Samana Tours?

[Coasty]

Is anyone aware of any tours not in connection with the cruise lines? We were there last year on the NCL Pearl and will be there again in October on the NCL Spirit.

 

Last time we went ashore and found the locals to helpful and very friendly. This time we would like a tour.

 

Any ideas?

[mlleach]

I am looking for information as well.

ML

[lbt43]

Try http://www.casadoradodr.com they will treat you well. I took a tour with them last December and everything was great, 100%!

[mlleach]

Try http://www.casadoradodr.com they will treat you well. I took a tour with them last December and everything was great, 100%!

 

What tour did you take?

ML

[lbt43]

Playa Rincon beach tour.

[Vacations Are Fun]

Try http://www.casadoradodr.com they will treat you well. I took a tour with them last December and everything was great, 100%!

 

Just a question: When you booked, did you pay at the dock or

did you have to leave a deposit?

[lbt43]

We had our tour lined up about 1.5 months in advance and paid at the dock. This was last december, things may have changed since then, I am not sure, but I plan on staying at Casa dorado again next December. If you think you might not do it, then dont book the reservation, they are not a travel company. Rincon and their bed and breakfast is located about 30 minutes from Samana. I do suggest the tour, very highly in fact. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[Vacations Are Fun]

Thanks for the quick reply. We have only heard good things about this tour.

We are considering the Playa Rincon Beach/La Playita snorkeling trip.

However we were told by Catherine that they require a deposit now to hold our booking. We have booked many independent tours but never had to send

money in advance. This is the reason I was asking.

[lbt43]

Catherine and Roberto are great people, they wont let you down. I have stayed at Casa Dorado 3 times and I consider them both good friends. Youll have an awesome time! Send me some pictures....actually I have a group picture from our excursion at this location....

[Vacations Are Fun]

We had our tour lined up about 1.5 months in advance and paid at the dock. I do suggest the tour, very highly in fact. Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

We have heard good things about this tour. However we were told by

Catherine that we must pay a deposit in advance to book our tour.

We have taken many independent tours and always paid at the dock or

after the tour. This makes us reluctant to book this tour.

[lbt43]

This is because if you bail on them last minute, they have no way of re-couping the loss time. they are located a bit from Samana, so, its their safety net, so to speak.

[lbt43]

This is because if you bail on them last minute, they have no way of re-couping the loss time. they are located a bit from Samana, so, its their safety net, so to speak.

 

I should also tell you, I was living in the Dominican at the time we took this tour and I had already met Catherine and Roberto beforehand.

[14ersco]

Have found this older cruise critic thread under the wrong island that has links to other Samana tour operators: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=229277

[cruisingbooboo]

Playa Rincon beach tour.

Can you expand on this? how far was it from port to the meeting spot? what ws the price? adults? kids? Is this suitable for kids? Was food or drink served? What did the trip entail? Do you have any photos? what were the times of the trip? we'll be in port 8-6.

Thanks!!!

[lbt43]

Can you expand on this? how far was it from port to the meeting spot? what ws the price? adults? kids? Is this suitable for kids? Was food or drink served? What did the trip entail? Do you have any photos? what were the times of the trip? we'll be in port 8-6.

Thanks!!!

 

 

Ok, If you do the tour with Casa Dorado, they will meet you at the dock, so to answer your question about how far is the meeting place, a few feet.

 

The price for the Cab I believe is around 75 US, but we had a group of 9, so we paid 10pp, if I remember right. We left Samana at around 11, got to rincon about 1140 and back to the ship around 3ish.

 

Food and drink is optional, I recommend bringing a snack.

 

Kids, I dont know...I am sure it would be fine to bring a few annoying kids along.

 

I suggest going to http://www.casadoradodr.com and asking Catherine and Captain Roberto what they offer for the Rincon tour.

 

Here are some Rincon pictures for you -

[cruisingbooboo]

Thanks for the info I will email Roberto and Catherine.

[familycruzer]

I emailed them yesterday and got a quick reply.

 

Cost is $100 for the taxi for up to 10 people.

Cost of boat ride and beach, $160 for up to 10 people.

 

So, if you have 10 people, the cost would only be .. $26 a person - compared to a beach stop with the ship at $59 pp.

 

I am trying to get a group together on my ship to help pay for the day trip.

[lbt43]

I emailed them yesterday and got a quick reply.

 

Cost is $100 for the taxi for up to 10 people.

Cost of boat ride and beach, $160 for up to 10 people.

 

So, if you have 10 people, the cost would only be .. $26 a person - compared to a beach stop with the ship at $59 pp.

 

I am trying to get a group together on my ship to help pay for the day trip.

 

Pretty damn good deal if you ask me, even if you had to pay a bit more, it will be way better than doing it with the cruise line. I loved Rincon, and think of that day often. Catherine and Roberto made it all that much better as well.

[cruisingbooboo]

I emailed them yesterday and got a quick reply.

 

Cost is $100 for the taxi for up to 10 people.

Cost of boat ride and beach, $160 for up to 10 people.

 

So, if you have 10 people, the cost would only be .. $26 a person - compared to a beach stop with the ship at $59 pp.

 

I am trying to get a group together on my ship to help pay for the day trip.

I'm going in April, was hoping to see you were too then we could share the costs;) I see youre going in Jan. Please post a review if you go...

[familycruzer]

I emailed them back with my information and am sending a check tomorrow to deposit.

I will be sure to write a review when I return.

[Coasty]

We booked a group of 10 with Casa Dorado last October. The ship was delayed and we were not able to take the tour due to the amount of time in port. I email Casa Dorado and explained the problem. Received an email from Catherine that our deposit of $40 will be on hold till our next cruise to Samana. That was fine with me, as we expect to back in October 2009.

[Name Of The Game]

What if you weren't going to Samana again? Would she send it back?

[crooz38]

You may want to go to MS Tours website. They offer tours in Samana.

[Darthdaddy]

Can't bring myself to dither about the "new" menus in the MDR's, surcharges in the specialty restaurants, efficiency of the buffet line, etc. If you need/want that info, it's available elsewhere on these boards.

 

Instead, here is info about the excursion that my family took during our 3/6-13 cruise. This post is about our experience in Samana. I hope this info is helpful to others.

 

I originally had no plans for an excursion in Samana. Several negative posts made it seem that we would be better off just staying on the ship and waiting for the day to end. That hardly seemed like a ton o' fun, so I checked the Ports of Call boards for Dominican Republic...I'm glad I did.

Several posts gave favorable reviews to someone named "Terry." A bit more research put me in touch with Terry Bandi. Terry is an American, who went to D.R. as a missionary and married a local woman. He now operates a restaurant in Samana and has started his little tour company. He is an interesting and enterprising guy. More important for our purpose, he is honest and cooperative.

Through the roll call section of CC, we put together a group of 30 for Terry's tours. Some went on his ATV/beach tour, most went on his horseback/waterfall tour. It is necessary to tender into Samana. We were picked up at the dock by Terry's partner, Domingo." After loading into 2 "safari trucks" we drove perhaps 1/2 mile to Terry's restaurant. Terry greeted us, jumped into the back of one truck and off we went. A few blocks away we stopped and Domingo ran into a local shop and purchased some bananas for all of us to enjoy. Sitting outside the shop was a young man (18?), who was something of a local celebrity. It turned out that he had just signed a contract with the NY Mets. Since baseball is a national PASSION in D.R. this was a really big deal. Leaving the shop, we took off into the mountains. I had no idea how mountainous D.R. is. Terry explained that the highest point is 12,500' above sea level. We didn't go that high, but we went into the mountains to some property that Terry and his family now own. We saw the various fruits and vegetables grown by the locals. We also visited the home of a local family. The home was @ 20'x20'. It had a single light bulb. Terry was proud that his property had electricity 24/7, whereas many areas have power for only part of each day. The real attraction of Terry's property is the view. It looks down on Samana Bay and is strikingly beautiful.

Back into the trucks and off to a coral church and a cigar factory. Terry keeps the local vendors happy by depositing groups of tourists at their doorstep. We got to watch cigar being hand rolled. We tried some sort of local drink that Domingo handed out. People bought some things, but there was no pressure whatsoever to do so. It was good for all.

Next came a ride further into the mountains to an area where we were given horses to ride to El Limon waterfall. These horses weren't much to look at, but they were tough sons of guns.

 

Oops, gotta go...will try to finish this report later...be patient.

[Darthdaddy]

Here's the rest of my account of our Samana excursion...

 

The horses that we rode to get to El Limon didn't look like much, but they were tough as nails. When I started researching this tour, my thought was that the horses were unnecessary. I expected a simple little kiddie ride. Boy, was I WRONG! The trail went up; the trail went down. The trail twisted and turned. It was muddy and strewn with rocks. I don't know how the poor horses did it. Had we tried to walk to the falls, it would have taken us all day. Each horse comes with a local guide. The guides get a tip at the end of the excursion. I thought this was little more than thinly veiled extortion. Once again, I was WRONG! These folks know how to work with the horses. They have a good sense of how much help each tourist needs. Prior to the trip, those of us from CC agreed that $5 would be an appropriate payment...more on that later.

 

A 40-minute ride got us to the top of El Limon---the highest waterfall in the Samana penninsula. The view from the top was great. We could see people swimming in the pool at the base of the falls, but how to get there? Our guides walked us down the trail to the base of the falls. At this point the trail seemed almost vertical, but everyone made it. Most of us made our way into the pool and splashed around. The water was cool, but not cold. Terry took groups of us behind the falls and into a cave...very cool! Some local guys were playing around doing back flips and diving from the 25'-35" up the sides of the falls. Clearly they knew what they were doing, but we all held our breath and hoped for the best every time one of them jumped.

 

Swim time over, we had to hile back up the trail. This was tough. I don't know how many steps it was, but I'm sure it was equal to anything we could have done on a step machine aboard the Pearl. Most of us were sucking air by the time we got back to the top of the falls. Local vendors had some trinkets for sale, but I don't think any of us bought anything. Back onto our trusty steeds...up steep slopes and down steep slopes. The horses know every step of the trail and it's a good thing. When we made it back to the start of the trail, we each gave our individual guides their tips. This is the only pay these people get. Despite having agreed in advance to pay $5 each, most, if not all, of us actually gave our guide a little more. As I said, before the trip I thought this was bogus. After the trip, my opinion was very different. These folks EARN their money.

 

At the trail head we were treated to a freshly prepared lunch. We had a choice of 5 hot entrees. Add a couple salads, fruit and fresh coffed and we were all set. This lunch exceeded all expectation.

 

By the time our meal was over, it was time to head back to town. Terry kept track of the time in order to assure that we would make the last tender.

 

We went on this excursion on Monday. Throughout the balance of the week, we bumped into others who took this tour. Without exception, we agreed that this excursion had been a total revelation. If you are looking for something really cool to do in Samana, consider Terry's tours. To quote Tony the Tiger, "They're GRRREAT!"

 

Others who were on the tour with us can toss their 2cents in, too.

 

At least right now, Terry Bandi does not have a web site. You can contact him at:

toursamanawithterry@hotmail.com