Knowjamaica - How much $$ to bring?

[ffej]

We have a reservation w/ Marva for our upcoming trip. It is for our family of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids). Our transportation cost w/ Marva is $150. We were thinking of going river tubing and then Coyaba gardens/museum/falls, then lunch.

 

With tips I am estimating this to be a $425 - $450 day. Is this right? This seems pretty high for one day. Has anyone else done a tour w/ Marva? What activities did you do and what was your total cost?

 

I am trying to figure out a) is it worth it and b) how much $$ I need to bring.

 

 

Thanks,

Jeff

[QTMichele]

I assume the $150 price is for the transportation only, is this correct?

 

If so, then you'll need money for the individual excursions, plus tips for your guides. You should also tip your driver. I can't give you a figure for the individual tips because I don't know what you're doing, but usually $5 or so per person is sufficient. Of course, the more the guide does, the more you should tip.

 

For the record, Marva was my guide several years ago - she was a lovely woman with a fantastic tour. I can't wait to see her again! Please tell her Michele from WV says hello. :)

[Sandpiper10]

Jeff,

We used them in February with our daughters 4 and 8. We didn't do any excursions with them due to my younger daughters age and also my FIL illness and breathing machine. They are wonderful and highly recommend them. Here is my review:

I would like to share my experience with a private tour company in Ocho Rios called "knowjamaicatours". Being an experienced cruiser, i was a bit nervous about the OR port until i was given info by a fellow CC member about contacting "knowjamaica" tours. Marva, the owner responded prompting when i emailed her at knowjam@gmail.com. My DH and I were traveling with our DD's 4 and 8, and our parents, all in their 60's. With my FIL who was on a breathing machine, we knew we wanted to see the island but nothing to difficult for him. Marva let me know we'd be well taken care of by her company.

We were greeted right at the port by Marva, and what a sweetie by the way and she informed us that her son Javia would be our tour guide for the day. He knew ahead of time about my FIL medical concerns and they allowed us to kinda plan our day. He said he was there to take us to see what we wanted to see. Javia took us to his special "secret" cove, which was so beautiful, taught my daughters about the schools, showed them how bananas and limes grow on trees and even stopped to pick limes for them. We asked if we could stop for some lunch and drinks with Jamaican Rum and he took us to a great outdoor restauant that made a killer "jamaican, jamaican" drink for me. We ended the day at a beach that was very secluded and we were the only 1's on the beach. We went shopping at a local shopping market, got some great souvenirs and was never once harrassed to buy something we didn't want. Javia really took us in for the day, treated us like family and we felt so safe and very secure with him. He seemed to have alot of connections to take us to the places that he did. His Jamaican accent was really cool and i loved hearing him talk. His english was very clear. Javia was amazing with our 2 daughters and they are still talk about our "driver". I highly recommend using knowjamaican tours if your visiting OR. They are ready to cater to what you want to see, do and learn while visiting their country. Even though we only spent a day with them, we have kept in touch thru facebook and know that we will forever have a friend in Javia and Marva, who taught us so much about their country, and gave us an amazing experience in Ocho Rios. :D