Beno or Reyno

[bdruzin]

My family will be visiting Dominca in December on Explorer of the Seas. I know that tours with both Beno and Reyno have been highly recommended. If anyone has information on both, or have done tours with each of them, which one would you recommend and why?

[Grammar Goddess]

Four of us toured Dominica with Beno on December 29th from the Sea Princess. We'd pre-booked. Beno promptly replies to emails, makes suggestions for tours, even sends a photo to identify him at the dock. His van is immaculate; he's courteous and knowledgeable and eager to please. It isn't possible to see Dominica without a local guide. The island is mountainous, covered with rainforests, and just gorgeous. Beno took us to the places we'd requested, Trafalgar Falls and Emerald Pool, as well as some beautiful spots that he knew, including a marvelous look-out of Roseau, our ship, and the Caribbean. Along the way, he stopped at a fruit stand with free samples, all-you-can-eat, of the most delicious fresh fruit I've ever eaten. Dominica was a highlight of our ten-island cruise, and Beno was the reason. benox265@hotmail.com Give him a try. You'll be glad you did. :)

 

GG

[kelmac]

Four of us toured Dominica with Beno on December 29th from the Sea Princess. We'd pre-booked. Beno promptly replies to emails, makes suggestions for tours, even sends a photo to identify him at the dock. His van is immaculate; he's courteous and knowledgeable and eager to please. It isn't possible to see Dominica without a local guide. The island is mountainous, covered with rainforests, and just gorgeous. Beno took us to the places we'd requested, Trafalgar Falls and Emerald Pool, as well as some beautiful spots that he knew, including a marvelous look-out of Roseau, our ship, and the Caribbean. Along the way, he stopped at a fruit stand with free samples, all-you-can-eat, of the most delicious fresh fruit I've ever eaten. Dominica was a highlight of our ten-island cruise, and Beno was the reason. benox265@hotmail.com Give him a try. You'll be glad you did. :)

 

GG

 

Thanks GG!

 

It was great to hear a recent review of Beno's excursion! My wife and I have signed up for his tour March 29th, on our Maasdam Spring Break cruise. Right now, we are the only two, but we hope to add additional couples/families as the cruise approaches.

How many people doe his van hold? This will be our second visit to Dominica, which is perhaps, the most beautiful island in the Caribbean!:)

 

Thanks,

Kel

[Grammar Goddess]

Hi,

 

I should have mentioned in my post that we actually had six for our Dominica tour. We met two charming sisters from England on our cruise. Since they had made no plans for Dominica, we invited them along, assuming Beno's permission. When we met him at the cruise dock, he very graciously agreed to take them, too, and they had a marvelous time, even emailed from England to comment on it again and to thank us! His van is large, roomy, very comfortable. My husband is 6'2" and he's always cramped, but Beno invited him to sit up front, and that was great! We had room not only for the six of us, but for our various backpacks, cameras, fanny packs, water bottles, hats . . . You just can't go wrong with Beno!! By the way, the tour cost us $50 each, and it lasted for about 5 hours.

 

Let me know if you have further questions. I love re-living the cruise excursions!

 

GG :)

[Stillfloatin']

Two years ago, thanks to cruisecritic recommendations, I had arranged for Augustine Pascal (just call him Bay-no), to be our tour guide for the day. We wanted to take advantage of the fact that Dominica is still an unspoiled beautiful under-developed rain forest island and really see the non-tourist part of the island before it gets discovered and all the condos are built, so Beno knew that we wanted to go to the Carib Indian territory which is on the northeast part of the island and requires about 2 hours of driving through the rain forest to get there.

 

The drive to the Carib territory was incredibly beautiful. Everything was so lush and green and colorful flowers grew wild everywhere. Beno told us all about the local flora and fauna, and he even identified some unusual birds for the bird-watcher in our group (and it wasn’t even boring for the rest of us!). For much of the ride, we followed alongside a stunning river, with frequent stops to get some great photos. Everything grows in this lush forest. We got some cool photos of bright red coffee beans on the trees, just growing wild by the road. But the best part was when we stopped at Moses’ home. Moses is a Carib that Beno has known for many years and he graciously shared his family history with us and explained the process of the weavings that are known world-wide for their unusual and distinctive patterns and technique. He had a few he sold to us and they are just amazing. Then, he and Beno went in to the forest and used their machetes to cut down some coconuts so we could get our first taste of “jelly juice” which is the sweet water that is only found in the young coconuts. Then, using the top of the coconut as a scoop, we were able to taste the coconut in its soft form. They also cut down ripe coconuts so we could refresh ourselves with the coconut water and then chew on fresh coconut pieces. Now THIS is why I love going on independent tours!

 

Finally, Beno had been telling us about the local “jing ping” music and we wanted to get a CD, so he took us to see “rasta man”, otherwise known as Loftus Emanuel, a local music promoter in Roseau. Between the 2 of them, they picked out some great CDs that we listened to on our portable CD player, out on the balcony as we sailed away from beautiful Dominica.

 

It was such an amazing day, we’ve booked him for our upcoming cruise in a month. We can’t wait to see what he has planned for us this time!

 

If you want to hire Beno benox265@hotmail.com.

[bdruzin]

Thanks for the info.It's much appreciated.

[DiamondDiva]

Last month we were on the Sun Princess and had a wonderful day with Reyno in Dominica. I had made all my arrangements with him by email (reynotour@hotmail.com) several months in advance, after he answered my original request for information in less than 24 hours. Because I have arthritis in my knees, some days are particularly hard for climbing and I had been very concerned about taking a ship's tour and not being able to see much, especially near the waterfalls.

 

We made arrangements for a van, with the agreement that there might be others coming with us if we found fellow cruisers, particularly folks from CC who we were meeting up with on the ship, who might be interested in joining us. The van could take up to 10. We did take with us a couple from our dining table, and a second CC couple joined us as well, for a total of 6. It was a very comfortable fit.

 

I knew our day would go well, for as we pulled away from the ship, she was covered from stem to stern by a lovely rainbow!

 

Reyno had assured me by email and again when he met us at the gate that my knee concerns could easily be addressed, as he knew of good stopping points on trails where I could view while others more nimble could go on, and he was right! A fellow passenger had back trouble that day and we both were offered help and viewing areas when the going got tough at both waterfalls we visited on opposite ends of Dominica. On the visit to the sulphur lake, the trail was very muddy and slippery, so we also chose to stop at an earlier viewpoint. At no time, however, did either of us feel that we were old-ladies. Kindness and fun words were always Reyno's way to deal with our difficulties. We made many extra stops that the ship's tour would not have gotten us to in the 5 hours we traveled.

 

The van was clean and neat and Reyno has the gift of gab. We heard many stories of the island and its history as well as many funny people-stories. Lots of stops along the way were made for gathering rain forest items, like cinnamon bark or lemon grass, for us to feel, for a short visit to the Carib natives, or for photo oppotunities. The terrain of Dominica is mountainous, with slick, narrow roads, and it rained lightly on and off all day (it is a rain forest!). But my husband, who rode in the front passenger seat and deals with big-city interstate traffic daily, said Reyno handled them beautifully and I had few worry moments. When one couple wanted to stay in town for a while before returning to the ship, Reyno offered to drop the others of us at the ship, run a few errands, and then return to town to bring them back to the Sun 90 minutes later, no charge.

 

One big advantage to a private tour in Dominica is getting to so many more places on the island than on a bus tour. Another is the chance to get to know a native of the area on a one-to-one basis. A third is to not be on a big bus on a small, windy, narrow road. A fourth is the ability to tailor the tour a bit to fit your needs (or knees!) And Reyno and his gorgeous island are an extra-special treat all on their own :-)

[bphawk64]

We will be doing a tour with Reyno in March 5th and he has been very helpful and prompt with setting everything up via email. Hopefully the tour will be as good as expected and I'll post a review when we return.

[cruisincarrie]

I'll jump in with my opinion of Reyno. We had an awesome day with him and Rosalind last week. One of the things that you might want to consider is that Reyno will make sure there is a tour guide in each of his vans. Many of the other companies (Beno, included, from what I understand), will just provide you with a driver who will provide the information. I'm sure that is still a good experience, but I can tell you that the information that Rosalind provided was wonderful and we would have missed out on a lot without her in the van. I haven't used Beno, but I can guarantee you that you won't go wrong with Reyno. We've joined his fan club :)

 

Carrie

[racingraysswimmom]

REYNO TOURS are awesome! He answered my emails quickly and answered my hundreds of questions promptly. I had a group of 35 with me and Reyno and his staff were very attentive, informative, and genuine with their love of their island. We were extremely happy with all aspects of his tour and recommend him highly. Our group ranged from small children to seniors. He took great care for each of us. You will have a great time with REYNO and his outstanding staff.:D

[bdruzin]

Seems like a 50-50 split and I am still undecided. I guess I can't go wrong with either one.

[pholter]

Seems like a 50-50 split and I am still undecided. I guess I can't go wrong with either one.

 

You are probably correct, but here's 1 more vote for Reyno Tours!! reynotours@hotmail.com

[Stillfloatin']

Many of the other companies (Beno, included, from what I understand), will just provide you with a driver who will provide the information.

 

Actually, Beno's drivers are personally trained by him to be knowledgable tour guides. They are all very familiar with the history of Dominica as well as the flora and fauna and special traditions, politics, you name it. The fact is, both Reyno and Beno have worked hard to earn their sterling reputations and neither of them will risk it with poorly trained guides to represent them. That's why we're using Beno again next month. We know we're in for a special treat. benox265@hotmail.com

 

No matter which one you choose, you are in for an amazing day on a very special island.:D

[cruisincarrie]

I was just trying to point out the difference between having just a driver or a driver PLUS a tour guide. I have taken many private tours on islands and I find that you will get more information with a guide in addition to the driver. It is easier to hear a guide when they are sitting with you than to just listen to the driver who needs to be facing forward to drive. For a similar price you will have two people to help you instead of one. I'm just trying to help point out something that might help them make a decision.

[bdruzin]

Your point seems to make a lot of sense.The only worry I have is that Reyno has a few bad reviews(along with very many good ones) while Beno has none.

[Stillfloatin']

I was just trying to point out the difference between having just a driver or a driver PLUS a tour guide. I have taken many private tours on islands and I find that you will get more information with a guide in addition to the driver. It is easier to hear a guide when they are sitting with you than to just listen to the driver who needs to be facing forward to drive. For a similar price you will have two people to help you instead of one. I'm just trying to help point out something that might help them make a decision.

 

Thank you for making the distinction. This is the first I've heard of Reyno adding a tour guide. Before, it's always just been him as a combo driver/guide.

[Stillfloatin']

Your point seems to make a lot of sense.The only worry I have is that Reyno has a few bad reviews(along with very many good ones) while Beno has none.

 

It's true that in the past 4 years Beno has been conducting tours, he has not received one bad review or even a small negative comment. His customer satisfaction is 100% to date. That speaks volumes to the special care he takes with EVERY SINGLE TOUR he books. Perfect service. No exceptions.

[Jeffcel]

We had a great tour with Reyno. I have posted a review.

 

He was prompt with his email replies. Everything about the tour was great.

 

I would highly recommend him.

[Stillfloatin']

I still say, go with the guy who has the perfect record of customer satisfaction and that's Beno. The other guys have had some bad reviews lately so there is no consistency and you may have a good tour and you may not if you choose one of them.

[elsje]

Thought I add a little note to the question Beno or Reno ~ we recommend RENO in a heart beat.

 

We took a tour with Reno last week and it was awesome ~ I have to agree that having a seperate tour guide available on the tour is a big PLUS. Rosalind was the best we have ever had on any tours in our entire life. She was well educated and spoke very good English.

 

We picked RENO but we could have easily picked BENO ~ somehow we picked RENO out of all the wonderful posts and we did not regret it. I do not think this is a contest between either of them. Whoever you pick hope it will be the tour you expect it to be.

 

In St. Lucia we at first picked COSOL tours and there were some bad reviews also but I tend to ignore them when there a just a few. There are so many people you just can not please. However we ended up with Fabian instead because of a friend of ours booked with him and we decided to go together.

Fabian was good too but he was the guide as well and we could not always understand him and we did not nearly get the tour narration we got from Reno's tour guide Rosalind.

 

We were on the Carnival Destiny ~ there sre lots of mixed reviews about that ship as well as the Sun Princess ~ and the Celebrity Galaxy. If I had to go by the negative reviews of those ships I would have never picked them, but I am glad I cruised all three of them and thoroughly enjoying all my 5 cruises these past two years.

 

good luck on deciding who you will tour with ~ Els