About Fernando Tourisme
Easy. If Fernando Tourisme guides don’t find you first, just look for the distinctive mini-bus.
Prior to each tour, when everyone is assembled, Fernando Tourisme guides will run through the tour options and in a friendly discussion, they will suggest tour highllights that usually suit everyone. Fernando Tourisme guides are very flexible and they know Noumea and its attractions so well that they can work to a timetable that will ensure that cruise passengers get to their boat in plenty of time and still have a full and interesting tour.
Plenty of time is allowed to cope with traffic holdups (sometimes) and any other eventuality. For example, many cruise boats leave the port at 5pm so Fernando Tourisme guides ensures that the passengers are back at the cruise ship no later than 2.30pm, in plenty of time to board or do some local shopping before boarding. In the event of, say, a vehicle failure, Fernando Tourisme has transport operated by colleagues standing by. Guides have mobile phones to ensure they can always call for assistance if required.
Unfortunately there is only one of Fernando, and certainly he is very entertaining, with a great personality that endears himself and his family to visitors. Fernando realises this and therefore strives to make himself available for as many tours as possible. But Fernando has trusted guides that he can rely on, including George, who many tourists have met, and rave about. But realistically, the only water-tight guarantee that Fernando will be conducting your tour will be if you book a private or exclusive tour. Group tours, where a number of passengers unknown to each other have booked a Fernando tour, will generally have Fernando as the tour guide, but there may be occasions when he is not available and when this happens, George or other highly competent colleagues can undertake the same tour, and in English if required. George even speaks Japanese as well.
About our melanesian tasting
Bougna is a traditional Melanesian feast that is usually a combination of chicken or fish with yams, taro, manioc, pumpkin, bananas, sweet potatoes and fresh coconut milk, decorated with tomatoes and wrapped in banana leaves. The bougna is then steamed in an earth oven heated by hot stones and served with other dishes including tropical fruit in season, French pastries and cheeses and washed down with local soft drinks or beer and French wines. While it is called a tasting, there is usually plenty of food to go around, and filling enough to be called a meal. This kind of food is available only on the full Noumea tour and on some exclusive tours outside the capital.
During the tour briefing just prior to leaving on a tour, make your concerns known. Family and staff have a range of tuna, salads and fruits which can usually solve most dietary issues.
About credit card details
Our tour business is no different to any other business in tourism and we have modelled our booking and payment methods on the world-wide accepted practice of secure credit card submission to confirm a booking.
Bookings on airlines, cruise ships, hotels, live theatres, events and on almost every other attraction or transport in tourism, will not be honoured without either pre-payment or prior submission of credit card details. And because the majority of our customers come from other countries, our business could not function unless we followed these accepted principles.
We have gone to a great deal of trouble to spell out our terms very clearly on our website. When you book an airline ticket or cruise ticket, the responsibility of checking the details of the service and acknowledging that you understand the terms of travel, are clearly the responsibility of the traveller. Booking our tour is no different.
Everyone has concerns about cyber security, which is why we have adopted the universally accepted SSL secure system, indicated by the small black lock in the address bar at the top of our web pages.
We have received no complaints about our level of security. Our website developer in Australia, who is very conversant with cyber security issues, acknowledges that some private computer security software can trigger alarms and if this happens to you, please notify us by email and we will do our best to resolve the issue.
The level of security my website uses is the one most commonly used by commerce online. It encrypts the credit card and form data so that that it cannot be stolen after details are inserted into a web browser, and it remains encrypted until it reaches the hosting website.
Just across the road from the City Terminal, where all cruise passengers are taken, regardless of which wharf your ship uses, there are ATM facilities. Look for the Casino sign just across the road from the City Terminal. Note that banks in Noumea don’t change money, but there are currency exchange booths that do, and local currency is readily and easily available through ATMs.
About cruise ship arrivals and departures
If you can’t disembark in Noumea through no fault of yours, no charge will be made against your credit card and your card information will be destroyed.
Tours and their flexibility
All of the attractions shown on Fernando Tourisme’s website are tour options and they will build a customised tour to suit your party or tour group. If there are many people in the tour who don’t know each other, compromises might need to be made, but usually Fernando Tourisme guides manage to give everyone a great tour. There’s more to Fernando Tourisme’s tours that just visiting attractions or lookouts – they are full of surprises and on the way, you will be entertained by Fernando or George climbing a coconut tree, or fashioning interesting ornaments out of palm leaves. Fernando and George are really great with children of all ages.
Tours outside Noumea, like the South Province and North Province involve some travel outside Noumea and therefore there is not enough time available for cruise passengers to take these tours. They are usually booked by visitors who are staying at hotels in Noumea and who are able to spend a full day on a tour. The private tour of Noumea and surrounds is also a longer day and more suitable for hotel guests. Having said that, if cruise passengers want to book Fernando exclusively for their party for a tour of Noumea, they can request it and subject to availability, Fernando will take a private tour, but obviously the cost will be higher than a general group tour. The minimum number of passengers for any private tour is two (2). As in all countries in the world, a private or exclusive tour will be charged at a premium, but with Fernando, you will never forget the experience.
The simple answer is YES. But even then, please understand that because there is only one Fernando, or one George, it is usually a case of ‘first in best dressed’.
All private or exclusive tours operated by Fernando Tourisme are personally escorted by Fernando or George. Because the majority of the business is group tours for cruise ship passengers, it stands to reason that private tours need to be booked as early as possible. Fernando Tourisme go out of their way to look after private tours, even to the point of arranging other tour guides to look after cruise passengers who may have booked for the same day.
Please understand that sometimes, private tours cannot be accommodated on late notice.
About payment options
It is normal practice in most countries in the world to use either local currency or accepted credit cards to pay for local goods and services – New Caledonia is no different. Because of currency fluctuations, the only way tour operators can receive the proper monetary value for their services is for them to be paid in local currency or by credit card. Try visiting Peru or New York or London and asking if they will take your Australian dollars. New Caledonia is a French country and despite its proximity to Australia and New Zealand, it does not have any facility for using Australian or New Zealand dollars. Certainly some companies in Noumea may accept Australian or New Zealand dollars, but usually these are bigger operations that can cope with currency fluctuations.
No. The terms are clearly spelt out on this website. There are discounts for children and for groups of ten (10) or more where one person is paying either in cash or with one credit card.
Apart from costly international transfer of funds, credit card payment through Fernando Tourisme’s website is the only means of holding a booking on your behalf, and you will note on the booking forms that no funds will be deducted from your credit card but full payment will be expected on your arrival in Noumea, either by credit card or XPF (local currency).