Train/Canal Tour vs. Canal Only - Limon

[kyriecat]

I'm trying to decide between a couple of tours. HAL offers a tour that includes the train, a trip by bus to a banana plantation, and the canal. They, as well as several independent vendors, offer a canal only tour. If I use HAL, the price difference between the two tours is only $10 pp. I can get the canal only tour from some of the private vendors for about $20 pp cheaper. Either way the price of the tour isn't a big consideration.

 

My husband has some coworkers who did the train/canal tour through Carnival in January and loved it. They talked about seeing tons of wildlife (monkeys, birds, sloth, crocs) from both the train and the boat.

 

My parents did a similar train/canal tour through RCCL a few years ago and hated the train portion. They said the train was really hot, crowded, and the benches were very uncomfortable. Also, it was loud and they didn't see any wildlife along the way. They enjoyed the canal portion of the tour. They said if they could do it again, they'd take the canal only tour.

 

My husband would like to take the train/canal tour. I'm hesitant because of my parents' description of the train. This trip is for hubby's birthday so I'd like him to be happy with our tour choice. However, I don't want to book the train tour and find out that it really is hot and crowded and we don't even see a monkey.

 

Has anyone taken the train trip recently? If so, how was the experience? Would you do it again or just take the canal?