again for your input! :)

 

And thankfully my area of town hasn't had any flooding, but I am ready for the rain to stop and the sun to come back!! :D

Enjoy. Tabayana is basically the same beach, so you can walk along and see the other spots.

And send that rain this way...the last few times you sent it to Tampa. Need that little northernly curve.:D

Thank you to everyone for your helpful replies. After a little more research, we decided to book a Tabyana beach break through Carnival. It was $45pp (including RT transportation) for the private beach excursion, and it got great reviews. We reluctantly cancelled our Bodden tour, as it just didn't seem very cost effective for us to hire a private taxi and then pay for day passes to be able to use facilities, especially since we mainly just want to snorkel from shore with our own equipment and lounge on the beach a little. The Carnival excursion just seemed to make the most sense for us. Thanks again for your input! :)

 

And thankfully my area of town hasn't had any flooding, but I am ready for the rain to stop and the sun to come back!! :D

That sounds like a great day for y'all. I'm sure you'll have a great time.

We're up on Lake Conroe and are blessed not to have any damage. Sadly several friends have had water in their homes or cars. It's been a crazy couple of weeks. Glad y'all are good too.

I totally agree with the private driver for the day - well worth the money to enjoy the day at your own pace. We use ronystours.com He is fabulous. With DD's - I'd definitely visit the monkeys. They are so much fun. My DD is 11 and I think we have visited the monkeys on at least 5 visits.