Tour Samana with Terry?

[Snackdaddy]

Hi Nanlyn,

After about a ten minute walk, from the pier to Terry’s restaurant, we met up with him at about 10:15 am. We signed the liability waivers, paid for the tour and off we went up into the mountains to get to El Valle (The Valley).

The scenery was fantastic and the ATVs were fast! Terry kept an eye on us every step of the way. We stopped a few times as Terry pointed out the wild bamboo, some fruit trees and the beautiful valley scenery. We had a blast riding through a river; just press the throttle all the way and you’ll be OK. We eventually found our way to an untouched beautiful beach—sorry, I forgot the name. Terry placed our lunch order at the beachfront food hut and off we went to ride around the beach for a while.

Lunch was ready about 30 minutes later. We had perfectly grilled king fish, roasted chicken, tostones, rice & beans, salad and soft drinks (pina coladas served inside of fresh coconuts were extra.) The lunch was really good and it was all included in Terry’s $80.00pp price. We left the beach and headed back into the mountains where we eventually parked to take a 10 minute hike to a waterfall where we waded in the water for a bit. After the waterfall and a restroom stop, we headed back towards Samana and stopped to take in some more of the local culture and shop at a local grocery store. The Brugal rum is much cheaper at the local grocery than near the pier. I should have purchased some Dominican hot sauce there...

Back at Terry’s restaurant, we cleaned up a bit, used the restrooms. Terry had one of his associates drop us off at the flea market alongside the boardwalk. He even had one of his other tour guides go along with us to translate while shopping. We were back on the ship at 3:30pm. I would highly recommend this experience. If you have any other questions, please let me know.

[nanlyn]

Hi Snackdaddy,

 

Thanks so much for your detailed description of your ATV tour with Terry. It sounds awesome and we will definitely book that with him!! Our cruise is not until Jan. 2011. How far in advance did you reserve? I want to be sure we book early enough. Thanks again!

[Snackdaddy]

Hi Nanlyn,

 

We usually reserve very far in advance, so we booked him a year early. When are you going in January 2011? We plan on returning to Samana on January 6, 2011 and have already booked another ATV tour with Terry.

[nanlyn]

Snackdaddy,

 

We will be in Samana on Jan. 30, 2011. We are doing the 9-day Southern Carribean on NCL Dawn, with stops in Samana, Tortola, Antigua, Barbados, and St. Kitts. Have you ever been on the Dawn? If you have any recommendations for the other ports, I would be glad to hear them.

Anyway, I will e-mail Terry soon to reserve our tour. Glad I'm not the only one who plans so far in advance!

[ddeprez]

Or anyone who has an opinion!! we're taking the horseback waterfall ride with Terry in a little over a week! What would you suggest as suitable apparel and footwear? We'll be on the horses for the entire tour.

Thanks!

[Snackdaddy]

Hi Nanlyn,

 

We have not sailed on the Dawn, but your itinerary sounds really good. As far as what to do in the ports, here goes

 

Tortola--never been there; check the Tortola board http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=290

 

St. Kitts--the only time we were there a co-worker's aunt showed us around, nice island--rather underdeveloped--the way we like it.

 

Barbados--thinking about Accra beach with Glory Tours

 

Antigua--thinking about a tour with Adventure Antigua

 

I hope this helps.

[nanlyn]

Thanks for the tips!:)

[iratherbesailing]

Hi Nanlyn,

 

We have not sailed on the Dawn, but your itinerary sounds really good. As far as what to do in the ports, here goes

 

Tortola--never been there; check the Tortola board http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=290

 

St. Kitts--the only time we were there a co-worker's aunt showed us around, nice island--rather underdeveloped--the way we like it.

 

Barbados--thinking about Accra beach with Glory Tours

 

Antigua--thinking about a tour with Adventure Antigua

 

I hope this helps.

 

When we were in Barbados last year, we got on the bus outside the cruise terminal and it went to Accra beach and beyond. There is a chicken place right across the street from the beach. Total bus ride approx. 25-30 minutes give or take some traffic. I think we paid $20US total for the 5 of us there and back. On the left side of the beach there is a restaurant for drinks, burgers, etc. and you can use their chairs for free.

[dmndlil]

Hi Nanlyn,

 

After about a ten minute walk, from the pier to Terry’s restaurant, we met up with him at about 10:15 am. We signed the liability waivers, paid for the tour and off we went up into the mountains to get to El Valle (The Valley).

 

The scenery was fantastic and the ATVs were fast! Terry kept an eye on us every step of the way. We stopped a few times as Terry pointed out the wild bamboo, some fruit trees and the beautiful valley scenery. We had a blast riding through a river; just press the throttle all the way and you’ll be OK. We eventually found our way to an untouched beautiful beach—sorry, I forgot the name. Terry placed our lunch order at the beachfront food hut and off we went to ride around the beach for a while.

 

Lunch was ready about 30 minutes later. We had perfectly grilled king fish, roasted chicken, tostones, rice & beans, salad and soft drinks (pina coladas served inside of fresh coconuts were extra.) The lunch was really good and it was all included in Terry’s $80.00pp price. We left the beach and headed back into the mountains where we eventually parked to take a 10 minute hike to a waterfall where we waded in the water for a bit. After the waterfall and a restroom stop, we headed back towards Samana and stopped to take in some more of the local culture and shop at a local grocery store. The Brugal rum is much cheaper at the local grocery than near the pier. I should have purchased some Dominican hot sauce there...

 

Back at Terry’s restaurant, we cleaned up a bit, used the restrooms. Terry had one of his associates drop us off at the flea market alongside the boardwalk. He even had one of his other tour guides go along with us to translate while shopping. We were back on the ship at 3:30pm. I would highly recommend this experience. If you have any other questions, please let me know.

 

 

Sounds like you had an awesome time. We are doing this on Feb 10th 2010. What type of footwear/clothing did you wear? Would shorts and sneakers be okay, or would long pants be better? Thanks!

[Snackdaddy]

iratherbesailing,

 

Thanks for the information on the bus to Accra beach and beyond.

 

dmndlil,

 

The morning we arrived in Samana it rained cats and dogs, so the clay-based roads were very muddy and full of puddles. Needless to say, we were splashed with mud from head to toe and still had a ball. We wore shorts and were fine; my sneakers however are now a very light reddish brown color. :) Next time we are planning to wear some type of all-terrain sandals like Keen Newport H2 or Speedo Hydra Treads--footwear that can be hosed off very easily.

[verobeachbum]

It rained inthe morning so everything was saoked. My sneakers weren't too bad. We wore shorts and a t-shirt.

[dmndlil]

dmndlil,

 

The morning we arrived in Samana it rained cats and dogs, so the clay-based roads were very muddy and full of puddles. Needless to say, we were splashed with mud from head to toe and still had a ball. We wore shorts and were fine; my sneakers however are now a very light reddish brown color. :) Next time we are planning to wear some type of all-terrain sandals like Keen Newport H2 or Speedo Hydra Treads--footwear that can be hosed off very easily.

 

Thanks! We are so looking forward to it! :D:eek:

[dmndlil]

It rained inthe morning so everything was saoked. My sneakers weren't too bad. We wore shorts and a t-shirt.

 

Thanks for the quick reply!

[Dannie138]

Would the Terry tour be okay for someone who is pregnant?

[verobeachbum]

The ground was wet & therfore slippery. I would not do the water fall tour pregnant if it rains. It was alot of climbing. I'd try his beach tour instead.

[judytata11]

We're doing the ATV tour with Terry in March. We're on the 2/26/10 Explorer of the Seas cruise. There is still some room if you want to join us!

[nanlyn]

We have contacted Terry about his ATV tour for Jan. 2011. He told us that in order to do that tour, all 5 ATV's had to be used. Were you told the same thing? Just curious. We did reserve and hope it fills up, if not I guess I'll post on here and try to get some more people.:)

[dmndlil]

We have contacted Terry about his ATV tour for Jan. 2011. He told us that in order to do that tour, all 5 ATV's had to be used. Were you told the same thing? Just curious. We did reserve and hope it fills up, if not I guess I'll post on here and try to get some more people.:)

 

 

YES, I was told that as well. Fortunately all 5 have been booked. I'm sure you won't have a problem getting it filled! Post in you roll call.

[nanlyn]

Thanks! I will post in roll call when the time gets closer!

[jetsettergirl]

I also posted this in Roll Calls.

 

We're sailing on the NCL Pearl 2/6/10.

 

We booked a shore excursion with NCL for Samana - the ATV shore excursion - and NCL just notified us that it's been cancelled.

 

We are wondering if anyone else on board might want to join us in an ATV group with Terry.

 

Here is the info he emailed us a few days ago:

 

We also offer an ATV tour to the El Valle beach area. The excursion will start at my restaurant which is very easy to find. The tour will pass through a small part of town and you will make your way out to the El Valle beach for lunch and to ride around on the beach some. You will have about an hour to to eat, walk along the beach and take in the mountains that come right down into the ocean in this small beautiful bay. From there you will mount up again and drive to the entrance of the Cascada Lulu waterfalls that the cruise line sometimes calls Zumbador. (They are wrong when they call it that.) The hike into the falls takes about 10 min and it is almost completely flat. There are a couple places along the trail to look at souvenirs and I would ask you to take 5 min to look at one of the spots. I try to make sure that my tours are not about pressuring you into buying things so that we can get a commission from the sellers but we have to see them a few times a week and it makes our life easier if you just take 5 min to look. I appreciate you help with this in advance.

 

The ATV tour ends up being at least 4 hours long. Which is slightly longer than the cruise ship's tour. We also include lunch which the other tour does not. Lunch is fresh fish (whatever the fishermen have caught that day at this beach) and chicken, all cooked on wood fire. Rice and beans. Salad. French fries or fried plantains. All from a sand floored, thatched roof, hut restaurant. This is the most developed building you will find on the El Valle beach.

 

Prices: $80 a person based on double ridership and $130 for single riders. Sorry, no discounts for children of any age.

 

Must be 14 years of age to drive. No alcoholic beverages will be served on this excursion and you must sign a waiver ahead of time.

We have limited availability for this excursion. We must have either 5 single riders, 10 double riders or any configuration that allows us to use all 5 of our machines.

 

 

This tour will end at the restaurant as well.

 

My boyfriend and I plan on riding our own ATV's so there are 3 others available.

 

Please let me know so I can make arrangements with Terry.

[parentsof6]

We've booked Terry on Mon. 3/29 for a tour of El Limon (8 people-4 of them teens) - he is very prompt with e-mail and we are really looking forward to it. We're on the Pearl, and going to make a day of it. If you'd like to join us, contact Terry and myself and we'll have a great day. We'll be stopping at a local school with supplies, and this is a great opportunity to extend ourselves. :)

You will not regret this tour- I promise you. the country is so beautiful.

The last time in Samana, we stayed on the ship because of my son's bad sunburn- this time we will not miss it.

[kalar68]

do you know if he still has atv's available i emailed him today so hopefully i will here from him we are also going to be on the explorer of the seas

[Darthdaddy]

Not sure if you have already sailed.

As of 3/8/10, Terry was still operating the ATV tours. I was with him on the horseback/El Limon tour, but we talked about how his business has expanded into the ATV's.

Hope this helps.

[NCTribeFan]

Having a little bit of a difficult time, here. Wanted to read about Terry's excursions but a lot of the thread seems to be about other Samana excursions that are totally unrelated (and I'm not quite sure why they would be in this thread and not in their own since they have nothing to do with Terry).

 

Oh well. Guess I'll just have to go back to the beginning of the thread and try to weed out the ones that don't relate to Terry. :mad:

 

Hopefully I'll find the info I need. If not, I'll be back to ask specific questions related to TERRY!

[NCTribeFan]

I found this thread...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1175175

 

which has some very good info on Terry's tours without all the other stuff.