A good independent tour in Dominica

[DianeMMHH]

We were in Dominica on 2/7/09 and did the Roseau Valley Treasure tour with Levi Baron. He was very attentive, never left us alone. We met him early and he had us to Titou Gorge before anyone else arrived. Then on the Trafalgar Falls before the crowds got there. I would highly recommend going with Levi. Be sure to wear good shoes, I had Keen sandals and they were great. Lots of walking and climbing even on the less strenuous tours.

 

Go and have a great time. Enjoy it. It was wonderful......best excursion!!!!

[Boricruiser]

Hi Dianne!

 

Can you tell me more about keen sandals? Where did you bought them? What style are them...Newport ? Should I buy them a size larger? ( I have a wide 10.5 size) My concern is about my feet ostheoarthritis and bunions. (toes).

 

Was Titou Gorge swimming in scary? Is climbing and hiking too strenuous in Trafalgar Falls and Emerald Pool? We are in our mid 50's!! (not too fit).:rolleyes:

 

Did Levi took you to Fruit Stand? How much did he charged you for the day? (party of ??). I booked with him for $47.00 - Rosseau Valley Treasure and Champagne Reef(April 5). Did you go to the beach?

 

How about Grenada and Aruba excursions???:confused:

 

Thanks for your help!

[wongcruisers]

My husband and I visited Dominica on February 2nd on the Celebrity Summit. We booked a private tour with Pepper - askpepper@pepperscottage.com. Pepper is a fantastic tour guide and the tour far exceeded our expectations. Our boat docked at 7 am and at the last minute our ship was sent to a different cruise terminal. Pepper had arrived early to meet us - figured out that the ship was docking at a different terminal and was waiting for us on time at the new terminal when we got off the boat at 7:30 am. Pepper suggested that we meet early so we could get ahead of the crowds and see as much of the island as possible. He took us to every site we requested - and a few more. When he met us, he gave us a traditional island fruitcake that his girlfriend had baked. It was delicious - and it was so nice to taste a traditional island food. Pepper took us to every place we requested: the Botanical Gardens, Trafalgar Falls, Freshwater Lake, the Emerald Pool and Mr. Nice's Fruit Stand. He also made suggestions of other things he thought we would enjoy based on our interests. I told him we liked to hike so he suggested we go to Middleham Falls - and he provided me with a walking stick since there are a lot of wet and slippery rocks. He also took us to meet his mom, and to his home where he gave us a tour of the vacation apartments he rents out at a very reasonable rate. At the end of the day, we wanted to use the internet so Pepper dropped us off at an internet cafe just a couple blocks from our ship. When we tried to use the internet, it was closed so we went back outside, planning to walk to another one, but Pepper was there waiting for us - just making sure everything was okay with the internet. He told us to hop back in the car and he would drive us to another one. This was after we had paid him. I cannot say enough positive things about Pepper. He puts his heart into his business and goes way beyond the norm for a guide. He spent the entire day with us - from 7:30 - 5:00, and the charge was a very reasonable $160. The next time we are Dominica we will definitely use Pepper.

[nikita]

Hi Dianne!

 

Can you tell me more about keen sandals? Where did you bought them? What style are them...Newport ? Should I buy them a size larger? ( I have a wide 10.5 size) My concern is about my feet ostheoarthritis and bunions. (toes).

 

Was Titou Gorge swimming in scary? Is climbing and hiking too strenuous in Trafalgar Falls and Emerald Pool? We are in our mid 50's!! (not too fit).:rolleyes:

 

Did Levi took you to Fruit Stand? How much did he charged you for the day? (party of ??). I booked with him for $47.00 - Rosseau Valley Treasure and Champagne Reef(April 5). Did you go to the beach?

 

How about Grenada and Aruba excursions???:confused:

 

Thanks for your help!

 

We just returned yesterday from our cruise. On Friday we did the "Best" tour with Levi. The hike to Middleham was strenuous - a lot of up and down, steep hills, and walking on rocks and roots etc. If you aren't in good shape I would advise not going on this tour. I thought I was in good shape but it was hard for me as my knee started to hurt on the way back down (think its a bit of arthritis as my mom suffered from this). But I must say I enjoyed it anyways and glad we did it. We are 53 and 52 and exercise regularly. All the other places you go are very easy to get to - the warm pools though you have to walk over some rocks to get into the water so might be a bit challenging but doable I think. As for Keen sandals. They are readily available online and they were invaluable to me on this hike. They supported my feet better then any shoe has ever done - and I used to think Merrills were comfortable but Keens are even better. But if you aren't doing the Middleham Falls hike I don't think you would really need to invest your money if you have some comfortable walking shoes already. Let me know if you have any other questions. I hope this info helped.

[nikita]

Hi Dianne!

 

Can you tell me more about keen sandals? Where did you bought them? What style are them...Newport ? Should I buy them a size larger? ( I have a wide 10.5 size) My concern is about my feet ostheoarthritis and bunions. (toes).

 

Was Titou Gorge swimming in scary? Is climbing and hiking too strenuous in Trafalgar Falls and Emerald Pool? We are in our mid 50's!! (not too fit).:rolleyes:

 

Did Levi took you to Fruit Stand? How much did he charged you for the day? (party of ??). I booked with him for $47.00 - Rosseau Valley Treasure and Champagne Reef(April 5). Did you go to the beach?

 

How about Grenada and Aruba excursions???:confused:

 

Thanks for your help!

 

I just figured out I didn't answer some of your questions. I did not go into the water at Titou Gorge as I am not a fan of cold water and this water was cold. My DH went in though and he said it wasn't scary but most people should wear the belts (floating devices) they provide because the swimming gets you more tired then you would think. He was ok - but noticed a few struggling.

 

We didn't go to the fruit stand but there were fruit stands available in some areas where you could purchase fruit but I'm thinking you are meaning the famous fruit stand? We didn't make it to Champagne Reef but if you are doing the Rosseau Valley Treasure tour it does not include Middleham falls so you can more then likely fit it in. We just ran out of time and the traffic got bad so Levi didn't think it was wise to try and fit it in.

[Boricruiser]

Nikita:

 

Thanks so much for replying to my questions. One more thing ...did take any tour in Grenada, Bonaire and Aruba? Suggestions?

[nikita]

Nikita:

 

Thanks so much for replying to my questions. One more thing ...did take any tour in Grenada, Bonaire and Aruba? Suggestions?

 

In Aruba we took the city bus to Palm beach and spent the day. Rented a lounge chair (I think it was $12 for the day) and there was a restaurant where we got some drinks but it got mobbed as there really weren't many there - we were surprised not many places to eat and drink at Palm beach like many had said there were. We walked the whole beach and I think we only saw two restaurants. But the beach was beautiful.

 

In Bonaire my DH went diving (with ships excursion) and I had planned on taking the independant snorkel tour on the Woodwind...but I didn't find the the person who was supposed to meet me and missed the tour. Oh well. I didn't go far enough out the gate and waited too long inside - it was kind of confusing as there were two gates and I didn't realize this. If you book any independant tours you must go out the security gates because they don't allow them inside - very important clue to doing independant tours!! I heard The Woodwind is a nice snorkel tour. At least I did not have to pay for it since they did not require a deposit up front.

 

In Grenada DH went diving again and I got a facial on the ship and hung out there. When he returned we walked through the town...I was not impressed. We were mobbed by vendors as soon as we walked out of the port area. We did end up having fun though - we were at a little restaurant and met up with some other people on our ship and had fun with them so it worked out.

 

Sorry - I don't think what "I" did will help you out much. If you have any other questions about anything let me know. If you decide to use the public bus on Aruba as we did let me know as I have a few other pointers. Enjoy!!

[kruznkanuk]

Hi,

Another good option is Antours. We had a wonderful time with them in November, professional and safety conscious. The only issue we had was that it was Christ the King Sunday and our driver would rather have been in church with his family... but he was still professional about it, just not as enthusiastic. However, the Antours organization is top notch and I got the impression they have lots of backup so if there is a breakdown or accident they would have good options to be sure you don't miss your boat.

[rjscott]

Hi,

However, the Antours organization is top notch and I got the impression they have lots of backup so if there is a breakdown or accident they would have good options to be sure you don't miss your boat.

 

 

Glad you mentioned this, Kruznkanuk. A lot of people want to wait until they get off the ship and just grab a taxi to do an island tour. They may get lucky and have a great tour and return to the ship without incident. But, on an island like Dominica, these sites are at a fair distance from each other, and the roads cannot be traveled at a high rate of speed. These tour operators that do this on a daily basis, like your operator, and like Reyno Tours, which we've used, know the roads quite well, and have other vehicles to call upon if there is a breakdown or other incident, so that passengers can relax and feel comfortable in knowing that they will be returned to the port in time for sailaway. That peace of mind is very important to me and my husband.