C. Soto or O. Brown or ?

[2552phxcrzr]

I'll put in plug for a different guide - Danilo Hall - to give those who visit this thread another option (we found his name from a recommendation on this board). My review from our Dec 16, 07 private tour for two people is Post 8 at: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=672642. Danilo's website is: http://www.geocities.com/adventure_caribbean/aboutus.html.

[dimidgi]

Recently got back from HAL's Amsterdam cruise to the Panama Canal and went on a private shore excursion with Oscar Brown in Puerto Limon. This is one of the best shore excursions I've been on. Our family of seven went with Oscar for the day in port, and he took us to see the area and personally showed us Puerto Limon. We went on the canal ride and also did the canopy zip, which was fantastic, and we went to a banana plantation. Many times he stopped to show us monkeys and different plants and flowers. He also took us to a local spot for lunch. I highly recommend contacting Oscar on his web-site for a very interesting time.

[armb]

I used Danillo Hall on our excirsion in Costa Rica. He met us at the pier with an very nice air conditioned van with a cooler full of drinks. We went white water rafting and zip lining in the same day. It was awesome. We had a nice lunch and he also took us to a grocery store for coffee and some great local marinades. I highly reccomend him. His e-mail is:

 

adventure_caribbean@yahoo.com

 

You will not be disapointed.

Corey or anyone else who knows about white water rafting in costa rica pls respond

My hubby and I are cruising RCI brillance of the sea 2/1 and really want to WW raft and zip line...how much should we expect to pay ballpark and how long does the whole tour last? how long do you get to be on the water? With the Zip line how many platforms are there and whats the longest run?

Thanks for any help you can give...hope I did this right b/c this is the first post I've ever done...newbie

[karolm]

I was on the Azamara Quest and docked in Puerto Limon on 12/ 15/07. I had arranged a combination of tours with Oscar and Carol Brown.

Tour #1

The Tortuguero Canal tour is a tour through the rain forest, where as you go comfortable in a boat with cover, you see all wild life: alligator, monkeys, slots, different type of birds, Then I will take you to the banana plantation, coco beans farm, City tour, a tour at the a white sand beach, the rich area, and a surprise stop; witch will take you to the highest part of the city. I include soft drinks along the tour. We have a stop for the purchasing of souvenirs and coffee. This is $45 per person, and it goes for 5 hours

Tour #3.

Aerial Tram:

This tour takes you to one of the highest and beautiful sites of Costa Rica, giving you the best view through the first Rain Forest ever built. This is the Aerial Forest Atlantic Park. Located, 80 minutes from the pier of Limon. And the way to this place you see pineapple plantation, cornfields and rafting river. This is $43 for transportation and you pay $.55 for the rid on the Aerial Tram. The total will be $98 per person. Then at the end, the tour takes you to a surprise stop. This tour is for 6 to 7 hours. Soft drinks are included. We stop for lunch, if you decide to do so

 

I was told doing the combo tour was no problem for $125/person. There were seven in our party. My husband and 5 people from our roll call that I had recruited.

The first problem is Costa Rica is one hour behind us so we were docked for 2 hours before our meeting time with Oscar. We drove on a 2 lane highway to the Aerial Tram with a lot of traffic. The only sights we did see were the Tram and the Canals and had to cut the Canal visit to 45 minutes because of the time factor. We got back to the dock and walking up the gangway one minute before the time we were supposed to be back on board. Very stressfull to say the least. And embarassing as that trip certainly was not worth $125/person and I felt very guilty about the arrangements.

There is no way you are able to do this combo. Never saw banana plantation, city tour, shopping or anything else. It would have been much better to have done just the canal tour alone. The tram was not worth the long drive there nor the expense.

In doing this combo I cannot recommend Oscar Brown.

Carol M

[dimidgi]

Go with Oscar Brown. We went at Christmas time from the Amsterdam with our 7 adult family members and had a fantastic time. He will take you where you want to go and he is very informative on Puerto Limon and stops to point out interesting sites. The "zip line" was a great adventure, and the canal tour and the banana plantation, too. One of the best shore excursions on our cruise!:)

[oc323]

I want to schedule a Costa Rica tour when I am in Puerto Limon (Volendam-Jan.12 sailing). There are only 2 of us (my Mom and I) and I want to make sure the tour is a good one. I have read many good things about Charlie and Oscar both, but also a few disappointing posts, particularly when the group is small. Any advice?

 

I just came back from Costa Rica. Loved the tour with Charlie. We booked with a party of two however we found out that 18 others on the ship alos contacted him. We were picked up at the edge of the pier(walk all the way down.) He stayed with the group and have two young helpers and a driver with him. This man is professional all the way. We had a great time!

[oc323]

I want to schedule a Costa Rica tour when I am in Puerto Limon (Volendam-Jan.12 sailing). There are only 2 of us (my Mom and I) and I want to make sure the tour is a good one. I have read many good things about Charlie and Oscar both, but also a few disappointing posts, particularly when the group is small. Any advice?

 

I just came back from Costa Rica. Loved the tour with Charlie. We booked with a party of two however we found out that 18 others on the ship alos contacted him. We were picked up at the edge of the pier(walk all the way down.) He stayed with the group and have two young helpers and a driver with him. This man is professional all the way. We had a great time!

[pennez]

Do not use him. We did not enjoy his "tour" last October. His employee picked us up in a jeep that could only hold 8--we added up to 10. The banana company tour and the "botantical" tour were just ok, but the boat tour was a complete waste of time. The boat driver was inexperienced, spoke very softly, and we didn't see anything interesting except for a young boy holding a baby alligator (he apparently did that all the time-for $). We left the tour before lunch just because we were completely bored and fed up with being squeezed into a too small vehicle. Look elsewhere for a professional tour guide....

[dbusching]

Our family group of 12 were on an Azamara Quest cruise sailing on December 22, 2007 from Acapulco through the Panama Canal to Miami. Based on strong recommendations on this board we booked a private tour from the port of Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica with Charlie Soto of OKEYDOKEYTOURS. Also based on what I had read on the board I sought and received confirmation from Charlie that he, CHARLIE SOTO, would be our guide and we would not be "handed off" to someone else like it seems has happened to other groups in the past. We were met outside the gates by a man purporting to be CHARLIE SOTO. I asked him if he was and he said he was CHARLIE SOTO. The problem is that on the OKEYDOKEYTOURS.COM website there is a picture of Charlie and these two didn't look anything alike. If you would like to see our "Charlie" email me at dbuschingatcoxdotnet and I'll forward a picture of our tourmaster. The tour was good although I would have liked a little more of a running commentary on Costa Rica, the people, economy, history, etc. The only problem I have is the fact that Charlie didn't show up when he assured us he would. It seems Charlie may have become so popular that he can't be in multiple locations giving simulltaneous tours. So, if it matters to you, buyer beware.

[southwardbound]

We just got back from Costa Rica and used Oscar Brown. I would NOT recommend him. We waited quite a long time before our excursion. We went to the banana plantation which was closed. We went through some very scary parts of town that were NOT safe no matter who you are with. The canal boat that we were on was not in good shape and the engine broke down while we were on it. He was dishonest about the cost of the tour. In my opinion I would stick with the excursions with the cruise lines.:cool:

[miamijnt]

We took Charlie Sotos A2 tour in December and were disappointed. Our guide seemed very uninterested and I guess he was in a hurry to go back to the ship as he told us there was no time to eat lunch and he skipped the grocery stop. We got back over an hour early to the ship.

If I ever go again, I would ask the guide before we leave just to verify the itenerary. Although one other passenger did ask and was told...dont worry you will get everything you signed up for. I think a lot depends on your guide.

[Iceberg2]

Just left port after using Charlie Soto today. After a bit of a rough start with some misunderstanding as to when we were to be picked up. One couple did not show up and Charlie himself did not come as we were just two. The guide was able to get another couple and we were with George and Stanton. George gave us a very good tour - he was very animated and knew his country well. We stopped to watch toller monkeys along the route, we did his A1 tour, saw the Canal - the animator for this part was a young delightful boy of 12 who pointed out all the flora and animal life along the way. We then went for lunch at the beach, which was delicious (paid by George) and then went to a local grocery store to buy coffee - at very reasonable prices. All in all, the tour was very good.

[Jonas Grumby]

We were met outside the gates by a man purporting to be CHARLIE SOTO. I asked him if he was and he said he was CHARLIE SOTO.

 

The problem I've noticed with the okeydokeytours.com website is that the picture of Charlie isn't very clear. Charlie is about 5-foot-6, dark curly hair, bears a slight resemblance to Bill Dana (you'll know who that is if you're over 40 or so). He wore a white baseball-style cap. Charlie is maybe in his early 50s, and speaks fluent English with a medium- to heavy accent.

 

Does that describe the person you were there with?

 

Gary

[Lady Meer]

We were on the New Year Island Princess trip. In July one of our CC group booked the B2 tour with Charlie Soto in Puntarenas. He agreed to take just 12 of us on the tour and he would be our guide.

 

On the day we were met by someone else and taken to a place where there were 2 buses (both already had people on). There was no room on either bus for all 12 of us - one was going zip-lining (not to Villa Lapas) and the other was the crocodile tour. This was our first disappointment as we were not able to stay together as a group. Some went off with the zip-lining bus and the rest joined the crocodile bus. We were on the second bus but were told that he would take us zip-lining to Villa Lapas.

 

We stopped at a roadside pull-in (we realised later this was the animal place) where we saw 2 lots of monkeys - there was someone there with food for them so obviously was a bit of a 'set-up'. We were dropped off at the zip-lining and then joined another group from our ship (also with Charlie) so now our group was 15 (too many for the zip-line people to cope with). After a wait of about an hour we went to the zip-lining and the rest of the group went on the crocodile trip - their 2 hour trip now only being 1 hour.

 

We met the crocodile people again for lunch which was OK but at a really scruffy beach - not beautiful at all! The viewpoint was just a stop overlooking a valley and the supermarket was just that - a supermarket. Charlie showed us which vanilla to buy (but at the check-out we realised it was gravy powder and changed it).

 

The whole day was very disappointing for us all not least for our CC member who had taken the time and trouble to organise this trip for us.

 

We did ask to see some sloths but were told they were not in that area - but other trips did see them.

 

On the positive side our guide, Ray, was really very good and insisted Charlie came with us, we think because Ray knew we were REALLY annoyed. Charlie made hardly any contribution to the day at all.

 

 

Brenda

[MSPCUBS]

Just back from our cruise. We had a tour scheduled with Oscar Brown. He met us at the pier right on time. We were joined by another couple and introduced to our guide - Toni. (Oscar did not do the tour.) We were in a nice air-conditioned van.

Toni was very nice and did show us much of the area. We were on Tour #1.

The canal ride was great as our boat driver showed us many birds, along with monkeys and sloths. I was amazed that he could spot them so easily.

The banana plantation wasn't operating, but Toni took us to the banana trees and explained how they grew. We saw the town and had a great view of the area from a restaurant at the top of a hill. Toni stopped and showed us various plants and fruits along the way and we stopped to see a youngster holding a sloth.

The other couple were going zip-lining, so we went to drop them off. Toni asked if we wanted to wait and at first, I said no. But, seeing that it would be inconvenient for them to take us back to the ship or somewhere else, we ended up staying and waiting for the zip-liners. The place let us ride up to where they were going to zip-line, so we did see some of the rain forest. We did have to sit around and wait for about 45 minutes.

We did not go anywhere to buy coffee or souvenirs. Toni said the prices at the pier would be better. Not sure if that was true or not. We did not go and see the people who had rescued the sloth (as I read in other reviews).

As it was getting late and I did want to do some shopping, we did not get to the Animal Sanctuary, which I wanted to do and had arranged to do. I guess if we had not spent the time at the zip-lining place, we might have gone there. Nothing was mentioned about it.

We also did not get any cold drinks. Toni said that they are only available when there is a large group. Not sure why as I am paying the same price.

I do think the tour was worth $45. I believe that if the group is larger, you have more control over things.

[popsec]

We booked thru Charlie Soto last year when were were in Costa Rica and really enjoyed the tour. I emailed him when I found we were going back there this Jan. I stated that I'd like to hold a sloth and take an actual tour thru one of the banana processing plants. He quoted me $60 per person to include admission to both places.

 

When we got off the ship we were met by Carlos (I think that was his name, not Charlie) and he informed us we were going to the banana farm and the Tortaguero canal. I told him, no....we're supposed to be going to the sloth sanctuary and had already been to the canal so didn't want to do it again. He was adament that we didn't want to go to the sloth sanctuary. Anyway, we were turned over to Dexter, a taxi driver. We went to a banana packing plant but there was no admission and we weren't given a guided tour. Then we went back to the same banana farm we went to last year and were able to hold an adult sloth. On to a supermarket to buy coffee and then back to the ship.

 

In all it was about 3 hours (not the 4-5 hours Charlie quoted) and we were never offered drinks (which Charlie said was included). When it came time to pay the driver I asked him how much and he said whatever Charlie quoted. I responded that since we weren't taken to the sloth sanctuary we should get the admission price deducted. He called Charlie on the cell phone and Charlie said to just pay what we thought was fair. We gave the driver $40 apiece for each of us and a $25 tip.

 

To sum it up, I think we were victums of "bait and switch" and would have had to pay the $60 pp if we hadn't questioned it. After this, I won't be recommending Charlie Soto and his Okie Dokey tours :(

[LPut714]

We just returned from the Carnival Liberty and while in Costa Rica took a tour with Charlie Soto. He is the BEST!!! We did the A2 tour which included zip lining, banana plantation, canal tour, beach break with lunch and shopping for coffee. The price we paid wad $92/person and was well worth it. We were concerned about being back to the ship on time but that was never an issue. Our party of 4 had our own cab with a great driver (Hey Dexter) who was so accomodating. We never felt rushed or unsafe. Charlie met us at the dock and also touched base with us at the beach. Charlie is the way to go-email him at www.okeydokeytours.com or if you have any further questions you can email me at lesleyputam@sbcglobal.net have a great trip.

[Mrs Mon]

We have recently returned from our cruise in Central America and one of our highlights was the tour with Okey Dokey tours. There were 20 of us all together and our guide was waiting for us in an air conditioned small bus. He gave us a wonderful day. It turned out much longer than he promised as he said we could have him all day. Firstly we went for the jungle walk, tasted the fruits and held the sloth. It was great fun being shown all the plants so different from home. Then onto the banana plantation which was very interesting. We followed this by a scenic ride along the canal pointing out the wildlife. It was so relaxing. he stopped to show us the wild monkies in the trees. Then we had a typical lunch at a beach cafe. We then stayed well over an hour on the beach which was so warm and breezy. We followed that with a ride high up in the hills for the lovely views to the

sea and the nicwe houses. Then we went to the local supermarket for coffee to take home. Our guide was so helpful and informative. Nothing was rushed and we all have taken home lovely memories of Costa Rica.

[banditoo]

Good to hear your positive experience. My husband and I are planning to do the same tour with Charlie (canal, banana plantation, hold sloth, beach lunch etc.) I have read some negative experiences but most have been postive. Here's hoping ours is a great one!!!

[Love Cruis'n]

I find it very interesting that such a wide range of opinions are expressed.

 

I guess we’ll just have to make some sort of decision at some point and look forward to an adventure. :rolleyes:

[lszu]

I've been doing some reading here and also am struck by how polar the reviews are. We used Oscar Brown a couple of years ago and he was awesome. Our day with him in Puerto Limon remains one of the best tours we've done.

 

I can't help but wonder if other independants are "hijacking" Oscar and Charlie's clients. DH and I booked with one private operator (Peat Taylor in Jamiaca, I think) and he told us how to know for sure it was him because there were people who would show up at the pier and pretend to either be him or be working for him.

[Terpnut]

Any recent experiences with Charlie and/or Oscar?

[WynterSong]

I highly recommend OkeyDokey tours, used them (Carlos) just this week and it was one of the most informative, fun, packed tours Ive experienced.

[Love Cruis'n]

Any recent experiences with Charlie and/or Oscar?

 

Terpnut,

I see you'll be headed down that way next month.

Please let us know what you do, and how it turns out.

Thanks,

Terry

[Terpnut]

Terpnut' date='

I see you'll be headed down that way next month.

Please let us know what you do, and how it turns out.

Thanks,

Terry[/quote']I think I'm going with Oscar Brown tours even though Oscar himself is working a different tour group. We'll see how it goes...