recent tour guide reviews

[knitpurl]

I have just read thru lots of reviews for tour guides in Costa ican and realized many are from 2008-9 etc..

Does anyone have any more recent feedback ( like the last 6 months)for

JJ Tours or Your Lucky Tours or Oscar Brown tours..

Thanks

[Loonbeam]

We toured with JJ in October...

 

Full Review of all ports here, but here's the Costa Rica part..

 

Limon, Costa Rica:

 

Tour Name: Tour #8 (Rainforest, Aerial Tram, Zipline, Lunch, Tortugero Canals, Shopping)

Booked with: JJ Tours

Price: $135 pp

 

Summary:

 

JJ was waiting for us when we got off the ship with Chavez, our driver. Once we were all assembled, we raced off to the Veruaga rainforest area to beat the crowds. The first thing on the agenda was a tour of the area followed by an aerial tram ride down to a waterfall. JJ turned us over to a guide at the facility named Carlos who took us through some exhibits featuring the local fauna including the amphibian house and butterfly room as well as the nocturnal amphibian area. It was very interesting and one thing I appreciated was that they had multiple staffers with flashlights available to help point out the sometimes very small animals in their enclosures. On the tram ride down we spotted a sloth in the tree. The waterfall at the bottom was nice, nothing special, and you climbed a lot of steps to get to it (we did see some really cool frogs and insects along the way). There is a botanical exhibit for those who want to take the tram down but can't handle the steps. (See some notes on tram in comments section)

 

After taking the tram back up, it was time to get geared up for zip lining at the same facility. This was a decision made to maximize our time in port, and not the zipline location JJ always used. This turned out to be a mistake. At this point I need to mention that I used to build zip lines, so I thought I had some idea what to expect. I was wrong. At this facility they did something I had never seen before, which is hand braking, where you use your hand to slow your approach. There are several problems with this method over either mechanical or gravity breaking, namely its counter intuitive, very hard for people with shorter arms, like my wife and if you break too much you stop early, necessitating a lovely hand over hand maneuver to get to the next platform (or the guide had to come out and get you). In addition, they didn't have enough guides for the number of platforms, so there was a delay at each platform while we waited for the guides to leapfrog over each group and stack up more people. More comments on this below, I am getting away from my narrative. The long and short of it was that what should have taken an hour, took over 2 putting us behind and very tired.

 

JJ did his best to catch us up. The original plan called for lunch then the canals, we adapted by stopping at the restaurant JJ recommended first and placing our orders then headed to the canals so that everyone who wanted could grab a beer or other beverage for the boat ride and JJ would call them when we were on the way back to start cooking. We then drove over to the canal and got in a small flat bottom boat and explored the canals for about an hour. No croc or cayman sightings (I was kind of relieved, this boat was really close to the waterline, but several bird and lizard sightings, and some including a Jesus Christ lizard (so named because they can run across the water's surface.)

 

We headed back to the restaurant for a late and tasty (in my opinion) lunch at the restaurant near Playa Bonita. I had the specialty, Casado, which was rice, black beans and a BBQ style chicken that was delicious. There was a mixup or two due to the unusual nature of the ordering, but everyone worked to get it settled. After lunch we headed back to the port so people had time to do a little shopping in the stores around the port and the craft market just inside.

 

Comments:

 

Before I get into some negatives, I want to stress that NONE of them were JJ's fault. In fact, he did his absolute best to deal with any issues that arose, we just hit a bad string. I'll give some examples as to why I would recommend him highly below. The first of which was after the meet and greet the number of people who wanted to come kept growing, and he was very accommodating (I can't wait to see my cell bill for calls from ship to Costa Rica. We went from 8 to 16 people. (It just occurred to me that may have affected our timing as well since the original plan was designed for 8. Ooops).

 

First, lets talk tram. When I set the schedule up with JJ, as I noted, we selected the tram and zipline close together to save time. I thought this was an excellent idea as I had no idea there were several different trams in the Limon area and the one I had read about was not the one we were doing. It just never occurred to me. If you want to do the hour long aerial tram with guide, make sure you specify that with your tour arranger. Then again, that tram would have never fit into our schedule anyway, since we were not in port that long.

 

The real disappointment here was the zipline. I noted above about the braking system and lack of guides, but I was even more disappointed in the lack of anything informational or educational along the ride. Yes, it was cool to be zip lining through a rainforest, but other than by the nature of the trees around you the course did nothing to reflect its environment. There was only one real scenic viewpoint, the rest was just, well, trees. Even some signs regarding things to look for would have been nice. Given the delays and the standing around on platforms that resulted, it became more of an ordeal than an adventure. While other people reported better technical aspects from other locations, no one mentioned any programs that really integrated the rainforest environment and that's just a shame. If it wasn't for the pre-zip walking tour and aerial tram, I really might have been zipping through somewhere in the US.

 

Again, I want to stress that none of this was JJ's fault, in fact when we finally got down to ground level at the end of the zips, he was getting ready to order search parties since we had been gone so long. At every point along the way, he was the consummate guide, even monitoring the cashier at the restaurant who tried to get a little creative in charging one of our party. Also, he has a heck of an eye for spotting wildlife. I will strongly recommend anyone considering a private tour to use his services.

[knitpurl]

thanks so much for your answer,,finally I understand that there is a difference between the rain forest tram tour and the Veruga rainforest...

my group wants to do the long tram ride and maybe a plantation so now I can proceed..

were the canals really worth it? just not sure if we can/should include it with the full tram..(then skip the plantation)

thanks again

going to look for your other reviews for the other ports,,,

can u direct me?

[BoopTennis]

GREAT GREAT tour by Okey Dokey Tours

We were on Island Princess 10 day cruise to Panama Canal and one of our stops was Costa Rica. We had a group of 8 and had prebooked with Okey Dokey Tours and they did a FANTASTIC job! Everyone loved it.

 

I was able to easily set up the arrangements via email with the owner Charlie. He gave us a discount for being Cruise Critic member. We selected the A-2 tour which included lots of fun things esp ziplining, banana plantation, and tortuguero canal boat right, among other things, and included a wonderful lunch, total tour scheduled to last about 7 hours.

 

As promised, tour guide Carlos and his driver met us at the cruise port one hour after arrival. Owner Charlie was also there to see us off. We all fit comfortably in an air-conditioned van.

 

First we went to a banana plantation a short drive away. Got to see interesting things on the way there. The banana plantation was way more interesting than I thought it would be, they do everything from grow the trees, chop down the bananas, wash, sort, pack and ship all in one place.

 

 

Next we drove to the rainforest for zip-lining. On the way there we saw some monkeys along the road and stopped at a sugar cane place. I dont like heights and was apprehensive about zip-lining but it was AWESOME. 7 platforms, very long, we were the only ones there so no lines, guides helped us the whole way so no issues. here we are with Carlos as we get ready to go ziplining.

 

 

 

Next we went to the canal boat tours and this was fun. We didnt see LOTS of "creatures" but did see many birds, sloths, baby alligators etc. It was very nice and relaxing.

 

 

Next Carlos took us to a WONDERFUL restaurant right on the water for a fantastic lunch (included along with beer). Was a great local meal and filled us completely up, wonderful food, relaxing and great view.

 

 

Finally on the way back to the cruise port we stopped in town for brief shopping for some coffee etc. It was interesting seeing some of the shops and display of the food.

 

 

 

We got back to the ship by 3 pm or so in plenty of time. Everything about the tour was great, Carlos took very good care of us and we did everything we wanted to do and more. I would not hesitate to use Okey Dokey Tours again

[Loonbeam]

The canals are hit or miss. If you see a lot of animals, awesome. Not so many you might have wished you decided to do the plantation. No way to tell! :)

 

Link to the full review is here (it's also in the second line of my original reply): http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1508966

 

Photos Here: Costa Rica starts on Page 8 if you don't land there:

 

 

 

thanks so much for your answer,,finally I understand that there is a difference between the rain forest tram tour and the Veruga rainforest...

my group wants to do the long tram ride and maybe a plantation so now I can proceed..

were the canals really worth it? just not sure if we can/should include it with the full tram..(then skip the plantation)

thanks again

going to look for your other reviews for the other ports,,,

can u direct me?

[jgga]

Just returned on Feb 3 from Celebrity Equinox trip to Caribbean including Costa Rica (Puerto Limon). We used Eduardo (owner) from Your Lucky Tour. We also used him the year before because we were so satisfied with the tour and guide. Great time. Eduardo or one of his guides is very good. Met us on time just outside the port entrance. Clean and comfortable van with A/C. He has standard tours or will customize. Went to Paradero eco tour which is a wildlife preserve and includes raised walking platform through the rain forest. The preserve rescues orphan and injured animals and nurses them to return to the wild or remain at the refuge. Eduardo accompanied us through the refuge and forest and knew more than the student guide who said that Eduardo was the most knowedgeable guide he had met during his time there.

[pilotdane]

It looks like Imperial was available on your boat trip which is a plus.

 

I do have to take objection when someone says they saw sloths, crocodiles and birds and then says you did not see many "creatures". Which "creature" did you hope to see that you missed? I hate to state the obvious that a power boat of tourists is not the best for spotting wildlife. After all, you are not visiting a zoo with caged animals. It's much more like hunting or fishing where you have good days and bad days.

[BoopTennis]

EXCUSE ME, pilotdane, if its me you are referring to. I was VERY happy with my tour (as you can see by the title). I was very happy with the canal tour. I just did not want to mislead anyone that the canals were full of "creatures". We saw a few and I was happy with that. :)

[JonconOH]

Loved your pictures of the Rainforest Zip Lines. We were there last year and had a ball. Three quarters of our tour group were over the age of 70, and we did it! My wife has two artificial hips and "zipped". She recommends turning around as you reach the next platform so you don't hig your legs going in. The young guides will stop you.

[footlooseFF]

We just returned from our cruise on the Zuiderdam and really enjoyed our excursion with Your Lucky Tours. Eduardo met us promptly at the dock at 8 a.m. Costa Rica time (the ship clock stayed an hour ahead at this port) and he put the two of us with another couple. We really enjoyed the Jungle Breeze zipline. I especially liked that I didn't have to brake, they did everything for us and we just enjoyed the ride!. We were grateful that our tour went to the zipline first, as there was a cruise excursion of 100 participants that arrived right after we finished. We saw lots of animals on the Tortuguero Canal Tour (family of howler monkeys, a sloth, a toucan, an alligator, lots of birds, etc.). We visited the banana plantation but a snake sighting ended that tour at our request! We also stopped at the grocery store to pick up some coffee and other treats. Our tour guide was a young woman and she was very quiet but answered our questions and pointed out the sights as we drove along. We were back at the cruise ship before 1:30 p.m.

 

I would definitely book with Eduardo & Your Lucky Tours again!

[cruznfan94]

Had an excellent experience with Eduardo at yourluckytour@gmail.com out of Puerto Limon. Had a wonderful time on the Tortuguero canal and in the Veragua rainforest. We learned a lot about Costa Rica during our ride to the rainforest and canal, and even sang some songs.

He answered our questions regarding shopping and local prices and even helped one of the group who did not walk as well.

I highly recommend booking with yourluckytour!

 

Have booked in Cartagena, CO, Greece, Ephesus, Turkey and Cairo, Egypt off of cruise ships too.

[lourdest]

Just returned from our cruise on the Zuiderdam and loved our excursion with Danilo Hall from Adventure Caribbean, adventure_caribbean@yahoo.com. Decided to contact Danilo based on the recommendations from this board and reviews from Tripadvisor. Danilo was very responsive to all my questions.

Danilo customized the tour just for our needs, we communicated back and forward until we had the best plan for our group of 5. Lots to do in port so we had to pick the stuff that we wanted to do and be within the time frame of the boat being in port. Our tour included stops at the Veragua rainforest, Tortuguero Canal and a late lunch on Bonita Beach. Danilo met us right outside the port just as he said he would and took us to the rainforest before all the cruise bus arrived. When we got to the rainforest the park tour guide was waiting for us and we started our tour which I thought was very educational and fun. From there we went to the Canals, I like that too. Our guide was very good at pointing out all the wild life. Stopped at a restaurant on Bonita Beach and had excellent food and the view of the ocean was to die for. Great place.

On the way back to the boat, we asked Danilo to stop at a local store so we could buy some souvenirs; he knew exactly where to take us.

Danilo does not have an internet site, but you can contact him via email. I would definitely recommend Danilo to anyone who wants a private tour with a guide who is very knowledgeable and makes your day in Port Limon an adventure.