A good independent tour in Dominica

[KnightsofColumbus]

Does anyboyd know any good independent tours in Dominica? Please let me know what the price is and give a website.

 

Thanks a lot!

[Scarlotte]

There is another thread in which CC members dscuss indep tours. check this out http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=865920 I think the title is cab costs something somethings

[LEESRE]

Would also recommend Bumping Tours Levi BARON. Just do a Google search on Dominica and Bumping Tours and you will come up with his web site.

All day tour costs around 45 dollars per person and you tailor make it to suit you.

[cantstayhome]

We just visited Dominica last week and used Owen Wilson of http://owentours.com/info.php. His name is not mentioned much on here ( I actually only found it once) but he was a good guide for the day. He charged 50.00 each (200.00 for 4) and said the more people in your group the cheaper the rate per person. As we searched for him at the pier, other tour guides tried to tell us he no longer was in business, but he most certainly was. They just wanted our business instead of Owen! He said that's pretty typical.

 

He took us to Trafalgar falls, Wotten Waven, Morne Bruce, Botanical gardens, Soufriere/Scotts Head and then Champagne reef as our final stop. He left it up to us how long we wanted to snorkel, so really he was at our disposal for the entire day. We came back in plenty of time to walk around the market and be on board the ship long before departure.

 

The only thing to watch is when you stop to buy your entrance tickets for the various stops, he had us buy a week pass, which he said would save us money, but the only place that punched our ticket was at the falls. Everything else was a free entrance. We paid too much money for that ticket - should have only paid $2.00 to walk in.

 

He was a very polite young man trying to establish a tour guide business. We would definitely use him again.

[LEESRE]

Would also recommend Bumping Tours Levi BARON. Just do a Google search on Dominica and Bumping Tours and you will come up with his web site.

All day tour costs around 45 dollars per person and you tailor make it to suit you.

 

Please note that Bumping tours prices included all entrance fees we did not have to spend anything else.

Very good value for money.

 

Also no searching for him at the pier he told us via email where he would be and he was there well before time.

[kiraryker]

We took a tour in January with Beno - wonderful!!! It was such a memorable experience - I believe it was $40 per person but worth much more - Can't say enough about it. benonaturetours.com

[Abberboo]

We took a tour in January with Beno - wonderful!!! It was such a memorable experience - I believe it was $40 per person but worth much more - Can't say enough about it. benonaturetours.com

 

Hi kiraryker, of the list of things beno nature tours does, do you remember which of these below you did? Which one was $40 and did you book in advance or just when you got off the ship?

 

These are from their website you posted which thank you again for posting:

 

Fresh Water Lake

Middleham Falls

Glassy Trail - featured tour

Trafalgar Falls

Morne Trois Pitons National Park

Botanical Gardens

Panoramic view of the city & newly built Dominica Stadium

Rain Forest

Plantation Areas

Snorkeling at Champagne Reef

Carib Territory

Carib Model Village

Ti Tou Gorge

[fridaythe13th]

I just posted this response under another thread but some may not read it there. I'm also researching independent tours and got replies from Beno and Bumpiing.

 

I emailed Beno and got a reply. I asked specifically a tour to include Carib Village, Emerald Pool and Jacko Falls. For 6 people he quoted me $400 for 4-5 hours plus $5 pp entry fee per site for the pools.

 

Bumpiing quoted me 6-7 hours for the same stops for $60 pp ($360) plus the $5 pp site fee. He specifically stated they would be available so we wouldn't have to stand in line. It didn't sound like they were included as another posted said.

 

Do these fees seem a little high to anyone else but me? I've been on other island tours recently for $30 pp.

[fridaythe13th]

Asked Bumpiing about an alternate tour which would be 4.5-5.5 hours and no Carib Village but Trafalgar Falls, Emerald Pool, Botanical Garden, Mr. Nice Fruit Stand, Sulphur Springs, Morne Bruce (photo stop) and site passes included for $50pp.

[kiraryker]

Asked Bumpiing about an alternate tour which would be 4.5-5.5 hours and no Carib Village but Trafalgar Falls, Emerald Pool, Botanical Garden, Mr. Nice Fruit Stand, Sulphur Springs, Morne Bruce (photo stop) and site passes included for $50pp.

 

 

 

This sounds like the tour we took from Beno - it was $40pp in January - and it was just wonderful so much to see and I took the best pictures/videos on this tour

[timetraveler9]

We used Pepper of Peppers Tours last week and he was excellent. Could not have been happier. As I did lots of research before our trip I found he had lots of positive testamonials from past clients and the most affordable rates on the island. He charges $140-$160 per day for 1-4 people. That is ** for the day** not per person. I was shocked at some of the prices I saw quoted by other guides. I visited Owen Wilson's website when planning our trip and found him to be very expensive. Pepper has been certified as a tour guide and has a good reputation.

 

Pepperscottage.com

askpepper@pepperscottage.com

phone 767-616-4321 or 767-245-1234 (no need to dial a country code or 011 when calling from the U.S.)

[fridaythe13th]

We used Pepper of Peppers Tours last week and he was excellent. Could not have been happier. As I did lots of research before our trip I found he had lots of positive testamonials from past clients and the most affordable rates on the island. He charges $140-$160 per day for 1-4 people. That is ** for the day** not per person. I was shocked at some of the prices I saw quoted by other guides. I visited Owen Wilson's website when planning our trip and found him to be very expensive. Pepper has been certified as a tour guide and has a good reputation.

 

Pepperscottage.com

askpepper@pepperscottage.com

phone 767-616-4321 or 767-245-1234 (no need to dial a country code or 011 when calling from the U.S.)

 

Thanks so much. I went to the website but it said not to enter as it was infected. I will drop him an email.

[mtnmommy]

My parents Emailed me from the Maasdam today and wanted me to post how much they enjoyed their Dominica tour with Owen Wilson of Owen Tours. They toured the Carib Village and the Botanical Gardens and went hiking. They said Owen was the best guide they had ever had (and they're pretty picky!)--a very personable and polite young man. Very flexible and tailored the tour exactly to their interests. They left a present for my daughter in his car, and he even returned it to the ship for them. Definitely would use him again.

[lakbury]

We were with Levi Baron last week. We did the Roseau Valley Best Tour. We first hiked to Middleham Falls and back. The second stop was to Trafalgar Falls; then to Titou Gorge; then to Wotten Waven Sulphur Springs. You could go on to Champagne Reef but nobody on our bus wanted to do that. We were all very tired from a full day of hiking and driving.

We payed $60 cash per person. There were 2 van loads that pretty much stayed together all day.

The great thing about Levi is that he does the hike and everything with you. The other driver did not get wet. Levi swims with you in gorge and is very personable and knowledgable. We really enjoyed our day with him but our calf muscles were screaming the next day. The hike to Middleham Falls is up and down; slippery; over roots; over rocks; through the water.

I highly recommend wearing closed toed, water type sandals. Like Keen or Merrill as you need the support of a shoe but you also will be in water.

It was definitely a highlight of our cruise.

Lastly, Levi was very easy to find. The directions are very specific for locating his tour and his vans are very nice.

[Terri~Colorado]

We just got back from Dominica and we absolutely loved it! It was our favorite island on the Southern Caribbean cruise. (HAL Noordam)

 

We were a party of 6 people and we used Beno of Beno Nature Tours.

I just can't say enough good things about Beno - he was fantastic.

 

He has a very nice air-conditioned van and he's an excellent driver. As you will see - in Dominica an excellent driver is a requirement!!!

 

He took us to Titou Gorge and Champagne Reef and to see a black sand beach and shopping for machetes! (My husband and son had to have real machetes!)

 

Beno had us to those destinations way before any crowds showed up. He meets you at the end of the pier and leads you to his van which is intentionally parked a little ways from all the traffic. After a very short walk - you're on your way ahead of the crowds on the pier.

 

Beno was funny and personable and knew so very much about his island. He was so willing to take us anywhere we wanted to go at anytime.

 

I highly recommend Beno.

Just email him and he will take good care of you!

 

Beno Pascal <bnpascal@gmail.com>

www.benonaturetours.com

[ronswife]

lakbury, we are thinking about the same tour and will also have 2 vans, 18 people. What time did you start and what time did you return to the ship? Also, do you remember what time you reached Trafalgar Falls? We are considering having 1 van do other things and meet us at the Trafalgar and then do the rest of the trip together as not all of us may be up to the hike to Middleham, but not sure if the timing would allow us to do it that way.

[lakbury]

I know we got off the ship a little after 8. We went to the meeting place and waited for awhile for everyone (including Levi) to arrive. It was the first day back to school and traffic was bad so he was running a little late.

 

We then drove to the parking area for the hike into Middleham Falls. We waited for the second van to arrive. The roads are very narrow, hilly and sometimes downright frightening but Levi is an excellent driver. There was road construction and the second van got caught in it.

 

The hike to the falls seemed to take a long time. It is supposed to be less than 2 miles in which doesn't sound like very far but it is steep, winding, full of roots, rocks and water. It's beautiful and it rains and you get wet. Levi stopped quite often to keep the group together; point things out; and let people rest.

 

Once we got to the falls we took pictures; some climbed down to the pool and swam across to the platform to jump in under the falls. They were crazy! Then we started back at our own pace with Levi being the last one out. It seemed to go faster coming out than going in. I didn't wear a watch that day so I have no idea what time we were done there.

 

I highly recommend that you bring a snack bar; fruit or other food for when you get back. We were all feeling like we needed a little bit to eat. Levi provided water, beer, soda out of a cooler in his van. What we didn't know was that bathrooms were going to be nonexistent for the day. There are bathrooms at the parking area to start to Middleham but they were out of order and had been for 3 weeks. The last place Woven Springs had bathrooms but you had to pay $1 to use. By that time is was well worth the $ for my 17 year old!

 

I'm sure Levi will work with you to do whatever you want to do. He mentioned many times that this was not a cruise ship tour and we were going to go at our own pace.

 

We returned to the ship about 3:30 I believe. He would have taken us on to Champagne but because nobody wanted to snorkel he took up a hill to an overlook for pix and then back to the ship.

 

When I say we had two vans I meant that Levi had two vans. We were just 4 people mixed in with others that had requested the same tour. Many were from our roll call. You can email me if you have other questions.

[massfriends]

lakbury, we are thinking of doing the same tour. What do you think if we wore some old sneaker's to do the tour. We don't have hiking sandals or shoe's. Do you think the sneakers would work out ok.....we don't care if they get wet...we'll just can them after the tour.

Is the hike to Middleham falls really bad??? Would you do it again???

Thanks in advance.....:)

[sneupy]

Just back from cruising the caribbean. On our visit to Dominica, we took a tour with www.benonaturetours.com This was my second time touring with Beno Nature tours, his driver Joseph and nephew Brandon were both polite and knowledgeable. One our way to the falls we stopped at Mr. Nice fruit stand to sample some of the local fruits. We saw most of the points of interest and was never rushed. Brandon showed us lemon grass and cinnamon, used by locals to make tea. We also saw a school bus crushed by a tree during a past hurricane. This tour was one of the highlights of the cruise.

 

I highly recommened this tour!

[idance]

Does anyboyd know any good independent tours in Dominica? Please let me know what the price is and give a website.

 

Thanks a lot!

 

My husband went with Beno tours in Oct. 2007. It was a wonderful tour of the island with all the falls, ponds, etc. We would highly recommend this tour. His website is www.benonaturetours.com. He doesn't quote a price but I remember it was around $50. each. Use his gmail account to correspond with him as he is currently having problems with his hotmail account.

[lakbury]

We would do the hike again no problem. It has parts that are steep up and downs and the surface is very uneven with roots and rocks. Having said that - everyone has a different idea of difficulty. While our legs had a good work out we really enjoyed the beauty of the hike.

 

Certainly an old pair of shoes would work. I know that people that had on tennis shoes were trying to avoid getting them wet and dirty. It did rain and the trail was muddy in spots. On a different day it might be drier and less of a problem.

[skymiles94]

We (a group of 5) went with Beno on December 22nd. It was absolutely fantastic! Not enough good things can be said about Beno. His knowledge of the island, his personality, and his driving skills are all top notch.

 

I will go with Beno again next trip to the beautiful island of Dominica!

[phinfan63]

We just got back from Dominica and we absolutely loved it! It was our favorite island on the Southern Caribbean cruise. (HAL Noordam)

 

We were a party of 6 people and we used Beno of Beno Nature Tours.

I just can't say enough good things about Beno - he was fantastic.

 

He has a very nice air-conditioned van and he's an excellent driver. As you will see - in Dominica an excellent driver is a requirement!!!

 

He took us to Titou Gorge and Champagne Reef and to see a black sand beach and shopping for machetes! (My husband and son had to have real machetes!)

 

Beno had us to those destinations way before any crowds showed up. He meets you at the end of the pier and leads you to his van which is intentionally parked a little ways from all the traffic. After a very short walk - you're on your way ahead of the crowds on the pier.

 

Beno was funny and personable and knew so very much about his island. He was so willing to take us anywhere we wanted to go at anytime.

 

I highly recommend Beno.

Just email him and he will take good care of you!

 

Beno Pascal <bnpascal@gmail.com>

www.benonaturetours.com

 

Terri ~ do you recall what the fee was for 6 people? We will be there in March and we also have a group of 6.

 

Thanks!

[swimmer_steph]

You have no idea how happy I am to have found this thread! I had no idea what to do on Dominica until five minutes ago.

 

I just emailed Beno in the hopes he'll be able to accommodate us in April.

 

Has anyone done a two-person tour w/Beno Tours and if so, can you tell me about the experience/cost? It's just my husband and myself...

 

Thanks again for this info; I'm psyched!

[kiraryker]

My hubby and I were on a tour with Beno but there were others in the van - but you know that actually added to the tour - there were some crazy older women that were just hillarous!!! We had a blast.