Private Tours in Halifax

[nebraskagal]

I arranged a tour in Halifax for September 4th through Jonathan Duru of Yourcab Tours. We were to have a van for eight of us. He just informed me today that his van won't be available and he wants to give us two separate Town Cars. I explained to him that we don't want vehicles where someone will have to sit in the middle between two other passengers. Also, breaking up our group of eight takes some of the fun out of it. Has anyone used other Tour Companies in Halifax? Can we just get off the Ship and find a tour? We don't want to be on a motorcoach with lots of people.

 

Thanks!

[CabotTrail]

i would try of of the larger companys in halifax like greyline or Amabassa Tours they maybe a little more expensive but its better than nothing.

[ocean.queen]

I had a tour for 4 booked with Mr Duru. I booked him exclusively 9 months ahead...even confimed this with him on the phone. The day of the tour another person showed up with an old van saying Jonathan was taking a larger group that day. I was not happy then it got worse. The driver didn't know his way to Lunenburg from Paggy's Cove...he had to stop a few times for directions and we lost valuable time. When we got back to the ship he tried to overcharge us. Thankfully, I had my confirmation copy. The port agent came over and was very helpful and told him to leave the area. This had happened before with Mr Duru and the agents in Halifax were not happy either!!

 

I'm sorry to be so negative, but I think it would be best to find another company.

[retired travelers]

Is it possible to get off the ship and just hire a cab at the port in Halifax, Syndey and PEI? Any idea of the cost. Thanks:)

[ocean.queen]

The ony port we noticed an abundence of taxi's was Saint John NB. It was raining when we got off the ship and a gentleman was in charge of the taxi line...asking what you were interested in. We asked for a 2hr tour of the city...it was $40 for 4...he dropped us off at the "Market". Sydney is very walkable. We did a ship City tour which included the Indian Reservation...it was just ok. We had lunch on the ship and still had time to walk the whole town. This Oct we will rent a car in Halifax!

[CabotTrail]

there will be approx 5 cabs on the wharf in sydney on any day, the drop in numbers off the ships results in a drop in cabs drivers for the cruise ships as drivers think they are not needed. ( due to ships tours) I checked the prices of the tours they offer with the CBRM ( who lis the taxis and drivers) thee tour prices start off at $ 200.00and up depending on wjhat you want and how many hours of service you will want. There are several local tour companies in the areas all with a good name and service record I really would suggest you contact them.

[H2OLady2006]

CabotTrail

Thanks for the tip regardin several tour companies in sydney. Would kindly email them to me? paulaspage@bellsouth.net We will be in sydney sept 13 and are looking for our own tour, maybe even share one with other cruisers. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

[annajones]

OceanQueen

 

I would like to rent a car this October in St. John and Halifax. Do they have counters at the port?

[ocean.queen]

OceanQueen

 

I would like to rent a car this October in St. John and Halifax. Do they have counters at the port?

 

In Saint John we disembarked right onto the pier (no counters) there was a tent where the locals were selling wonderful things. I saw an Enterprise office across the street but it was closed...you might check their hours. Someone just posted Avis on Water St 634-7750 ??

 

We are planning to rent a car in Halifax in Oct and I found Alamo, National & Hertz very close to the dock. I still need to do more checking on their service there. (When we were last there we didn't get to dock where the cruise ships usually dock...we were farther down in a commercial berth so I didn't see much of the tourist things available at the dock.)

 

Ocean

[Suzanne123]

H2O Lady - I just sent an inquiry to Molegatours for a Sydney tour. I don't know anything about them, but their full day tour looks good to me:

 

http://www.molegatours.ca/sydney-novascotia.php

 

Anyone have experience with this company?

[nebraskagal]

A belated thanks for the information about Jonathan Duru and his tours. He has assured me we will be taken care of. He's promised two mini vans for the same cost we agreed on. He wanted to give us two town cars instead of the large van we were promised. Since one person would always have to sit in the middle of the back seat, I told him this was not acceptable. Now we just have to hope he comes through for us and both driver/guides are friendly and informative.

 

We leave Omaha one week from today. I'm so ready!

 

We plan on taking the train into NYC on Wednesday, if we get into Newark by noon as scheduled. Has anyone heard of a restaurant in Manhattan called Il Vagabondo? If so, is it casual? We'd like to wear our traveling clothes. We ate there many years ago, while visiting NYC.

 

All from Nebraska for today!

[cruzin lady]

CabotTrail

Thanks for the tip regardin several tour companies in sydney. Would kindly email them to me? paulaspage@bellsouth.net We will be in sydney sept 13 and are looking for our own tour, maybe even share one with other cruisers. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

 

 

I am interested in the ist of taxi/tour companies in Sydney if you got them.

 

Please send them to: texascruzinlady@yahoo.com

 

Thanks and have a good time.

 

Cruzin Lady Carolynn

[JandD Mom]

I had a tour for 4 booked with Mr Duru. I booked him exclusively 9 months ahead...even confimed this with him on the phone. The day of the tour another person showed up with an old van saying Jonathan was taking a larger group that day. I was not happy then it got worse. The driver didn't know his way to Lunenburg from Paggy's Cove...he had to stop a few times for directions and we lost valuable time. When we got back to the ship he tried to overcharge us. Thankfully, I had my confirmation copy. The port agent came over and was very helpful and told him to leave the area. This had happened before with Mr Duru and the agents in Halifax were not happy either!!

 

I'm sorry to be so negative, but I think it would be best to find another company.

 

I have to say a similar thing has happened to us and I can't recommend Your Cab either. We had a large van booked for our party of 12 (including children) and a few weeks before the tour, I received several urgent emails from him telling me that there was an accident in another large van and the licensing folks would not allow the large vans to be used for tours with children. So he promised me 2 vans that would hold 6 persons each. I asked my group and they agreed. I later found out from the tourism folks that it simply is not true that children could not be transported in a 15 passenger van.

 

We were picked up in Halifax as planned, and we had 2 drivers. One driver was fantastic and had all of the information about Halifax that you could ever want. The other was an immigrant from Russia who knew little about the area and was nothing more than a guy driving a cab. Those in his car heard nothing until we stopped and they got some info from our driver.

 

Also, we booked a tour with a lobster lunch, but Jonathan did not tell our drivers. The "good" driver found out from us in conversation part of the way through our tour -- causing us to have to backtrack and miss part of where he had planned to take us.

 

So while I had a great tour, half of our party did not. We paid for 1 tour- together. I did also find out from another cab driver that Jonathan took the large van out that day to take out a group slightly larger than ours. So after accepting our reservation, it appears he might have switched us to give our van to another group. What good is a reservation if it isn't honored?

 

Needless to say we are disappointed. I would not recommend him since apparently I am not the only one who though they had been guaranteed a certain car and driver, only to find out I wasn't getting what I reserved. ALso, neither of our drivers worked for Jonathan. THey both worked for other cab companies and were subcontracted by Jonathan.

 

On a positive note, we loved Halifax. Next time I would rent a car and drive to Peggy's cove on our own if the weather is nice. Our children loved it.

[ocean.queen]

The thing that bothered me the most was Mr Duru's lack of honesty. He did not stand by his word for any of the reservation. He said he was looking forward to personally taking us on our tour and would take us to a great place for lunch in Lunenburg. We were greeted by a "cab driver" and he pointed to Mr Duru with a larger group as we left the parking lot :mad: The driver was not a local and never spoke to us about the area. He had no instructions about our so called tour and no directions. He couldn't get ahold of Mr Duru for a rec'd for lunch so we were on our own. And the worst was that the driver had a note from Mr Duru with the cost which was way above the confirmed amount. This is NOT how you run a reputable business!!!!

[Snookum]

Was there September 2007 and there are vans right there where the ship docks to rent. I can't remember if there was a specific table or counter but don't think so. We just asked someone and we got a:) van for the 9 of us and he took off with us and we had a wonderful day. Good Luck!

[BethIRC]

We just returned from 9 day RCL Explorer of the Seas Canada cruise. We used Bruce from Bruces Tours in Halifax and he did a fabulous job. 5 hour tour was $200 for 4 people. We opted for the Peggy's Cove and Halifax tour combination. He has a comfortable van and was very knowledgeable of the area. email him at bruce@brucestours.ca

 

In Quebec City we used Taxi Coop and were happy with a driver and van service. http://www.taxicoop-quebec.com. Our driver's name was Behruz and he also did a great job. 4 hour tour was $300.

 

We heard several unpleasant stories concerning the ship's tours. When you have 3400 people on board and Carnival comes in with 3600 (which was the case in Halifax) I am sure there are only so many buses and drivers to go around.

 

In Charlottetown we just got off the ship and got on the double decker bus and the Hippo tour which is like the Duck Tour. They covered it all and it worked well without the ship markups and the large buses. There were also taxis there that would do the island tour if you wanted at $50/hour.

 

Hope this helps!

[BillyMetz]

I just read this post after earlier posting a high recommendation for Mr. Duru. I was very surprised since the tour we had with him was fantastic. One of the best private tours we have had on any of our many cruises. Hopefully these are rare issues.

[JandD Mom]

I just read this post after earlier posting a high recommendation for Mr. Duru. I was very surprised since the tour we had with him was fantastic. One of the best private tours we have had on any of our many cruises. Hopefully these are rare issues.

 

The key is that you had a tour with Jonathan. Those of us with problems had tours that he farmed out after committing to give us tours. There is no way to know unless/until he stands you up at the dock!

 

You are a lucky one I guess.

[nebraskagal]

I am posting this as a follow-up to our tour arranged through Jonathan Duru from Yourcab Tours in Halifax. He did arrange for the two mini-vans as promised. He was there waiting with a sign with my name on it. He arranged to have Ed and Samson as our guides. Ed was very knowledgeable, informative and accomodating. The four people in Samson's van said, although he was friendly and nice, he lacked in experience and did not really give much information. He talked more about himself and his family. Whereever we stopped, Ed would be the spokesman and Samson just watched. These two gentlemen were not employed by Jonathan. Ed owns his own tour company. I'm not sure where he found Samson.

 

I did tell Jonathan we would like to stop for a local brew and lobster, however, Ed was not aware of this until we mentioned it later. He said normally, he'd call ahead and pick up prepared lobsters, which we would take to a special area at Peggy's Cove for a picnic. Without prior notice, he could not do so.

 

We did have a nice day touring with Ed. I don't think he was ready to take us back to the Ship but we had to be back for dinner at 6 P.M.

 

We absolutely loved Peggy's Cove!!!!

[dixieva]

We were in Halifax on Sept. 23rd and had arranged a tour with Jonathan of YourCab. When we got off the ship there was a young man waiting with a sign with my name on it. His name was Samson (the same Samson that someone else mentioned here earlier). It was true that he was a very nice young man but was from South Africa, had lived in Halifax for 11 years but seemed to know little about the area. The almost hour drive to Peggy's Cove was done in silence unless I asked him a question. We got out at the cove and he left us on our own for 1 hour and drove us back in silence. He did take us to a memorial for an airplane crash that was interesting on the way back but that was about it. I was very disappointed. We paid $200 for a 3 hour "tour" for 5 people. I think we could have just taken a taxi maybe even for less money.

 

I have sent him an e-mail voicing my displeasure with this tour but have not heard from him yet.

 

I would not recommend this company! You can't be sure you'll get Jonathan and if you don't you might not have a nice tour.

[JetSetJen]

We also were "ripped off" by an awful tour in Halifax (different operator) -- it was the most expensive tour of our trip, and we had to "fire" the tour guide halfway through the day and do the rest on our own.

 

I would strongly suggest that for Halifax the best way to do it is to get a taxi to take you to the Titanic Cemetery if that is on your list, and maybe the Citadel if you're not big on walking, and then just do the rest on foot or by walking/taking a cab. There are probably walking tours that are decent. Really, Halifax is pretty small and very walkable, and the highlights are the waterfront and some of the museums (like the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic) which are right by the waterfront, and which you might not see in a car tour anyway.

[ocean.queen]

FYI for anyone who is interested. We just returned from our NE cruise and we rented a car for only $35 (mid-size) from the National desk at the Westin which is just two blocks from the pier. We picked up the car at 9:00 and were on the road to Peggy's Cove by 9:20. The drive is easy if you have a good map and watch the signs. We had the flexability and time to take detours into other coves and explore other little towns. We would have had time to go to Mahone Bay and Lunenburg but we decided to just go to Peggy's Cove at an easy pace instead. We then had time to explore the city before returning the car at 4:30. (Gas was about $25)

 

This certainly was a better day than we had last time and much cheaper, too !!!!!!!

[CruisnGram]

We were in Halifax on Sept. 23rd and had arranged a tour with Jonathan of YourCab. When we got off the ship there was a young man waiting with a sign with my name on it. His name was Samson (the same Samson that someone else mentioned here earlier). It was true that he was a very nice young man but was from South Africa, had lived in Halifax for 11 years but seemed to know little about the area. The almost hour drive to Peggy's Cove was done in silence unless I asked him a question. We got out at the cove and he left us on our own for 1 hour and drove us back in silence. He did take us to a memorial for an airplane crash that was interesting on the way back but that was about it. I was very disappointed. We paid $200 for a 3 hour "tour" for 5 people. I think we could have just taken a taxi maybe even for less money.

 

I have sent him an e-mail voicing my displeasure with this tour but have not heard from him yet.

 

I would not recommend this company! You can't be sure you'll get Jonathan and if you don't you might not have a nice tour.

 

We were in Halifx on the 23rd also, and had Jonathan as our driver.(Sorry) As othes have said, he was wonderful and we had a fabulous tour. He's a terrific gentleman and we would book his tour again and recommend it to anyone.

 

It seems that the problem lies in getting drivers other then Jonathan so if anyone is considering booking through Your Cab, make sure that you ask for Jonathan as your driver...make it a condition of your reservation and you will be guaranteed a great tour.

 

CG

[dixiedi51]

My husband and I are going on the Oct.18th cruise and are wondering about renting a car. We will be on NCl Majesty doing the Canada & New England cruise. He has a hard time getting around so we thought if we rented a car and did our own thing it would be easier. Any suggestions on renting a car and where to go? Thanks for any info.

[katron]

We just returned from an Oct 5th Cruise on the Celebrity! I had "recruited"

others through Cruise Critic and had 14 lined up for a tour with Jonathan Duru.

I had read other reviews , so was a little leary of his tour company.

He provided a bus that could hold 20 and an extremely knowledgeable, experienced, woman named Maggi for a guide, along with an experienced bus driver--Pat.

I was disappointed that Jonathan wasn't our guide, until Maggi started giving us non-stop information about the area and Peggy's Cove. She was informative and terrific!!!!

Jonathan did meet us at Peggy's Cove and was very gracious!

We had a great tour and loved seeing Halifax, and Peggy's Cove!

I was very pleased with Jonathan Duru's Tour Company.

If you book with Jonathan, request Maggi!!!! You will not be sorry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Katron (Kathy)