Hiking tour for Mount Liamuiga

Has anyone went with this tour group? Poinciana Tours recently? Any good reviews for the Mount Liamuiga hike? Or is there another hiking Tour group that would be better. Any help would be appreciated.

 

thanks

My boyfriend, brother, and I did the volcano hike with Poinciana Tours in the spring of 2011, so not particularly recently. Hopefully there will be someone who took it more recently. We all really enjoyed the hike, but it was definitely difficult. There were a few times where I wondered if I was going to make it to the top! We all made it though and I can definitely say it was worth it. When we got to the top it was a bit cloudy but there were still some great views. Many people say that although it is a little bit faster on the way down that it is more difficult, but I found the opposite. We made it back to the ship in plenty of time; we weren't rushed at all. Our guide seemed to keep a close eye on the time because he said that if we were too slow we would need to turn around before we got to the top.

 

I'm glad we did the tour - but I wouldn't do it again! Haha.

I just did the volcano hike tour with Thenford Gray last week. I have many details and photos from in my photo review. The only point I want to stress is that this is a very difficult hike.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=41632069#post41632069

My husband has done it twice but with ship tours. The first time he did it with a Princess tour and loved it. Last year he did it with my kids on a celebrity tour and said that they climbed a different part of the volcano and it was much more difficult.....and he is in great shape!! This year he is going to do something else!!

 

 

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I just did the volcano hike tour with Thenford Gray last week. I have many details and photos from in my photo review. The only point I want to stress is that this is a very difficult hike.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=41632069#post41632069

 

 

 

Thanks for the pictures and your review. Your review is awesome. LOVE it

So we've decided to go with the Poinciana Tour and here's our review.

link: http://www.poincianatours.com/

 

Emails were sent back and forth with David, but when we met the tour guide, it was Al. We were a bit hesitant because David (Al he did mentioned David's name) said that there were 6 people joining us, but that didn't happen. Either all 6 decided to not go with the tour or it was a lie. Its seemed sketchy at first, going into Al's Mazda with just the two of us. I was complaining the whole entire ride to the mountain, because I was worried... and my DH kept saying it'll be fine. Al kept reassuring that it's legit, he had his cellphone and said he could call David to verify and having a private tour is the best.

 

By the time we got to the parking lot at the base of the mountain (15mins ride), I felt so much better, there were 3 other tour groups that were also hiking. One had already gone up, and the other two were still at the bus, getting ready.

 

The hike itself was difficult. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone with knee problems. We had 8 small breaks and they were short, about 2-4 mins each, because I just wanted to keep going til I reached the top. At times, I wonder to myself if I could make it. I kept telling myself to just get to the next break... The trail was hard, going over tree roots, pebbles, and rocks; you'll get dirty. I am a 5'5' with short legs so sometimes it was hard to get to one rock to another. If you don't rush it, you'll get through it. Running/hiking shoes is a must, no flip flops or even open toe sandals, you will get dirty. It's a rain forest, it's going to be wet and muddy. I didn't have to carry the backpack and used the hiking stick provided, but you definitely need water. Thank you to my DH, he carried the water and camera most of the time. Our tour guide brought us some as well, thank goodness. And we had some extra so we gave a huge bottle of water to a couple from another tour, because they didn't bring anything.

 

After 2 hours, we finally made it to the top, and it was such a wonderful feeling to be at the top. The view is breathtaking, breathing in the cooler air and having a long break. About 10-15 minutes was all we had, but enough to sit, enjoy the view, have something to drink and eat. See the clouds forming over the crator. Al gave us some sandwiches and fruit juice which gave enough energy for us to go back down. You could bring granola bars but that's it, something quick and easy.

 

The trek down seem harder for me as it took longer for me to reach to the next rock or root. I'm just too short. lol. My DH had to help me at times, having the walking stick did help as well, and sometimes I just threw it down, so I have two hands to hold onto something.

 

It took us 2 hours to go down, as it did rain for about 20 minutes, the ground was wet and slippery which also took a bit longer. Al mentioned that his fastest time was 1.5 hours up, and 1 hour down... but also his slowest time with a group was 3 hours up 3 hours down. So it all depends on your group and how fit you are.

 

We are average, team sports twice a week, go to the gym 2-3 times a week.. but we're definitely are not marathon runners or anything like that. Overall, we would do it again in a heartbeat, just next time we're more prepared and pace yourself.

 

I do want to make a note.. about the other tours (group of 15), don't know if they came from the ship or another tour. but I felt really bad for a older couple who did the hike and didn't make it to the top. He had cut himself and there was a bit of blood as we were coming up and he and his wife was coming down. I think the tour guide should have first aid and helped him. The couple mentioned the tour guide didn't even know they turned around and left them by themselves. If there's a group, maybe two tour guides should be there, one at the beginning and one at the back. They also mentioned, that they only had 3 breaks, and the tour guide kept pushing them to go faster. Maybe in a bigger group, you don't have that much time.. so I was glad we had a private tour. I wouldn't want to feel I'm the person slowing the group down. Just my thought.

 

Our tour guide Al was sensational, he kept motivating me to keep going. He helped by telling me where to put my foot and where to grab on a root or tree. Without him, I think it would take me longer deciding how I would take the next step. Al never made me feel I was rushed. There were times that my DH could just hop from one rock to another, but I can't do that, so Al told me to go on my bum and slide down. Even though I was so dirty by the end of the trip (I literally took a shower in my clothes and shoes back at the ship, lol) Al made my DH and I feel safe. I did like the private tour, as we can go at our own pace then in a group. A good recommendation, maybe a group of no bigger then 8.

 

anyways, sorry for my grammar and hopefully it'll help provide some tips on the hike.

My husband has done it twice but with ship tours. The first time he did it with a Princess tour and loved it. Last year he did it with my kids on a celebrity tour and said that they climbed a different part of the volcano and it was much more difficult.....and he is in great shape!! This year he is going to do something else!!

 

 

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I did the Volcano Hike in 2012 through Royal Carribean. I am an experienced recreational hiker doing one 4000 ft hike a year and once doing Mt Washington (6000+ft) and I had a hard time. It wasn't the mountain as much as the constant rain and mud slides. We were unfortunate to have rain in the rain forest the entire time. They said that was usual (since it was a rain forest). Funny I never thought of that. Well I think my husband and I were probably the group that took a long time up and down. We had a personal local guide assigned to us (no shoes no less) and finally he took us through the woods off the path to avoid the mud slides. We got to the top and couldn't see a thing because it was foggy and rainy. Coming down we kept slipping and my husband almost went off the side luckily he caught a tree. We made it down covered head to toe in mud. We couldn't shop at the port because of the mud! I felt bad for my cabin steward who had to clean the shower after we showered off fully clothed.

 

So that hike isn't for the faint hearted. We went through RCL because we wanted a guarentee of making the ship. The folowing week, I read that someone on the same ship tour fell and broker her leg and the ship sailed without her. So if you can predict the weather, I would recommend it for the seasoned hiker, if it rains, please be careful.

Sunshyne4ever, we just did our volcano hike with Al on Saturday. I was glad to read the review here from you before I went because when he introduced himself (I had booked with Thenford Grey), I knew I was in good hands! Like his slow group, I took 3 hours to make it to the top, but at least I made it down in two hours. Here I am five days later, and I am just starting to get the full use of my right leg back (it was bad to begin with, so naturally it is taking longer to work itself out), and it looks like I might lose my right toenail as a result of only buying a hiking shoe a half size up instead of a full size up and then trying to go quickly down the mountain so as not to be a complete slowpoke. *sigh* My own fault there. Luckly, I wasn't on a cruise for this trip or I would have been a nervous wreck about getting back to the boat on time and then the rest of my cruise would have been pretty miserable because I was so sore. But it was a great experience and Al was fantastic. I don't however feel the need to do it again should I find myself in St. Kitts again. I think lying out on the beach would be fine!