What tour company do you recommend?

[vossjemi]

We will be visiting Costa Rica via cruise ship from Puerto Limon. There are a few tour companies we have discovered and wondered who CCers recommend and why. Thanks.

[CRUISAYEAR]

Well, I voted for Oscar because 4 of us spent a day with him during our Coral Princess cruise the week of December 9th 03'. I am the person who originally recomended his service on these boards. We had a wonderful time with a gracious, friendly, courteous and protective guy who offered a tremendous savings on tours to all the places and activities that the cruises offer, at a fraction of the price.

He is licensed by the local tour and taxi operators association (union) who's members will treat people right or lose that license. yet they are not metered vehicles, allowing them some leeway in the prices they charge.

A Christian man devoted to his wife and 5 kids from a 2 year old to one in College, just trying to make a better life for them.

Affording tour vans and computers is much more difficult for him than most of the C.C'rs and he is still struggling to be proficient on the computer that belongs to his sister.

He asks me to thank all the Cruise critic members who have toured with and recommended him, and to let them know their business has improved life for him and his family.

He is "Limon" on this board. He is on a dial-up connection to the internet, which is not real reliable and asks for our patience. He and his sis are working on getting some one to set up a website for them, so they can post pictures, descriptions of tours and prices.

[Driftwoodgal]

You could have described Oscar any better. It was such a pleasure to meet his family and sister when we went on his tour in February 2004. I can't thank you enough if you were the one that steered me in his direction. Our day in Puerto Limon was the highlight of our cruise. What is nice about Oscar is he will plan the day around what you want to do. We saw so much and did so much even with our ship being an hour and a half late into port.

 

I need to post pictures on Webshots of our day with Oscar so others can meet him on line. We had problems getting in touch with him by email so I just called him. His phone numbers are posted on the board in another thread.

 

I wish this man and his family all the best. If you use him you won't be disappointed.

[juliorod]

With Greenway we had the best tour during our Panama Canal Cruise couple of weeks ago. We where on the Coral Princess and we dock in Puntarenas on Oct 09th. All in my party ( 9 in total ) agree with me about the high quality and staff capacity of this reputable company. Their rates are lower and they offer good transportation and private basis tours.

[Driftwoodgal]

Cruisayear,

 

Sorry my post should have read you couldn't have described Oscar any better. My typing skills are faster than my brain sometimes:D

 

Juliorod,

I am glad that you posted about the reputable tour groups out of Puntarenas. Oscar Brown doesn't do tours there but does recommend someone, but I am not sure of the name. On our next Panama Canal cruise we might not be stopping in Puerto Limon so it is wonderful to have comments from someone that has been to another port. It sounds like your day was as great as ours was with Oscar. I can't wait to go back to Costa Rica.... it is such a jewel.

[wongri]

Greetungs ll,

 

How does one get a hold of Oscar?

We will be travelling in January and would love to book a tour with him.

Thanks for your assistance.

Rita

[Driftwoodgal]

Use a prepaid phone card and call him on his cell phone 011 506 350 6415. You can try to email him but emails can be an iffy thing in Puerto Limon. If you would rather email cbrown@costarricense.cr

 

I would call instead of the email. He does a wonderful job!

 

Colleen

[llund]

I haven't had any problems with e-mail with Oscar. We are using him on our Coral Princess cruise on Dec. 31. We have 10 of us going with him. I have really enjoyed being in contact with him and look forward to our day!

[Driftwoodgal]

llund,

 

Thanks for your post. We did have trouble at the beginning of this year trying to get in touch with him by email. Almonds and Corals had problems as well. I glad to hear that the email thing is straightened out. If you don't hear back from Oscar, it might be that he is having a problem with emails again. You will have a great time with him.

 

Colleen

[janine543]

Llund:

 

I was wondering if three more persons could join you on your tour with Oscar. I was trying to reach him to no avail....then I saw your posting that you already have him reserved.

 

Please let me know if we can join you.

Thanks

Janine

[llund]

Right now there are 10 of us going, but we may have 2 more. I think his van only holds 14 so I don't know if we can get 3 others in. I have been on the roll call for the Coral Princess and one couple is joining us and there may be another. Janine, I will have to let you know as soon as I find out. Are you also on the Coral sailing 12/28? You should come on our roll call site! The CC people are meeting at 1:00 on the 29th.

[llund]

I know we have room on our Belize excursion with Margaret. We are going to the altun Ha ruins, a city tour, the baboon sanctuary and lunch.

[ljones]

llund - What e-mail address did you use for Oscar. I tried the one listed above & it came back undeliverable. Thanks.

[llund]

Here is the e-mail that I use and never have a problem hearing from him:

 

cbrown@costarricense.cr

 

It looks the the same one as above. Are you sure you typed it in right? I booked him so long ago as I figured he would be in demand. I first contacted him back in April.

[ljones]

Tried it again, will let you know if it works!

[janine543]

llund:

 

Normally we sail on Princess cruise line but wanted to try Celebrity again since they offered a very unique set of ports that we haven't visited before. We are sailing on the Celebrity Summit which will also be in Costa Rica on December 31st. Its my understanding that the ships dock right next to one another.

 

Please let me know asap if you have room for 3 more.

 

Thanks so much.

 

Janine

[llund]

Janine,

I should know by Sunday. There is a cc contact who may have 2-4 people joining us which will be the limit for the van. He is still trying to decide if they want to go ziplining or not and how many in his group want to go. If they want to go ziplining, they will join us as he had asked me a few weeks ago. I contacted Oscar back in April because I knew I would want to use him. We booked our cruise last December-a year ahead. This is the first time we have been on a Princess cruise so I am looking forward to it. We have done Royal Carribbean, Carnival, Radisson and Primier. We had both our kids with us on all but the Radisson trip. RCCL and Carnival seem to have a lot of kids on board so our two always had fun. They are both in college now so we have decided to try Princess.

 

I will get back to you in a few days.

[llund]

Janine,

It looks like we have a full van for our trip with Oscar. I am travelling with a group of 8 and the others are cc people who will be on the Coral with us. I am so sorry. I understand that Almonds and Coral are great at picking you up. They take you to a banana plantation and a short tour. Hope you have a wonderful trip. I will be anxious to find out how you like Celebrity.

[janine543]

Llund:

 

Thanks for getting back to me so promptly. Enjoy Oscar. I'll expect a readout when you get back....this way I can be sure to spread the word to others too, if you like him.

 

Regarding Princess, Oh you'll love it. We have had both of our kids on Princess and even though they are 10 1/2 years apart Princess has been able to satisfy both their wants and needs.

 

Happy Sailing.

Janine

[Lido14]

Those planning excursions from Puerto Limon may wish to check out a local agency Mambo Tours. I received the following information from Mr. Mario Anderson thier tour director. They offer a special package that includes a tour around LIMON CITY (including the banana plantation packing plant), the AVIARIOS DEL CARIBE (Sloth sanctuary)and CAHUITA NATIONAL PARK for a special price of $60 USA p/p.

 

SPECIAL RATES FOR GROUPS

For a group of 4 persons the price will be $230 USA.

For a group of 6 persons the price will be $325 USA.

For a group of 10 persons the price will be $500 USA.

 

Thier website is www.*****.com

[Talkdoc45]

My wife and I plus two other couples had wonderful experience with a local tour guide named Lester Milliner from Oregon Tours. We arrived on the Coral Princess in October '04 and signed up at the dock for a local tour for a very reasonble price. Lester was humerous, knowledgeable, and very accomodating. If you want a relaxing custom tour in Costa Rica check out Lester with Oregon Tours.

 

Drs. Renfeldt, Meadors, and Craig

[kitskat]

My husband and I just returned from a cruise on the Coral Princess, One of the ports of call was Costa Rica which we visited Sunday October 24th, 2004. Prior to leaving for the cruise I did an internet search for tour companies that offered canopy/zip line tours. I founds the Almonds and Corals Lodge offered the tour and booked the trip. I must say my husband and I are still talking about it! This was the best tour ever! The airconditioned van was waiting for us as soon as we got off the ship. Along the drive to the lodge we had a very knowledgeable tour guide, Daniel and an "eagle eye" driver Angel who spotten several species of birds and gave us a wealth of information about Costa Rica. Once at the lodge we were set up for the tour. I was very nervous and they made me feel so comfortable and safe! We did a practice zip on the ground first and off we went! We crossed a bridge to our first platform for zipping. All the while you are always safely hooked up and it is so exhilerating! After the tour you are served a delicious array of fresh fruits and juice. I would HIGHLY recommend this company and we are considering returning to stay at their beautiful lodge! Go to: www.almondsandcorals.com. They offer other tours as well!

[encoresue2]

We just got back from the 11 day Summit trip to that area. We spent much of a day with Oscar and had a great time, although on Sundays, many of the things he would take you to see are closed (Bamboo plantation/factory, for example). We didn't do the zip line as some in our group couldn't. (He would take you there if you want) He is a delightful man and he now has his niece working with him sometimes. Realize that he doesn't take you to places that require admission fees as he charges such a reasonable amount for his tour. He did arrange for the canal boat trip...which cost $86 on Celebrity's official list...and it was part of our tour. Sooo, it is a great trip and much less than "official tours." But you should tip the boat driver. Also take some singles as a couple of the places you stop are free but he recommends a small donation for the upkeep of the animals and birds. (These are often his relatives, as has been mentioned before)

 

One warning.....he says his van holds 14.....but you must be REALLY good friends and not too large. We had a group of 10 plus Oscar and his niece and it was comfortably full. (Fortunately our 6'3" participant could sit up front) There were two very small jump seats (at the end of regular row seats) we didn't need......but if we had, two of our other tall participants would have had their knees up their noses all day and would have been miserable. We did have 2 shorties who could sit in the very back seat (with little or no leg room)

 

We were also lucky 'cause it wasn't too hot (had a cloudy day).....it is steamy in Costa Rica (and Panama, too). I reccomend for Panama and Costa Rica, you pack some of those prepackages wipes and take them along (he brings soda and water so you don't need those).....you will want a few, especially if you decide to hold the sloth!

I had no trouble reaching him by email. And when our itinerary was changed, he knew all about it and adjusted. He was a great guy!!

[llund]

encoresue2,

You said that you were fine with 10 people in the van. Right now we have 10 going with Oscar and 2 more would like to join us. They are all adults. Do you recommend that we stay with the 10 or will it be too tight for 12. You said that there are 2 in the very back, but I imagine that will be if we have 14 people. I really don't want anybody to be in the back. I am short, but I won't get in the back...especially since I was the one who set everything up with Oscar. So, I don't know if we should add the others or not. I hate to say no to a fellow cc member that will be with us on our ship.

[patnjohn]

We were on the trip w/encoresue. 10 is good. Anymore would be too tight. One of our taller men rode in the front seat w/Oscar. It was tight. Oscar was the best. His niece was very nice too. It was a very enjoyable day. We would recommend him to anyone. Just not 12-14 people. Those jump seats are not too comfortable. Thankfully we did not have to use them.