The cost for Beno's tour- WOW!

[spivey]

Hi,

I emailed Beno to ask about our tour in January and he quoted me a price of $960 for eight of us. That seems a bit much to me. Am I way off base? I've emailed several tour guides but he is the only one I've heard back from. What do you think?

Christie

[packandgo]

Hi,

I emailed Beno to ask about our tour in January and he quoted me a price of $960 for eight of us. That seems a bit much to me. Am I way off base? I've emailed several tour guides but he is the only one I've heard back from. What do you think?

Christie

 

It all depends on what you want to do. Are you just taking a scenic tour or are you doing an adventure tour which includes a scenic tour plus other activities such as hiking, river rafting, climbing the falls, etc?

[pholter]

It does seem high to me, but that's only because his regular tour is around $40 pp. He's losing 4 paying pp on the private tour for only 8. My guess is that he's arranged a much different tour for you including some entrance fees, going further away would increase his fuel costs- there could be alot of varients involved.

 

Why not email him back and ask the question??

[jegk1]

There must be some mistake because we just returned 2 days ago from a 12 day cruise on Explorer of the seas and used Beno when we were in Dominica. He provides a 4-5 hour excellent tour of the island for $40 pp. Did you use www.benox265@hotmail.com? I would try again and my email is jegk1@comcast.net if I can help you.

[Merv1]

As other posters stated, it depends on what you are doing. We just got back from a tour through Beno (we had another guide, not Beno himself). It was just me and my husband - we spent 8 hours with Desmond, traveled all over the island and it was $300.00 for just two of us - so at $150.00 per person, for what was a private tour, your price per person is less than what we paid - and you will basically be getting a private tour with your group of 8. Check with him about the specifics of where you will be going and what you will be doing. And then only you can decide if it is worth the price. If, after reviewing all of the information he provides, you think it is more than you are willing to spend, you can ask him to eliminate some stops to make the price cheaper, or you can try and find someone else who will do a similar tour for less. I would highly recommend him though...I don't think you will be sorry! Good luck, with whatever you decide! Mary :)

[Stillfloatin']

Just to clear this up: I checked with Beno and he said he mistakenly quoted $120 per person instead of $120 per couple. Before checking with Beno, spivey posted here on CC. Beno has since notified the prospective client (spivey) of the error. So there's the whole story: a simple human error. Hope this clears up any misconceptions. And remember, as others here posted, pricing varies with ALL tour guides depending on the type of tour, the time, the number of people, etc. If ever it sounds like a pricing error, it's best to check with the tour guide to get it cleared up. Remember, all these tour guides rely on correct info and good word-of-mouth for their livelihood.

 

In any case, enjoy Dominica. This is just an amazingly beautiful island. And you can't go wrong with Beno as your tour guide. We've used him twice and feel we really had a special experience both times.

[Aplmac]

I emailed Beno to ask about our tour in January

and he quoted me a price of $960 for eight of us.

That seems a bit much to me. ===> and me too!

Am I way off base? I've emailed several tour guides

but he is the only one I've heard back from. What do you think?

I think maybe he's quoting you the fair price in local E.C.Dollars(EC=Eastern Caribbean)

and if you're sucker enough to reckon that's U.S.Dollars,

and you pay up in U.S.Dollars

then he's cool with that, if you are! :D

 

Incidentally, E.C.$ 960 = somewhere in the vicinity of US$ 355.55

The exchange rate of the EC$ is 2.70 to 1 USD

and dividing 960 by 2.70 = 355.55

 

Maybe now 355 U.S.Dollars sounds more reasonable for the nine of you?

[Stillfloatin']

Beno, and any of the other legitimate tour guides in Dominica, always quote in U.S. dollars, never E.C. And they would not "be cool with that" if you mistakenly overpaid them. These men and women support their families with their tours and if they ever made a "sucker" out of a customer, they would soon be out of business. I find your response insulting to all the outstanding tour guides of Dominica. You obviously have never used their services and cannot appreciate their professionalism and high regard they hold for their customers.

[Aplmac]

Beno' date=' and any of the other legitimate tour guides in Dominica, [b']always[/b] quote in U.S. dollars, never E.C. And they would not "be cool with that" if you mistakenly overpaid them. These men and women support their families with their tours and if they ever made a "sucker" out of a customer, they would soon be out of business.

I find your response insulting to all the outstanding tour guides of Dominica. You obviously have never used their services and cannot appreciate their professionalism and high regard they hold for their customers.

My sincerest apologies, Sir/Madam.

I meant no offence.

I only implied a misunderstanding re. possible quotations in vastly-different dollar values.

 

Seems you're suggesting then,

that Mr./Mrs. Spivey should feel perfectly okay

about paying nearly one thousand United States Dollars

for a day tour for nine people. :eek:

 

I have no problem with that, even if Spivey does. :)

 

Have you lived in these islands for long?

 

_____________________________________________________

Incidentally, US$960 multiplied by 2.70(exchange rate to the E.Carib.Dollar)

= nearly two thousand six hundred ECDollars

but what the heck it's only money!

 

MY LAWYER DOESN'T MAKE THAT MUCH IN ONE DAY!

[AJs Grandpa]

I sent a note to Beno asking what he could offer for a tour. I mentioned one or two things we like to do. He came back with a quote of $140 per person. Further exchanges revealed a simple miscommunication. His quote was for a customized tour, and I was looking for a group tour. Once we got on the same page the price was $40 per person. Moral of the story--be sure you and he are talking about the same type tour.

[pholter]

My sincerest apologies, Sir/Madam.

I meant no offence.

I only implied a misunderstanding re. possible quotations in vastly-different dollar values.

 

Seems you're suggesting then,

that Mr./Mrs. Spivey should feel perfectly okay

about paying nearly one thousand United States Dollars

for a day tour for nine people. :eek:

 

I have no problem with that, even if Spivey does. :)

 

Have you lived in these islands for long?

 

_____________________________________________________

Incidentally, US$960 multiplied by 2.70(exchange rate to the E.Carib.Dollar)

= nearly two thousand six hundred ECDollars

but what the heck it's only money!

 

MY LAWYER DOESN'T MAKE THAT MUCH IN ONE DAY!

 

Stillfloatin' is a HUGE supporter of Dominica and stays in touch with the tour operators constantly as alot of folks who frequent the Dominica boards do. She never implied that the OP should be okay with paying the original quote, but only suggested that the OP contact Beno for clarification as did others. For any of us that know these guides, the OP would have the most spectacular day of their lives even if the charge was $960, but it was a miscommunication- simply.

 

I agree that they quote in US $$$ and I've never read otherwise here on CC at least.

 

BTW- I love your island as well :)

[kiki_81]

I think Beno must be offering you some special adventure tour for this price. You should communicate with him again, as I find the price on the high side. Incidentally, I found a real cool site offering Christmas Specials at 50% discount on their tours. It's at www.dominicacruisesite.com. The tour operator is Antours. Check it out if you are interested. It's for a limited time.

[kiraryker]

I just booked with Beno and even though this is our first cruise and I'm kinda leery about going on a private not ship sponsored tour (worried about missing the ship) I am glad to hear good comments about him and his tours - kinda puts my mind at ease.

[Stillfloatin']

I just booked with Beno and even though this is our first cruise and I'm kinda leery about going on a private not ship sponsored tour (worried about missing the ship) I am glad to hear good comments about him and his tours - kinda puts my mind at ease.

 

You will be very happy you booked a private tour when you see all the ship tour buses unload their zillions of customers. :D Also, don't concern yourself with missing the ship. Beno, and all the top tour guides, would never let that happen. It would be the end of their business and livelihood. If there were auto or any other type of problems, they would simply call for back up. The private tours are so personal and special - much superior to a ship excursion. Lucky you, wish I were going there also. Tell Beno hi from Monica and the gang! You've got an outstanding guide.

[kiraryker]

You will be very happy you booked a private tour when you see all the ship tour buses unload their zillions of customers. :D Also' date=' don't concern yourself with missing the ship. Beno, and all the top tour guides, would never let that happen. It would be the end of their business and livelihood. If there were auto or any other type of problems, they would simply call for back up. The private tours are so personal and special - much superior to a ship excursion. Lucky you, wish I were going there also. Tell Beno hi from Monica and the gang! You've got an outstanding guide.[/quote']

 

Thank you puts my mind at ease!!

[NoNoNanette]

I'll bet that Levi Baron from http://www.bumpiingtours.com will beat his price! AND, you'll have a better time. (I adore the guy!) :)

 

Shoot him an email at:

 

penny@cwdom.dm

[smitty3000]

I have to throw in my 2 cents for what it is worth. BENO is a great tour. Roads are curvy and I felt very safe. Island is beautiful and $40 pp is a great deal. We were there in October 2007 and ready to go back again. Happy Cruising!!!:)

[airlink diva]

I e-mail Beno earlier this week concerning a tour in late October. He quoted me $40 if I tour with a group or $100 if I tour alone.

He did stated that the price don't include all park fee which were very low (about $4).

I know that more people will join me so I think that $40 is a great price.

[Snackdaddy]

Greetings,

 

Beno quoted me a private tour rate of $50.00pp, for a group of 9 to 12 in January, 2009. Could it be that this is a 2009 rate? It still beats the cruise line.

[Stillfloatin']

I would ask him if his prices have increased or if this is something else just to clarify for you.