A Review of Ray and his Tour service

**Don Tomas** · 04-23-2004, 06:08 PM

Well again tossing in my 2 cents: Again Honest and Complete...(edited to add 3 pros & soften an inbetween 05/06/04)

Pros:
-Ray is a friendly guy, speaks perfect English and I believe perfect Spanish, not that I could tell either way since I don't speak the language.
-He was available when I called a few nights late for a much needed translator.
-His family is great and so are all of his friends, he knows ALOT of people everywhere, as always it's good to be connected.
-Ray is a big guy so I always felt safe when traveling with him and we did go to one place were a "Palace Chica" who lived there asked me if I was scared to be there. I was in a lot of places where I was the ONLY gringo around, I like that.
-Ray has a SUV and is an excellent driver, again felt entirely safe riding with him.
-My first night there I was very nervous and still acting as a Nice Guy American so the girl waiting for me disappeared, he explained to his wife exactly what I was looking for and an hour later his wife hand delivered another girl to me. OMG Can his wife pick them, I would rate her a solid 10 on my scale and she had extremely low mileage (or tiny dicks with soft fucks all her life) also she was extremely tasty!
-If you see a chica on the side of the road, if you want he will stop and get her for you!
-Ray will translate ANY words/phrases, also he will teach you the "slang" way to say the phrase so it doesn't sound like it came out of a book.
-I only used Ray's services for part of my trip. In the other city (Sosua) he introduced me to several local people when he dropped me off, they were helpful when needed. Again always good to have friends.
-Ray will take you places where it isn't his "cup of tea", for example we went gambling, he sat and talked with a friend while I gambled. Never trying to rush me and making sure all was good.

Inbetween:
-Ray has a lot of friends around in various cities that he brought me to and sometimes the chica that was waiting for me wasn't what I liked, even ended up as a third wheel (for only a half hour) once when the chica ran off 5 minutes after we got there but he did hit some home runs!
-For the package price he feeds you at his home, excellent food but that of course means I never tried out the local restaurants in Santiago. Next trip will be more of driver only so I will be hitting some of the nice restaurants there. But I do need to get some more of that potato salad your wife made!
-He gets sidetracked sometimes so if he isn't headed in the direction you need to go (bathroom, book store, cigarettes, etc.) you have to remind him a couple times. All good, remember Dominican Time!

Cons:
-None I can think of, it was all good.

**Don Tomas** · 05-06-2004, 09:39 PM

Edited 05/06/04

JD · 05-07-2004, 05:26 AM

Thank you for sharing. I was considering using Ray's services for
a day just to get to know Santiago a bit better. However I did
notice on his site that he will not be in the DR for the time when
I will be there.

Happy Hunting,

JD

**David Smash** · 08-24-2005, 06:36 PM

Hey does anyone know if his services are still available. I would like to get to know Santiago. If though there is no beach there it would be a nice break from the hour and a half ride to POP or 2 hours into Sousa

**Jimmydr** · 08-24-2005, 10:02 PM

I hear he is retired?

**David Smash** · 08-24-2005, 10:59 PM

Aww fuck

well I guess I am solo in Santiago in Sept

JD · 08-26-2005, 01:34 AM

David,

I would like to be in Santiago in September as well BUT I can't make it.

Hopefully someone of our brethren will be there.

JD

**el_papi_chew_low** · 08-26-2005, 10:18 AM

Originally Posted by Jimmydr

I hear he is retired?

Ray isn't doing tours anymore. He has moved on to bigger and better things in life.

**nybm9x5** · 09-21-2005, 03:52 AM

Before retiring ... did Ray make any recommendations for a replacement?

Thanks ... arriving Thursday 9/22 and would love to have someone like this to help.

**JDR** · 09-21-2005, 07:57 AM

Originally Posted by nybm9x5

Before retiring ... did Ray make any recommendations for a replacement?

Thanks ... arriving Thursday 9/22 and would love to have someone like this to help.

With all the info here, you really don't need a tour guide there.

**gdogg** · 09-21-2005, 10:10 AM

Nope, you don't. If you have the time before your trip, try to read as much of this board as you can. You'll be more than fine!

LM · 09-21-2005, 10:31 AM

Originally Posted by gdogg

Nope, you don't. If you have the time before your trip, try to read as much of this board as you can. You'll be more than fine!

I found you can be loaded up with loads of info, which I was for my Labor Day trip, but nothing helps a rookie more than hanging around a couple of guys that know the ropes.
Hanging around with the likes of Kevyboy, JDR, Divingmarky and a few others during that trip, will make my next trip more of a confident one and less stressful, and also introduces me to a bunch of travelling buddies.
I had lots of fun Labor Day week, I don't think I could of done it without the help of the guys and the information on this board

**ajax718** · 09-21-2005, 06:11 PM

Here is a simple plan I use when in DR... Keep a book with all the information I need for my trip from this website. Have a good map. Rent a car. Traveling alone? No problem, drive around places, meet girls you run into, take them out , end of story.