Considering Cable Car Ride

[iriecruising]

I am looking for something to do while our Carnival ship is in port at Amber Cove. Other than the waterfalls, none of the ship excursions look particularly interesting so I started looking outside the cruise line. Several operators include this cable car ride and now we are thinking of grabbing a cab and going to the Fort and the Cable Car. I find it kind of odd that the cable car is not part of any ship excursions and it made me wonder if it is still open post hurricanes or if it breaks down a lot so the ships don't want to take a chance on you getting stuck etc. Seems like it would be a nice little trip but the fact it is not included in any ship tour makes me wonder if it is a little sketchy or something. We are not afraid to go out on our own but want to make sure we are not making any mistakes in our choices. If you have any input on this I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

[DONNALAKA]

wondering the same. anyone have incite?

 

 

I am looking for something to do while our Carnival ship is in port at Amber Cove. Other than the waterfalls, none of the ship excursions look particularly interesting so I started looking outside the cruise line. Several operators include this cable car ride and now we are thinking of grabbing a cab and going to the Fort and the Cable Car. I find it kind of odd that the cable car is not part of any ship excursions and it made me wonder if it is still open post hurricanes or if it breaks down a lot so the ships don't want to take a chance on you getting stuck etc. Seems like it would be a nice little trip but the fact it is not included in any ship tour makes me wonder if it is a little sketchy or something. We are not afraid to go out on our own but want to make sure we are not making any mistakes in our choices. If you have any input on this I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

[iriecruising]

wondering the same. anyone have incite?

 

I posted the same question on the Carnival board and got a few responses. One person mentioned that the cable car does not move enough people for the cruise ships to offer it as an excursion. That made sense to me. Here is a link to the thread in case you want to check out what people had to say.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2624468

[KroozFoolz]

I did the cable car last year via a private taxi tour arranged at the port. It was great! There was a bit of a wait to take the car up, but it provided a cultural experience as there was a small "band" playing and singing local Dominican music while you waited. Once at the top, there are interesting photo ops. There are gardens to explore as well. Also, jewelry shop inside the base of the statue; you can learn about amber and Lorimar. Definitely worth doing!

[Loonbeam]

Did the cable car last week (pics to follow), definitely worth considering. Nice view and there are several attractions at the top worth exploring.

[iriecruising]

Did the cable car last week (pics to follow), definitely worth considering. Nice view and there are several attractions at the top worth exploring.

 

Would love to see your pics! Thanks!

[iriecruising]

I did the cable car last year via a private taxi tour arranged at the port. It was great! There was a bit of a wait to take the car up, but it provided a cultural experience as there was a small "band" playing and singing local Dominican music while you waited. Once at the top, there are interesting photo ops. There are gardens to explore as well. Also, jewelry shop inside the base of the statue; you can learn about amber and Lorimar. Definitely worth doing!

 

Thanks for the info! Looking forward to seeing this. I think we will make this our first stop since it will likely take the longest amount of time.

[Loonbeam]

Definitely want to do it early. It gets crowded later AND the clouds can come in

 

 

Thanks for the info! Looking forward to seeing this. I think we will make this our first stop since it will likely take the longest amount of time.

[NautiGirlGA]

Thanks for the info. Looks like I need to add this to my list.

[PJB3]

For those of you who took a private taxi, did you prearrange one or just go outside the port and pick one and determine the price for the day? I want a quick trip to the cable car and then to the beach for maybe 2 hours. Approximately how much do you think that would cost?

[Loonbeam]

If you don't want the driver to stay around, just get a ride to the cable car, have them call another to the beach and find one to get back. Shouldn't be that much each trip, cannot imagine more than $30-$40 total with trips for 2 people.

 

This way you don't have to worry about how long you will be at the cable car or the beach. Depending on which beach you choose leave 2 hours to 90 mins before allboard.

 

 

For those of you who took a private taxi, did you prearrange one or just go outside the port and pick one and determine the price for the day? I want a quick trip to the cable car and then to the beach for maybe 2 hours. Approximately how much do you think that would cost?

[Organized Chaos]

The cable car is a fantastic experience! We were there a couple weeks ago and it turned out to be my favorite port. You don't have to arrange for a taxi, there's a huge fleet of them staged just outside the shopping complex waiting for the cruise ships to arrive. There's signs that show you the price to many of the area's more popular destinations. We didn't want to do a city tour, just go to the cable car and back. It was $30/person for 1-5 people one way. So $60 for the four of us round trip. Our driver waited there the entire time. We spent around 2 1/2 hours at the top.

 

When we got there, we were greeted by Edward, who turned out to be our tour guide for the cable car ride and atop the mountain. We weren't expecting a guide, but when it was over, were glad we had one because there's more to it than just the statue at the top. We got there early, so it was only our group of four plus a grandmother and her grandson on the ride up. Edward told us all about the mountain, the national park that surrounds it, and the city of Puerto Plata below. When we got to the statue, another gentleman greeted us and wanted to use our cameras because he knew all of the best positions and poses to put us in to make it look like we were holding the statue in our hand, holding the hands of the statue, things like that. Come to find out, this gentleman is one of many who own a shop inside the building that the statue stands on. The photos he took were free, but he asked us to come to his shop to see his wares, which we did. His prices were high, but negotiable. He stretched the truth now & again, which I'm sure is a common tactic when selling to tourists, so be wary. We bought a few things, negotiated him down to a price we were comfortable with, and were on our way. If you'd like to take more photos of the statue than what these locals want to take of you, just say something. He was kind of rushing us through the pictures, probably to get us into his shop as quickly as he could. I think all of the shopkeepers take turns getting tourists in there because none of the others asked us to buy, which is unusual.

 

This is where having a guide came in handy. If we had been on our own, we would've thought that was the end of it and went back down. We didn't know it, but there are some very nice walking trails up there through the forest and gardens. Beware, there are hills and quite a few steps. Edward took us to the mouth of a cave that natives would've used as shelter and homes. He showed us an example of a wood hut that would've been used. We went to what he called the waterfall, but was more of a stream flowing down the hillside and had a man-made pond at the bottom with some coy fish & turtles. We were going to go to a bridge, but the grandmother that was with us was tired and wanted to go back, so we skipped the bridge. The walking paths wind through beautiful parts of the forest, with native plant life and flowers all around. We enjoy experiences in nature and love mountainous hikes, so this was right up our alley. We weren't expecting to get that much exercise that day LOL but it was awesome. By the time we got back to the cable car to ride down, the clouds had moved in, but it was neat breaking through the clouds and seeing the city come into view. By then, many others had come to the top, so our ride down had a full cable car.

 

We felt perfectly safe inside the cable car. It didn't look run down at all and looked very well maintained. I've read that it's not part of Carnival's excursions because of contract disagreements (basically all about the money). Personally, I wouldn't want to see a huge wave of traffic flow to this attraction because I think it'd take away from the beauty of the mountain top. I highly recommend this to everyone. We love the Smoky Mountains and that's what this port reminded us of.

 

It's late and I don't have time to do it now, but if anyone would like to see pictures, I could post some tomorrow (Wed.).

[PJB3]

Thanks for the info! I think that's what we'll do:)

[Organized Chaos]

Small correction. The taxi to the cable car is $30 one way for 1-5 people...not per person. Sorry about that. Getting one shouldn't be a problem, here's what's waiting for you when you pull into port. :D

 

 

You'll walk through the shopping complex and into that pavilion on the right. A supervisor (I guess) will ask where you want to go (this is when I got a definitive price) and he directs you to your taxi/driver. Easy as that.

[Organized Chaos]

Some pictures of the cable car experience. Hope you enjoy.

 

View of Mt. Isabel de Torres from inside the cable car before going up.

 

The view as soon as the cable car gets to the top.

 

One of the local hibiscus flowers. In many places along the trail, they've tied the tall hibiscus plants into long archways that you walk through. Beautiful is the best word to describe it all.

 

The waterfall, as our guide called it.

 

We're ready to make our descent down the mountain through the afternoon cloud cover.

 

As we break through the clouds, Puerto Plata comes into view.

[PJB3]

Thanks for clarifying the $$$. That's what I had figured you meant:)

Awesome pictures!!

[Organized Chaos]

Thank you. And you're welcome. I didn't get a picture of the sign that shows taxi prices, but found this one online.

 

[iriecruising]

Thank you Organized Chaos for the review and all the pics. I am really looking forward to doing this now!!! The info about a guide was very helpful too since we would love to explore the top of the mountain while there. We love getting a little history and culture on our excursions and this sounds perfect!! Thanks Again!

 

Thank you. And you're welcome. I didn't get a picture of the sign that shows taxi prices, but found this one online.

 

[Organized Chaos]

Thank you Organized Chaos for the review and all the pics. I am really looking forward to doing this now!!! The info about a guide was very helpful too since we would love to explore the top of the mountain while there. We love getting a little history and culture on our excursions and this sounds perfect!! Thanks Again!

You're very welcome. Glad I could help. :)

[LewLewBelle]

This is such a nice find for our Cruise next week :). How much does the cable car cost? Also did you eat lunch on the mountain and if so where?

[Loonbeam]

If I recall correctly about $10 pp round trip. I don't recall there being any food up there, at least nothing substantial. Depending on your plans, you may spend an hour or two up there I suspect and I would get there early, beat ship crowds.

[Organized Chaos]

This is such a nice find for our Cruise next week :). How much does the cable car cost? Also did you eat lunch on the mountain and if so where?

Yes, it’s $10/person. There’s no restaurant or anything like that up there. There’s a small stand where we got some waters. I don’t know if they have any kind of snacks, but I wouldn’t count on it.

[AAAAmerican]

Howdy,

I too have never found much in the D.R. , especially in High Cost Basis Cruise lines .

Even looking at a tour/cable car/ Gardens one off line it says we have to be at the bus transport off the fenced area by 7:45 am? Yikes on Vacation and that time .. Nah.. sorry it seems as if mr. Bill and Murfy are about now..:mad:

[dibbitz]

Okay....so we are trying to decide about doing a tour to Puerto Playa and then the cable car...but now I am wondering if the cable car should be first thing, given crowds and clouds.........any thoughts on if it would be a better idea to simply get a taxi to Puerto Playa after doing the cable car.....then doing the city tour on our own? Jut trying to wrap my head around this...thanks for any ideas......

[iriecruising]

Okay....so we are trying to decide about doing a tour to Puerto Playa and then the cable car...but now I am wondering if the cable car should be first thing, given crowds and clouds.........any thoughts on if it would be a better idea to simply get a taxi to Puerto Playa after doing the cable car.....then doing the city tour on our own? Jut trying to wrap my head around this...thanks for any ideas......

 

From what others have said here and some pics I have seen I would say it is probably best to do the cable car first. Sounds as if the clouds roll in pretty early. Our plan is cable car first and then grab a cab to tour around after that.