Roatan Excursion: Horseback Ride / Plus Sloth Park and Beach Break

We really enjoyed our day horseback riding and we thought the sloths were so adorable and fun! Holding one was unforgettable! A perfect excursion from cruise guests!

My daughter has always wanted to ride a horse on the beach. We meet our driver Fordie who was great. He took us to the sloth/monkey park and got us checked in, we had to wait a while because there were a lot of people there. Our kids held the sloths and bird, the monkeys were just in the cage. We didn't know if we had to wait for the monkeys to be able to hold, but we saw our guide Fordie, so we decided to leave there and go to the stable for horseback riding. We enjoyed this, the horses were very calm and pretty much knew the path. A guide, named Bingo helped us mount & walked beside the horses and was very patient and nice. They did walk in the water for a little bit. The beach break part was a disappointment. Really no beach area, but there were chairs and shade. It was at the stable area/restaurant and there were boats leaving a dock for snorkeling for an additional cost. They provided menus, but we are kinda cheap and didn't want to pay to eat there. Our driver said he would take us to a better beach with a resort for $25 each, but we didn't want to pay any more money for our excursion. We did stay for about 30 minutes and then we had our driver take us back to the port. It was worth the money for us to see the sloths and the horseback riding.

Began by getting into a car that looked and sounded like it was on its last leg last week. Rained the entire time so everything was done soaking wet. Sloth and monkey experience was by far best part, the guide at the park went above and beyond to make the most of the circumstances. Horseback riding had a different guide, the facility was a shack on the side of the road, we rode down a rural residential street in the pouring rain and then onto the beach for a few pics, the beach was maybe a couple hundred feet long and absolutely full of trash and debris. Horses weren't too fond of getting into the water due to the weather conditions, but did for about 5 minutes. After about 45 minutes of horseback riding, we drove to another beach. The beach portion was a waste of time due to the weather, so we sat at a open air restaurant whose prices were entirely too high for what it was... Like $15-30 for things like tacos, etc. So we only had a couple drinks before asking to leave. Seemed like a racket to take advantage of "rich" tourists. Car broke down on way back.... multiple times. Not exactly the place you want to break down either....country is EXTREMELY poor, and sketchy to say the least. We sat multiple times for 10-20 minutes while driver tried to get the car running. His "boss man" finally came after the car completely died on side of road with smoke coming out. At least we made it back to port. Can't say I'd recommend to anyone. Sure it would have been a different experience if the weather was nice and no car problems. But a dependable vehicle should be a priority for a tour company.

Overall, we had a good time. This was booked a couple weeks prior as a a shore excursion during our cruise. Later, we saw the weather was supposed to be iffy, so emailed about what would happen in the event of rain, and were told "it never rains all day in Roatan". Well, it rained all day. But we made the best of it while soaking wet (obviously the weather is not the tour guide's fault and cannot be controlled). The country is EXTREMELY poor and it's apparent they depend heavily on tourists, so we didn't want to be "those people". We arrived and waited for our driver, the vehicle (which apparently was a company car) was in pretty bad condition and sounded like it was on its last leg, but to be expected in places like this (we've been on excursions in similar situations, so this wasn't too shocking). First stop was the sloth/monkey/parrot park. The guide here was awesome! Even though it was raining, he made our experience the best it could have possibly been. We had all the time we wanted with each animal and it was truly a unique experience. This is something you definitely will not find in the states! And easily our favorite part of the excursion. We held multiple sloths, several species of birds, monkeys, and guinea pigs! Then we were off to horseback riding. This was a stable/shack off the side of the road in really rough condition. It really began pouring at this point so we were soaked. The guide here (different person) was pretty good and made the most of it given the weather. It was a relatively short trip down a rural residential street and then a quick stop on a small stretch of beach for a few photo ops and to get the horses in the water for about 5 minutes, which the horses weren't too fond of given the stormy conditions. The "beach" was extremely dirty and full of washed up trash. We are from Florida and obviously visit beaches often, so this was a FAR cry from what we are use to. Again, though, this is a different (very poor) country and understood. Last was the beach (a different one) to hang out at. This was a waste of time due to the rain at this point. We sat in an open air restaurant/bar at the beach (we were the only ones there) and got a couple drinks. Food was very expensive for what it was ($16-30ish) for basic dishes like hamburger, tacos, etc. No thanks. This almost seemed like a racket, the tour company obviously had a connection with this place and assuming this was more or less an opportunity to take advantage of the "rich" tourists. It was obvious there wasn't going to be any "beach time" being the weather was pretty miserable so we asked to leave after a couple drinks and if we could stop at a rum factory we had previously passed on the way there. The driver obliged. Not much to see at the rum factory, your basic tastings and some rum cake, but a really nice view of the back porch area. Upon leaving the rum factory, our vehicle would not start. The driver apparently lost his phone at some point also, so he went into the rum factory to use their phone to call his boss man. After about 15 minutes or so, the driver finally got the car to start and we made a frantic attempt to get back to the cruise port where we began. It was a struggle. The car died several more times and sounded like it was about to explode. Smoke was coming from engine as the driver tried to keep it running all while navigating the very narrow, crowded (extremely sketchy) streets of their town/market. It finally died on the side of the road and we sat in the car while the driver ran across the street to call boss man to rescue us. Another 20 minutes or so and we were picked up by the boss, our previous driver and smoking car were left in the rear view mirror along the side of the road. So, we at least made it back without too much additional stress or incident, but it definitely wasn't an "ideal" experience, and also isn't one we'll forget...both the good and bad. As said, the weather isn't anyone's fault, but I think a dependable car is pretty crucial given the nature of the business. Not sure if this was the fault of the driver, the company, or just a result of the circumstances. Not sure if I can recommend this exact excursion to others, but I'd like to think if the weather was nice and the car didn't break down, we probably would have had a near perfect time.

Real amazing experience. The only hard part and it is super minor is that you have a bit of a trek from the boat to the pick up spot. That being said everyone was super helpful in finding the spot. Once at the pick up location you get an amazing driver and they take you to the activities and give some info as you go. After the final activity you can hang on the small small beach area or you can go back to the boat or if time permits and the driver is willing they can take to an amazing restaurant called Kristi's Overlook. Amazing place to have lunch and great view of the island.