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Daniel Johnson's Monkey and sloth habitat

jorezba

By jorezba,
in Roatan

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1cruisingal

1cruisingal

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I think whichever tour company you choose can take you to Daniel Johnson's place. You don't necessarily have to use him for your tour. My family always uses Pirates of the Caribbean for our tour driver of the day. They take us wherever we want to go. I usually let them know a few weeks before of a few places I want to go and they set it all up. No need for me to contact any of the places to schedule our visit as Pirates will just set it all up for us. And once we get there we can always decide to stop at other places we want to throughout our day. Never any issue. I hope you enjoy your visit to Roatan. It's always our favorite port!!

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new.b.cruiser

new.b.cruiser

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Good to know! I contacted a tour company that also offers open tours, and I didnt see the hangout as an option it was always another monkey place. I contacted them and they said sometimes daniel doesn't allow them and to contact him myself to make sure it's ok... I asked and can see that my msgs was seen but still waiting for a reply if it's ok... going on 3 days now. I'll look into pirates of the Caribbean!

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  • 2 weeks later...
NeedToVacation

NeedToVacation

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Good to know! I contacted a tour company that also offers open tours, and I didnt see the hangout as an option it was always another monkey place. I contacted them and they said sometimes daniel doesn't allow them and to contact him myself to make sure it's ok... I asked and can see that my msgs was seen but still waiting for a reply if it's ok... going on 3 days now. I'll look into pirates of the Caribbean!

 

We just went last week with Rony's Tours. I emailed him ahead of time to make sure it was Daniel's sanctuary that we would be going to. Good communication before, during, and after our vacation! GREAT tour! Highly recommended! The sloth is awesome!! Capuchin monkeys are a hoot!

*We did the freestyle tour for our day in port. Only $25.pp plus $10.pp entrance to get into Daniel's animal place. Spent the rest of tour on West Bay beach, did some local shopping, and toured Rony's neighborhood to give the children some school supplies and toys. Wonderful day all around!!

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NeedToVacation

NeedToVacation

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This was my thought too...UNTIL I went and heard the story of how Daniel started his sanctuary. He is nursing animals back to health in order to reintroduce them to their native habitat - many are brought to him from the mainland as abandoned (or orphaned) infants. The sloths come and go (slowly! :p) with no restraints. His animals are well cared for and "cages" are huge, far bigger than any "traditional" zoo I've been to. You know that nasty smell at a zoo that you can even smell in the open (and you feel like you can still smell it long after you've left??)? Not at Daniel's! His place is clean and there wasn't a scrap of waste - He has volunteers from the local schools that are learning about animal welfare as well as tourism - the young man that showed us around was smart and polite and knew a lot about the animals he was showing us. Also, unlike other zoos I've been to worldwide where they feed the animals nonstop to get them to "pose" and such...not at Daniel's - his are just cute and happy because they are well cared for, not because they're getting treats!

 

I'm sorry Monkeylala, but you're picking on the wrong guy and the wrong sanctuary.

 

*** Awesome!! *** I totally agree with you and jorezba. This is a wonderful place for the animals! It was a great experience. Our guide, Owen, knew so much about the animals and was very soft spoken and respectful.

...And...We love the Magic too!!

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_beachgirl_

_beachgirl_

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We just visited Daniel last week and had an absolute blast! We booked directly with him and he came to pick us up outside the Mahogany Bay area. He was very easy to set things up with and he could not have been nicer. He's born on the island and has so much knowledge to share. You can tell how proud he is of his island and all the beauty that it has. We got to spend so much time at his sanctuary and all his animals are obviously well cared for and clean. The monkeys are so much fun and so sweet. The sloths... WOW! That's bucket list stuff right there. He currently even has a 2 week old baby there. Daniel is such a great guy. I cannot recommend him enough. We also did an island tour with him and he showed us all around the area and answered any questions we had. If we ever go back to Roatan, I'll be booking with him again! It was the highlight of our trip.

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slhopper

slhopper

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I'm soooo excited to do this. We will be hanging with the monkeys and sloths, as well as a snorkel tour on March 1st. I'll report back on my experience when I return

 

Yes please let us know! Our day with Daniel was bucket list stuff! We will be back in Jan of 2017 and are wanting to do the snorkel package with him, would love to hear how it was for you :)

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Aggies24

Aggies24

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We just went last week with Rony's Tours. I emailed him ahead of time to make sure it was Daniel's sanctuary that we would be going to. Good communication before, during, and after our vacation! GREAT tour! Highly recommended! The sloth is awesome!! Capuchin monkeys are a hoot!

*We did the freestyle tour for our day in port. Only $25.pp plus $10.pp entrance to get into Daniel's animal place. Spent the rest of tour on West Bay beach, did some local shopping, and toured Rony's neighborhood to give the children some school supplies and toys. Wonderful day all around!!

 

We ware doing the freestyle tour with Rony in March and our agenda looks similar to yours. We will do Daniels monkeys, rony's neighborhood and then west bay beach. We hope to spend lots of time on the beach so our kids can snorkel. Did you feel rushed at all? How long do you need in rony's neighborhood? Thanks. Oh, and we are coming on RCI at Coxen Hole. Will we be back tracking to get to Daniels? Don't want to waste too much time on the road.

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#1TravelMom

#1TravelMom

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I'll jump in here. We've been to Roatan at least 10 times and always visit Rony's neighborhood. You can spend as much or as little time as you like. You can take a few things hand them out quickly and be on your way. You can take jump ropes, balls and bats(they LOVE these), soccer balls, etc and play with children for hours. Either way - you will be greeted with smiles and your hearts will be warmed. Even small gifts mean so much! Rony wants to make sure you have a fabulous day. The amount of time you spend is totally up to you.

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  • 1 month later...
_beachgirl_

_beachgirl_

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Can anyone tell me how long the drive is from the port to the sanctuary and also how far is the walk to the sanctuary? My mobility is a bit limited so I'm wondering about the distance. Thanks in advance.

 

Hi Sherrie,

 

It depends which port your will be docking at. Mahogany Bay is closer than Coxen Hole but neither are walking distance to the sanctuary.

 

I have experience with the Mahogany Bay port (you have to walk out of the tourist area and up a small hill). I believe you can rent a taxi to take you up the hill for a couple of dollars since you said mobility is an issue. If you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them for you.

 

The best way to go would be to contact Daniel. He will pick you up at the hill and bring you straight to his place. Once you are there, he just parks in his driveway and you walk to his backyard. It's not far at all. When you are done he will take you straight back to the port. He has an option to do an island tour as well if you are interested in that.

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robinlbe

robinlbe

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Thanks for this information. This will be my 3rd time to Belize (and my husband's/son's 2nd time). We have "done" Altun Ha a an island tour. Ready for something different....Daniel's place sounds great!! I've sent him a PM through that "one" site ;)

 

The Rony tour, where he can take you to his neighborhood, orphanage, etc sounds great, too...

we just really want to get immersed as much as possible (as much as you can do in a few hours) into the culture...

I can do the beach in the US....we want to see new.

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sdcantrn

sdcantrn

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I've been in contact with Daniel, but he's very slow to respond with our upcoming departure. We are wanting to go to his place and then a beach with good snorkeling from the beach. From what I've researched West Bay is the best for the beach snorkeling. We leave this Sunday on RCC and will be at Coxen Hole I think. Seem's Daniel's Place is east of port and then West Bay is on the other end. Anyone know how long we are looking to Daniel's place from port and then from his place to West Bay? Trying to figure out if it's doable time-wise without feeling rushed. He had offered to bring us to Parrot Tree resort, but it doesn't seem like there is any coral around the beach area.

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robinlbe

robinlbe

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I have contacted Daniel several times via F.....b..k

he got back with me quickly.

I do know that his internet is sporadic, but I have had no complaints at all.

 

We have him booked for our day there in June.:)

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suzicruiser

suzicruiser

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We're planning on touring with Victor Bodden next week with a stop to see his monkeys, but now I'm thinking this place would be better (cool sloths! LOL)... has anyone toured with VB and stopped here? Is that insulting to forgo his monkey place for this one? :o Is it better to switch to Rony, if he has someone available? We want to visit animals and also shop a bit and snorkel.

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