Tour With Woody Reviews?

[alwayslisad]

Just arrived home from a 10 day Emerald Princess cruise (3/8 through 3/18) one of our islands we visited was Dominica. I cannot express in words the BEAUTY of this island. It was breathtaking in my opinion and the people we met have me wanting to go right back.

 

I had booked "off the beaten path" with Woody about a year ago and have to rave about this tour. He met us as our ship was cleared and we went on a small walk to his Land Rover :) while we walked he explained downtown Dominica and some history - great start.

 

There were a total of 4 of us on this tour and Woody. As we drove around (over 125 miles we covered!!) Woody gave us a history of the island and the people as we drove through each of the small communities on the East and West side of Dominica. Woody is VERY well known in Dominica and that bodes well for the people touring with him - we were greated at many stops with Big smiles and genuine happiness.

 

As we toured Woody showed us many places where Pirates of the Carribean was filled. That was exciting to me as POC is one of my favorites.

 

Our Land Rover tour brought us to many places the tour buses cannot - which was so exciting - Woody brought us to a remote beach where we sunned ourselves / played in the waves / had an amazing lunch and just became wonderful friends.

 

If anyone is looking for more information please feel free to email me with questions - and also read some of the information on Woody's site -

 

My rating is a 10 out of 10 for this tour......I WILL be back - and I will take this tour again! no question about it!!!!

 

Woody if you do get the chance to read this - You are an amazing man - and thank you for being YOU!!!

 

http://woodydominica.shutterfly.com/

[kchobbs]

Just arrived home from a 10 day Emerald Princess cruise (3/8 through 3/18) one of our islands we visited was Dominica. I cannot express in words the BEAUTY of this island. It was breathtaking in my opinion and the people we met have me wanting to go right back.

 

I had booked "off the beaten path" with Woody about a year ago and have to rave about this tour. He met us as our ship was cleared and we went on a small walk to his Land Rover :) while we walked he explained downtown Dominica and some history - great start.

 

There were a total of 4 of us on this tour and Woody. As we drove around (over 125 miles we covered!!) Woody gave us a history of the island and the people as we drove through each of the small communities on the East and West side of Dominica. Woody is VERY well known in Dominica and that bodes well for the people touring with him - we were greated at many stops with Big smiles and genuine happiness.

 

As we toured Woody showed us many places where Pirates of the Carribean was filled. That was exciting to me as POC is one of my favorites.

 

Our Land Rover tour brought us to many places the tour buses cannot - which was so exciting - Woody brought us to a remote beach where we sunned ourselves / played in the waves / had an amazing lunch and just became wonderful friends.

 

If anyone is looking for more information please feel free to email me with questions - and also read some of the information on Woody's site -

 

My rating is a 10 out of 10 for this tour......I WILL be back - and I will take this tour again! no question about it!!!!

 

Woody if you do get the chance to read this - You are an amazing man - and thank you for being YOU!!!

 

http://woodydominica.shutterfly.com/

 

Great to hear, we have him booked on our cruise starting next week on the Star. Of all the reviews of excursions with Woody, his keeps on coming back with nothing but rave reviews. We can't wait.

[gui888]

I have tried his email and website, but have had no response.:mad: Anybody toured with him latlely?

[gui888]

Well, never mind. I got a response last night, he is still available!:D

[Cruisedreamer1]

Type in his name Woody Dominica and write a message to him. He is on Facebook almost everyday. He is the BEST(tour in March 2011).

[tnsail]

We were looking at some of our old cruise photos last evening and came across the most beauiful pictures of Dominica again... What a wonderful day we spent with Woody... I was just wondering if he is still conducting tours???? Talked really late into the night about finding a cruise ship that still went to Dominica just to spend another day in the "real Caribbean"...

 

 

Joey & Pat

[mrspaper]

Yes, Woody is still doing tours. I know Princess goes to Dominica. I'm sure several others do, too

[tnsail]

Yes, Woody is still doing tours. I know Princess goes to Dominica. I'm sure several others do, too

 

 

Thanks.... We are going to have to expand our cruising lines soon away, would be a great way of doing it to spend another fun filled day with Woody... ;)

 

Joey & Pat

[Sunseeker11]

Celebrity Summit goes to Dominica. I was just talking to Woody about a tour for our cruise in January!

[wurmine]

We toured with him twice- last time in april 2012- and absolutly loved it! He went to Athens due to his work for the olympic comitee , so maybe this is the reason you did not get a response. Usually he is very fast :) I can highly recommend a tour with him. We had a blast.

[jacksmom09]

Just wondering if there are any more recent reviews?

[cruisegirl29]

Just wondering if there are any more recent reviews?

 

If your on Facebook search woody Dominica... I toured about 3 years ago & still keep in touch with him! Awesome tour...awesome tour guide! You won't have any regrets!

 

Happy sailing...

Sue

[kenish]

We booked a private tour through Woody, based on this thread. It was great; we are interested in nature, history, and culture and Woody catered to that. At the beginning of the tour and during the tour we were given options on where and what to do next. As others mentioned, Woody is known all over Dominica and it seemed like locals provided us with more "perks".

 

Some very minor things- he does not have permits to visit the "mainstream" sites like Emerald Pools...so he visits alternate sites. The benefit is they are not crowded with buses and tourists. Also, he is keenly interested in politics...we had interesting conversation but if you don't wish to engage in that, just let him know.

 

I highly recommend Woody and Off the Beaten Path.

[mizLORInj]

Did an island tour with Woody and his other guides, Tannah (?) and driver Augie, and all of us enjoyed each stop. Note you will get snacks only so you may want to pick up something more substantial. We snacked and then ate when we got back on the ship.

They serve a good rum punch and some local beer which was good too.

Edited March 26, 2013 by mizlorinj

[lul8]

In researching what to do while on a cruise stop in Dominica, I came across many reviews raving about Woody. Based on the reviews, I booked an all-day excursion for 4 adults far in advance. I’m glad I booked it when I did because, as the cruise got closer, everyone on our Cruise Critic roll call was talking about wanting to book an excursion with him, but we were the only lucky ones who got to go that day.

He met us right on time, exactly where he said he’d be, with a clearly marked sign. He took us to his Land Rover (the only one on the island). It was great for being able to see the views and for off-roading. On other islands, the shape of the vehicle made it very hard to see and the tires and shocks were not sufficient for the road conditions, but neither were the case here.

Woody took us up into the mountains and to our first stop at Jaco Falls. It was a beautiful waterfall with steps and a handrail for easy access. There were also people selling local wares and there was a bathroom. Many people asked whether we had seen more “popular” sites such as the Emerald Pool, Trafalgar Falls or Titou Gorge. We didn’t, but we much preferred not being surrounded by hundreds of other tourists. In fact, I think we only saw other tourists once in passing.

That’s why Woody’s excursion is called “Off the Beaten Trail” and that’s why we booked it.

Woody also brought a cooler filled with rum punch, local beer and water, as well as snacks. From the falls, we went further into the mountains and stopped at Mr. Nice’s fruit stand. He had a bunch of pineapple and coconut and other fruits to try and did a demonstration of juicing sugar cane. But more than the fruit, Mr. Nice is a hoot – a definite experience not to miss.

From there, Woody took us off-roading and down to the base of the Layou River, where we could look around, put our feet in the water and enjoy some snacks and drinks.

Then we proceeded to the coast and stopped at Mero beach. It was only for a quick bathroom stop, but it was nice to see the black sand at this beach. We kept going up the coast and ended up at a semi-private beach outside of Portsmouth, where we stayed and swam for a couple hours. There was not another person there. It was great! On the way back to the ship, we stopped at a hotel on the water and saw a bunch of iguanas.

Throughout the day, Woody gave us a ton of interesting information about Dominica’s history, culture, environment, economy, politics, etc. It was informative, exciting and relaxing. We will absolutely recommend Woody to our friends and will book him when we go back in the future.

[bplazo]

We took this excursion last week with Woody and had a fabulous time.

[cruisinnewfy]

we are returning to the Caribbean and made sure we stop in Dominica to go out with Woody again. Yes, you read that correctly. One of the requirements of the cruise we booked 4was it had to have a stop in Dominica.

[cakerbakermom]

we are returning to the Caribbean and made sure we stop in Dominica to go out with Woody again. Yes, you read that correctly. One of the requirements of the cruise we booked 4was it had to have a stop in Dominica.

 

How was your communication prior to the trip with Woody? I am taking two young children and really hoping to get a big picture of what we might be doing -- like exactly what spots does he go to? How would kids under 9 handle this trip? Is there a lot of walking, climbing in unsafe places? I like to read reviews and hear about other's experiences. Hoping someone who has gone recently would chime in :)

[bplazo]

Woody is great and keeps in touches with you and he is also on Facebook. Your children would be fine with this excursion.

Edited June 19, 2013 by bplazo

[lul8]

Your children will be fine. There was almost no walking. There was no dangerous climbing. At Jaco Falls, there are stairs and a railing. I found him to be very responsive, especially on Facebook.

[cakerbakermom]

Your children will be fine. There was almost no walking. There was no dangerous climbing. At Jaco Falls, there are stairs and a railing. I found him to be very responsive, especially on Facebook.

 

Thanks for your responses. We have been on some fun and challenging excursions as adults, and just wanted to make sure this is good for kids. I appreciate those who have taken the time to reassure me :)

[wurmine]

We toured with Woody twice with our children (2 and 6 at one time) and we all had a wonderful time. We would always book with Woody again. My children still speak about him :)

[PattyG12]

Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions. I've just contacted Woody to see what his current rates are and what he offers. Gosh I love Cruise Critic!!

[cruisegirl29]

He is the best!!! Tell him cruisegirl29 said so!!! Seriously out of 16 cruises his tour was the best!! Amazing experience like no other your. You can find him on FB woody Dominica

[jollycruise]

Here's my brief review I left on another thread:

 

Hello! We did our tour with Woody and it was fantastic! I did research prior to our cruise and found out that he books up fast, so I contacted him on FB and was able to book a day with him. He always responded back to me in a timely manner and I touched base with him 1 week before we left asking where we should meet at the port. He got back to me a few days before we left for Miami and gave me very detailed information on where to meet him.

 

The tour was FANTASTIC! Woody is a wonderful tour guide and a wonderful person. We went to Jacko falls first before it got too busy there. We met his assistant Tara there and she's wonderful. So if you can't get in with Woody, his assistants are just as good! We had an extended stay in Dominica due to divers needing to work on the thrusters on our ship so we were able to watch the sunset on the island (it was beyond beautiful). He took us to so many places, I can't even list them all.

 

He provided rum punch, non alcoholic drinks and water. He brought these delicious snacks called "Bakes" and they were sooo good!

 

Everyplace we went to was not busy and we had the beaches we stopped at all to ourselves. It was one of the best tours I have ever been on.

 

I honestly can't say enough good things about Woody and his tours. I would go back in a heartbeat and I'm happy to say I have made a new friend after meeting Woody.

 

Happy Sailing Folks!