Debbie Perrone

Our family visited Roatan on June 1, 2005 on Carnival Valor. We booked an island tour ahead of time through Dolphos Stanley, recommended several times on this website. He charged $75 for a family of four (two adults/two children) and had an air conditioned van that was in good condition. We had also researched the Luna Beach Resort ahead of time based on previous cruiser’s recommendations, and the owners do indeed welcome cruise ship visitors to their resort at no charge. Its a very quiet place that's a welcome change from the ship crowds!

Dolphos was at the pier waiting for us when we got there at 7am! He was a very friendly family man who spoke perfect English (this is an entirely English-speaking country). He proudly toured us around “his” island for three hours! We briefly visited two beautiful resorts that charge admission for cruise passengers (we didn’t pay). We also stopped and met pastors from a Baptist Church who have American missionaries there helping them build a Sunday School building.

Dolphos took us to the grocery store to buy vanilla and coffee at very cheap prices! The other popular item to buy is mahogany – the items for sale are beautiful and very cheap – bring an extra bag and take several pieces home for gifts! Then Dolphos dropped us off at Luna Beach Resort for a brief two and a half-hour stay. We found out ahead of time when the snorkel boat leaves, so were sure to be there for the 11 am $5.00 per person snorkel trip to the reef right off shore. We had our own snorkel gear so this proved to be a very inexpensive way to snorkel! After the one-hour snorkel trip, we ate lunch at the beach bar, swam in the fresh water pool, then got picked up by Dolphos (he was there early waiting for us) and headed back to the pier just in time to catch the boat! We took the entire time we had on shore to complete this trip – very do-able if you get off the boat early and stay on schedule. We got the most for our money on this day. We loved Roatan and plan to come back for another visit! It’s a very beautiful country that is largely unspoiled yet.

I highly recommend Dolphos Stanley for your private island tour- you will not be disappointed. I noticed others have included e-mail addresses of their favorite cab drivers, so I’m hoping that this review can be included, as Dolphos has given me permission to give out his e-mail address to cruise passengers. He can be reached at dolphostours@yahoo.com. I also have his phone number and will be happy to hear from anyone who wants more information.

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