MANAWAKIE ECO NATURE PARK — Local services in Roatán

This was the highlight of our cruise. When we arrived in Honduras, we didnt realize that we scheduled the tour in local time, so we had to kill an hour or so. Once it was our time to be picked up, Danny was extremely nice. He drove us to Manawakie while telling us about the island and even stopping for us to take a picture of a scenic place. Once we arrived to the park, I was a little nervous as it doesn't look like much but don't judge a book by its cover! It started pouring right as we pulled up, so Ordie rushed us into the museum. She was so cheerful and playful. She told us the history of the island and showed us examples. Then we went to meet Poncho. He was my FAVORITE part! Next, we met George, the parrot and Hope, the sloth. Both we super adorable. The people that work here really care about the animals and put their comfort above showing them off. We got to learn about native plants and herbs. We loved Ordie and highly recommend her.

We opted to go to the beach and Danny drove us to one, with a pit stop at another scenic view and a chocolate factory. He was quiet but offered information when asked. He took us to a resort with a pool, bar, and restuarant . The beach there wasn't what we expected but my husband got to snorkel and see fish so he was excited. Danny stayed with our things as we swam and waited until we were ready to go. He drove us through the island talking about culture and traditions. Such a sweet guy!

Don't miss out on this gem of a trip . We stopped in 4 different countries during our trip and this was...

We really enjoyed being up close with the monkeys and being able to hold the Sloth. We love animals and this was the highlight of our cruise.

This is a small park and they guide small groups (6 people in ours) into the animal encounters, you're only in the park for about 1 hour after your guided through.

We took a taxi which was $20 one way and only took about 10 minutes from Mahagony Bay.

We were told the price was $16 p.p., after they ran my credit card and I questioned the amount which was in Honduras money they informed me that there was an added 15% charge for using a credit card, they should have informed us of this charge in advance and we would have used cash.

Overall we enjoyed the day. This is a short trip which cost about $80 for 2 people including taxi.

For about $15 more p.p. we could have booked a 4 hour cruise ship excursion to Gumbalimba Park which is a much larger park where you can interact with the monkeys, parrots and Macaws but you do not get to hold a Sloth. We would do this for a second time on our...

Having so much fun on Roatan this week, my family did not notice the time as we pulled into Manawakie Park 30 minutes before closing last Friday. William, the manager greeted us with a warm smile and friendly hand shake. Despite claiming to not be a guide, William provided amazing information about the medicicinal properties of the natural resources, culture, and of course the monkeys, 3 toed sloths, and macaws. His humor was wonderful addition. Holding all the animals was a highlight for my 10 and 11 year d boys, and Coco the dog was a great companion too. The gift shop was also reasonably priced with local crafts. You could tell all of the rescued animals were truly cared for and loved. Although this may be smaller than other nature parks on the island, it's my opinion Manawakie is a true gem! Thank you William and the rest of the...