Damajagua Falls - excursion or do it on your own?

[jerseygirlinAZ]

I did a search on this, but didn't really find what I was looking for.  We want to do this excursion, but do not want to book with the cruise line.  (We always book off-ship.)  So, my question is should we just taxi to the site and pay when we get there?  Figure the benefit of that is we can choose which level of falls to do depending on recent rain (and my courage level that day).  Or, should we book a tour with a local company?  We are pretty comfortable and street smart, so we aren't concerned about venturing out on our own.

 

Thanks for your input!

 

 

[CruiserBruce]

33 minutes ago, jerseygirlinAZ said:

I did a search on this, but didn't really find what I was looking for.  We want to do this excursion, but do not want to book with the cruise line.  (We always book off-ship.)  So, my question is should we just taxi to the site and pay when we get there?  Figure the benefit of that is we can choose which level of falls to do depending on recent rain (and my courage level that day).  Or, should we book a tour with a local company?  We are pretty comfortable and street smart, so we aren't concerned about venturing out on our own.

 

Thanks for your input!

 

 

Hmmm....Damajuaga is in the Dominican Republic. Not sure what private island this would be????

[jerseygirlinAZ]

We dock in Amber Cove, so that's why I posted here.  Makes sense to move the post.  Thanks!

Edited January 27, 2020 by jerseygirlinAZ

[djmckinn]

Some good info in this thread https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2687478-27-falls-cab-from-port-seating-maximum/

 

If you have any other specific questions, please ask!

[brookeq]

We booked thru iguana mama.   Tour was much smaller group than cruise line and it did all 27 waterfalls.  Cruise line tour only does bottom 8.  I felt taken care of the entire time.   Van was nice and clean.   Lunch was very good.   I have a review in my signature under carnival conquest.   

[HangryGrl]

On 2/3/2020 at 10:36 AM, brookeq said:

We booked thru iguana mama.   Tour was much smaller group than cruise line and it did all 27 waterfalls.  Cruise line tour only does bottom 8.  I felt taken care of the entire time.   Van was nice and clean.   Lunch was very good.   I have a review in my signature under carnival conquest.   

Agree with this.  We had a great trip with Iguana Mama!  We normally DIY most ports but liked the option of the transportation and lunch for this one.  To note, even if you get yourself there you still have to pay the park for entrance and for a guide (safety reasons) so it will not be fully on your own any way you go.  Here is the park's website for more info.

http://www.27charcos.com/index.php

[Acheavacci]

We did the tour through Marysol Tours on Feb 17, 2020.  Did the 12 falls and it was the perfect amount of activity that took about 2.5 to 3 hours at great price of $50.  There were two families of four in the van but it could seat four more.  The van was well maintained and clean.  The walk to the van outside the gates took about 10 minutes and was very easy to find.  We were able to keep everything in the van safely.  Of course we didn't bring anything of value.  Cash for tips, passports and credit card.  The van driver stayed at the van and the tour guide went with us on the tour.  Jose set up the paparazzi to document the tour.  I recommend this because you don't have to worry about your camera.  We had a young man named Willy and he took about 130 pictures and 10 videos.  It cost $50 plus tip and worth every penny.  The actual tour had 12 in the party (us from the van and 4 more) with Two falls guides (another Willy and Jevon).  

 

Jose asked us if we wanted to stop to eat for $10 per person after the falls tour but we declined.  We did stop at a place to purchase souvenirs and then he took us back to the starting point and we walked to the port shops with about an hour and a half to look around before the time we had to get back to the ship.  

 

I would highly recommend a tour and Marysol tours was great.