27 Mar 2023
Booked this tour during an Apple Vacation. It was a great way to see the island outside of the resort.
The Black River Private Tour was very interesting and it is good to know they are trying to preserve this wetland. They are restocking the alligators and they do come up close and personnel to the boat. The thing that I really didn't like was that the tour operator did ask for a tip at the end of the ride. It was the only time during the whole vacation there that someone actually suggested a tip. I didn't give him as much as I would have because of that.
YS Falls is really very pretty. We got to climb up on the rocks and you could go in the water at the base of the falls if you wanted. The water was to cold for that. You could zipline if you wanted too. I did not.
The Appleton Estate tour was really the best. Our tour guide was fabulous. You got to see how the rum was made back in the day and at present. You got to taste sugar cane, which I had never tasted and the molasses byproduct from the distillation process. Of course there was the rum tasting and after the tour that was my husband's favorite drink at the resort.
The estate was very pretty and well kept. The fees were included in our tour price so I can't speak about that. I truly enjoyed seeing this place. If you have the time I would recommend going to see this estate.
The falls are really cool and I would go see this attraction again if it was included with something else. The falls are in a park and the grounds are very well tended.
I probably would not take the river tour again, it was ok but not that interesting.
These 3 places took us over quite a bit of the island. It was very interesting to see how the people there live. Our tour guide told us a lot about life there and I really enjoyed hearing about that. Many areas are really very poor and it gives you a different perspective about things.
Taking these tours was a nice way to get off the resort safely. If you can, I suggest taking a tour just to see the island in a different way.