Cosol Reservation

[melgray13]

I emailed Cosol to reserve the tour. I received and email that said "just show up the day of the cruise" no other details. Is that the only confirmation that you received when you booked? Where do we show up the day of the cruise?

[BDSou812]

We've booked Cosol for May. Below is his first and second responses.

 

Yes i will be available.The tour fee is US$50 per person. Its 5 to 6 hours, You only pay in cash at the end of the tour. We will be visiting the tourielle waterfall, volcano, botanical garden, marigot bay, fishing villages, banana plantation, shopping, beach and snorkling at the Hillton Jalousie hotel that between the Pitons and many more things on the way. I will be paying all the entrance fees. There will be lots to see, lots to do, lots to sample of our local taste on the way, and I will have a cooler with drinks like water, rum punch, local beers and soda. We will be leaving at 8:30am You have to be at the gate for 8:20am.You walk in the building turn right until you meet the gate next to the security booth and i will have a sign say (COSOL). ask to show you the way to the security booth which is next to the taxi stand. Bring along your camera, swimsuit and snorkling gears. If you have any more queries call me on my cell (758) 7196697 or visit my website at cosol-tours.com.Thanks for emailing me. Looking forward to your reply.

 

See ya there!

[Pomperaugrr]

We received the same reply. He will have a list of those that have booked with him. We can't wait to take this tour after reading so many great reviews. We'll be there on Jan. 23rd.

 

Eric

[Mim Lloyd]

We received the same reply. He will have a list of those that have booked with him. We can't wait to take this tour after reading so many great reviews. We'll be there on Jan. 23rd.

 

Eric

 

We did the tour with Cosol last February and had a brilliant day - you'll love it! We wondered about what to do for lunch but we certainly didn't need it. Cosol and his other drivers (we had Yellow Bird but met up with Cosol on every stop) make sure you're well fed and watered for the whole day. Best eating taste was at the waterfall where Big Momma was. She was a lovely woman and her samples of Johnny cakes were yummy!

 

When you leave the terminal, Cosol will be there with a big sign.

[suebro]

hi, im just back from a caribbean cruise and did the cosol tour in st lucia. it was absolutely FANTASTIC..we was lucky enough to have cosol as our main driver as we boarded the last coach..he makes sure everything is ok before he sets of.. he is waiting as you arrive at the port with a card in his hand..he has 7-9 mini vans all in excellent condition as all are air conditioned. they seat approx 12 people.. only 6 in our van so plenty of room.he is full of information and very enjoyable to listen to..his aim is to guarantee that you have a good time so you will tell everyone..that is how he gets his business..by word of mouth.

he had all confirmations on a list and only requires your email address and number of people going.. you pay when you return to the port..there is nothing else to pay for unless you want soveniers..food and drinks are plentiful..choices were water, sodas and beers...infact i dont know how he does it for the $50.it was by far the best tour we took in all ports we visited.the only place we didn't visit was the waterfall as there wasn't enough time as we were late getting to the port and he guarantees your back on time..st lucia was beautiful.

sue

[Deb635]

We just received confirmation from Cosol today as well for January 31st. I was a bit concerned over the fact that our itinerary shows us not docking until 8:00 am, but he emailed me that the ship was almost always a bit early and waiting was usually not a problem. Should I be concerned? We are on NCL's Pearl and I don't know if NCL has early tours booked, if so, I know those individuals usually get priority when it comes to getting off the ship first and that worries me as far as meeting Cosol.

Is it a far walk to where they wait? Just wondering if I should look for a backup plan.

Thanks

Debbie

[Annastasis]

Yes, that is all I received when I booked the tour.

 

I must agree with other reports that this was a wonderful tour. I took my parents, and they said it was the best excursion of their trip.

 

At first I was concerned. There were more people on the Cosol tour than I expected. We were all put into small and mid-size vans, and we were kept together throughout the tour. Nothing really seemed crowded except the water falls.

 

There are a few things that I wished I had known, and I will pass these on to you. The roads are very twisty - and if anyone has motion-sick issues have them sit in the front seat. They will accomodate a front seat request. Also - it is very difficult to change into swimsuits at the snorkle sight. There are a few restrooms but the lines were long. It is a good idea to wear your suit under your clothes. Snorkelling is at a private resort, but the beach area is considered public. The vans just drop you off and drive away. IF you want a chair - there will be a charge. Still, it is BEAUTIFUL - at the base of the Pitons.

[kasualkathy]

Does he supply snorkel gear? What do you do if he doesn't?

[cinnam0n]

Cosol does not supply snorkel gear, but it is available for rental by the resort. I don't know the prices (maybe someone else does), but the resort is very exclusive and the prices do reflect that.

[jeanlyon]

Cosol is great - you will have a wonderful time. No worries there. We stopped at Big Mamas for fish - it was absolutely yummy.

[suebro]

We just received confirmation from Cosol today as well for January 31st. I was a bit concerned over the fact that our itinerary shows us not docking until 8:00 am, but he emailed me that the ship was almost always a bit early and waiting was usually not a problem. Should I be concerned? We are on NCL's Pearl and I don't know if NCL has early tours booked, if so, I know those individuals usually get priority when it comes to getting off the ship first and that worries me as far as meeting Cosol.

Is it a far walk to where they wait? Just wondering if I should look for a backup plan.

Thanks

Debbie

hi debbie,

ive just got off the pearl and had booked cosol tour in st lucia..WE WERE LATE!! the pearl didnt dock at dockside as we expected instead we were tendered ashore.its about 25mins to the port by tender so we was worried he wouldn't wait however he was aware of the tender and waited 30 mins for us letting the previous coaches go ahead so noone was hanging about..there was 4 of us so maybe thats why he waited however he did give another couple an extra 10 mins who never showed!their loss but not nice to turn up as he doesn't take deposits.but who knows maybe they slept in!as for being last we got the best driver..cosol himself and he soon caught up with everyone else...great tour the best of the whole trip.

[logbook]

Yes, that is all I received when I booked the tour.

 

I must agree with other reports that this was a wonderful tour. I took my parents, and they said it was the best excursion of their trip.

 

At first I was concerned. There were more people on the Cosol tour than I expected. We were all put into small and mid-size vans, and we were kept together throughout the tour. Nothing really seemed crowded except the water falls.

 

There are a few things that I wished I had known, and I will pass these on to you. The roads are very twisty - and if anyone has motion-sick issues have them sit in the front seat. They will accomodate a front seat request. Also - it is very difficult to change into swimsuits at the snorkle sight. There are a few restrooms but the lines were long. It is a good idea to wear your suit under your clothes. Snorkelling is at a private resort, but the beach area is considered public. The vans just drop you off and drive away. IF you want a chair - there will be a charge. Still, it is BEAUTIFUL - at the base of the Pitons.

 

 

What do you mean "the vans just drop you off and drive away"?? Is that where the tour ends?

[kasualkathy]

How many can fit in each van. We have a party of 14. Will we all be able to ride together?

[cinnam0n]

logbook, they drop you off at the beach and come back at a specified time for you, rather than just sitting and waiting.

kasualkathy, the van we rode in held about 12 passengers. There were 11 of us, counting the driver. Maybe someone else knows if Cosol has any 15-passenger vans. They are definitely vans, not buses.

[logbook]

Thanks cinnam0n!!

[melgray13]

THANK YOU for the information. I feel much better now. I can't wait to get on vacation!

[mayrashke]

Thanks everyone for the more detailed info. The Cosol tour does sound like what we would like to do.

When they drop you off at the beach for snorkeling, how much time did everyone have there? I would really like as much time as possible at the beach as I hear it is beautiful & good snorkeling-which is what we love to do.

Was it the last stop on the tour? Would it be possible to stay longer and make your own way back to the port?

Thanks in advance.

[NoNoNanette]

Thanks everyone for the more detailed info. The Cosol tour does sound like what we would like to do.

When they drop you off at the beach for snorkeling, how much time did everyone have there? I would really like as much time as possible at the beach as I hear it is beautiful & good snorkeling-which is what we love to do.

Was it the last stop on the tour? Would it be possible to stay longer and make your own way back to the port?

Thanks in advance.

 

I'm fairly certain that I'll be corrected if I'm wrong, but Cosol does ONE SCHEDULE. This includes a bunch of stops.

 

I was going to hire the guy, and asked him if he could just arrange to do a R/T Jalouisie Beach day.

 

Twice, he replied to me with a "form letter". I was disappointed. That turned me off on the guy.

 

Ended up hiring a driver, Spencer Ambrose, instead. (Less money and just 4 of us) Had a blast. Info in my Amsterdam Review and Snapfish links in my sig.

 

Good luck. Jalouisie is AB FAB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

[NoNoNanette]

IF you want a chair - there will be a charge. Still, it is BEAUTIFUL - at the base of the Pitons.

 

That wasn't the case when our driver dropped us off at the resort last month. We had chairs at no cost. (Maybe because he was friendly with the powers-that-be there? He seemed to know everybody.) :confused:

[senior lady]

Would love to take this tour next jan on our Emerald Princess cruise. sounds great!!!

 

Is there a web site or an e-mail address please.

[BDSou812]

We're booked for May! Will let ya know how it goes.

 

http://www.cosol-tours.com/

[NoNoNanette]

Would love to take this tour next jan on our Emerald Princess cruise. sounds great!!!

 

Is there a web site or an e-mail address please.

 

Hi Karen-

 

I'm not certain who your post was directed at, but Spencer can be contacted at spencerambrose1990@hotmail.com He'll "custom plan" the day for you.

 

Have fun planning! :)

[cinnam0n]

mayrashke, we spent between an hour and an hour and a half at Jalousie. It was toward the end of the day, but not the last stop. I suppose you could arrange your own transportion back to the port, but it's a good ways away and I would guess the price of a taxi pretty steep.

Cosol's tour is great because you get a real taste of the island. Lots of different stops and tasting of native foods, etc.

[Grammar Goddess]

I'd like to add my praise to the glowing reports I've read on CC. Cosol's tours are absolutely the best. We've been on several Caribbean cruises at many islands and have almost always hired our own guides. Cosol is one of our all-time favorites. We could not imagine how he made any money because he was constantly feeding us! My personal favorite was the hot bread at the last stop. As to how long for snorkeling, I would estimate an hour. It would not be advisable to try to make your own way back to the ship from the Jalousie Hilton as it is quite remote and sure to be expensive. We walked into the cruise terminal off the ship, and there he stood with a sign, "COSOL," that you could not possibly miss. He organized everyone from a list he had on his clipboard--several vans were waiting, all with excellent drivers, and we stayed together. St. Lucia is a gorgeous place, but not one I'd want to drive on my own! Cosol is definitely the best choice for the best possible use of your time. I agree with everyone else's assessment. We were there on December 27th. Please feel free to ask for more specific information.:)

 

GG

[dchip]

His tour really gives you a taste of St Lucia. We toured with him in November 07 and now I am going again with a girlfriend in March. Cosol responded to my email within a couple of hours ;-))

 

Here is a link to pics of our tour with him: http://www.pbase.com/dchip/st_lucia

 

Cheers, Denise