Levi Baron bumpiing tours reviews? Anyone?

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I have a question. I am booking a tour with Levi for our cruise next May. I told him that due to our group (6 of us ages 48 - 78, all in good health) that we would like to see as much of the island as possible, but could only due moderate walking. However, we did want to make sure to include the Champagne Reef in the tour. We will be in port from 7 - 4. He sent me back an e-mail with a wonderful tour itinerary planned that includes Morne Bruce, Botanical Gardens, Wotten Waven Sulfer Springs, Trafalgar Falls, Titou Gorge and the Champagne Reef. It sounds heavenly to me! However, he did say to pack a snack unless we wanted to stop at a restaurant for lunch.

 

It sounds as if we will have a full day in our time frame. My problem is that I need to eat as I am a borderline diabetic and will get shaky & even a bit disoriented if my blood sugar gets too low. Fortunately I am able to control it with diet and exercise, but I still need to have something healthy (low carb) every few hours to eat. What have the rest of you done on these tours? Do you stop at a restaurant or just bring some nuts along? My past experiences on other cruises have not aloowed for you to take a sandwich off the ship. Any suggestions?

[LiLBxQt]

Took a tour with Levi back in May 07 and I cannot stress enough how great of a guy he really is! My group absolutely loved him and we def have no prob booking one of his tours again if we ever get back to the island! ;)

 

Ps: If you are readin this levi, hi!!!!!! im sure you could not have possibly forgotten about us! hehe

[Host Kat]

... My past experiences on other cruises have not aloowed for you to take a sandwich off the ship. Any suggestions?

True, many ports do not allow food prepared on the ship to be taken on shore.

 

However, you can plan ahead. Bring commercially prepared prepackaged & unopened snacks from home. Or, buy them in the shop on your ship.

 

I hope this will be helpful!

Kat

[suzski]

I have a question. I am booking a tour with Levi for our cruise next May. I told him that due to our group (6 of us ages 48 - 78, all in good health) that we would like to see as much of the island as possible, but could only due moderate walking. However, we did want to make sure to include the Champagne Reef in the tour. We will be in port from 7 - 4. He sent me back an e-mail with a wonderful tour itinerary planned that includes Morne Bruce, Botanical Gardens, Wotten Waven Sulfer Springs, Trafalgar Falls, Titou Gorge and the Champagne Reef. It sounds heavenly to me! However, he did say to pack a snack unless we wanted to stop at a restaurant for lunch.

 

It sounds as if we will have a full day in our time frame. My problem is that I need to eat as I am a borderline diabetic and will get shaky & even a bit disoriented if my blood sugar gets too low. Fortunately I am able to control it with diet and exercise, but I still need to have something healthy (low carb) every few hours to eat. What have the rest of you done on these tours? Do you stop at a restaurant or just bring some nuts along? My past experiences on other cruises have not aloowed for you to take a sandwich off the ship. Any suggestions?

 

We took crackers (the kind that come 6 in a pack, with either peanut butter or cheese in them) and some other snacks with us that we'd purchased at a Walgreens in San Juan before sailing.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

True' date=' many ports do not allow food prepared on the ship to be taken on shore.

 

However, you can plan ahead. Bring commercially prepared prepackaged & unopened snacks from home. Or, buy them in the shop on your ship.

 

I hope this will be helpful!

Kat [img']http://skins.*****/skins/mailskins/em/110105/110105_emYA42_prv.gif[/img]

Thanks Kat! I think we will do just that! I like the idea of the crackers with PB and cheese that suski suggested, too!:D Possibly some trail mix, too. We will have to look for a grocery store in San Juan before boarding.

[suzski]

We will have to look for a grocery store in San Juan before boarding.

 

SunnyAZ, the Walgreens is very popular...on Calle San Francisco if I remember correctly...we went there on our way back from El Morro enroute to La Bombanera for some mallorcas (please forgive my butchering of Spanish words). They have really good deals and we loaded up before heading to the ship....and they were very busy so the word is out!:)

[jessie073]

Hello all - thanks for all the great information on Dominica! After all the great reviews we are also considering booking a tour with Levi it looks like the Roseau Valley Treasures Tour includes:

 

Wotten Waven Sulphur Springs

Trafalgar Falls

Titou Gorge

Botanical Garden

Morne Bruce

Champagne Bay (some said they did this also although its not listed on his website)

 

Does anyone know if it's possible to also see the Emerald Pool? If anyone thats been there could also suggest a better combination or the best places to see I'd love to heard that as well, perhaps we could ask Levi to customize a tour.

 

Thanks! :)

Jessie

[bigB30]

Hello all - thanks for all the great information on Dominica! After all the great reviews we are also considering booking a tour with Levi it looks like the Roseau Valley Treasures Tour includes:

 

Wotten Waven Sulphur Springs

Trafalgar Falls

Titou Gorge

Botanical Garden

Morne Bruce

Champagne Bay (some said they did this also although its not listed on his website)

 

Does anyone know if it's possible to also see the Emerald Pool? If anyone thats been there could also suggest a better combination or the best places to see I'd love to heard that as well, perhaps we could ask Levi to customize a tour.

 

Thanks! :)

Jessie

 

We will be in Dominica on our first cruise next year and planning to take this tour with Levi as well. Our friends did it in August and said it was great and Titou goge is a must see. Wanted to go to Emeral pool but Levi said this would add about 2.5 hours to the tour about 2 of that will be spent in the vehicle. We DO NOT want to spent all that time in a van.

 

Ben

[jessie073]

We actually did end up booking this tour (without the Emerald Pool due to distance) and are really looking forward to it! :)

 

Jessie

[bigB30]

MexicoBob couldn't have said it better. My (extended) family of 7 did a private tour with Levi July 8th, 2008 and LOVED it! We initially planned to do Middleham Falls, Titou Gorge, Trafalgar Falls and Champagne Reef but ran out of time to do the reef...however, this was due to us wanting to spend more time at the other locations once we got there. Levi had us back to the ship with plenty of time to spare. We've taken lots of tours before, but Levi definitely impressed me as possibly the best guide I've ever had.

 

How difficult is the swim at Titou Gorge? Do you have to be a very strong swimmer to do it? We look forward to this.

[LEESRE]

We have just returned from our cruise and made a stop in Dominica, before we left home we booked a tour with Levi Baron of Bumping Tours. May I say that we were not disappointed in any way with the tour.

Levi is a gentleman in every way, he made sure that our party were safe all the time and constantly asked if everyhting was OK.

We did Champagne Reef, Titou Gorge and Trafalgar Falls with stops along the way to the Sulpher springs etc.

 

I would highly recommend this tour and Levi.

[jessie073]

Hello all - Just got back! We booked the "Roseau Valley Treasures" tour and added on Champagne Reef with Bumpiing Tours. We had a great time and this was probably one of the best tours we took on our cruise. The scenery and stops on this tour were amazing. Really enjoyed Titou Gorge, the hot and cold pools, waterfalls and champagne reef. We did not have Levi on our tour, but his associate, Gary, was great. They provided drinks and great information about their island! Dominica is beautiful, next time I go back I would definitely book with them again to hit the rest of the spots! Two thumbs up - I would definitely recommend this tour.

 

Jessie

[yearbook]

I know others have written about him, but I had a tour with him last week, and I want to re-iterate, he is great. He is a lovely man, friendly, easy-going, willing to go wherever you want to go with a smile. I can't recommend him enough.

[LEESRE]

You decide just email him and let him know what you want and how long you have in Dominica and he will do th rest.,

[PaddleAddict]

We also did a tour with Bumpiing Tours (with a different guide, Garry), and it was an outstanding experience. It was well worth the price and to date my very favorite island tour ever.

[Terrapin]

We just got back from doing the Roseau Valley Treasures tour with Levi Baron and I can honestly say he was the best tour guide we’ve ever had. In addition to the spectacular sights on the island, Levi discussed the island itself and would stop to point out the various trees and bushes growing on the island (coffee, avocado, cocoa)

 

The tour was about 3-1/2 hours and cost $40.00 per person. Children between the ages of 5 and 14 pay $30.00. If you add the snorkeling at Champagne Reef, it adds about an hour and $7.00 more per person and is well worth it.

 

Levi had e-mailed us exactly where he would be and he was right there when we got off the ship. He likes to get started as early as possible in order to miss the crowds that are on ship tours.

 

We started out going to Titou Gorge where part of “Pirates Of The Caribbean 2” was filmed. It was an easy 10 minute walk to the Gorge. Once there, you walk into a cold mountain pool (or if you are Levi, you dive) and swim a short distance through a series of caves to a waterfall. It’s an easy swim and you don’t have to go under water. Levi also provides swim belts for everyone. We were the only ones there so we were able to take our time and stop inside the caves and swim under the waterfall. As we were leaving, just like Levi had said, we passed 8 tour buses from the ships tours heading to the gorge with around 80 people in them. This is just my opinion, but it would not have been fun at all to do what we did with 80 other people.

 

Then it was off to Trafalgar Falls (the second most visited site on the Island) which features two large waterfalls in the same area. There was about a 10 minutes walk through a rainforest to a viewing platform where we took pictures of both falls. We then proceeded past a "Proceed Only At Your Own Risk" sign and descended down to some hot springs where we relaxed and played in several hot sulfuric pools. Finally, we walked closer to the falls where there are huge boulders that you can climb on to get closer if you want. Site passes are provided ($5.00us per person, per site, included in cost), so you do not have to stand in line to purchase site passes.

 

We then went to Wotten Waven Sulphur Springs where we took a short walk to view small boiling sulfuric pools.

 

We then drove through the Botanical Gardens where we learned about the different plants, trees and flowers grown on the Island.

 

We took a short 5-minute drive to Morne Bruce which was a lookout of the entire city of Roseau and its port from the top of a hill. There are some local vendors up there. We thought they were all very friendly and not at all pushy.

 

We added on snorkeling at Champagne Reef. Due to the volcanic nature of the island, there are bubbles in the water. You go out on a boardwalk to a rocky, black sand beach and snorkel off the beach. It was the perfect end to the tour. If you don’t have snorkel gear, it can be rented at Champagne at $12.00us per set.

 

Levi provided complimentary local beers, soft-drinks (try the banana soda) and bottled water throughout the day

 

For those of you who might be worried about doing tours that are not through the ship, don’t be. We do almost all of our tours outside the ship and we have never had a problem. Levi seems well aware of the ships schedule and when you need to be back and he takes you back right to the ship.

There is a bit of driving but the island is beautiful so it’s not boring. You are also on these very narrow roads going up and down mountains and the roads accommodate 2 way traffic so it’s an experience. We were hesitant about booking the tour because of the amount of time driving but the driving time was fascinating and Levi was so full of information. We had our 2 boys with us, 15 and 12, and they loved the tour. People from the ship who did not do a tour, for the most part, did not enjoy the island. It is still very undeveloped and to appreciate that you need to get away from the port.

 

One thing that we really enjoyed was that Levi did everything with us. He wasn’t just the driver dropping us off at a site, telling us which way to walk and waiting in the parking lot. He was the first to dive in the water at Titou Gorge. He sat with us in the Sulfuric Pools. He led the way to the reef while snorkeling at Champagne Reef. By the end of the day he was our friend.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Thank you for the great review, Terrapin! I very much enjoyed it.:) We are also booked with Levi in May. One question - do you know if the snorkel rental area will rent you just fins? We have our own masks and snorkels, but are not planning on lugging along the fins.:cool:

[chillie_queen]

Hi

 

We went to the Champagne Reefs with Gary in December and we had our own masks. I think we could have rented fins at the place but decided just to keep our reef shoes on. It wasn't a problem since we only snorkeled for half an hour or so.

[sns1]

Does anyone know if Levi's prices have gone up? I e-mailed him that we wanted to book a private tour to the usual spots. He responded back with a list of things to see and that it would be $50 per person (4-10 people). We are a party of 4. I e-mailed him back to book the tour and I received an e-mail from him that he would have to charge me an additional $10.00 per person for a private tour.

 

Anyone else have that happen? My first e-mail said private tour.

[tango9]

Yes, Levi is charging us $60 for a tour . I did not clarify if it is a private tour but for that price, I assume it is. I have been to Dominica several times and the price keeps going up. A few years ago it was $25, then 35,; last year $50 . WE are going to Middleham Falls so this might what is the higher cost. IF it is too rainy to do that hike, I hope he reduces the price.

[MartinsCruise]

Does anyone have Levi's direct email address? I tried to contact him through his website last week but am not sure whether it went through since I haven't received a reply.

[KeiEdy]

levibaron@bumpiingtours.com

 

 

This is the address I used. I sent an email on Friday and received a response Saturday. I sent another on Saturday and am waiting for a response.

 

I had a question about the number of people needed for the price I was quoted since it is only myself and my husband.

[MartinsCruise]

levibaron@bumpiingtours.com

 

 

This is the address I used. I sent an email on Friday and received a response Saturday. I sent another on Saturday and am waiting for a response.

 

I had a question about the number of people needed for the price I was quoted since it is only myself and my husband.

 

Thank you. I like the line up of drinks to celebrate a 50th B-day!!!

[Arubalisa]

Our family LOVED Dominica-- beautiful island, friendly people, perfect weather!

 

We had booked the "Pools, Falls & More" tour with Levi Baron in the beginning of October. Upon disembarking from our ship and heading to the prearranged spot we were greeted by another driver, Martin Alexander. Martin alexandermartin60@hotmail.com runs Exodus Tours and was asked by Levi to take our family of four that day. At first I was a little "put out" :( shall we say, but after a few moments with Martin we were extremely happy with how things had worked out. Martin provided fresh fuit as well as a varity of beverages.

 

We were the first visitors of the day to arrive at the Emerald Pool and literally had the place to ourselves. That in itself was special. The rest of the tour we took in Morne Bruce, the Botanical Gardens, Sulphur Springs, Trafalgar Falls, Mr. Nice fruit stand as well as many other portions of the islanf. Traveling with a 12 yo who gets "antsy" touring for too long, we opted to skip the Champagne reef portion of the tour. All in all this was one of the highlights of our cruise.

[Kylie]

Yes, Levi is charging us $60 for a tour . I did not clarify if it is a private tour but for that price, I assume it is. I have been to Dominica several times and the price keeps going up. A few years ago it was $25, then 35,; last year $50 . WE are going to Middleham Falls so this might what is the higher cost. IF it is too rainy to do that hike, I hope he reduces the price.

 

We paid $60 for our tour because we did Middleham Falls too (10 in the van). Don't worry - you will go even if it is raining. It poured the entire time up to the falls but we kept going. He warned us when we got in the van, if you don't plan to get wet today you better get out now. Worth the climb but my calves hurt for the next 3 days from the steps up to the falls. Levi was very good - enjoy!