Paying for private tours

[SUWife]

Do you pay cash for these tours? I'm hoping to book with Phil Lafayette but our trip is Monday.

[MamaParrotHead]

Cash is preferred, as it takes like 45 BUSINESS days for a Traveller's CHeck to be cleared and the tour operators to get paid. But he said he would take them.

[mumsiesof2]

If you had a choice would you book Peat Taylor or A-Z Jamaica planners.

I've read about both,but sure which to book with. Any feedback would be great.

Thanks !

Also,has anyone eaten at the Ruins for lunch ?

[TheWog]

If you had a choice would you book Peat Taylor or A-Z Jamaica planners.

I've read about both,but sure which to book with. Any feedback would be great.

Thanks !

Also,has anyone eaten at the Ruins for lunch ?

 

We booked with Peat and had a great day.

[Davey Wavey]

We used Marva Shaw (http://www.knowjamaica.com) and paid in US cash at the end of the day. If you search these boards, you will find endless endorsements for Peat/Oneil Taylor, A-Z planners, Marva Shaw, Phil Lafayette, and Ionie McBeam. Doesn't seem like you could go wrong with any of them, but we loved Marva and wanted to bring her home with us. :)

[CruzinPat]

We booked with Phil Lafayette for the second time in 3 years and he is a great time! Paid entrance fees to Dunns River Falls and White River Tubing as we went and then paid Phil at the end...all in cash.

[mivama]

Do you give a deposit to reserve any of the tour groups mentioned or just pay the full price at the end of the tour? How far in advance do you usually have to book?

thanks for your help!

[MamaParrotHead]

I know with Phil (and our private tour we booked with Godfrey in St. Thomas) you just emailed and they took a reservation with no deposit, then you pay in full at the end of the tour.

 

If you go through a company, like Island Marketing, you pay a 10-15% deposit, then pay the balance at the end of the tour.

[cruiser2202]

We are booked with Marva Shaw in June. She did not require a deposit, we will pay cash when we see her. She answered all emails quickly and was very accommodating with us wanting to go to a beach that was not on her website. You can find her at www.knowjamaica.com.

[nrh322]

I'm tempted to book Phil's "Dunn's River Falls and River Tubing" tour. I'm waiting on a email back from him about the timing of the tour. We're coming into Montego Bay at 10:30 am and the ship leaves at 6pm. I want to be ON the ship when she sails! Has anyone taken this particular tour? Do you know how long it takes? I know that the drive from MB to DRF averages about 2 hours in each direction... so that's 4 hours right there. We're only going to be in port for 7.5 hours total. Oy! I'm not really sure what to do. DH and both DS really, really, really want to do the falls and rafting and I just can't fathom how we're going to have the time. Any and all advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

PS... RCCL offers DRF excursions and rafting excursions but no combos. I'm guessing they don't think there is enough time. Some of the DRF excursions are 7 hours (30 minutes less than we're going to be in port!).

 

PSS...If we dock at 10:30 a.m. and manage to leave right away we wouldn't get to the falls before lunchtime. Isn't that the absolute worst time of the day to get there for crowds and such? Oh please give me some ammo to talk DH out of the idea of doing this. There has got to be better stuff to do!

 

Thanks again!

[cwestbrook]

Did you tip also and how much per person?

[MamaParrotHead]

Did you tip also and how much per person?

 

On how good the tour is. On Phil's tour, even though the tour was only $20 per person, he was so awesome, we tipped him an additional $10 pp. Our tour in the Caymans was just OK, but the guide did nothing other than drive in front of us so we knew where to go...no information or commentary, no real effort. We only tipped him like $5 per person.

[cwestbrook]

If a you hire a guide to just drive you around to see scenery, go shopping and to a restaurant about how much would that cost?

 

Edit----I was typing my question at the same time you were resonding (prevous post). Would the $20 be for a half day? Sounds really inexpensive.

[moencat]

We toured with Phil in Ocho Rios last week...Dunn's River Falls, lunch, tubing, and shopping. We were with Phil from the time we got off the ship (9am) until he picked us up from shopping at 3:15 and dropped us back at the pier. We paid our entrance fees as we went, then paid Phil at the end of the day, using a traveler's check. He did mention that it takes awhile for the banks to pay them, so I'm sure that he would have preferred cash, but he had no problem accepting the traveler's check. No deposit required to book the tour. Phil was fabulous, and we will definitely use him again. www.phil-lafayette-tours.com