Puerto Limon Tour - Charlie Soto Great

[capashops]

We recently returned from the Celebrity Summit Ultimate Caribbean 11-night cruise (2/7/05 sailing) and had the wonderful experience of touring Puerto Limon with Charlie Soto, a guide that we found through this site. Charlie was less expensive than others I contacted that were mentioned on this board and he did an excellent job under less than great conditions. Though of course we were in the "dry season" we learned, as others have that in the rain forest it really means the "dryer season." Right after we stepped off the ship it began pouring and continued the entire day. Whatever you do, bring your ponchos! Despite the weather Charlie and his driver made it a wonderful experience. We did a Jungle Walk at Brisas de la Jungle and the guides were fabulous. We could not do the zip line tour because of the rain (couldn't brake well enough) but the set-up they had looked fabulous. Brisas de la Jungle is only 30 minutes out of Puerto Limon - much closer than any other place to zip line and do a Canopy Tour.

 

No one in our group wanted to do the banana or coffee bean plantations so we skipped that but we did do the Tortuguero Canals. Didn't see much, so that made our trip to the Animal Rescue Center all the better. I can't remember the official name of the Center. It is essentially a family-run homestead where they have a number of different animals and birds. We had the chance to hold and learn about a number of different birds and animals including monkeys, parakeets, parrots, iguanas, etc. Our hosts also served us native bananas and coconuts picked from their trees. The whole experience was a highlight of our trip.

 

Charlie met us with a new van as promised, and did everything possible to please us and make the day enjoyable despite the bad weather. I highly recommend him. He can be reached at okeydokeytours@hotmail.com.

 

Good luck and have fun! You can't go wrong with Charlie! :) capashops

[gallivanter]

Thanks for the great info... We are on the Summit leaving 3/21 on the same itinerary.

What did Charlie charge? How many were with you?

 

Thanks!

[dmac]

Has anybody else had any experiences with Charlie Soto in Costa Rica?

[Diana68]

not yet, but we are booked with him for April 2nd. We will be able to tell you more when we get back. He seems very pleasent from his emails.

[capashops]

I'm sorry to be late getting back to you but hope that you're checking your mail while on the ship. Charlie charged us $40 per person, including the Tortuguero Canal Boat Trip and the Animal Rescue Center. We gave tips (a few dollars each) at both places and nice tips for Charlie and his driver. There were 8 of us.

[char4561]

:) We contacted Charlie Soto via e-mail after reading recommendations on these boards. Charlie was great! Our day with him was the highlight of our vacation. Our family of 6 had a wonderful time. There were also 4 others that we recruited during our cruise to join us and 4 more who contacted him on their own. We saw sloths, monkeys, alligators, iguanas. We went to the canals, went ziplining at Las Brisas, took a tour of the Del Monte banana plantation also to a restaurant on the beach and then to a local grocery store for some local items. He had a small tour bus that had seating for probably 20 or so. (not exactly sure of how many seats.) There were a total of 14 passengers on the day we went. His bus/van was brand new and fully air conditioned and very roomy. He greeted us at the end of the pier as promised. He provided drinks and fresh fruit for all. His English was very good. He was very knowledgeable, friendly, very professional and very reasonable. I would highly recommend him and if I ever get a chance to return to Costa Rica I would not hesitate to hire him again. Try Charlie Soto, we're glad we did.

[dmac]

How was the ziplining? Did you think it was worth the money? We are scheduled to go with Charlie on April 8. What is the best way to dress for ziplining and canal tour?

[char4561]

:) dmac: I personally did not zip line but my DH (54yrs. old) and our 2 sons (15 & 17) said it was the most fun thing they had ever done in their lives. In fact 4 other mature adults on our tour agreed it was the best experience ever. It was very much worth it from what I understand. Safety was a major concern and the guides that took you up were very cautious. Everyone said they felt very safe. It looked scary to me!

[char4561]

dmac: My sons, DH and all the others wore shorts and t-shirts to zipline. They provided all necessary equipment (helmets, gloves harnesses, etc.) for all. I would recommend wearing sneakers as apposed to sandals.

[Inshape]

Wa the zip lining and all th other things done on this tour included in the $40 pp fee. Or was that his price to just take you to to these areas and then you had to pay more to do the zip lining and the canal and the plantation, animal rescue ... Please let me know.Do you know what the age requirements are for the zip line. we will have 2 of our children with us and they will be 11 and 9. If it is additional charges, can you tell me what they were. Thanks!

How long of a tour was this?

[char4561]

:p The zip lining was an additional $40 pp fee paid directly to the Las Brisas folks. Everything else was included in the $40 tour price (i.e., addmision to Canals & visit Banana Plantation etc.) I do not know if there is an age limit to zip line but Charlie Soto probably can tell you best. Our tour lasted about 8hrs or so. He assured us there would be ample time to get back to ship and there was.

[Longlegscruiser]

WE booked Charlie for a tour in November, I cant wait, thanks for the great feedback