Touring port cities of South America by cab
 

We will be stopping in several port cities (Oranjestad, Aruba; Fuerte Amador, Panama; Manta, Ecuador; Lima, Peru, Arica,Chile; Valparaiso, Chile) while sailing on the Millennium (Celebrity) in Jan. Is is possible to hire a taxi to see the sights rather than join a tour arranged by ship, which is very expensive? We would appreciate any suggestions on how to avoid the $60-$100/person rates. We are a group of six senior adults. Thanks for any help you can offer.

Six passengers donot fit in 1 taxi, so you need at least 2 cabs.
In some ports like Aruba it will be no problem.
However in many other S. American ports donot expect the driver to speak much english. He might not be able to tell you more about the place, then just some pointing.
Best is to try and find a private guide who speaks english.
Maybe through posting at the cruise-critic board somebody can help you.
Or just take the ship-excursions.

Last year this time we were cruising South America and Antarctica from Rio to Valparaiso for 3 weeks on Amsterdam, Holland America. We booked several tours with the ship – was huge disappointment. Not only they were very overpriced – the local guides they hired could not speak good English. Few times we ended up asking them to just keep quiet and let us enjoy the scenery. I personally reported this issue on board, but never got any feed back. In every port we visited, even the small ones, there were taxis and mini vans waiting to take passengers for site seeing. They do same tours. They would not give you professional (nether could the “professionals”) guidance, but would try to tell as much as they know and would answer questions. Price: ¼ of what you pay on the ship. With group of 6 you will definitely save a lot!

Thanks for sharing your experiences alexp508 and for suggestions Ida101. I am reassured that we could do better as you suggest alexp508 by arranging our transportation and avoiding the ship tours. When you spend so much money on a tour I find that it is impossible to enjoy it, much like overspending on New Year's Eve.--there's no way for an experience to live up to that much expense. We have always travelled independently, this is a first time cruise, so I think we can handle the language challenges. I just didn't know if the taxis were allowed close to the ships. Or if anyone had a caution in regards to safety in those particular ports. I'll take a good book to fill in the information. Thanks again for taking the time to reply to my question.

If you decide to take cabs, donot forgot to make deals with the drivers BEFORE departure.!!!!

Thanks for the reminder ida101. I guess taxis are the same all over the world. In Asia, where we do most of our travelling, safety was never an issue. That is my number one concern now in South America, since I am inexperenced in that area of the world. We can handle the negoiating, but wonder about criminal behavior such as robbing. How safe are the independent taxi drivers? We are considering first stopping at a large hotel and arranging transportation form that point. Any comments?

In general cabs at the cruise-terminal are quite safe, but not the cheapest.
If you take a cab outside the terminal, they are cheaper.Maybe a decent hotel can let help you, I donot know.
I guess there is no gurantee about safety. Use your commonsens and feeling about the place/situation etc.
We had very good experiences in Mexico and Antilles.
Take a cab with 4 persons, you might feel more secure then just the 2 of you.