Independent tour guides???

[seb1104mom]

Haven't had much luck contacting solemaire. Thanks and recommendations?

[MAGNUM PI]

A couple of years ago, we hired a private local guide, for an all day tour of Curacao.

 

My family of four spent the day with her, as we explored many areas of the island.

 

As soon as we met her, my wife and daughters expressed a desire, to sample some

wonderful IGUANA SOUP! This caught me off guard, as this was the first I had ever

known of this interest. The local guide made many phone calls, during our tour, to

arrange for this delicacy to be served. Eventually we stopped at a tiny restaurant,;

my family devoured the iguana soup. I stuck with consuming one or two local beers!

 

The roads were very difficult to navigate, and was happy that I wasn't driving a rental

car. Places where it appeared to be intended, for road development, appeared to be at a standstill.

 

I had been interested in snorkeling from a beach, however the weather didn't cooperate

that day.

 

Some day I would like to return to Curacao, but it is not on very many ship itineraries.

[FormulaRacer]

Would not suggest Solimare at TreasureIslandTours. Appearently she is NOT a licensed tour operator, and is not allowed through the gates at the cruise port terminal in Curacao. We tried emailing her from the ship the day before the scheduled tour and she did not respond. When the ship docked, we had to ask several poeple that were selling tours if they knew of Solimare. They did and told us to walk to a certain area pass the main gate and wait for her. She showed up 30 minutes late. I don't think that she owns her own van, and rents or borrows one. The van she used was dangerous. The back tailgate door would not open, which was a safety concern if needed to exit the van. The seatbelts for the passengers were actually "cut out" of the seats, so there was no protection there. The van was old and woren, poor tires, and Solimare did not have a speaker system to narrate while driving. She had to make several stops turn around in her own seat and address the tourists. At one point she stopped on the large bridge with heavy traffic. She is a very fast driver, and somewhat scary to ride with in the van. We had a stop at the liquor distillery than she wanted to take us on a one hour drive to the other side of the island which was quite remote. At one point we all wanted to go back to the ship. She made a few more quick stops. Then after that we all requested as a group to go back to the ship, we had had enough. We did not compensate her for the amount she requested. Instead we all agreeed to pay her 30% less than what she wanted as all of us in the van complained....and total of 6 passengers.

 

I would suggest that when you book outside of the ships excursions you take a real chance of being disappointed. If the van would have broken down, we would have been in real trouble. If the van would have been in an accident from her fast and unreasonable driving, we would have been in trouble.

 

I suggest that if you want to see the isalnd of Curacao I would suggest a "licensed" tour operator. Check out the van for safety before you get in. Talk with the driver to make sure he or she has a plan and have then show you a map of the suggested route and determine exactly what attractions that you will stop and visit. Remember you are in a strange country, you know no one, and USA laws do not apply. Be extra careful on who you choose for the off-ship excursion. While prices may be slightly lower than a cruise ship excursion, in the long run, you may not get what you pay for anyway with the discount tour operator.

 

I would certainly suggest that you think twice about hiring this operator. Think safety and think about being in a foreign country (island) if something possibly goes wrong. In this case, at least our party of 6 made it back to the ship. But in some aspects of the tour we were not to sure we would make it back.

 

Enjoy your cruise and hopefully this post provides some insite into our experience with Solimare.