Having second thoughts about Bumpiing tour

We have reservations for Bumpiing's Roseau Valley Wet tour in March, but for some reason I am second guessing our plans. I have some balance issues, and I'm worried that it will be too slippery/steep/etc. But I don't want us to miss out on what many say is a wonderful tour. :o

The Papillote Wilderness Retreat's Interlude for a day sounds wonderful.... but maybe it won't give us a "true" island experience.

Likely our first and only visit to Dominica. What to do?? :confused:

Read through the reviews of that tour on Tripadvisor. It sounds like folks of all ages in all different physical shapes have taken the tour and been fine. It also sounds like Levi or his guides are there to help folks who may need it. I'm a big guy and I have been wondering how I will do, but I am going to give it a try.

I just did my 2nd tour with Levi and, again, it was wonderful.

I'm a non-swimmer, but he took care of me. A couple of days before my cruise, I tripped up the stairs and aggravated my sciatica. I had no problems with the walking and/or stairs.

Do NOT wear flipflops, but wear some sort of good water shoes or hiking sandals.

We had people of all ages, sizes, and physical abilities among the various vans and just about everyone participated at all the stops. I didn't go snorkeling at Champagne Reef because it was rough and, as noted, I'm not a swimmer. But I did hike down there and back with no problems.

Dominica is probably my favorite island (that was my 20th cruise), and this tour is definitely in my Top 5 so far.

Roseau, Dominica

8:00am - 5:00pm. We prearranged the "Roseau Valley Treasures" tour with Bumpiing Tours. We enjoyed this tour so much the first time we were here a few years ago, we hired them again. The cost is $50 per person (cash, paid at the end of the tour). Levi Baron met us just outside the pier and was our driver and guide for the day. Levi kept us one step ahead of most of the tours. Our first stop was Champagne Reef for snorkeling. Upon reaching the beach we walked a short 5 minutes to the end of the stony beach, until we got to a cliff where we donned masks and fins. Underwater geothermal springs vent out gasses that form warm bubbles, like Champaign in the Sea. It was pretty unique. Levi took us on a guided tour of the reef where we saw lots of fish and an old ship's cannon.

Our second stop was Titou Gorge (one of the spectacular locations where "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" was filmed). Once you get past the cold chill of the fresh water at Titou Gorge, you swim about 200-feet up a cave like area (high walls on both sides with a crevice view of the sky while swimming). The water is 15 feet deep at its deepest point. After about 100-feet of swimming you get to the middle of the gorge where there is a submerged ledge you can stand on. That’s the only place you will be able to stand before you get to the end of your swim. When ready, we continued our swim to the waterfall at far end of the gorge. This is an incredibly beautiful gorge and an experience not to be missed.

Stop three was Trafalgar Falls which has two waterfalls and an opportunity to soak in natural hot mineral spring pools. The waterfalls are both picture worthy and despite being fed by two different sources, can be included in one picture. The hot spring pools are fun and relaxing. Following the falls we drove through the Botanical Gardens and learned about several local fruit and flower bearing plants and trees. Our final stop was Morne Bruce, an overlook with a view of the city of Roseau and the ship in port.

More "Secrets of the Caribbean": http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/caribbean-secrets.html

First-hand information on excursions in over 20 Caribbean ports.

Read through the reviews of that tour on Tripadvisor. It sounds like folks of all ages in all different physical shapes have taken the tour and been fine. It also sounds like Levi or his guides are there to help folks who may need it. I'm a big guy and I have been wondering how I will do, but I am going to give it a try.

Ron, I hope that you post when you get back and let us all know how it went. We are going in early March. I'm not a good swimmer at all, but assume I will do OK.

Anyone else: I don't suppose there's any way to bring a non-waterproof camera on the Gorge part, is there? Does anyone ever stay on the shore who might be willing to keep a point and shoot camera for me while I swim in the Gorge? Also, I have never snorkeled before, and don't know if I will be able to do it with glasses. Is that possible, or does the water get in? My vision is pretty bad....

Ron, I hope that you post when you get back and let us all know how it went. We are going in early March. I'm not a good swimmer at all, but assume I will do OK.

 

Anyone else: I don't suppose there's any way to bring a non-waterproof camera on the Gorge part, is there? Does anyone ever stay on the shore who might be willing to keep a point and shoot camera for me while I swim in the Gorge? Also, I have never snorkeled before, and don't know if I will be able to do it with glasses. Is that possible, or does the water get in? My vision is pretty bad....

I will post here and also do a review in the Celebrity board.

Snorkeling with glasses may be tough. It depends on how roomy the mask is. You can get a mask made with your prescription, but they can be pricey. It's worth it if you are going to snorkel more than the one time.

roothy123...

As soon as some folks hear the water is cold, they choose not to go. My wife stayed back and took pictures. Best to get yourself a water camera and take it in with you.

Yes, the water is cold. But it certainly isn't THAT cold that people should not go into the Gorge. You just get in and get wet. It takes some effort to get through the gorge because of the current coming from the waterfall, so you warm up quickly.

By the time you're heading back out, the water doesn't feel cold at all. And there's that nice hot-springs mini-waterfall to rinse under when you get back out.

Again, I'm a non-swimmer, so I'm not used to getting in water of any temperature and I've done this twice.

Please, folks. Do this excursion! You will not regret it.

And next time Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is on TV, you will know that you stood on the shelf on the side of the cave exactly where Orlando Bloom and Co were standing. :D

Ron, I hope that you post when you get back and let us all know how it went. We are going in early March. I'm not a good swimmer at all, but assume I will do OK.

 

OK... We're back. We didn't want to some back, but we're back :)

Roothy, I don't know your exact situation, but we had folks of all ages and physical abilities on our tour and everyone loved it! One of our friends refers to it as the day we tried to kill her, but she had a great time!

I'm a big guy, and at times my balance can be off, but I was able to do everything except the climb down to the hot springs at Trafalgar Falls, and that was my decision to wait at the top. I'm not in the best of shape and I was concerned that the climb back up would be too strenuous for me.

To give you more details, we started at Champagne Reef. Parking is on the road and you walk down a concrete ramp for about 40 feet to the boardwalk. The boardwalk is 400-500 ft. long (estimate) and then you walk another 50 feet or so on packed dirt with some rocks. Shoes are needed for this part. At this point everyone took off their shoes, shorts, etc. and left them on the side of the path. I wouldn't leave any valuables there but the shoes, etc. are fine.

The rest of the way is over small to medium sized rocks (I think of pebbles as pea sized, there were baseball sized and bigger) for a few feet to the rubber mat and then along the mat into the water. I sat on a large rock and put on my fins and then backed the last few feet down the mat and into the water with Levi's help.

Once in the water we swam to an area where the bubbles were coming up and then Levi led a group to the outer reef. It's not a long swim and I recommend it since there were many more fish and a larger variety. Levi would swim down from time to time to show us things like tube works, a flounder and a moray eel. The reef was beautiful.

Getting out of the water was a bit more of a challenge for me (I'm a big guy). I took my fins off and walked up to the mat but my feet kept sinking into the rocks and the waves kept moving the mat. Levi was right there to help and I made it out with his help.

I have a lot of pictures of the reef and I'll post some of them once I have time to go through them.

At Titou Gorge you walk for about 10 minutes from the parking lot to the gorge. It is level ground but can be uneven with rocks. there is also one point where you walk for 75-100 feet across a bridge that is about 3 feet wide and has rails on both sides.

At the gorge itself you go down some rough rock steps to the water. the last step can be a long one but there is a small rock ledge to use an an intermediate step, and Levi is right there to help. Once in the water Levi recommended dunking right away. the water is cold, but once in everyone was fine. the first dunk takes your breath away for a bit so do it where you can stand. From there we followed Levi about 100 ft. to an opening in the gorge. There is a ledge there where you can stand and rest. From there it is another 75 feet to the falls. At the falls there is a hole where that we all climbed in to to get our of the current. It held 12 of us, but it was cozy :). We had a coupe of folks who were not strong swimmers. Levi carry's a life preserver ring with a rope attached to it and he had the non-swimmers hold on to it and he pulled them through the gorge. At the hole he tossed it to each of us and pulled us across the strong current. Two of our group climbed up the first waterfall and went back to the second fall and then jumped back into the pool.

The swim out is easy since the current pushes you all of the way.

We all had swim belts on as a precaution.

At Trafalgar Falls you walk from the parking lot for 10 - 15 minutes through the rain forest to the observation platform. The walk is downhill to start and then up hill to the platform. The path is earth with "steps" made of logs and the footing was good. At the platform most of our group went down to the hot springs and enjoyed it. As i mentioned I decided to wait at the platform because I felt the climb back up would be too much for me.

This was our favorite island on our cruise and Levi made the day a great one for everyone. He was there to help when needed and he made sure that he was the first one to any difficult parts and the last one back to make sure everyone was there and safe.

Roothy, if you have any questions, please let me know. I will be posting pictures in my review thread in a day or so.

Thanks so much for the review Ron_L. I've decided to just do the tour and stop worrying about it! :o

You aren't the first person that has said Dominica ended up being their favorite island. Is it because the sites that Levi takes you to are just that beautiful?

OK... We're back. We didn't want to some back, but we're back :)

 

Roothy, I don't know your exact situation, but we had folks of all ages and physical abilities on our tour and everyone loved it! One of our friends refers to it as the day we tried to kill her, but she had a great time!

 

Roothy, if you have any questions, please let me know. I will be posting pictures in my review thread in a day or so.

Thank you so much for the detailed information. I think I can handle it, and hopefully my husband as well. I am really looking forward to your pictures and review, especially if you are going to other ports I will be going to (St. Croix, St. Kitts, San Juan, Grenada, and St. Thomas).

Thanks so much for the review Ron_L. I've decided to just do the tour and stop worrying about it! :o

 

You aren't the first person that has said Dominica ended up being their favorite island. Is it because the sites that Levi takes you to are just that beautiful?

The entire island is beautiful, and the sites that we went to with Levi were definitely the highlights of the island! Levi also makes it a great experience and he clearly loves his home!

Thank you so much for the detailed information. I think I can handle it, and hopefully my husband as well. I am really looking forward to your pictures and review, especially if you are going to other ports I will be going to (St. Croix, St. Kitts, San Juan, Grenada, and St. Thomas).

We left from San Juan and went to St. Croix, St. Kitts, Dominica, Grenada and St. Thomas on the Celebrity Summit.

Thanks so much for the review Ron_L. I've decided to just do the tour and stop worrying about it! :o

 

You aren't the first person that has said Dominica ended up being their favorite island. Is it because the sites that Levi takes you to are just that beautiful?

Hi: Ron gave a perfect description of the tour! You might want to contact Levi to insure that he is your leader for this tour. We had another gentleman who was less attentive. You will love this tour. At Titou Gorge, you will wear a flotation belt when in the water. There is a hot spring on the left as you enter the gorge. Don't strain from the current and let Levi pull you through to the initial waiting area or all the way to the first falls. The walk down to the hot springs at the twin falls is now made of concrete. You will have to walk over boulders to enter the spring so again rely on Levi.

Have a ball and enjoy

Dave

Thanks for the advice and encouragement Dave! I will definitely plan on asking for help if I think I need it! :o

Here are some pictures of our tour with Levi from last week. I thought I took some pictures of the walk to Champagne Reef and the entrance into the water, but I don't have them.

The champagne bubbles...

PC100460 by rclewen, on Flickr

This was cool to see, but the best part of the snorkel was the outer reef, so don't spend too much time looking at bubbles.

A moray eel that Levi point out for us. He took my camera and dove down for this picture...

PC100490 by rclewen, on Flickr

Some of the coral on the outer reef...

PC100539 by rclewen, on Flickr

Some of the fish that we saw...

PC100454 by rclewen, on Flickr

On to Titou Gorge...

This is pretty typical of the path from the parking area to the gorge...

PC100550 by rclewen, on Flickr

At one point you walk along a wooden pipe that acts as a bridge. It has hand rails on both sides...

PC100554 by rclewen, on Flickr

This is the access into the gorge (the guy in the background is standing where the small hot spring is to warm up after the swim)

PC100559 by rclewen, on Flickr

This is our group coming into the water. Levi is right there helping everyone down...

PC100563 by rclewen, on Flickr

The entrance into the gorge itself...

PC100569 by rclewen, on Flickr

Amazing pictures Ron! Thanks so much again for your help on this. :cool:

Once in the gorge the lighting was tricky for pictures. The walls were about 20 feet high and the width ranged from a few feet to about 20 feet. At the widest spot there is a ledge off to the side where you can sit or stand to rest.

Here are a few shots inside the gorge...

PC100572 by rclewen, on Flickr

PC100576 by rclewen, on Flickr

PC100580 by rclewen, on Flickr

PC100592 by rclewen, on Flickr

At the falls there is a hollow area in the rocks that we all climbed in to with Levi's help. A couple of the guys climbs the first fall and went back to the second fall and then jumped into the pool from the first fall. Levi was right there to help them...

PC100604 by rclewen, on Flickr

Now to Trafalgar Falls...

This is typical of the path to Trafalgar Falls. Is was groomed and hard packed and the steps were formed with logs. It is about a 10 minute walk and starts out down hill followed by an uphill stretch...

PC100638 by rclewen, on Flickr

PC100653 by rclewen, on Flickr

At the end of the path there is a wooden observation platform. From there you can see both falls...

PC100647 by rclewen, on Flickr

It's hard to tell from this picture, but the colored spots in the foilage is our group down at the hot springs. As dsw39 mentioned, the walk down is now concrete, but my wife said that the last 20 feet or so was over rocks.

PC100652 by rclewen, on Flickr

After the falls we went through the Botanical Gardens and Levi showed us some unique plants that are grown there and we also saw this...

PC100666 by rclewen, on Flickr

According to Levi the tree crushed the bus during a hurricane. No one was hurt.

Then we went to a beautiful spot overlooking the town of Roseau and the harbor...

PC100681 by rclewen, on Flickr

There are more pictures of Dominica and out whole trip on Flickr if you are interested...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/20720548@N07/collections/72157638774687215/

Ron .... Wonderful Pictures! :)

Absolutely beautiful places to go ... but it is important to stress that doing so does require not having any sort of walking issues and that the water is cold.

Glad we did it ... but no desire to do it again.

LuLu

~~~~

Ron .... Wonderful Pictures! :)

 

Absolutely beautiful places to go ... but it is important to stress that doing so does require not having any sort of walking issues and that the water is cold.

 

Glad we did it ... but no desire to do it again.

 

LuLu

~~~~

Thanks...

That's why I posted pictures of the paths. There are areas that are wet and some of the rocks can be slippery. I have bad knees and am not in the best of share (unless round is a shape :D) and I made it, but I decided to not go down to the hot springs because I felt that the walk back up would be too much for me.

We also had a lady in our original group who had broken her foot about a month before the cruise and was wearing a support boot. She asked Levi what he thought about her going and he recommended that she skip the tour. He could have taken her money but he was honest with her and she found another tour to take that didn't require any walking and she ended up having a great day, too.

As far as the cold water, yeah, it is cold, but once you get past the first dunk everyone found it bearable. One of our group members was stressing about the water temperature and another member who had done the tour before told her that she shouldn't let the water temp keep her from experiencing the gorge and she thanked him for talking her into going when we were swimming back out.

But, everyone has to make up their own mind as you know your own limits.

Thanks...

 

That's why I posted pictures of the paths. There are areas that are wet and some of the rocks can be slippery. I have bad knees and am not in the best of share (unless round is a shape :D) and I made it, but I decided to not go down to the hot springs because I felt that the walk back up would be too much for me.

 

We also had a lady in our original group who had broken her foot about a month before the cruise and was wearing a support boot. She asked Levi what he thought about her going and he recommended that she skip the tour. He could have taken her money but he was honest with her and she found another tour to take that didn't require any walking and she ended up having a great day, too.

 

As far as the cold water, yeah, it is cold, but once you get past the first dunk everyone found it bearable. One of our group members was stressing about the water temperature and another member who had done the tour before told her that she shouldn't let the water temp keep her from experiencing the gorge and she thanked him for talking her into going when we were swimming back out.

 

But, everyone has to make up their own mind as you know your own limits.

Your pictures tell the whole tale of this tour! For anyone looking to get into the cold water fast, there is a 20' jump into the water which solves the problem. I am older and did it without any trouble.

Dave

Thank you all for the information on this tour! Do you think it would be appropriate for a 4-year-old who knows how to swim?

Ron_L, we are planning the same Summit cruise you went on, and I am trying to decide if my daughter would enjoy it. We would bring a regular life vest that fit her, so I wouldn't be relying on the belts.

Thank you all for the information on this tour! Do you think it would be appropriate for a 4-year-old who knows how to swim?

 

Ron_L, we are planning the same Summit cruise you went on, and I am trying to decide if my daughter would enjoy it. We would bring a regular life vest that fit her, so I wouldn't be relying on the belts.

I'm not sure about that. The waves were knocking adults around pretty good at Champagne Reef, and the current close to the falls in the gorge is pretty strong. Even though she knows how to swim it may be too much for her. You should probably contact Levi and see what he thinks since he does it a whole lot more that we do.