Puerto Plata City Tour, History & Culture Tour, Cruise Speci

Late and Disappointing

I signed up for the 8am tour. About a week before the tour, I learn that it starts at 9am. On the day of, we were not picked up until 9:45am. There was little to no information about the town itself as we were driving by. We were told we had 2 hours at the cable car. We took 2 hours but when we arrived back at the parking lot, our tour guide was not there. Eventually, he had to send a taxi to pick us up because he had to deal with a situation elsewhere. We waited for 45 minutes. By that time, I just wanted to go back to the hotel. We returned to the hotel too late for lunch due to the delays. There is also no food on the tour, by the way. I will say though, that the sites themselves were great, but I recommend booking through a different company. The highlights were when we were sent on our own to join the tour guided by the owners of each place.

via Viator

BE WARNED - Puerto Plata City Tour

Now, I must admit to my mistake – not realising how far this tour is to our hotel, in Punta Cana. However, despite the hotel being nearly six hours drive away my booking was accepted, and money was taken. The day before the trip we checked where Puerto Plata City is and were shocked to find that it is a ridiculous six hours drive away, totally impractical! I attempted to contact Gillary Tours the day before, as it was too late to cancel the tour, but no one responded. On the day I waited at the pick-up time of 8 am. They called me half an hour before and said that no problem, we could reschedule to the next day for a slightly later time, add an additional traveller and the tour would be like the original tour, details of which to follow shortly – they didn’t. Next day, a shabby, very questionable roadworthiness vehicle turned up, the driver and tour guide “Stevie Wonder”. It became apparent that the tour guide wouldn’t fit so we set off without him, but still hoped we would have a fun tour, to include a Cable car ride; visit to park; and various other sightseeing opportunities, as listed in the Puerto Plata City Tour. Our driver had problems finding the first stop and had to reverse quite some distance on a dual carriage way, maybe the rules are different in Dominican Republic?! Anyway, finally arrived at a venue where we watched cigars being made, could sample some rum produce, but no free samples, and buy jewellery, etc. Then a long drive to a Cathedral, no idea as to where we were going next as we had no itinerary, we couldn’t speak Spanish and our driver could only speak very little English – we were getting quite anxious! We eventually arrived but had no interest to view what is I’m sure a nice Cathedral. Next visit was to a market, why? We were dropped off and invited to wonder around the market, in a strange place where I guess we could sample some of the local culture, but we couldn’t wait to get back to the shabby car, at least it worked and would take us away from the area. He took us to another supermarket, but we were basically so relieved when we were eventually taken back to our hotel. Maybe I should have had a better grasp of the local geography of the island, but once our money was taken one would normally believe that everything is in order. The replacement Tour, whilst I’m sure it was intended to make good the stupid error, it certainly was nothing like the original Tour and NOT what we should have expected for the money paid. I raised this with TripAdvisor/ Viator but they declined my request for a refund. You’ve been warned!

via Tripadvisor

Spectacular tour of Puerto Plata City

We wanted have a personalized experience with the culture and history of Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. We were concerned with excursions outside the cruise ship at port but were put at ease with our tour guide Jason who stayed with us the entire day, driving us to the best places to see and shops to fill our "want list". Jason took us to the places of historical value and beautiful views up above of the city. We had the best tour guide ever!! Jason you are the best!! We love forward to coming back to visit more!

Response from the operator: Dear Esteemed Guest, We extend our warmest greetings from Gillary Tours. It brings us immense joy to learn that you thoroughly enjoyed your tour with us. Our commitment to excellence drives us to create memorable experiences for each of our cherished clients. At Viator, we take pride in our natural approach, ensuring that every aspect of your journey is meticulously crafted to exceed your expectations. Our team remains dedicated to providing you with unparalleled service, love, and care throughout your travels. As you continue your adventure, we wish you a splendid holiday filled with wonder, discovery, and unforgettable moments. 🌟 With heartfelt regards,

via Viator

Do not book anything with Gillory Tours!

I wouldn't even give it one star if I didn't have to! This was a terrible experience from the beginning. The tour operator reached out via Whatsapp about a week prior to the cruise. Just a message to say their name, what company they represent and tour date. I should have have known from the bad writing that there was going to be a language barrier. I replied back to that message with my details and also asked questions....got radio silence. Then the day before the excursion, got a notification from Viator that my credit card has been charged (which is as expected). I reached out again to the tour company asking about meeting time and location. We arrived on Port at 7 AM and were instructed to meet at 9 AM! Why??? The tour details said 8 and then they moved it to 9. We thought it's cutting it close with the time we have to be back onboard. But we went along with it and finally found the tour rep outside the gates of Amber Cove. (Note, since this is not a cruise tour excursion, companies like this are NOT allowed to pick up or drop off near the terminal. We had a 15-20 min walk each way for this.) When the tour rep communicated with us, he had to use a translation app. Another red flag! He told us we were just waiting on the taxi driver to come pick us up (happens to be his Dad), but there's traffic. While all this waiting is going on (in the heat no less), another tour operator hears all this chaos and confusion and offered us water as well as his tour services. Thank goodness for him since it was almost 10 am by this time and our 5.5 hr tour was cut down significantly. We reached out to Viator via Whatsapp and asked for a full refund and ended up going with the other tour operator. He was still able to cover most of what we had initially signed up for and got us back to the port with a few mins to spare. Stay away from Gillory Tours! I recommend DR Prime as a great alternative if you want to venture outside of cruise excursions.

Response from the operator: We are very sorry that you had a bad experience, Gillary tours always tries to give good service to its clients. we will talk with our team about that. We offer 100% of your money back as long as you cancel 24 hours before the activity.

via Viator

Ripped Off

Viator and this tour company ripped me off. I was staying in Casa Linda Sousa which was explained to the agent a Viator before I booked the tour. The agent at Viator told me they contact the tour company and they would pick me up at 8am. I was a little hesitant to book this tour because I was 30 mins away from Puerto Plata and expressed this to the agent before booking the tour. First the agent told me I was not on the list for a pickup area. Then Said he contact the tour operator and they said they can pick me up. I never had a conversation with the tour company. Everything I’m writing came from the agent at Viator. I sent a message in the morning around 6:45am-7am to the tour operator just to confirm the pick up time. I have never received a response. I want my money back. It’s not good to rip off hard working people just trying to enjoy there vacation.

Response from the operator: We are very sorry that you had a bad experience, Gillary tours always tries to give good service to its clients. We offer 100% of your money back as long as you cancel 24 hours before the activity.

via Viator