Victor Bodden guide/driver recommendations? (MERGED THREADS)

[AggieFamily]

My sister (63) and I (52) will be going to Roatan in April and were wondering about booking Victor. Would it be safe enough for the 2 of us? My sister has never traveled and I don't want any problems. I really would like to see some of the Island and feel this is the best way. I e-mailed Victor and he said that he could do a tour for the 2 of us for $40.00 per person. Is that a lot of right amount of money and do you think we would be okay? My husband is worried that we won't make the ship and we will be stranded. I am excited about it.

tigercat

 

Initially we were very nervous about booking Bodden because 1. we had never been to Roatan 2. never-ever boooked an excursion without going through the ship. It was a wonderful day! Our guide watched the time and made certain we made it back to the ship. $40 pp for the day is well worth it. Our guide was very accomodating to ensure we had the perfect day. Hope you have a wonderful time!

[barberljs]

We used Victor in Dec..and he was our guide.. We did go see his home and animals. It was interseting but a one time thing. Than we wanted to go to a beach. It was a very nice beach, but you get bombarred by children that want you to buy their jewelry. They make a couple a bucks while an older man stands around and gets the lion's share. Unfortunatelly it started to storm. We ran back to the air conditioned van and Victor took us on an island tour..even stopped and bought us some red fruit that everyone was selling. It was very good. The sun came out and he took us to a small beach that was close by.. He seemed to not want to take us there because it was not in as good as shape. It was nice, it had a resturant bar that had lobster dinners and the beer was resonble.. He stayed with us the whole day and made sure we arrived back at the ship on time.

[seaturtle5]

My sister (63) and I (52) will be going to Roatan in April and were wondering about booking Victor. Would it be safe enough for the 2 of us? My sister has never traveled and I don't want any problems. I really would like to see some of the Island and feel this is the best way. I e-mailed Victor and he said that he could do a tour for the 2 of us for $40.00 per person. Is that a lot of right amount of money and do you think we would be okay? My husband is worried that we won't make the ship and we will be stranded. I am excited about it.

tigercat

I would highly recommend Victor's company and am confident it is safe for 2 females. Victor will even let you request a specific driver and I would recommend Lanny. The whole day with him he was always close by so that if we had questions, needed help, or felt uneasy (which we fortunately never did), he was right there. As a matter of fact after he dropped us off at the port we were asking a question to someone by the port and he came out of nowhere to answer the question for us (we thought he was already gone). So he even watched to make sure we made it back inside the gates unharmed.

My DH did not really want to do this tour and I pressured him. He thanked me repeatedly for being so determined because he had a blast.

[mckinna]

We booked for ziplines and snorkeling. Had great response when we booked online- he was very prompt with emails. We had never been to Roatan before, so we weren't sure exactly where to meet, but we just asked when we got off the ship, and everyone we asked told where to meet up with him. There were 5 of us- DH, and our 3 kids- 11, 13, and 15.

 

Our guide was Oli, and he was wonderful. We had an air conditioned van, and it was very comfortable. We did the ziplines first. Once we got there, we had a little bit of a wait, but that was okay. I was very nervous about the ziplines, having read about the death of that NCL pax a couple of week earlier, but we decided to go ahead with the excursion. I don't remember our ziplines tour guide, but he was great. We didn't do tandem- he went ahead at each stop, and we followed. These guys are very strong. About halfway through, it started raining, but we kept going. We all had a great experience.

 

We next visited the iguana farm. It was okay, don't know if it was worth our $5pp.

 

Since it was still raining, we asked to stop for lunch, and we wanted a good local place. We went to the Lighthouse (I think that was the name of it.)- right on the beach, and on a covered deck. Had a lovely lunch of fresh seafood- lobster, shrimp, conch and rice. Very, very tasty.

 

Since it continued to rain, we didn't snorkel, but stayed there a while and talked with Oli. He used to work for Celebrity- he said he started out in the galley and worked up to the dining room, before he had to come home due to family circumstances. He said he would like to go back and do it again. Also, he told us that RCI had made a multi-million dollar investment in Roatan- in the pier to upgrade the facilities. We had a great conversation about Roatan, cruising, and the local economy there.

 

We had a wonderful day. Roatan is very poor, but it is unspoiled by rampant commercialism that is prevalence in most of the Caribbean. I hope the development there doesn't ruin the local culture- maybe it will just add some much needed revenue for the people there. I asked about crime- Oli said major crime is very rare. The biggest problem they have is with pickpockets, and with the povery there, I can see why. (Not that it justifies theft.)

 

We had a great day with Oli, and I wouldn't hesitate to book with him again if we return to Roatan.

[abowsi]

I agree with everything that's been said about Victor's tours. We (3 of us - two adults and a child) booked a zipline/snorkeling tour through his company for March 26, 2008. Antony was our guide and took us to the zipline first. Unfotunately, halfway through our zipline, the skies opened up and it poured. We changed plans since we didn't want to go snorkeling and asked Antony to take us on a driving tour of the island and then to Victor's to see the monkeys and animals. Antony was very informative and interesting and took good care of our son throughout the tour. I would not hesitate a second to book through Victor again. Oh - and I'd definately ask for Antony as our guide. Such a nice, kind man.

[dianef]

I have a tour booked with Victor Bodden for 7 people the beginning of May.I have read so many good things about the tour guides and who to ask for.It does not seem that any of them had a negative review.It seems that I am safe getting whatever tour guide is given to us.Has anyone had a bad tour guide through Bodden that I should tell him I do not want?

[bellybutton]

I have a tour booked with Victor Bodden for 7 people the beginning of May.I have read so many good things about the tour guides and who to ask for.It does not seem that any of them had a negative review.It seems that I am safe getting whatever tour guide is given to us.Has anyone had a bad tour guide through Bodden that I should tell him I do not want?

 

You don't want Leo, you had to probe him to talk.

[Ryffian]

I was in Roatan last week, and although I wasn't booked with Victor, his people were everywhere. They were all clearly identified and very helpful!!! Definitely looks like a top notch tour group!

[cheeseheads1]

We were in Roatan last week on Thursday and we had Tex for a guide. He was a lot of fun and very informative. He took us around the island, to Sandy Bay, Half Moon Bay to snorkel, Victor's house to see the monkey and then to a few more sights. Tex asked us what time ship time was when we met him. We were back at the port for shopping with plenty of time. We were in a van for the four of us for $100. It was the best day of the cruise for all four of us. Our teenagers thought that it was beautiful and not comercialized. We all would love to go back and would not hesitate to use Bodden's again. :D :D :D :D

 

PS the Island was absolutely gorgeous too!!!!

[janerd]

We just got back yesterday from a 7 day cruise on the Carnival Legend out of Tampa.We used Victor Bodden's and had Hector as our guide,let me tell you this was our favorite stop.Hector answered every question we asked and then added more info and history.We did the Canopy jungle zip-line then to half moon bay to snorkel.The only bad thing I can say about this place is the cruise line does not spend enough time here.We docked at about 8 and had to be back on ship at 2:15.Go with Victor Bodden you won't be dissapointed.Mike.

[curlymama]

I just got back off the Valor last night, and I did the Victor Bodden tour based on all of the positive reviews that were posted here. Unfortunately, we didn't have as great a time as most people have previously posted. Once we located the Victor Bodden rep that was directing the passengers to their drivers, she couldn't even find us in her roster, even though I had reconfirmed with them right before we left for our cruise. After she took care of everyone else, she passed us off to another rep who finally found us a driver (George). The driver, although nice, was very quiet and it was like pulling teeth trying to get any information about the country out of him or just even having a conversation. He first took us to the zip-lining location, and it was absolute mayhem. It was so disorganized and there was such a huge crowd of people that kept on getting bigger by the minute. There was no line to pay, nor to get your equipment, nor to zipline. You had to push your way through everybody to try to get anybody's attention to get anything done. It didn't help that we had been assigned such a meek guide! We ended up waiting for an hour and 15 minutes just to get started- unacceptable. When we actually did the ziplining, that was fun. Our tour guide then (quietly) took us to eat at a restaurant that was on a beautiful beach at Half Moon Bay. Because we had been standing around for so long to zip-line, we didn't have time to do anything else except get back to the port location and do shopping for maybe 20 minutes. I wish we would have had a different experience with a different driver (and we are not people that are difficult to please). If your experience with Victor Bodden tours is SO dependent on which driver you get, then I can't say that I would recommend this tour group.

[J & G]

I just got back off the Valor last night, and I did the Victor Bodden tour based on all of the positive reviews that were posted here. Unfortunately, we didn't have as great a time as most people have previously posted. Once we located the Victor Bodden rep that was directing the passengers to their drivers, she couldn't even find us in her roster, even though I had reconfirmed with them right before we left for our cruise. After she took care of everyone else, she passed us off to another rep who finally found us a driver (George).

 

I'm so sorry you had a bad experience. We used Victor and had a great time.

 

I don't recall a female working for Victor and helping to locate drivers....it was Victor who summoned our driver. I know that in some ports there are guides who disguise themselves as employees of a tour operator, but who do not really work for them at all. They steal customers and direct them to other tour guides. I wonder if that could be what happened here.....

 

Again, I'm so sorry you didn't have the great time that has been touted on this board.

[cruise-bunny]

You don't want Leo, you had to probe him to talk.

 

I am sorry that you had a quiet Leo. We had him and found him very enjoyable. Maybe he had an off day.

Sandy

[tracydsnyder]

We were in Roatan last Wednesday. We got off the ship and found Victor's stand w/no problem.

 

Hanno was our driver. He had an air conditioned car which was very nice. We couldn't have asked for a better driver. He drove us from one end of the island to the other. He stopped and let us take pictures. He gave us great information about the island and people. He answered all of our questions.

 

He took us to Half Moon Bay to eat lunch. I had the wonderful coconut shrimp everyone raves about.

 

We never felt rushed and Hanno always told us to take our time and just let him know when we are ready to go to the next spot.

 

We went to Victor's house and my husband fell in love w/the monkey - Cookey (sp). Victor was there and was very nice.

 

Roatan was beautiful and I'm so glad we had Hanno to show us the island. I would recommend Victor Bodden Tours and Hanno to everyone.

[FliLady]

Do you feel it was worth it at $40 pp just for the driver? I'm currently booked with him for next month and we plan to go ziplining and to the beach. How many monkeys does Victor have?

[cruisrmom]

Hello CC members,

 

My family and I were in Roatan a few weeks ago for Spring break and we used Bodden tours. Our over all impression of Roatan was already tainted due to it raining the majority of the day. Our driver was Ronnie and he was very quiet, he answered any questions that we asked but he offered no information about Roatan or the people himself. We wanted to zipline but when we got to the place it was still raining and was very muddy and he could not get us to the starting point. As we were driving to the zipline we saw the first of two ship wrecks, the driver only stopped at the second one when we commented upon seeing the first one. Again we had to pry it out of him the story behind these two sukken ships. We left the zipline and he took us to some hotel to look at the view and take pics, it was nice and we took some pictures and left. At this point it looked like it was going to clear so Ronnie drove us to South Shore zipline and there was a line but we were willing to wait, this was my pick of excursions for the trip, as we were in line to pay van loads of people came back with mud from head to toe and it started to rain again so my Dh and one son and I opted out, my oldest was going no matter what(and did have a great time). I can't believe we even did this, but the driver suggested my son, DH and I go to the monkeys while my 15 yr old went ziplining by himself, looking back it was really stupid, my only comfort was that he was with and buddy he met on the ship and his parents. Still not a very smart thing to do. We went to the monkeys again it was ok, but with the rain it was disappointing, but you should go at least once. My son had fun letting Chico? climb all over him. We returned to pick up my other son and waited for another 45 minutes before he returned. At this point we had no time for lunch which we had planned on or shopping, Ronnie took us back to the boat and that was our visit to Roatan. I am sure there are many other drivers that are wonderful ours just was not one of them, also I would like to visit Roatan again and experience it in better weather, but not sure if it is somewhere I would go again and again. Very poverty stricken and sad to see some of the living conditions. Over all Bodden tours was ok, I think the driver could have provided a more enjoyable day for the four of us.

 

Cruisrmom

[skachelmeyer]

We loved our trip to Roaton and really enjoyed using Victor Bodden tours. Hector was our driver and he did a great job. He answered all of our questions and provided lots of information, but did not just ramble on which is really OK. When we were all quiet and just taking in the scenery he was quiet also. That is OK for us. We did the Jungle Zipline then just wanted to drive around a little to see the area then go to a beach. He took us to West Moon beach and it was just beautiful and we loved it. Great day and the best of our trip.

[CCRUZER]

I don't know, we were in Roatan on 3/24 and had Leo as our driver and found him very talkative, informative and extremely personable. He showed us the beauty of Roatan as well as the poverty. My 16 year old daughter did a video of Roatan and Belize which she shared with her Civics class to show others just how fotunate we are.

[exstasie]

We also booked our tour last Monday with Victor Bodden and had an amazing time!

 

We quickly found the booth without much hassle (besides it being so hot and overwhelming when you first get off!). We were toured around by Lenny.

 

All I can say is that Lenny was such a nice guy! At first I didn't know how it was going to be but as he wasn't too talkative, but once we got in his AIR CONDITIONED CAR (definitely a plus!) neither myself or GF, nor Lenny would stop chatting away. He was very informative about the everything we wanted to know about Roatan and Honduras. Very well educated!

 

We went around to the Iguana Farm, and stopped off at an orphanage. Lenny took us to a grocery store to pick up some perishable items for the kids! We then headed over to Victor's house and ended up at Half Moon Bay for lunch! A very pretty restaurant right on the water front!

 

It came to $80 for two of us and we left him a $20 tip which he seemed ecstatic about! I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone who thought about visting Roatan!

[exstasie]

 

PS. I meant LANNY...not Lenny.

[babygirl0329]

Might seem like a strange question but does the 25.00 pp tour cover Everything? Meaning are there extra charges for ziplining? I have read there is 2.00 pp at his house. Just curious as to how much money to bring along for all the extras.

 

Thanks,

Keri

[cruisersophie]

Wow, what a great time. We went through Victor Bodden and having nothing but great things to say. We had Anthony and we loved him. My mom, sis ,and I had a day to remember. He was born on the Isand and was very knowledgable and shared it with us. We went to the Iguana farm, buttlerfly/bird park and a look out. he then took us to the west end to ?Half moon bay for luch. It is owned by a local who was present while we were there. We had a great lunch of 3 lobsters each for $20.00. He then took us to town for shopping. He waited at each store and escorted us everywhere. We were never out of his site. He took us to Yabba Ding Ding(?) first and it was the greatest store. The lady who owns it is from San Francisco and buys local stuff. She supports womens groups and does not bargain ,wich is fine as she had the lowest prices we saw anywhere. I got a beautiful vase and several baskets. It is also a guranteed store from the ship. We went to other stores afterwards and did not buy a thing. The Island is beautiful, the people great, and the water fantastic. We would go again and book through Victor. It costs us each $30.00 for the whole day.

Brenda

[exstasie]

Might seem like a strange question but does the 25.00 pp tour cover Everything? Meaning are there extra charges for ziplining? I have read there is 2.00 pp at his house. Just curious as to how much money to bring along for all the extras.

 

Thanks,

Keri

 

Everything is extra I believe.

 

I'm not sure how much they quoted for VB tour, but for us it was $40.00pp for the day (tour of 2 ppl, I believe that it was $25.00pp if it was 4 ppl). The $40 only included the private tour ie. your tour guide. Everything else was extra.

 

Iguana Farm : $5.00pp

Victor's House : $2.00pp

Not sure how much the ziplining is, but if you contact Victor, he'll tell you how much everything is.

 

Lunch is approximately $10-$15 pp depending on what you get. Lanny told us that the usual lunch spot was Half Moon Bay. I got the Hondurian Chicken Special which was $8 + $2 pop.

[LoLa_in_GA]

Wow, what a great time. We went through Victor Bodden and having nothing but great things to say. We had Anthony and we loved him. My mom, sis ,and I had a day to remember. He was born on the Isand and was very knowledgable and shared it with us. We went to the Iguana farm, buttlerfly/bird park and a look out. he then took us to the west end to ?Half moon bay for luch. It is owned by a local who was present while we were there. We had a great lunch of 3 lobsters each for $20.00. He then took us to town for shopping. He waited at each store and escorted us everywhere. We were never out of his site. He took us to Yabba Ding Ding(?) first and it was the greatest store. The lady who owns it is from San Francisco and buys local stuff. She supports womens groups and does not bargain ,wich is fine as she had the lowest prices we saw anywhere. I got a beautiful vase and several baskets. It is also a guranteed store from the ship. We went to other stores afterwards and did not buy a thing. The Island is beautiful, the people great, and the water fantastic. We would go again and book through Victor. It costs us each $30.00 for the whole day.

Brenda

 

We booked through victor, and requested Tex. Victor was very accommodating. We have an idea or two of what we want to do already, and he said our tour guide will make sure we do what we want to (zipline, visit a LOCAL, fruit/veggie market, beach/snorkel, lunch)....

 

Where on earth did you get the lobsters for $20? Can you recall the name of the restaurant?

 

Thanks,

laurie

[CruisinCoyote]

We had a large group that went with Lionel from Victor Bodden. We had a great day. Most of the group went ziplining and it was $45 extra. We also went to the beach and around the island and it was $25 a person due to large group. Very nice day and our only regret is that the time in port was too short. We could have stayed much longer.