Great Puntarenas Independent Tour

[SandyLS]

I had the pleasure of doing an independent tour in Puntarenas Costa Rica with Mauriceio. This tour was the result our chosen ship's shore excursion beeing sold out. Mauriceo was looking for people to tour with him as we got off the ship. He was able to drop some of our party off to do a zipline at a nice resort. These people had not pre-planned this activity, but he know just who to call to set it up for them.
He took the rest of us to hike in the national park where he was able to point out a howler monkey, a green dart frog, scarlet macaws, sloths and much lush vegetation. Mauriceo carried a large telescope with him which he set up frequently to view the wild life and also took pictures with our own camera through the telescope's lense.
After we returned for the zipliners we went to the waterfall then to a village where the cafe staff demonstrated how to press sugar cane juice and served us complimentary freshly brewed Costa Rican coffee. We were also treated to the site of the crocodiles in the river feeding on chicken. They sure have powerful jaws.
We were back to the ship in plenty of time for departure. The cost for the day was $35.00 each. Zipline, of corse, was extra. We felt we got a very good tour at much less cost than the ship was offering. My only complaint is that we were so busy sightseeing that we had no time for lunch! You might want to bring a snack with you. And yes, Mauricio's uncle is a very good driver and the van is air conditioned. This guide can be reached by email at [email]mauriciovp@hotmail.com[/email]

[suzsummit]

How long was your tour in total?

Was the van air-conditioned?

How many people fit in the van?

Your private tour sounded great. I am looking for a short tour while we are there in May. I am traveling with three kids so we just want to see some wildlife, visit a town, do some local shopping and then back to the boat.


From your tour could you tell if everything is a great distance away from the port? The idea of traveling for 1.5 hours in one directon is not my idea of fun with three kidlings in tow.

Thanks -- would you recomend this tour guide to a family?

[NiniB]

[quote name='SandyLS']I had the pleasure of doing an independent tour in Puntarenas Costa Rica with Mauriceio. This tour was the result our chosen ship's shore excursion beeing sold out. Mauriceo was looking for people to tour with him as we got off the ship. He was able to drop some of our party off to do a zipline at a nice resort. These people had not pre-planned this activity, but he know just who to call to set it up for them.
He took the rest of us to hike in the national park where he was able to point out a howler monkey, a green dart frog, scarlet macaws, sloths and much lush vegetation. Mauriceo carried a large telescope with him which he set up frequently to view the wild life and also took pictures with our own camera through the telescope's lense.
After we returned for the zipliners we went to the waterfall then to a village where the cafe staff demonstrated how to press sugar cane juice and served us complimentary freshly brewed Costa Rican coffee. We were also treated to the site of the crocodiles in the river feeding on chicken. They sure have powerful jaws.
We were back to the ship in plenty of time for departure. The cost for the day was $35.00 each. Zipline, of corse, was extra. We felt we got a very good tour at much less cost than the ship was offering. My only complaint is that we were so busy sightseeing that we had no time for lunch! You might want to bring a snack with you. And yes, Mauricio's uncle is a very good driver and the van is air conditioned. This guide can be reached by email at [email="mauriciovp@hotmail.com"]mauriciovp@hotmail.com[/email][/QUOTE] Same Questions SuZS asked & ALSO did you have to SHOW A PASSPORT??????? HOW much was the zipline & where did this tour take place??? THANKS SO MUCH for your assistance......:)

[SandyLS]

The van was air conditioned. We spent almost a full 8 hours on this tour from the time of pick up to the drop off back at the ship. We always take our passports with us when we get off the ship just in case we have problems, but we did not need to show anything special in Costa Rico, just the same docs we used to check onto the ship. I believe a picture id and a birth certificate is needed nowdays if you don't have a passport.
I think the cost of the zipline was $50.00 in addition to the tour. Those in the group that did the zipline thought it was great. I don't remember the name of the resort, but it was lovely and not far from the waterfall and the national park. I was impressed with the sturdy metal platforms that were set up for the zipline. It looked to be a much nicer setup than the wooden platforms at the Almond and Coral resort that we ziplined at in March. I know some of the crew from the ship were ziplinning there that day.
I think the tour would be ok for kids. Especially those that are old enough to enjoy seeing wildlife. Mauricio was very flexable and tried to plan our tour around what we wanted to see and do for the day. The van holds about 8 people I believe. I was only traveling with my husband. The other passangers in our van were also looking for a last minute tour and turned out to be great adventure companions for the day.

[DisneyBlonde]

[font=Comic Sans MS][color=darkorchid]Sandy...[/color][/font]

[font=Comic Sans MS][color=#9932cc]Can you please double check the email address for Mauricio that you posted above? I emailed him a few days ago to set up a tour and I have not heard from him. [/color][/font]

[font=Comic Sans MS][color=#9932cc]Thx!![/color][/font]

[font=Comic Sans MS][color=#9932cc]Diz:) [/color][/font]

[SandyLS]

Sorry, that is the only contact info I have for Mauricio. If your e-mail did not bounce back to you perhaps he is not able to check his e-mail often. I am sure the other guides that you will find waiting by the port will do a fine job with a tour. It just makes it nicer to have one that gets a glowing review from another cruise critic member. We found that the price for a guide varried widely from $90.00 downward so shop around. Mauricio's driver was his uncle and was missing one hand but drove very well around Costa Rico's pothole riddin streets.

[carol459]

We took a tour with a driver and tour guide we met in the middle of the pier. They had an ac van and the cost was $25 per person to drive us to the tour of our choice. 4 of us went on a river ride to view crocs and birds and four others in the van went to a canopy tour. The cost for each tour was $30 per person for a total of $55 per person, payable when we got back to the cruise dock, about 5 hours later. If you want more info, Rick wrote a review on the regular Carnival thread under Paradise to Panama-09/2004.

[hrob777]

I tried sending 2 e-mails to Mauricio and got no response. We arrived in Puntarenas aboard the Sun Princess this morning. We asked the other guides "Where is Mauricio?" and they pointed him out to us. He was outside the gates at the pier. He said his wife usually checks the e-mail and she had not done so for a week.

He had the same detail as described in other messages. $35 for a full day tour. There was also an $8 charge to enter the rain forest. We had 8 in the van. Very comfortable. He'll go with less as long as he can get $200 total. Two went ziplining. He really spots birds and animals for you and his telescope is great for viewing and taking pictures. He also said he has a web-site but did not give it to us. He is a very good guide - very personable.

Mauricio Vasquez 506-643-1716 or 259-0197. Cell phone 352-7697 or 826-7438. Apdo 3106-1000, San Jose, Costa Rica. He said he lives in Jaco but his card indicates San Jose.
e-mail address is correct as [email]mauriciovp@hotmail.com[/email]

If you can't contact him before hand, just get off the ship early and ask for him at the end of the pier. Knowing that his onehanded uncle drives should prevent anyone from impersonating him.

[DisneyBlonde]

[font=Comic Sans MS][color=royalblue]Thank you hrob777. Have sent 2 emails and nothing back yet.[/color][/font] :(

[font=Comic Sans MS][color=royalblue]Did anyone from your group do ziplining? Wondered if the people doing ziplining miss a substantial part of the tour. [/color][/font]

[font=Comic Sans MS][color=#4169e1]Thx![/color][/font]

[font=Comic Sans MS][color=#4169e1]Diz:) [/color][/font]

[hrob777]

The 2 people who ziplined were dropped at Pura Vida. Don't know what they paid for ziping, but one mentioned she road a section upsidedown.

While they were there, we went nearby to I believe Carrara National Reserve.
We paid the $8 and went on the walk to see the macaws, monkeys etc. So the zipliners missed this.

We picked them up and then took the ride to Jaco.

[twocats]

Can you explain canopy tour please?

[DisneyBlonde]

[font=Comic Sans MS][color=royalblue]Canopy tour is the same as ziplining ... you are suspended above the rainforest on cables, you wear a harness, and you basically slide down the cable from one platform to the next. You can see photos and video here: [url="http://www.canopypago.com/mediaGallery.html"]the Original Canopy tour[/url].[/color][/font]

[font=Comic Sans MS][color=#4169e1]Diz:) [/color][/font]