Anyone take Myfriendmario tours?

[Magic123]

Has anyone taken myfriendmario tours in Colon Panama?

 

I'm interested in one of the tours but it gets back to the cruise ship at 3:30 pm and the ship is set to depart at 4:00. They say their clients have never missed a ship.

 

Has anyone been on this tour? It goes to the Panama Canal, Indian Village and a waterfall. Were you back in time to spare?

 

I will be on the Carnival Liberty. What is the latest you can get back onto the ship?

[Randy & Kathy]

Has anyone taken myfriendmario tours in Colon Panama?

 

I'm interested in one of the tours but it gets back to the cruise ship at 3:30 pm and the ship is set to depart at 4:00. They say their clients have never missed a ship.

 

Has anyone been on this tour? It goes to the Panama Canal, Indian Village and a waterfall. Were you back in time to spare?

 

I will be on the Carnival Liberty. What is the latest you can get back onto the ship?

 

My DW and I took this same tour 1 year ago, our tour guides were Lori & Ricardo and they were wonderful, it was a terrific tour and provided all that they said it would be. Each phase of the tour was very different from each other, but all very interesting and provided many photo and video opportunities. It was maybe one of the best tours that we have ever taken. We had enough time to enjoy all three phases of the tour and we were back to the ship by 3:30 PM, in plenty of time to board the ship. Other tour busses were still pulling in after we were on board. Don't worry, just enjoy a day that you will never forget, we certainly did.

Randy

[Magic123]

Randy,

 

Thank you so much for letting me know about the tour and the reassurance. I was worried that we would miss the boat.

[Randy & Kathy]

Randy,

 

Thank you so much for letting me know about the tour and the reassurance. I was worried that we would miss the boat.

 

Probably most of us worry about that same thing, and in doing so just place some additional stress upon ourselves. I would expect that the tour operators get tired of hearing of that concern. We decided that if they caused people to miss the ship, that it would be all over these boards and then they would be out of business. So, we just decided to leave the worry up to them and enjoy ourselves, it is much more relaxing that way.:)

BTW, if you go to the smugmug link below my signature, click on that, then you will find some pictures from our Panama Cruise, hope that this helps.

Randy

[nybumpkin]

We took Mario's Gatun Locks and Beach Break tour and had a wonderful time. First we went to Playa Langosta for beach time (soda, beer, water, snacks and homemade margaritas included), then visited the Gatun Locks. We arrived back at port around 2:00 and had time to shop at the port. This is a shorter tour than the Indian Village and waterfall tour; some folks from our Cruise Critic roll call took the Indian Village tour and thought they cut the return too close, and I've read some posts here that Mario will cut the waterfall portion of the tour for those who are worried about time. I thought that Mario's tour was one of the best independent tours we've taken in a port.

[Magic123]

Thank you for the information, Kathy. I am going to book it and I'll post here after my cruise.

[Lori334]

Thank you for the information, Kathy. I am going to book it and I'll post here after my cruise.

 

 

Hi We are going at X-mas time. We are also considering Mario's tour. Please let us know your opinion. Also, did you notice if we could grab a reliable taxi at the port?????

 

Thanks

[miamijnt]

Does anyone know if there is anyway to pay besides cash??Is it risky to carry all that cash around???We are sailing Dec 22 on Liberty.Thanx

[nybumpkin]

Does anyone know if there is anyway to pay besides cash??Is it risky to carry all that cash around???We are sailing Dec 22 on Liberty.Thanx

Mario's original e-mail to me said that he would take cash or traveler's checks, but Rey, our guide, said cash only. He took our traveler's checks since I had the e-mail from Mario, but I think it was unusual. In our case, we paid in the bus on the way to the beach, so we wouldn't have been carrying around the cash for long. They met us right at the port and escorted us to their buses, and I felt very safe with them.

[girlfriendtoo]

Thanks for comiing back with your experience Kathy, there is not much happening here.

How was the beach when you visited?

[nybumpkin]

Thanks for comiing back with your experience Kathy, there is not much happening here.

How was the beach when you visited?

We had a great time at the beach. It's a much more rustic beach than you'll find in other ports - no water toys, kayaks, parasailing, etc. - and no loungers/umbrellas. It's mostly picnic tables under palapas and plastic patio-type chairs (up by the bar). The swimming area was nice - not rocky and in a cove so the water was calm. I have some photos at http://travel.webshots.com/album/558933896aVbpxD. The beach pictures start on page 6.

[miamijnt]

what did you all wear for this trip?? Marios e mail recommended water shoes..is this really needed??? Did you need a change of clothes...please help ..leaving in 1 week. thanx

[Randy & Kathy]

what did you all wear for this trip?? Marios e mail recommended water shoes..is this really needed??? Did you need a change of clothes...please help ..leaving in 1 week. thanx

 

We wore T-shirts and shorts, we waded in water that got up to about 2' deep as we walked into the river going around, and somtimes over, large rocks & boulders. Do not fret, it is not that difficult and people of all age groups did OK with this. The native guides were there lending a hand to any that needed some assistance. It was only about 100 yards that we had to go and then we were at the falls, a very tranquill and photographic setting.

Be sure to wear water shoes, in fact be sure to put those on before you ever get into the canoes, as there is not time nor a good place to do this when you are getting out of the canoes and begin wading into the river right away. The water shoes will not only protect your feet from small rocks on the riverbed, but also will provide some better traction when climbing on and around the rocks and river bank area.

Some people wore bathing suits under their clothes and went swimming at the falls. Then they toweled off when finished, and put their clothes back on over their swimsuits. If your clothes get wet, they won't be that way for long, the warm and humid weather, and the bright sun will all help to dry them off quickly.

We feel that this was an outstanding excursion and it was a terrific day that we will never forget. Take pictures, stills and/or video, they will remind you of a wonderful place and the most gracious people that we met there. We bought some souvenire items there and they also serve to remind us of some wonderful native people, they would smile, were pleasant and made us feel most welcome while we were there in their place. Good luck.

Randy

[Addict]

Hi

 

I would agree with all that Randy said. We also thought this tour to the Indian Village and waterfall was the highlight of our cruise.

 

You REALLY SHOULD wear water shoes - we were not warned of this and the riverbed was like walking on glass - also climbing over rocks etc was not easy without the correct shoes. Also, I would HIGHLY recommend wearing your swimsuit under your clothes. Unfortunately we were not given this information by the person who organised our tour and we had to change in a little wooden hut without sides - with partners holding towels up to hide our modesty. I should stress this was not the tour guide's fault we were not informed of these details, just the person who organised it for us didn't pass the information on!!

 

Don't misunderstand me, we still had an absolutely fabulous day, just could have been better with the right preparation. We would recommend this trip to anyone.

 

Sue

 

PS You may need a change of clothes, we went to the waterfall first, then to the village - by the end of the day we had dried out so we were ok. If you don't like walking round in wet clothes, take extras.

[miamijnt]

Thanx guys, thats a big help so I bought the water shoes...how about carrying all this with you???should I bring a backpack or something???

[Randy & Kathy]

Thanx guys, thats a big help so I bought the water shoes...how about carrying all this with you???should I bring a backpack or something???

 

We brought along a tote bag, something to carry two pair of water shoes, some sun block, bug spray, a couple of towels and we had a place to put the souvenirs that we bought. It worked out very well, a back pack would probably work for you as well. If you would like, maybe take along a change of clothes if you think that you might be bothered by wearing wet ones, although we were able to keep our clothes dry.

Randy

[miamijnt]

thanx guys...I think m ready now!!!

[dfmeeks]

We're taking the CL001 tour in March. That's the one that goes to the rainforest, fort, & locks. Has anyone else completed this tour? We were interested in CL007 (village) but I'd be too stressed about returning to the ship on time. I know others have done it w/o problem but I tend to worry & don't want it to effect my fun.:o

[churee]

We are doing the rain forest tour with Mario in February, so I would also be intereested in hearing what anyone has to say about this one.

 

Joyce

[dcmarianne]

My family would like to do Tour CL007 that includes the locks, Indian village and waterfall. I notice that Mario warns against including the waterfall if your main interest is the Canal. Seeing the Canal and how it works is a big priority for me, but I don't need to spend all day in the Canal (like on the ferry). Will we get a good Canal "fix" on this tour that includes the waterfall visit?

[nlvc12]

We're taking the CL001 tour in March. That's the one that goes to the rainforest, fort, & locks. Has anyone else completed this tour? We were interested in CL007 (village) but I'd be too stressed about returning to the ship on time. I know others have done it w/o problem but I tend to worry & don't want it to effect my fun.:o

 

We took this tour with Mario's company in November 2007. We had a great time - it was the best shore excursion of our trip, and the only one not affiliated with the ship. Our guide was orginally from England and so the language was definitely not a problem.

 

The only thing I would suggest is bringing a copy of the e-mail that you have with them. There was a $5 discrepancy between the amount they were asking for and what I had been told it would be. I produced the note and she called Mario - the whole bus got it at 'my' price.

 

There were 3 opportunities to use a bathroom by the way. (Wouldn't hurt to bring some tissues, as one place ran out of paper...) Plenty of time at the Locks and the driver was amazing at spotting monkeys and sloths in trees.

 

We got back at the time indicated. We didn't leave until 7pm, so returning at 3pm was not an issue for us. We thought the longer tour was just too long for us.

 

They supposedly have insurance that will pay your expenses if you miss the boat.

 

Enjoy!!

 

nlvc

[miamijnt]

We just did this tour in December. It was definitely the best part of our vacation! The time at the canal was very short...maybe half hour or so. This was okay with us as I knew my kids would be bored with the canal and they loved the waterfall. So if you are really interested in the canal take the tour without the waterfall.

[hugsthecat]

Does anyone have a web site or email address for Mario ?

 

Michael

[canegirl]

His email is mario@myfriendmario.com.

[inai]

My family would like to do Tour CL007 that includes the locks, Indian village and waterfall. I notice that Mario warns against including the waterfall if your main interest is the Canal. Seeing the Canal and how it works is a big priority for me, but I don't need to spend all day in the Canal (like on the ferry). Will we get a good Canal "fix" on this tour that includes the waterfall visit?

 

I am also interested in his tour CL007. Can we see anything of the locks? Do we go over the locks or pass it completely?

 

Also, what time does Mario pick you up at the pier for this tour?