Question about Roseau Valley Best tour with Levi

[Miss Vickie]

I've got a question for those who have done the Roseau Valley Best tour with Levi (includes Middleham Falls, Titou Gorge). We're scheduled to do this tour in a couple of weeks - what kinds of shoes would you recommend, considering there's hiking, as well as swimming?

 

Thanks!

[davidnkim]

I have used these on many of our trips and find them to be the best combination for hiking, beach, water forging - http://www.shoes.com/Shopping/ProductDetails.aspx?p=EC1028424&pg=5007832

[nc_cruiser1]

Closed-toed hiking sandals, like the ones the previous poster linked to, are highly recommended, particularly for the Middleham Falls hike.

[Miss Vickie]

thanks for the replies!

[Kylie]

Several of us wore our water shoes on the hike up to the falls and didn't slip at all (poured rain the whole way up too!) My calves hurt for the next 3 days from all those steps though - maybe not enough support in the shoes or I wasn't in good enough shape for the hike!? Worth it though..........

[Miss Vickie]

My husband, sister, brother-in-law and I were in Dominica last week, and went on the Roseau Valley Best tour with Levi. It's a full day, starting with a challenging rainforest hike to Middleham Falls. It includes Trafalgar Falls, Wotten Waven Springs, Titou Gorge and we had added a chance to snorkel at Champagne Reef. We had chosen the cruise we were on, Celebrity Summit, specifically for the chance to visit Dominica and Bonaire, and we were really looking forward to Levi's tour.

 

There was a pretty large group scheduled for this tour the day we were there, and the 4 of us were in a very comfortable minivan by ourselves with Joseph, who was personable, informative and an all around nice guy.

 

The day started off with the hike to Middleham. It's a challenging hike, and very beautiful. The trail is pretty muddy, probably all the time, given the amount of rain they get in Dominica (350"/year), uphill for quite a bit of the way to the falls, and inlcudes crossing several streams. (The best shoes are closed toe hiking sandles, by the way, so the mud doesn't matter and neither does walking in the water, although there are rocks in the streams). Levi provides lots of interesting commentary along the way, and the trail is beautiful.

 

And here the story gets interesting....

 

My sister slipped crossing the last stream at the end of the hike (about 5 minutes from end of the hike, actually), and hurt her finger pretty badly. When she got up and we saw what had happened, it was obvious she was going to need medical treatment, and possibly quite a bit more than could be offered on the ship. Levi put us back in the van with Joseph, who took us to the hospital in Roseau. We spent most of the afternoon there. They provided good care, and my sister and brother-in-law were able to return to the ship and complete the cruise. Joseph stayed with us the entire day, made sure everyone understood what was going on, helped navigate the health care system, made sure she got her meds. Levi called Joseph, checking on my sister several times during the day and relaying the news back to the other folks on the tour. We've heard from Levi since, as well. I can't say enough about how well they took care of us during the day.

 

It was definitely a different way to spend the day - we've never had an excuse to get quite so "local" during our travels. We regret having missed the the rest of what we were going to see during the day, but it gives us a great excuse to go back. And when we do, we're going to see Levi again and finish the stuff we missed!

 

Levi and Joseph are great guys, and take really good care of everyone - even in the most challenging of circumstances.

[Stepilyn]

Glad to hear in the end the medical issue was resolved satisfactorily.

 

We are traveling on the Emerald Princess in March and have contacted Levi twice via his website but he has not responded. I am surprised since he is so highly recommended by cruise critic members. I used the contact form supplied in his website, and in the comment section indicated what we would be interested in.

 

I did contact Mangoo in Grenada and have a commitment from him for a tour there.

 

Maybe January is too early to get a commitment from him? I don't know whether to look for someone else for our tour or for a third time, contact Levi via his website.

 

We are also going to Bonaire, and know he runs tours there too and would be interested in his group in Bonaire also.

 

Any suggestions to me from you?

[Miss Vickie]

Glad to hear in the end the medical issue was resolved satisfactorily.

 

We are traveling on the Emerald Princess in March and have contacted Levi twice via his website but he has not responded. I am surprised since he is so highly recommended by cruise critic members. I used the contact form supplied in his website, and in the comment section indicated what we would be interested in.

 

I did contact Mangoo in Grenada and have a commitment from him for a tour there.

 

Maybe January is too early to get a commitment from him? I don't know whether to look for someone else for our tour or for a third time, contact Levi via his website.

 

We are also going to Bonaire, and know he runs tours there too and would be interested in his group in Bonaire also.

 

Any suggestions to me from you?

 

Hi, we did Mandoo, too (we've used him twice, once for the Spice tour, this year for the Northern, and next year we're going to do his Seven Sisters Hike). Which tour are you taking?

 

January shouldn't be too early - we booked our tour with Levi about 11 months before our cruise. He was very good about getting back to me, and I wrote him a bunch of times, with different questions. I copied the e-mail address from one of my e-mails, hope it helps. <levibaron@bumpiingtours.com>

 

I don't think Levi has a tour in Bonaire. Just Dominica. We used our ship's water taxi excursion to get a water taxi over to Klein and snorkeled (we carry all of our own gear). A lot of people seem to like Windwind or Renee, if you want to book with somebody.

[Propellor1969]

Hi Jodi,

 

I was just wondering how many were in your "pretty large group" on Levi's tour. We are considering booking the tour--it sounds like a good mix of what we are both looking for on that day, but I don't want to be in a group of 50+.

 

Thanks in advance,

Teresa

[Miss Vickie]

Hi Jodi,

 

I was just wondering how many were in your "pretty large group" on Levi's tour. We are considering booking the tour--it sounds like a good mix of what we are both looking for on that day, but I don't want to be in a group of 50+.

 

Thanks in advance,

Teresa

 

Nowhere near 50 - no more than 12 or so - just more than I expected! All people who had read about it on cruise critic, but the folks we had corresponded with initially had mostly indicated a preference for one of his less strenuous tours, so I didn't expect more than 6-8 on this one. It was fine, and definitely not crowded.

[Propellor1969]

Thanks for the information. 11 or 12 isn't bad at all. I think we're going to try to sign up for this excursion in Mar.

 

Teresa

[Miss Vickie]

Thanks for the information. 11 or 12 isn't bad at all. I think we're going to try to sign up for this excursion in Mar.

 

Teresa

 

Great decision - I hope you enjoy it at least as much as we did (for the part of the tour we actually got to do, anyhow). We're already planning our return trip to finish up what we started :D

[tjcox9]

We've booked with Levin for February and we had very quick response on inital questions and follow-up confirmation. Sorry to hear about the problems others have had. :(

[MartinsCruise]

Glad to hear in the end the medical issue was resolved satisfactorily.

 

We are traveling on the Emerald Princess in March and have contacted Levi twice via his website but he has not responded. I am surprised since he is so highly recommended by cruise critic members. I used the contact form supplied in his website, and in the comment section indicated what we would be interested in.

 

I did contact Mangoo in Grenada and have a commitment from him for a tour there.

 

Maybe January is too early to get a commitment from him? I don't know whether to look for someone else for our tour or for a third time, contact Levi via his website.

 

We are also going to Bonaire, and know he runs tours there too and would be interested in his group in Bonaire also.

 

Any suggestions to me from you?

 

We also did not get a response when emailing through his website so we emailed him directly using the address on his website. When we emailed him directly he responds within a day. I just emailed him today with a question and let him know that there may be a problem with his website.

[Propellor1969]

I would agree with MartinsCruise. I emailed him on Saturday, and he had responded last night. He seems very accommodating so far.

[SuperLarz]

We have booked this same tour for the 10th of February. Counting down the days!!

 

I used the online "contact form" on January 5th, and Levi got right back to me that same day! I was VERY impressed with his communications with me and the amount of detailed information he provided!! Very professional!

 

I am excited to do a more "strenuous" tour, especially after all the yummy food on the ship! I'm gonna need the exercise!

 

We have also booked Woodwind on Bonaire, and are still trying to decide for Grenada. But I'm leaning toward a Princess tour, because it hits all the spots I want to see, mainly the spice and rum industries. (Don't need to do a bunch of scenery or hiking in Grenada, I'll probably still be worn out from my day with Levi!!)

 

Anyway... hope to see some of you in Dominica on February 10th!!

 

Amy

[Miss Vickie]

We have booked this same tour for the 10th of February. Counting down the days!!

 

I used the online "contact form" on January 5th, and Levi got right back to me that same day! I was VERY impressed with his communications with me and the amount of detailed information he provided!! Very professional!

 

I am excited to do a more "strenuous" tour, especially after all the yummy food on the ship! I'm gonna need the exercise!

 

We have also booked Woodwind on Bonaire, and are still trying to decide for Grenada. But I'm leaning toward a Princess tour, because it hits all the spots I want to see, mainly the spice and rum industries. (Don't need to do a bunch of scenery or hiking in Grenada, I'll probably still be worn out from my day with Levi!!)

 

Anyway... hope to see some of you in Dominica on February 10th!!

 

Amy

 

Can I suggest Mandoo for Grenada? We did his Northern tour 2 weeks ago. Among other things, we had a catered buffet lunch, went to Dougleston Spice Plantation, got a rum tour at a facility that had been built in 1785, and still produces rum the say way they did then, went to Grand Etang - all in a small group, rather than the large group you have on a ship tour, and had a great time! We had done our own El Yunque hikes in Puerto Rico on Friday, and then hiked with Levi in Dominica on Monday, and had snorkeling planned for Bonaire and Aruba, so the "down" day with Mandoo was welcome.

Edited January 30, 2009 by jlmolner

[jms2362]

Glad to hear in the end the medical issue was resolved satisfactorily.

 

We are traveling on the Emerald Princess in March and have contacted Levi twice via his website but he has not responded. I am surprised since he is so highly recommended by cruise critic members. I used the contact form supplied in his website, and in the comment section indicated what we would be interested in.

 

I did contact Mangoo in Grenada and have a commitment from him for a tour there.

 

Maybe January is too early to get a commitment from him? I don't know whether to look for someone else for our tour or for a third time, contact Levi via his website.

 

We are also going to Bonaire, and know he runs tours there too and would be interested in his group in Bonaire also.

 

Any suggestions to me from you?

 

We have been to Granada several times. The last time we went with Mandoo in Grenada. It was the best tour we have done there. He is very professional, new vans and buses. He is very highly regarded on the Island.

[joanfred]

will be doing roseau valley treasures in March, does not include middleham falls. will walking shoes be ok as I do not want to purchase sandals? having fallen in the past, feel much more secure in walking shoes.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

We are also doing Roseau Valley Treasures. I bought a pair of Croc's Mary Janes as I have very wide feet, but these fit me. I was having problems finding wide width water sandals. Here are the shoes I bought:

 

http://shop.crocs.com/pc-34-4-mary-janes.aspx?navcategories=3,122

Since the Roseau Valley Treasures isn't as strenuous a day as the hike to the falls will these do? Or should I continue to try to find wide width water sandals? We will be going to Ti Tou Gourge, Trafalgar Falls and Champagne Reef.

[massfriends]

We did this tour with Levi last week. Your going to really enjoy it. Levi is a great guide and very knowledgeable.

 

Be prepared for lots of walking in the woods.....it can be very muddy & slippery. I wore some old sneakers that I threw away after the tour. If you plan on going into the Gorge (a must do) water shoes that have a grip will be the best. The rocks are very slippery. As are the rocks at the falls.

 

We didn't get to snorkel at Champagne Reef due to high wave's and murky water but, Levi did bring us there......beautiful, absolutely NO sand, it was all rocks!!!

 

Personally, I would not wear those croc's. Something that cover's your toe's completely is a must and also make sure they have a sole that will grip on slippery rocks. My sneaker's where NO good in the gorge...if you have some water shoe's I recommend bringing them along to change into for the water.

 

Have a great time.....Levi Baron is the best!!!!!

[sklja]

We did the Roseau Valley Best with Levi and it was awesome.

Make sure you bring a snack with you though. He does provide water, beer and soda but no food. With all of the hiking etc, I was feeling a bit faint by the end because I hadn't eaten in so long.

Wear you bathing suit if you are planning on going into the falls etc. It is well worth it and there is no place to change

hope this helps

sklja

[Miss Vickie]

I'd skip the crocs, too. I used teva-type sport sandals. They were open-toed, and they worked okay, but I would have preferred closed toe. We were there on a dry day, but the trail was very muddy in spots, and there were those streams to cross... I'm getting a new pair before our cruise next January, when we plan to hike in Grenada.

 

We brought some protein bars with us and were glad to have them!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I'd skip the crocs, too. I used teva-type sport sandals. They were open-toed, and they worked okay, but I would have preferred closed toe. We were there on a dry day, but the trail was very muddy in spots, and there were those streams to cross... I'm getting a new pair before our cruise next January, when we plan to hike in Grenada.

My problem continues to be my horrible feet. The Teva type sandals just don't fit me - heck the Crocs barely fit! I would need a wide width with very flexible sides. I have even e-mailed several wide-width shoe companies for suggestins without success. I need to find something.:eek:

 

We are doing the Roseau Valley Treasures Tour so not as much hiking. We will be doing Ti Tou Gourge, though. I may have to settle for some open toe water sandles with velcro straps that are adjustable. Sometimes they don't even work.

Edited February 20, 2009 by Sunny AZ Girl

[massfriends]

AZ Girl, Ginny....I can relate to what your going through. I have very narrow feet and can't find water shoe's to fit.

 

Just a suggestion, how about trying men's size.....they all look alike. DH just bought a pair of water shoe's at BJ's wholesale club for $19, they are made by Khombu. Look almost just like Keens...he has wide feet and they fit him great.

 

We also did the Roseau Valley Tour.....there is some hiking. Maybe 10 to 15 mins. to get to the Gorge and also to the falls.

 

Oh, we brought some cookie's & fruit from the ship with us.....:D Ssssshhhh...don't tell. Pack some zip locks....:)

 

Have a great time!!!!!!!