Private tour guide for hikes??

[lbaerg]

Does anyone know of any private tour guides that will bring you around and go hiking???

 

Thank you

Lauren

[AntiHamstr]

Does anyone know of any private tour guides that will bring you around and go hiking???

 

Thank you

Lauren

 

 

Lauren,

 

How long are you in port, and what kind of hiking are you interested in?

 

Most cruisers would be happy finding a taxi driver who looks fit and negotiate with him to also be your hiking guide for extra cash. Most of the touristy hikes aren't too hard or long, and they should be willing to take you themselves, or they will find you a tour guide at the trailhead (such as at Seven Sisters).

 

I'm getting the impression you guys want to do something more extreme??? For some of the hikes tour guides are recommended. There are a few that they are required, or should be!

 

I'll have to see if I can find the contact information I have for the one guide I ran into on top of Mt Qua Qua.

 

Dennis

[DLMR]

BEWARE MANDOO TOURS – TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE ON GRENADA

Before you book a tour with Mandoo of Grenada, read on. Two weeks ago, our family group of 10 were happily enjoying our cruise on the Caribbean Princess. Four days into our cruise, seven members of the group went on a hike in the rain forest that they booked with Mandoo of Grenada. The hike was supposed to be 4 hours in length with a comfortable cushion to get back to the boat before departure that evening. My sister, my cousin and I remained on the ship. They never made it back onto the ship that night. Instead, Mandoo’s guide got lost in the rainforest and they spent five harrowing hours hiking in the dark through dense brush with only light from a cell phone and a bic lighter to navigate.. In two separate incidences, my aunt and my cousin almost fell off of cliffs while my brother and son pulled them up to safety. Mandoo’s guide did not have any survival equipment or training. They were led out of the rainforest by a barefoot fisherman with a flashlight who found them. At that point, this barefoot stranger advised them that it would take two more hours of hiking in the dark to get to where they needed to go. He was like an angel from heaven. Finally, after hours of fording streams, sliding down through mud and being cut up by the razor grass, they met up with the search party sent by Mandoo to find them. When they encountered the searchers, the guide had angry words with the searchers and attempted to send them away. My brother described this as a very tense moment when they didn’t know who were the good guys.

 

Because this excursion was not booked through Princess, the ship left port without my brother and his girlfriend, my aunt, a cousin and her daughter, and my two college-age children. Princess and its personnel could not have been kinder, more professional or compassionate. They were wonderful. The ship waited two hours for them because Mandoo had advised the port agent that the driver who was picking them up from the trailhead was “caught in traffic.” You cannot imagine the anguish of leaving Grenada without your kids – it was easily one of the worst nights of my life. I became so distraught, they brought me to the infirmary. But, I had no idea what was really going on – I had no idea that they were not safe, that in fact, they were lost in the rainforest. The ship departed port around 8:30. At that point, I believed that they were caught in traffic, but at 9:30 that night, I finally was able to get in touch with Mandoo who said: “They are lost in the rainforest. That is all I know,” before the connection went dead. To say I nearly lost my mind is an understatement. My sister had the presence of mind to telephone her husband in Virginia to ask him to call the Grenadian Police and the US State Department. At approximately 11:00, we got a call from him saying that they were safe in the presence of the Port Agent, Gary. Gary went above and beyond – he was absolutely wonderful. He went out to the trailhead to meet them and make sure they were safe. He offered to house them in his own home. He arranged to have my cousin go to the US Embassy to get her daughter a passport. Mandoo arranged for them to stay at a local hotel. At 11:30, I was able to talk to my children and know that they were alive. Can you imagine this? Going on a cruise that is supposed to be fun – a time for our family to be together, laughing and enjoying our time together. Instead, they entrust their safety to Mandoo and his guide’s actions put their lives in danger. INCREDIBLE. They arrived at the hotel covered from head to toe in mud with cuts up and down their arms and legs from the razor grass. The pictures of their limbs look like someone took a razor and slashed them hundreds of times. The next day, Mandoo’s guide visited them at their hotel. He showed up while they were having dinner to convince them that “it wasn’t his fault.” He insisted that it was Mandoo’s fault, that he had told Mandoo that the trail wasn’t in good shape and that Mandoo was more interested in the money. Mandoo would have made approximately $420 that day.

The next day, my sister, cousin and I spent the day in our cabin working on getting them either back to the ship or home. We were able to get a LIAT flight for my son and aunt to fly the following day from Grenada to Tortola (with stops in St. Vincent, Antigua, and St. Martin!) and then take the ferry over to St. Thomas to meet the boat. My cousin, having nearly fallen off a cliff and who was the most cut up, chose to take her daughter home. The rest of the group took a flight from Grenada to Miami and then to San Juan where we met up with them on Puerto Rico at the conclusion of our cruise. These arrangements cost approximately $5,000!

DO NOT BOOK EXCURSIONS THROUGH MANDOO! He has not accepted ANY responsibility for what happened. He has continued to insist that it was our family’s fault that his guide got lost in the rainforest. He did not offer to pay their hotel bill on Grenada nor has he offered any reimbursement for our expenses to get them off Grenada. While driving them to the airport for their flights, he told them that he wouldn’t charge them for the ride...a ridiculous thing to say for what had happened.

[IslandStar]

You two posts on the same topic are a bit confusing, can you clarify please.

 

Was it two weeks ago or 1 year ago?:confused: as one says one date and one another. Tricky to get confused on such a large difference?

 

1 year ago there was loads of rain and the trails would be a mess. 2 weeks ago they were dry as a bone hence my reply to your post on the qualifications of the guide

[snickyva]

The cruise was 1 year ago. I was one of the family members that remained on the ship. This was a very tramatic experience for my family. One I wish to never to go through again.

 

You must travel to Grenada often, you seem to know about the weather and activities.

[IslandStar]

Ah yes a year ago the island was having some serious downpours and I can imagine these would make the trails a bit inhospitable. If this was the case the guide should have absolutely told your family what was what and if he had worked for me would have offered you another tour alternative. I would guess most tour operators would not like to give money back but definitely should offer an alternative. I know of one boat tour that will not run if the captain thinks waters are unsafe for snorkeling. He told me they cancelled two tours one day due to sea swells and watched as other operators carried on with full boats. He said to me it was money lost but he was safe in the knowledge he was acting in the best interests of the passengers. Shame they arent all like that.

 

As I said in my post it must have been truly horrendous and I'm really very sorry that Grenada will always be remembered by your family in a horrible way.

 

Thanks for posting your experience and i hope that my suggestions help others, maybe not even just for Grenada but other islands too.

 

I really really do hope you will come again, even to simply go to shore and meet the people on the beach. Give it another chance on your next cruise.

 

I'm inot Grenadian but I live here. A while ago because there were things posted that may sometimes confuse those that haven't been before I started to post as much background information on the history, the people, how to behave, what to wear, what to expect etc etc as i don't think the board of tourism do a good enough job in exposing the beauty of the island or its most important resource its people.

 

I love Grenada and have the inside scoop on weather and conditions and I'm farily forthright in voicing what i do and don't like in the tourism sector. I have friends that work in all sectors of the tourist industry and so I do get to hear what's happening both good and bad as the island tries to develop its tourism with minimal money, resources etc.

 

I obviously have my favourite things and off the back of my own experiences I do try to offer good advice on the tours I have experienced but I am somewhat limited by the rules of the CC forum and so can not directly give recommendations.

 

Best wishes to you and your family and we do hope that the Spice Isle can show a better side to your family next time.