Top Roatan Shore Excursions - page 17

Although it was a little confusing at first to find our agent or guide, since there are so many vendors trying to offer tours when you go down to the port, once we found him, we were assigned to Mario Santos. From the moment we got into his van, he greeted us with a refreshing bottle of water and provided excellent service. He was always very kind and an excellent host. His company was also very attentive to the schedule so that we wouldn't miss the boat. Very happy, excellent service.

We had an amazing time on this tour! From seeing the sloths, macaws, and monkeys to relaxing at the beach and snorkeling, everything was well organized and so much fun. Our tour guide, JJ, made the experience even better. He was friendly, knowledgeable, organized, and made sure everyone had a great time from the moment he picked us up at the port until we returned. My family and I truly enjoyed every part of this excursion, and I would 100% recommend it to anyone looking for a fun and memorable day. Thanks, JJ, for making it such a great experience!

Our family has taken several cruises together, but to ports that were right where you were happy laying down a beach towel for the day, shopping etc., so no excursions necessary. This year we did some research and decided to book an excursion in Roatan, Honduras; we wanted to see the local lifestyle, meet people who lived there, eat truly local food and drinks and experience the less-"touristy" side of things, yet also have time at the beach for our first day off the ship. I took 4-6mos off and on researching, reading thousands of reviews, bouncing between COSTCO excursions, CARNIVAL excursions... and I kept seeing VIATOR come up, through travelocity with rave reviews for the Roatan excursions. Finally two weeks before our trip, I contacted viator via live chat with a bunch of questions (again, we were brand new to booking an excursion!), and landed on the "beach with resort access, and city tour" with private driver. Viator was extremely good about being in touch with us, whether available on live chat, and closer to travel we even had text-contact with the booking agent who was in direct touch with our "tour operator" (driver). We walked 6min outside the port up a small hill (the plant life is beautiful and it's a pretty walk), and there was Kenisa, our driver, waiting for us with her SUV fit for 6 passengers! We introduced ourselves and she asked, other than the beach with resort pass, what would we like out of our day...and that she would be with us the entire day (she would often sit off to the side under the shade, or just do her thing and check in), and what we wanted to do, she would do! We told her wanted local food (not "curated" restaurants and fare....we wanted local snacks, local food, try local beers, snorkeling, and to see the city and shop at NOT the port. She said "ok, then you will have about 3hrs at the beach, and then we should move on to fit everything in and get you back on time"; the entire day, she was on top of the timing of everything and we could just enjoy and relax and not worry about anything - she even spoke to the snorkeling vendor FOR us at the beach and got us a discount deal to go out for an hour!! From there we headed down the road and stopped at a "tailgating tent" where local ladies had hot homemade food prepared, that you could choose from and make your plate - it was take-out styrofoam containers and about $20ea, but enough food for two or three people!! We had homemade jerk bbq chicken, beans and rice, we tried the iguana stew, local "spaghetti" (spicy!), potato salad, and coconut bread! We took our food and stopped next at the gas station for Kenisa to help the kids pick out the local sodas and some snacks we don't get in the US, and she helped us choose several local beers. She even slipped away and bought us a bag of homemade mangoes with vinegar, pepper, paprika, etc. that she had told us about and we had been so excited... as a gift! She took us to a dock over the water, and we ate our meal and had our drinks with the local stray dogs (so cute, but don't hand-feed them!) and then on our way to shopping.! She took us to a little "market" with several "touristy" stores, but a local stop complete with a coffee/chocolate shop, options to buy magnets and t-shirts and trinkets for half to a quarter of the cost at port (we even got a beautiful handmade mahogany box for keepsakes or jewelry), and soon enough it was time to head back to port to get back an hour before departure, per their requirements through VIATOR as a safety-net for no passengers left behind! It is polite, to tip your tour guide/driver (however we would have anyways), although she never once brought it up the entire day or acted like she was refering to it or anything. We left her a tip and thanked her - she felt like a part of our family by the end of the day as we had shared many stories and laughs about things throughout the day. The kids (13 and 15) absolutely loved her, loved the adventure and the uniqueness of the day and that it was JUST ours...curated to whatever we wanted out of our time there, not hustled around with 50 other people, crowded in a bus etc. and she would offer stories or information about life there, and certainly answer our questions along the way. It was personal and unforgettable!!!!