Can you book a tour at the port?

[LaShelle2]

Is it possible just to walk up and book something at the port. We are trying to save money. The carnival tours are way ovrpriced. In the past we have just hopped a cab or haggled with tour guides to get a tour, but I am curious if this is possible in Dominica since it is less developed.

 

 

Also if you know of any affordable tour guides we can pre-book with that would be nice. We are a group of 2.

 

 

I tried the Levi Bumpiing tour site, but I can't find any prices on there.

[gtexan]

You can definitely books tours at the port. We had a few friends who haggled with cab drivers there and they were taken to Trafalgar falls and the hotsprings. They had nice times :)

 

Email Levi from Bumpiing tours. He will give you a full list of prices, and you dont pay until after the tour is over, so its no risk

[LaShelle2]

I have tried contacting him and he will not respond. Maybe he is bust=y or is having interenet issues?

 

You can definitely books tours at the port. We had a few friends who haggled with cab drivers there and they were taken to Trafalgar falls and the hotsprings. They had nice times :)

 

Email Levi from Bumpiing tours. He will give you a full list of prices, and you dont pay until after the tour is over, so its no risk

[patseacruiser]

Once I did an atv ride through the rainforest in Dominica through http://www.avirtualdominica.com/highrideadventures/ and another time I just got off and there are tons of people with signs for all kinds of excursions. That time I just got a cab for about $15 per person and he took us all around and to the sulphur springs and Trafalgar falls. Now at the falls we had to pay a guide about $5 per person, if memory serves me right, in addition to our cab and she took us through to the falls pointing out things along the way. I think we could have gone in without her but our cab driver must have had something with her because she met us at the cab and it was just assumed we'd go with her. Also it was $1 to use the bathroom - ha ha. But it was clean and nice. And many, many people just walked right past the sign for $1. There is a spice store off the beaten path there that sell all kinds of spices. One of the women I was speaking with on the ship had a terrible cold and he made her some kind of tea and she said she felt great that night.

[rjscott]

LaShelle2, you can sometimes join a group if the van is not full and if you want to go where their tour is going. Just walk across the street from the pier area and you will see where the tour groups are gathering.

Typically, a tour costs about $40 PP in Dominica if you are in a group. If it is just the 2 of you, it would be more. Do you have sights in mind you'd like to see?

We've been to Dominica twice and we've used Reyno Tours both times. Contact Reyno to see if he has availability on your date. reynotours@gmail.com

[welldone60]

There were 4 of us and we just got off the ship and hired a cab driver for a tour. $75. We told him we wanted to go to a black sand beach, Mr Nice's and the crushed school bus. We went to all the spots we wanted and saw alot of the island. We did not go to the falls or the gardens.

 

Check out some photos here

http://s594.photobucket.com/albums/tt25/welldone60/Dominica/

[FLUED]

Not only is it possible to walk off and find a guide, it is almost impossible to avoid them; you will encounter a slew of cab drivers/ tour guides, as soon a you get off the boat, they are literally roped off by the port guards to keep them from swarming, so the only question is which one to use. Still better than using the cruise lines packed, one-size fits all excursions.

[cruznisles]

Dominica was one of our stops last week on the Caribbean Princess and we found it very easy to get a tour. At first we had a little confusion over the price :confused:, but eventually got it sorted out (1/2 of us changed to a new driver) and ultimately had a great day with a wonderful guide. :)

 

Many tours were $25pp, but we negotiated $20pp for 11 adults and free for the 2 children in the van. The trip included botanical gardens, crushed bus, boiling spring, photo stops and either Trafalgar falls or Screws sulpher spa.

 

We chose the spa as we've been to the falls already. $10pp for 1 hour and well worth it for me - I have arthritis and my hands felt great for days afterwards, a real bonus I didn't expect! There are 4 pools of varying temperatures, changing rooms and bathrooms (great so we didn't go back to the van wet). When we came out they gave us fresh fruit that was to die for (watermelon, coconut, banana ....) - yum! :D

 

Anyway, easy to get and customize right on the dock. Enjoy!

[lovemylab]

As a previous poster stated, it will be impossible to avoid them. I found them all very friendly though. We paid $20 each for a 2.5-3 hour tour. There was only one other couple in the van. Definitely cheaper than booking through the ship.

[McDebbie]

Bumping this back up to see if there are any others who booked right at the port. This is one stop that can't seem to figure out what to do.

[bolt]

I am in the same boat. I would like to go to the crushed bus, fruit stand, spa and black sand beach, really don't care about the falls or the other stops on the prearranged tours being offered.

 

The thoughts of spending the 3 hours on a bus/van does not appeal to me.

 

Can someone tell me if the stops I want could be done with out having such a long van/bus ride?

 

Does anyone know of someone that I could prearrange just these stops with?

 

Thanks

 

Bolt

[rjscott]

You can prearrange any stops you want with a driver. Most have set tours they do because those are the sights the majority of visitors want to see. But, they will also customize a tour. The reason that a lot of the tours take so long (besides hiking time if it includes a hike) is that the roads in Dominica are very winding and mountainous, and so it's not an easy run from "Point A" to "Point B" as it might be on say, Grand Cayman, where it is flat and quicker to navigate. If you contact one of the tour operators mentioned they should be able to tell you how much time would be involved in visiting the stops you are interested in seeing and how much such a tour would be.

 

Hope this helps!

[johnny tallentire]

Im also looking for ideas on dominica we were planning on the whale and dolphin watch but at $75 dollars each(4 of us) there is no way im paying p and o prices where they get that price from is beyond me so looks like its a diy day for us.

[LollyMoz]

I have also tried to get in touch with Levi at Bumpiingtours, but have not heard back. Wonder if he is still there/in business. I've heard that Champagne Reef is marvelous snorkeling and he has a tour listed for snorkeling there and then visiting the hot springs for a soak, which I'd like to do. Knowing that there are plenty of tour guides at the dock means we'll be able to do that regardless. Thanks for the thread - very helpful.

[veggie59]

I have also tried to get in touch with Levi at Bumpiingtours, but have not heard back. Wonder if he is still there/in business. I've heard that Champagne Reef is marvelous snorkeling and he has a tour listed for snorkeling there and then visiting the hot springs for a soak, which I'd like to do. Knowing that there are plenty of tour guides at the dock means we'll be able to do that regardless. Thanks for the thread - very helpful.

 

I have communicated with Levi at Bumpiing Tours. I usually get a reply within a day.....sometimes the same day. I actually emailed him yesterday to ask a question about a tour a group of us have booked. I got the reply with an hour or so.

[jdweasel47]

No doubt you can haggle and bargain for any trip available at that port.

 

Here are some things to consider:

 

Find another party, 2 people from the ship, 4 people at the port looking around, more people = a feeling of group safety and bargaining power=lower price.

 

The price on their dry erase board or cardboard is negotiable, so make sure you negotiate. As a rule, never pay more than half / 75% of what the cruise ship charges for a similar trip. Most port tours are actually much smaller and more private than "cattle car" cruise line tours.

 

Find a cab driver. Cab drivers will rent you their cab and themself as a private guide for cheap. In Ocho Rio, 2 of us gave the cab driver $60 total for a trip around the island, shopping, river tubeing, dunn river falls, fern valley tour, and lunch at KFC. I gave him a $20 tip after the 5-6 hour tour and he was estatic.

 

Lastly, CASH IS KING. AMERICAN $10 and $20 bills are still powerful tools to nego with. These guys don't work credit, show the cash and get a deal.