Best Independant Tour Operator

[pholter]

I've seen postings for Linton's Taxi Service and Reyno Tours, etc. I'm looking for everyone's favorite tour company that will take us to Emerald Pool, Trafalgar Falls, Mr. Nice's Fruitstand and maybe even more waterfalls depending on time.

If you could please post your favorite and how much it costs per adult, that would certainly help me and all the other upcoming Dominica cruisers. Thanks so much!

PS- any great spots to take in an island adult beverage??:p

[pholter]

Any thoughts on the post above?? I appreciate any help I can get :)

[ukcruisefan]

I also would love to know the answer to this one... maybe if we keep it active.

[mencik]

I'd like this info too, and soon! Reading the Destiny thread on the Carnival board, the recommendations actually seem to say you should stick with the ship's tours in Dominica.

[pholter]

I have emailed Reyno Tours, but haven't heard a response yet. I'll keep y'all informed on what I find out. [email="reynotours@hotmail.com"]reynotours@hotmail.com[/email] is the updated email address I found in someone's trip report.

[tropics4me]

After reading numerous recommendations on this post, we decided to select an indepentent tour operator on Dominica (while visiting on 8/10/04 with the Carnival Destiny). We found Lester Pond across the street from the tour operators at the end of the pier, and he was WONDERFUL. He took us on a full day tour of the island, including Emerald Pool, Trafalar Falls (which was crowded), through the rainforest, and even to his mom's house (so we could use the bathroom!), all along the way showing us "his" island, which he was full of pride. We also stopped at "Mr. Nice's Fruit Stand", which was fun. We felt totally safe, like we were visitng with an old friend. There were 8 of us (half were children), and he spend all day with us, for about $30/pp. He even took us to his favorite eating place! It could not have been better. Lestor can be contacted at [email="stopperb_5@hotmail.com"]stopperb_5@hotmail.com[/email]. Look for his van "Time to Eat" written across the front window!

[pholter]

Thank you for posting this information! Do we have to get the 8 people, or does Lestor get his own guests? I'm also assuming that we need to pay entrance fees to all the places that charge as well as pay for lunch- is that correct?

[Allison&Eric]

Pholter, I think I remember you saying that your cruise was in October. I will be on the Destiny departing October 3, 2004. When is yours?

I am currently in the process of trying to arrange a tour with Lestor Pond. If you hear something back from Reyno, could you please post it on this board? I would really appreaciate the info. Thanks!

[pholter]

Bummer, I'm gonna miss y'all! We don't leave till 10/17, but I'll hopefully get to hear all about your cruise before we leave. I haven't heard back from Reyno, so it looks like I'll be trying to contact Lestor as well. It would be nice to have a choice though.

[pholter]

Just got an email from Reynold (Reyno Tours) and he's glad to tour with just an email confirmation and no deposit $30pp. He goes to all the places listed above + more sites like the Banana Plantation and a stop for lunch... [email="reynotours@hotmail.com"]reynotours@hotmail.com[/email]

[Nisha]

Anison of AnTours in Dominica was fabulous on my Carnival Destiny Cruise June 6, 2004. I believe the web address is [url]www.antoursdm.com[/url] and the email address is [email]antours@yahoo.com[/email] They were absolutely fabulous and because it was my birthday, they surprised me with flowers on my arrival. They will show you the beauty of Dominica and I thought the island was absolutely beautiful and full of nature and history.

[pholter]

Nisha- what tour did you take/what did you see ?? Also, do you remember how much per person this company was? Their website lists no prices and just has you contact them for excursions... I was hoping you could help us.

Thanks!

[DFD1]

Our ship, the Holland America Volendam, stops at both Cabrits (8am) and Roseau (11am) on December first. At which of these two stops do we meet the Reyno Tour representative? Thanks for your help.

[pholter]

I'm 99% positive it would be Roseau, but if you emailed him and wanted to get an early start, I'm betting he would accomodate you... It can't hurt to try. Have a wonderful cruise!! I'll let you know how our tour goes when we return at the end of October, too.

[tropics4me]

This is a late reply, hopefully not too late to be helpful for Pholter regarding costs, etc. for the tour operator we used in August in Dominica. Our tour guide, Lestor Pond, did not try to fill up his van. We had enough people in our own party, but we did ask him if he tried to do this, and he indicated that he tours with whoever wants to go with him, be it 2 or 10. We did have to pay for the fees to the Falls, which was minimal, and for our own lunch. The best part of the whole day tour was the Gorge, where we swam into a cave to a hidden twin waterfall. FREE!!! and no other tourists were around, unlike the Falls, which was very overcrowded. Even the wonderful stop at "Mr. Nice's Fruit Stand" was free and entertaining (and NOT to be missed!) Lestor knew where to stop, when to stop, and how to keep the entire day entertaining.

[canuck62]

We just came back from the Oct 3rd Destiny sailing and went with Reyno (tour guide was Velma - sp? - and driven by Ashford).

We had a blast going to Trafalgar Falls, Mr Nice's, seeing Carib Indians, and Emerald Pool.

Mr Nice's was simply outstanding - a really nice guy who takes great pride in showing you a good time and sharing his fruit. A definite must see!

The entire tour cost us $ 30/person plus $ 2 admission fee/pp to Trafalgar and $ 2 for Emerald pool/pp. The tour was definitely woth the cost.

Hope that this helps

[pholter]

[quote name='canuck62']We just came back from the Oct 3rd Destiny sailing and went with Reyno (tour guide was Velma - sp? - and driven by Ashford).

We had a blast going to Trafalgar Falls, Mr Nice's, seeing Carib Indians, and Emerald Pool.

Mr Nice's was simply outstanding - a really nice guy who takes great pride in showing you a good time and sharing his fruit. A definite must see!

The entire tour cost us $ 30/person plus $ 2 admission fee/pp to Trafalgar and $ 2 for Emerald pool/pp. The tour was definitely woth the cost.

Hope that this helps[/QUOTE]
I must 2nd your posting here..... We just returned from our cruise and used Reyno Tours- Valda and Ashford were our guide and driver respectively. Valda has an abundance of great information about the island she shares along the way and we actually learned ALOT!! It was nice to have this kind of tour on an island we really knew nothing about. They even shared some homemade ginger wine and fried plantains with us on the van. I don't think that was normal, but it sure was a nice touch of hospitality. We really enjoyed the people alot who joined us on the tour, as well as Reyno, Valda, and Ashford. Even though we had alot of rain during the prime times of the Falls and Pool, I think this was a wonderful island and tour. I'd recommend this to everyone. You don't want to show up in Dominica without knowing a reputable tour operator- there are hundreds of them waiting for your business, but only a few talked about here on this board. Hints/Suggestions: Don't forget to tip Mr. Nice at the fruitstand, bring a cheap poncho in case the rain forest decides to be uncooperative and rain all over you during your hike, have a small water proof bag to hold your camera in case of the rains as well- ours got all wet and didn't take the best pictures that day till it had time to dry out.

Book with Reyno and you won't be sorry! :)

[Welove2cruise2]

tropics4me:

Thanks for the info! We have e-mailed Mr. Pond to see if he's available during our 11/28 Norwegian Dawn cruise. Sounds like a wonderful tour, and a wonderful man!

We'll let you know how we make out when we hear from him -- and after our tour with him, if it happens!

[barjolov]

We were in Dominica last December (2003) and found an independent tour guide named Augustene Beno Pascal. He was great and we would highly recommend him. You can email him before you get there and make the arrangements at [email="benox265@hotmail.com"]benox265@hotmail.com[/email] We are going again this December on the Dawn Princess and have made arrangements for him to take us to some more wonderful places.

[cruising gopher]

When you went with Lestor Pond, did he do all the tours with you? I do not want someone who drops us off and then we meet back at the van. We are thinking of Middleham Falls and Champagne reef. We would like him to go to the falls with us.

Thank you

[pholter]

[quote name='cruising gopher']When you went with Lestor Pond, did he do all the tours with you? I do not want someone who drops us off and then we meet back at the van. We are thinking of Middleham Falls and Champagne reef. We would like him to go to the falls with us.

Thank you[/QUOTE]
I'm not familiar with Lester Pond, but if you can wrestle up enough folks to change the itinerary, then Reynold of Reyno Tours is most accomodating and his staff is wonderful. Give him a shout; he will usually answer within about 24-48 hours. [email="reynotours@hotmail.com"]reynotours@hotmail.com[/email]

[spaceguy]

We were on the Golden at the end of Oct and Dominicawas substituted as one of our ports. We used Ken from hinterland tours. He sent a guide with us and the guide stayed with us the whole time to the falls. We were very happy with the service.

[cruisinaz]

I just returned from our cruise with a stop in Dominica - we used Lestor Pond! The day was great! We went to the falls, emerald pool, Mr Nice's Fruit Stand, the beach (not a big touristy beach but great), and a bit of shopping. He was very flexible with the schedule. He provided a nice day. I would highly recommend him! I can't imagine having done Dominica without him! Lester can be reached at -
[email]stopperb_5@hotmail.com[/email]

[wystiria]

Hi all,

I just briefly looked at the above posts we have used ken Hinterland's tour company with success in the past few years and plan on going with them again in May. good luck their website is
[url]http://www.kenshinterlandtours.com/[/url]

[momdaughterondestiny]

I too would highly recommend Lester and could not even imagine taking a tour without him. He had such a wonderful warm smile and was so proud of his island that you could not help but enjoy the whole time there. I was worried about this port on the cruise after reading different threads but as soon as we got there got into the van and got going the day was the most enjoyable day I had . I can't count the times Lester asked me if we were having a good time, and I learned so much about Dominica that I want to go back and would not think of taking a tour with anyone else. The people of Dominica are so friendly and Lester was just great. He wants to make sure you enjoy yourself and his island .

Gina