Has anyone ever used Okeydokey tours with Charlie Soto

[kimberley]

We did go through the Straw Market and found a guy from Okedokey. The problem was he was doing a different tour and I did show him our confirmation. He said we could go with somebody in a car and he would tell the driver where to take us! We could have got any cab and done that. We did meet a okedokey van when we walked around the rain forest bit where you tried the fruit also there was a sloth there. Where you in that group?

[dj127]

We booked the A1 tour thru Okey Dokey and did this tour about 2 weeks ago. I have to say, it was my favorite tour of the entire trip. Our guide and driver were waiting for us on the other side of fence after going thru market and building. We had a great time, they were waiting for us and we could not ask for anyone to be anymore attentive then what we received. I would highly recommend Okey Dokey tours. When I wrote Charlie to reconfirm our tour and the # of people, he was prompt to respond.

DJ127

[kimberley]

My tour was for tbe 20th of January 2011. I have emailed him twice since to ask why he never showed up to do our tour or why he didn't organize someone to take care of us. He still has not replied. Please bare in mind I have used him before! Kimberley

[dj127]

We all have good and bad days. That must of been his bad day and so sorry this happened to you.

DJ127

[kimberley]

Charlie did get back to me on Monday and said ge was sorry. Apparently he had given the guy at the port instructions and he didn't take note of it!

[kimberley]

Hey there is a great guy that has been living in limon for 11 yrs and we had a great time went to spots nobody else really sells V:I.P Tours we are going back if any wants to go on a excursions when we get their email surfdarrel@hotmail.com AN American living in cr great guy great reputation. form Jewell of the seas

 

Is this a bit of self advertising? When did you use him please give a review of your experience.

[blueyesdm]

Is this a bit of self advertising? When did you use him please give a review of your experience.

 

I'm pretty positive this is self advertising. ;)

[Sarae]

We booked the A1 tour thru Okey Dokey and did this tour about 2 weeks ago. I have to say, it was my favorite tour of the entire trip. Our guide and driver were waiting for us on the other side of fence after going thru market and building. We had a great time, they were waiting for us and we could not ask for anyone to be anymore attentive then what we received. I would highly recommend Okey Dokey tours. When I wrote Charlie to reconfirm our tour and the # of people, he was prompt to respond.

DJ127

 

 

I was with DJ127 and we had a ball. I use a cane when walking and the entire walk thru the rainforest area either the guide or the driver kept asking me if I need any help. We went to the DelMonte bananna plantatin and the guide told us all about how they harvest the banannas then took us over to where they were sorted. We then had a canal boat tour and the guides kept going as close to shore as possible so that we could see the monkeys and sloths up in the trees. Then went had a great lunch and then back to Limon. Then stopped at a local store so we could all buy our coffee.

 

I would recommend Charlie any time

[clarka]

Let me first say that Charlie was great to deal with through e-mails. He always responded promptly, so I felt comfortable booking a tour with him. We booked the Cahuita National Park tour which includes a guided reef snorkel from a boat. We met with our guide; (not Charlie) and driver at the port. Once at the park, the guide insisted that we didn't need the boat to snorkel. He said that he would take us to a better snorkel location. He ended us taking us to an isolated spot on the beach where we snorkeled on our own; not guided and saw nothing! There were no coral or fish there! We then asked him for the boat and guide and he said it was too late. We then realized that he had pocketed the boat & guide $. I guess we were naive and should have insisted. We then walked through the rainforest where we saw lots of monkeys and some sloths. Unfortunately, during the entire time our guide was busy speaking to the driver in Spanish and essentially ignored us! We were lucky that we found wildlife on our own! Once we returned back to the port, the guide said that he had no change; forcing us to give him a $10 tip which he didn't deserve!

 

I feel bad giving Charlie's company a poor review because he was great to deal with beforehand. However, he is still responsible for his guides. We would highly recommend going to Cahuita National Park on your own since it is very tourist friendly and easy to navigate.

[blueyesdm]

We have him booked for our upcoming tour in April and I hope we can come back and post a positive review. I honestly have yet to find a tour operator in this port that doesn't have mixed reviews. I guess I can just hope for the best.

 

I'm sorry about those of you who have had crappy tours!!

[clarka]

We have him booked for our upcoming tour in April and I hope we can come back and post a positive review. I honestly have yet to find a tour operator in this port that doesn't have mixed reviews. I guess I can just hope for the best.

 

I'm sorry about those of you who have had crappy tours!!

My advice to anyone is to know exactly what your tour consists of and withhold payment until you get it. We were too trusting & assumed that the guide was looking out for our best interest. At the end of the day, we still had a great time together in a beautiful country! The worst thing we could've done is to let our tour experience; (or lack there of) ruin our day. I hope you have a great tour!

[blueyesdm]

My husband doesn't take much crap so if he feels we are getting ripped off or they aren't doing what is expected he'll have no problem speaking up about it. We'll be sure to go over what our expectations our before we head out so there is no confusion.

 

Thanks! :)

[LHT28]

I feel bad giving Charlie's company a poor review because he was great to deal with beforehand. However, he is still responsible for his guides. We would highly recommend going to Cahuita National Park on your own since it is very tourist friendly and easy to navigate.

 

Did you speak to Charlie when you returned from the tour?

 

What was his response?

[LittleMissSqueaker]

We were on Zuiderdam in January and did OkeyDokey, I think on 30 January with his guide Carlos.

 

Everything was perfect. We were on the A1 I think - it does the zip line, general tour, banana plantation, delicious beach lunch and river cruise where we say sloths, monkeys, crocs and Caymans.

 

We had a group of 5 plus our little toddler (James) - the driver and Carlos couldn't do enough to ensure we were happy all day and James was confy, had enough water, etc.

 

Couldn't recommend them enough and communication from Charlie initially was also excellent.

 

Happy Cruisers from Oz!

[pvan]

Just toured with Charlie in Puntarenas...

 

He was very prompt with emails prior to the tour. We arrived and he was waiting for us with a nice sized bus. We visited the monkeys, stopped at a market, had a choice of ziplining or boat tour, had lunch, shopping stop, crocodile stop and then back to the ship.

 

We were supposed to have the option of a forest canopy bridge walk but he told us it was too hot and humid for it. He offered us 2 options for ziplining so part of our group took the longer ziplining option and another part of our group took the boat tour. We dropped the group at the river and then drove 30 minutes plus to the Jaco zipline. Here, we were told later by the guides at Jaco, Charlie wanted them to hurry us through the zipline. They told him they don't operate like that and to not bother coming if that is what he needed.

 

The Jaco zipline was a lot of fun and the guides were great. There were many who had never ziplined before and they were very patient and helpful.

 

Charlie and the driver then went to pick up the boat tour group, drove them to the zipline where they then had to wait for us to finish. So there seemed to be a bit of down time for them and perhaps the distance between the two tours was too great.

 

The tour stops were fine and the ziplining was fun but Charlie was one of the worst guides I have ever had. He spoke very little during our many hours of driving especially at the end of the tour. He was on his phone often. We learned very little of Costa Rica. I can say, his driver who didn't speak english was very attentive and nice. We probably could have done it all with just a driver.

 

Also on this cruise we used Dora in Cartagena-one of the best guides any of us have ever had and Rosie in Acapulco, another great guide. Recommend both of them but would advise against using Charlie at this time unless you are just looking for transportation to a few sights.

[Aussie Gal]

pvan,

 

We too used Rosie in Acapulco back in 2006 and she was excellent. I am glad she is still around.

 

Jennie

[hoosierselke]

We just returned from our family cruise and used okeydokey tours (okeydokey.com) that is owned by Charlie Soto in Costa Rica. BEST TOUR we ever had!! VERY organized, fun, personalized and super friendly!

We had two tour guides who spoke EXCELLENT English and were eager to please us and make our excursion fantastic. We did the Zip line, banana plantation and river cruise tour and me, my husband and two teenage sons had the best time :)

 

If you are going to Costa Rica, you HAVE to contact Charlie (go to his website). Well, what are you waiting on?? Contact them now :)

[sbaum323]

Nice ad!!

 

We just returned from our family cruise and used okeydokey tours (okeydokey.com) that is owned by Charlie Soto in Costa Rica. BEST TOUR we ever had!! VERY organized, fun, personalized and super friendly!

We had two tour guides who spoke EXCELLENT English and were eager to please us and make our excursion fantastic. We did the Zip line, banana plantation and river cruise tour and me, my husband and two teenage sons had the best time :)

 

If you are going to Costa Rica, you HAVE to contact Charlie (go to his website). Well, what are you waiting on?? Contact them now :)

[kimberley]

We just returned from our family cruise and used okeydokey tours (okeydokey.com) that is owned by Charlie Soto in Costa Rica. BEST TOUR we ever had!! VERY organized, fun, personalized and super friendly!

We had two tour guides who spoke EXCELLENT English and were eager to please us and make our excursion fantastic. We did the Zip line, banana plantation and river cruise tour and me, my husband and two teenage sons had the best time :)

 

If you are going to Costa Rica, you HAVE to contact Charlie (go to his website).Welcome to cruise critic. Well, what are you waiting on?? Contact them now :)

Great to hear you had a good time. What ship were you on? Did you do any other tours did you do? How many people were on tbe tour with you? What did you pay for the tour? Many thanks Kimberley

[gpearce]

We just returned from our trip on the Equinox. We had a tour in Costa Rica with Okeydokey tours and it was great. We have used them 2 times before on the Pacific side of Costa Rica and all have been above our expectations. Each time we have used them they have had very informative guides who speak excellent English.

Can't say enough good things about Charlie and his company. He is very responsive and has a great product!

[srhonda61]

We went with Rey and Stanton from Okey Dokey in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica. It was fabulous and we'll have years of good memories of our tour and of our experience with our tour guide. We went along the Tortuguero Canal and then we went into the rain forest. Rey even surprised us by taking us to the Delmonte Banana plantation which was a very interesting and informative experience.

 

I would not hesitate to recommend Okey Dokey tours based on our experience. Rey was not only informative, but he just seemed like such a nice man who was a pleasure to spend the day with.

 

Thanks, Rey. ;)

 

Rhonda and Irv

[blueyesdm]

We just got back from a cruise last week and used Okeydokey Tours. We did the A2 tour. Carlos was our guide and he was excellent, spoke very good English and explained many things to us throughout the day. Our first stop was the rainforest, which was beautiful, he was very knowledgeable about all of the plants, bugs, animals, trees, etc. We then got to sample some bananas and local fruits, as well as fresh coconuts. Afterwards we stopped along the side of the road to take a look at some of the howler monkeys in the tree. Then it was a stop at the Dole Banana Plantation - very cool experience to watch how the bananas grow and get distributed. We even got to stop along the way and hold a sloth! Then it was off to our zipline - he took us to Jungle Breeze per our request. Had a fun time ziplining. Lastly we went to the Tortuguero Canal where we saw some wonderful creatures along the way. Very cool! We were lucky to have an excellent young man drive us around the canal, but unfortunately I forget his name but he had his adorable toddler son come along with us because we all thought he was so cute! Lunch was at the beach and it was so yummy - beans and rice, chicken and friend plantain. YUM!! Lastly, Carlos stopped at a local supermarket so we could pick up some coffee and teas. He was very helpful! We were a group of 8 and had an excellent day with Carols. I would highly recommend Okeydokey and would definitely use them again.

[PILGRIMS]

Beware of Odyssey Tours We booked a private tour with Odyssey tours in Limon for a family of 7. Four adults and 3 kids. Alvaro & Diego both responded with emails and they gave me a breakdown of the tour. We´ll holding a sign with your last name and our logo into it. Diego even contacted us via Facebook confirming our reservation and our itinerary the day before we got to Costa Rica. So we were very excited for this stop.

 

Here is a copy of the email itinerary they set up for us.

 

7:30 Pick up out side the pier gate.

8:00 am Taking the boat to do the Tortuguero Canal.

9:15 am Leave to Veragua aerial tram.

10:00 am Take the gondola for do the tour.

12:00 noon Drive to the bananas plantations and Sloth´s spot.

1:00 pm Get to the lunch place at Kimbombo Restaurant where you can enjoy of typical lunch.

2:00 pm Drive to El Faro view point.

2:30 pm City tour by Limon town.

3:00 pm Back to the ship.

 

We walked a few steps to the outside gate where we were suppose to meet Diego and found Carlos with a hand written sign. We asked where was Diego he said he was on another tour. We confirmed our itinerary with him and the prices. So we went on the tour. We were going to the Canal first. Son on the way had some nice small talk and Carlos said he tours all over the Country and has been doing this for many years. We then stopped at a house where Carlos got out to speak to who we thought was suppose to be the person to take us on the Canal tour. After he came back, we drove up the road a bit and then had to turn around because he driven to far. On the way back, he stopped and asked somebody walking down the road for directions we drove a bit further stopped short then backed up and finally were at the boat dock. As we got out of the car, he asked us for our money up front.....I guess that should have been our second warning, the first him not knowing where we were going. After talking with him and saying that we have done many private tours and have never had to pay up front we gave him all but about $80 because he didn't have change for us and we felt trapped that we had to pay upfront. It was only $20 for the change. We had a nice tour on the Canal. We then went on our way to the Aerial Tram ride. Where again he drove past the entrance by a good half an hour. So again we had to turn around and go back. Which we were now a good hour and a half behind schedule because he didn't know where he was going. When we got to the Tram we explained that we only wanted to do the tram ride we didn't want any walking. It took them awhile to get organized, but when we finally did, we had a nice ride down. When we got to the bottom we said we only wanted to go down and back up. They told us no we had to wait over there for the rest of the group we said why we told them up top but they insisted that we had to. So we waited. When we finally got to the top they tried to get us to do another nature walk we just walked away saying that is not what we wanted. We asked Carlos why we had to wait and couldn't do what we asked. He spoke to the people at the desk but never came back with an answer to us. Also, on the way to the tram we had to keep shutting off the air conditioner because there wasn't enough power to get up the road to the tram. (per Carlos) Needless to say it got very hot as it was a very humid day. When we got back to the car Carlos said what do you want to do, we can't do the Banana Plantation or the Sloth Sanctuary and be back at the ship by 3 like our schedule said. He never even mentioned the lunch that was suppose to be included. After a bit of a crazy ride we finally said, just take us back to the ship. We were just too aggravated and very hot. We also wanted to make sure we were back on time as we didn't have a lot of confidence in him. When we got closer to the ship we told him you better call Diego to ask for a refund for the things we didn't see or the lunch we never had. He tried to tell us there was no cost for the Plantation or the Sanctuary and that lunch was only going to cost $5 per person so just keep the $80 you never paid me. Our argument was that not only did you not deliver what was promised, because you didn't know where he was going or set up ahead of time for the things we asked for we should get a bit more and also for his time that didn't get used. So basically we were in Costa Rica from 7:30 am until 2:15 we only went on a Canal ride and a Tram ride. We were just very disappointed as we were looking forward to seeing this port because we had heard so many beautiful things about Costa Rica. Oh thats right when we got back to the ship, he tried to just drive past security to get on the dock. They guard was yelling at us as he kept driving past the stop sign. At the second guard station the guard was standing in the middle of the road waiting for him and told him to turn around and go back to the first station where they told him you are not authorized to be in here, so you need to go outside the gates. Carlos also tried to say we were lying when we were talking to Diego and that he made up the time on the road and we weren't that far behind schedule. BEWARE OF CARLOS & ODYSSEY We booked a private tour with Odyssey tours in Limon for a family of 7. Four adults and 3 kids. Alvaro & Diego both responded with emails and they gave me a breakdown of the tour. We´ll holding a sign with your last name and our logo into it. Diego even contacted us via Facebook confirming our reservation and our itinerary the day before we got to Costa Rica. So we were very excited for this stop.

 

Here is a copy of the email itinerary they set up for us.

 

7:30 Pick up out side the pier gate.

8:00 am Taking the boat to do the Tortuguero Canal.

9:15 am Leave to Veragua aerial tram.

10:00 am Take the gondola for do the tour.

12:00 noon Drive to the bananas plantations and Sloth´s spot.

1:00 pm Get to the lunch place at Kimbombo Restaurant where you can enjoy of typical lunch.

2:00 pm Drive to El Faro view point.

2:30 pm City tour by Limon town.

3:00 pm Back to the ship.

 

We walked a few steps to the outside gate where we were suppose to meet Diego and found Carlos with a hand written sign. We asked where was Diego he said he was on another tour. We confirmed our itinerary with him and the prices. So we went on the tour. We were going to the Canal first. Son on the way had some nice small talk and Carlos said he tours all over the Country and has been doing this for many years. We then stopped at a house where Carlos got out to speak to who we thought was suppose to be the person to take us on the Canal tour. After he came back, we drove up the road a bit and then had to turn around because he driven to far. On the way back, he stopped and asked somebody walking down the road for directions we drove a bit further stopped short then backed up and finally were at the boat dock. As we got out of the car, he asked us for our money up front.....I guess that should have been our second warning, the first him not knowing where we were going. After talking with him and saying that we have done many private tours and have never had to pay up front we gave him all but about $80 because he didn't have change for us and we felt trapped that we had to pay upfront. It was only $20 for the change. We had a nice tour on the Canal. We then went on our way to the Aerial Tram ride. Where again he drove past the entrance by a good half an hour. So again we had to turn around and go back. Which we were now a good hour and a half behind schedule because he didn't know where he was going. When we got to the Tram we explained that we only wanted to do the tram ride we didn't want any walking. It took them awhile to get organized, but when we finally did, we had a nice ride down. When we got to the bottom we said we only wanted to go down and back up. They told us no we had to wait over there for the rest of the group we said why we told them up top but they insisted that we had to. So we waited. When we finally got to the top they tried to get us to do another nature walk we just walked away saying that is not what we wanted. We asked Carlos why we had to wait and couldn't do what we asked. He spoke to the people at the desk but never came back with an answer to us. Also, on the way to the tram we had to keep shutting off the air conditioner because there wasn't enough power to get up the road to the tram. (per Carlos) Needless to say it got very hot as it was a very humid day. When we got back to the car Carlos said what do you want to do, we can't do the Banana Plantation or the Sloth Sanctuary and be back at the ship by 3 like our schedule said. He never even mentioned the lunch that was suppose to be included. After a bit of a crazy ride we finally said, just take us back to the ship. We were just too aggravated and very hot. We also wanted to make sure we were back on time as we didn't have a lot of confidence in him. When we got closer to the ship we told him you better call Diego to ask for a refund for the things we didn't see or the lunch we never had. He tried to tell us there was no cost for the Plantation or the Sanctuary and that lunch was only going to cost $5 per person so just keep the $80 you never paid me. Our argument was that not only did you not deliver what was promised, because you didn't know where he was going or set up ahead of time for the things we asked for we should get a bit more and also for his time that didn't get used. So basically we were in Costa Rica from 7:30 am until 2:15 we only went on a Canal ride and a Tram ride. We were just very disappointed as we were looking forward to seeing this port because we had heard so many beautiful things about Costa Rica. Oh thats right when we got back to the ship, he tried to just drive past security to get on the dock. They guard was yelling at us as he kept driving past the stop sign. At the second guard station the guard was standing in the middle of the road waiting for him and told him to turn around and go back to the first station where they told him you are not authorized to be in here, so you need to go outside the gates. Carlos also tried to say we were lying when we were talking to Diego and that he made up the time on the road and we weren't that far behind schedule. BEWARE OF CARLOS & ODYSSEY

[NoWhiners]

We used Okeydokey last month off the westerdam. it was an independent excursion--there were 12 of us. it was set up by another person and cost us each $118. We had Rey as our guide and Tony was our driver. I liked this a lot. We started out off to feed the monkeys, along the way Tony stopped and grabbed some raw cashews, and Rey explained how they harvest and roast them. Rey shared a sleeve of local cashews he bought with us. Next stop was a roadside stand where we got fresh fruit--we picked what we wanted. We had the best papaya, mango, and pineapple. Then we drove off to the zipline--along the way we stopped and saw scarlett macaws that Tony saw. His English wasn't great, but between his english and my Spanish, I learned that the macaws live in one tree and eat out of another. We were lucky to see a whole flock of them--8-10 birds. they were beautiful. Then we went to the zipline; some of us wanted to do the river cruise. This caused a bit of a problem, but the guy who organized the tour (Norman) worked it out with Rey via phone with Charlie. Next thing we knew, 3 of us who didn't want to zipline were on a personal river cruise (only the 4 of us--Rey plus me, hubby and Norman) with a guide and a boat driver. The driver kept getting out of the boat, going in the water to feed the crocs. I almost died--I couldn't believe he did this!! We have some great pix of this, only a short distance (about a foot or 2) away from us. it was great. Then we went back and picked up the hot, sweaty zipliners. then we drove past Jaco beach, then to a market to buy coffee (or whatever). Then it was back to the ship.

 

I thought it was great, no complaints. Rey is a retired English teacher, and he splits his time between tours and tutoring students who are trying to catch up with their English. Great guy. I liked Tony too, but I was about the only person who talked to him!

 

I think you can use these guys with little risk.

 

best of luck to all

ML

[misohaute]

I just got back from Costa Rica May 15th, 2011 and booked 6 people on Okey Dokey Tours, A1. He said he would give me the cruise critic price of $55. Below is what the website says for A-1 Tour:

 

Tortugero Canal Tour- 5 hours

Tortugero Canal Tour - See exotic birds and animals of the Costa Rican jungle, Banana Plantation - Fasinating tour of plantation and processing plant, Bonita Beach & Restaurant (Lunch included) Limon's most beautiful beach and good food, Viewpoint of Limon and countryside and Supermarket visit for wonderful Costa Rican Coffee, Vanilla, and much more at great prices. Admission fees included in the tour price.

 

CHARLIE'S EMAIL TO ME:

 

5 1/2 hrs....$69 p.p but w the special discount for c.c. members you can pay me only $55 p.p. include country side, to look for the sloths, 2nd monkey place to look for the monkeys, 3rd bananas plantation to see the process, 4th the wonderful tortuguero canal river cruise, to enjoy the 3 ecosistems: mangrove, rainforest, and beach , wild life, lizards, iguanas, crocs, monkeys, sloths, and exotics birds, 5th Bonita beach , to enjoy 6th view point for pictures and city for coffee, vanilla souvenirs, full air conditoned van , we provide you some diet & reg sodas, water, costarican beers, and fresh fruits, no extra charge, and you can pay me cash at the end of the tour, wear: t shirt, short pants, hat, sneakers or tennis shoes, this van can hold 14 people but i dont like to put more than 8 - people to be comfortable, would be an honor to be specting for you and your friends, thanks a lot have a wonderful and bleseed evening su amigo charlie

 

WHAT WE GOT:

 

-1st van had no AC, packed us into another van of WAY MORE than 8 people

- tour was done by another man, not Charlie Soto. Tour operator kept saying our tour price was $79, then $69. We showed him our email and he finally charged $55.

-Lunch was not really lunch and there was no beach time. Lunch was given at 2:30, right before going back to the ship. Everyone was starving.

-forgot to mention that he took out "lunch included" on the email price (says lunch included on his website). Thought it was implied since it was on the website, my fault- he tried to make us all pay for extra at the end of the tour. Had I thought about it, I would've double-checked the email and verified but I didn't think he would be that shady. There were at least 4 other groups on the tour that got the bait n switch too.

 

BEWARE!!!!!