Cosol Tour in St. Lucia

[BBG]

About how long was the ferry ride to Jalousie beach? Also, what time did you get back the ship port-my ship will leave @ 3:00. When I e-mailed, he said he usually ends about 1:30-2:00.

[inblue]

About how long was the ferry ride to Jalousie beach? Also, what time did you get back the ship port-my ship will leave @ 3:00. When I e-mailed, he said he usually ends about 1:30-2:00.

 

that's funny, when I emailed him and said my ship leaves at 5pm he said we will be back at 3:30pm or so...

[BBG]

Maybe your tour starts later??? He said we had to meet at the dock @ 8:20 to leave by 8:30... I asked for information about a group tour so I assume he has other people on the same schedule as me...hopefully.

[inblue]

Maybe your tour starts later??? He said we had to meet at the dock @ 8:20 to leave by 8:30... I asked for information about a group tour so I assume he has other people on the same schedule as me...hopefully.

 

no, he also quoted 8:30am departure with tour lasting 6-7 hours. we are going with Herod anyway.

[stunned]

"ferry ride" was about 10 to 15 minutes (was actually an approx. 20 ft. open boat)

We arrived back at ship within at least an hour before departure time, there was plenty of time, Cosol was well aware of what time we needed to be back, and has several vans in case of bookings from different ships, he will get you back with time to spare for shopping if you like.

[BBG]

We toured with COSOL while visiting St. Lucia over the holidays on the Maasdam. Cosol was at the port to pick us up early and we left before 8:30. Tour price was $65 (paid at the end) As stated, all entrance fees and water taxi to the beach were included in tour price. Cosol himself was our driver - we had about 13 people in our van. The van was very clean and comfortable, there were seat belts (unlike most of our other island tour experiences) We saw all of the wonderful places listed on his tour description. We stopped at a banana plantation along the road and Cosol explained how they were grown and harvested. The local breakfast feast was fantasic and there was way more than our whole group could eat. He took us to a gorgeous spot to eat. It was interesting to see the "drive-through" volcano and the botanical gardens were very pretty. We loved the water taxi to Jalousie beach! It was really something to look up at the Piton Mountains from our little boat. During the tour we had many opportunities to stop for pictures and complimentary drinks (local beer, rum punch, as well as other choices). Cosol was very concious of the time and we were back at port exactly at the agreed time. I've been on five cruises and the best tours I have done are the ones I have booked after reading reviews here on Cruise Critic. COSOL's tour and the cave tubing (Cavetubing.com) in Belize have been the most memorable. I try to steer clear of ship sponsored tours whenever possible. They are over-rated and over-priced. Local people such as COSOL make tourism their livelihood and they go out of their way to give you good value for your money and great sevice. Tour with COSOl and you will appreciate the beauty of St. Lucia!

[Randy & Kathy]

We were just there in St. Lucia on Dec. 13th and went with Cosol Tours. His brother, Hilery, was our tour guide and he was marvelous at it. They were there to pick us up from our ship, the Royal Princess, right after we docked and we began our tour, there were only 8 of us on the tour. It was a nice van with A/C and was very comfortable.

We were then driven all over the island and told the history and culture of the place. We would stop frequently for pictures, sometimes we got out of the van and just wandered around taking pictures, in some places there were bathroom breaks, and even a few minutes to shop at some of the roadside stands that were selling various items. He provided us with some local food snacks to try out, and he had a variety of beverages for us as well (all included in the cost of the tour).

We were dropped off at a beach and spent over an hour there for those that wished to swim or snorkel. It was a very beautiful location and another photo op, as well as a place to buy things, which we did. This stop was in addition to the stops at the banana plantation and another one at the volcano (I never expected to be standing in the center of a volcano that still had visible smoke/steam coming from it).

This tour cost $55 per person and was definitely worth it, I have a nice collection of still and video pictures from there and some great memories. Hilery has a great sense of humor and he was a joy to spend the day with. He took a good tour and made it into a great tour. He was also very conscious of the time and said not to worry about being back at the ship in time, this tour lasted about 7 hours. Actually, we had time to do some shopping around the port after the tour and still were back on board with time left to spare.

If you have never been to St. Lucia and wish to see the island by way of a tour, do not pass up the opportunity to go with Cosol Tours. It was a totally enjoyable experience and we have some terrific memories of this beautiful island and were able to meet some wonderful people who reside there.

Randy

[flea b]

Another thumbs up for Cosol from us!

 

We had a bit of bad luck with our Christmas Cruise on Ventura missing 3 ports and were desperate to get off in St. Lucia. Cosol put us with his brother Hilery (YELLOW BIRD), he went out of his way to please us all and cheered us up. Nothing was too much trouble. Thanks YELLOW BIRD!! :):):) xxx

[Cruisehappymn]

I have this one booked for my upcomming cruise. What do you typically give for a tip for such a tour?

[Randy & Kathy]

I have this one booked for my upcomming cruise. What do you typically give for a tip for such a tour?

 

Generally, for a tour that lasts about 2 hours or less, if we have enjoyed the tour experience we will tip about $5.00 pp. However, this tour lasted about 7 hours and we were treated to a lot of special attention, some "goodies" were provided, and we enjoyed the tour guide so much that we gave a tip of $10.00 pp. I'm not sure if that is in line with others give or not, we really haven't asked others about this previously.

Randy

[Pomperaugrr]

We just booked with Cosol again this year. We went last January and are repeating the Cosol experience again this year. His drivers are top notch and the tour was the best we have had in the Caribbean. He is deservingly very highly recommended!

 

Eric

[Kamakiri]

Hello all - it's my first post. Yay!

 

Thanks for all the great tips about Cosol. I have already contacted him to set up my tour. He did say that we would be going to Jalousie beach, but since it's my first cruise I'm not sure about the logistics on the beaches.

 

Where does everyone put their stuff during the snorkel portion of the trip? It sounds like this is a more private beach, so do you just leave everything on the shore in a bag? I can't imagine wearing my suit all day - just not comfortable, and I will have my camera and a few other things with me.

 

Also, how much time was allowed at the stops? I asked him in an email and he said "we stop every 10 min or so for photos", so I didn't want to ask him again. I wanted to know if we could get out to see some of the buildings in the town. My boyfriend would love to check out the architecture, if only for a few minutes.

[Randy & Kathy]

Hello all - it's my first post. Yay!

 

Thanks for all the great tips about Cosol. I have already contacted him to set up my tour. He did say that we would be going to Jalousie beach, but since it's my first cruise I'm not sure about the logistics on the beaches.

 

Where does everyone put their stuff during the snorkel portion of the trip? It sounds like this is a more private beach, so do you just leave everything on the shore in a bag? I can't imagine wearing my suit all day - just not comfortable, and I will have my camera and a few other things with me.

 

Also, how much time was allowed at the stops? I asked him in an email and he said "we stop every 10 min or so for photos", so I didn't want to ask him again. I wanted to know if we could get out to see some of the buildings in the town. My boyfriend would love to check out the architecture, if only for a few minutes.

 

Hi there Kamakiri,

Congrats on post #1, we all started there once ourselves.

Yes, the beach is private. It is located in a remote area, and is gated and the tour bus must pass the guard post to gain entry. This is part of a resort, very quiet and lovely. We did not swim so we just sat around, took photos and did a little shopping with a local vendor selling clothes & jewelry. There were bathrooms, but I don't know if there were lockers available or not. Since there were just 8 of us on our tour we just sort of watched over the stuff belonging to the others as they went swimming/snorkeling. We had permission to be there, but I had the feeling that we should not invade the areas meant for the resort guests. As we were only there for about an hour it was not a problem.

As for the stops, they were about every 10 - 15 minutes, sometimes just at a scenic overlook next to a guardrail, other times next to a place where there might be bathrooms, a vendor selling souvenirs and a place to just stretch your legs. He asked us to let him know if there was something that we wanted a picture of and he would stop. This was very laid back and just a relaxing day.

I'm not sure that one should expect much in the way of architecture to observe. There was a very old church, and some municipal buildings, but not exactly what I would call photo ops. We drove through some fishing villages and you must keep in mind that many of these people are very, VERY, poor. The local poverty is obvious, just like every island that you may go to, as there were a lot of shacks in town, many looked to have only a small single room inside. Further away there were more single family homes, but many were very tiny, and run down. The nicer places were mostly up on the top of the hillsides where there is a nice view of the ocean. These places we just drove by, so it was a photo op as we moved down the road, not a place where we could stop. Hilery did slow down and point out bamboo growths, various trees with blossoms, fruit, nuts, etc. in order that we could get a quick picture, but we just kept moving along in order that we would stay on schedule.

There is a lot of natural beauty there, we saw the rain forest, banana plantation, waterfalls, various trees, flowers, views of mountain peaks, a trip to the volcano, lovely spots high up in the hillsides from which to observe the ocean and the beaches down below, and of course went to a beach. We also had the opportunity to meet some very pleasant people who live there.

Hopefully this will help to prepare you for your day in St. Lucia.

Randy

[Ocean State]

Just another post to say how wonderful the Cosol tour was. Bumpy was our driver and he was very professional and informative. The beach at Jalousie is beautiful, we stayed for about 60 minutes. Remember to slip some of the Cosol water/soda/beer in your beach bag to drink on the beach (or else you can buy a drink at their bar/restaurant). The beach changing areas are not that glamourous.

 

As for stopping in town, the streets are very narrow, so it might be hard to stop on demand.

 

We tipped our driver $20 for 2 adults and 2 kids.

[yogamom]

Where does everyone put their stuff during the snorkel portion of the trip? It sounds like this is a more private beach, so do you just leave everything on the shore in a bag? I can't imagine wearing my suit all day - just not comfortable, and I will have my camera and a few other things with me.

 

We did Cosol's tour last month and it was great. The private beach was amazing. We usually bring our own snorkle stuff. I always wear my bathing suit underneath my shorts and t-shirt because there is usually a line to get in the bathroom and with only 1 hour to spare - whatever works for you. If you carry stuff - remember you have to be able to carry it on the water taxi. We always travel with a back pack for all our stuff and put our snorkle stuff in a separate snorkle bag which doesn't matter if it gets wet.

 

At any beach, or leaving my backpack on the van, I always lock it with a little lock - it's no big deal, but at least it's not that fast to open up. Then I leave my backpack on the beach. At Jalousie beach there is a big rock by the snorkle area (which is roped off) and I put my clothes and backpack there when we were snorkling - it's private so no worries about anything. I also put my camera, etc in a ziploc bag inside my backpack so it doesn't get wet hopefully.

 

Hope this helps.

[onceagain]

I'm thinking you may have answered my question yogamom, but there are a couple of us who have swim suits with skirts and we would need to change into clothes at the Jalousie beach. Are there places to change there? Besides toilet stalls, are there changing stalls as well? How is the beach, is it really sandy, or is there coral that you need to dodge? Shallow enough for a distance so kids can enjoy it?

[Bonbonn]

We wore our bathing suits under our clothes. We stopped at the beach for about 45 minutes. It was nice, but if you are looking for that blue Caribbean water it is not there. But the location between the two Pitons can not be missed. Someone asked about tipping... We tipped 10 dollars for the two of us. I asked a few people on the tour how much the tour was costing them and it was less then ours. So we tipped would made out cost the same as theirs.

 

The prices have gone up, I am not sure if the website reflects this yet. But his tour is excellant, and I wish other islands had something similiar. Maybe he can branch out to other islands, or maybe someone will try something similar, till then he is the best!

[Kamakiri]

Thanks for everyone's replies! I am just a little nervous, though. Our cruise leaves port at 4 and it's tendered. If Cosol's tour starts at 8AM and is 5.5-6 hours long, that puts us at the port around 2. I know it's 2 whole hours, but I wasn't sure how traffic would be, or how long it would take to get back to the cruise ship from where Cosol drops you off. Did anyone have any problems?

[yogamom]

Thanks for everyone's replies! I am just a little nervous, though. Our cruise leaves port at 4 and it's tendered. If Cosol's tour starts at 8AM and is 5.5-6 hours long, that puts us at the port around 2. I know it's 2 whole hours, but I wasn't sure how traffic would be, or how long it would take to get back to the cruise ship from where Cosol drops you off. Did anyone have any problems?

 

Our tour with Cosol was suppose to have us back by 3:00 pm. I think that is his standard return time. HOWEVER there was one woman who suffered a bit of heat stroke (she stayed behind at the public beach with her husband because she didn't like the water taxi idea). When we got back from Jalousie beach via water taxi and were just having a few cold drinks from the van, she started to feel faint, and actually fainted a bit. The drivers seemed to have a 'medical/first aid' type kit and tried to help her, others around tried to help by offering food, ice cubes in zip lock backs placed on her neck, etc, to try and cool her down. The drivers had her lie down in the van for a bit until she felt better. This slowed the tour down by at least 30 minutes there.

 

We did make our way back to the ship, finishing the tour, but arriving at around 4:00 pm. Still we had plenty of time because I believe our ship was due to sail at 6:00 pm.

 

However, you never know .... I don't like cutting things too tight in my schedule. The Emerald Princess always seemed to request passengers arrive back 30 minutes prior to sailing.

[yogamom]

I'm thinking you may have answered my question yogamom, but there are a couple of us who have swim suits with skirts and we would need to change into clothes at the Jalousie beach. Are there places to change there? Besides toilet stalls, are there changing stalls as well? How is the beach, is it really sandy, or is there coral that you need to dodge? Shallow enough for a distance so kids can enjoy it?

 

Yes there are bathrooms at the beach, just a little walk up away from the beach. The beach is nice - we always wear water shoes so we never take our shoes off at all. The snorkling area is roped off - that's the area we stayed at. There is also a fresh water shower located at the beach so that you can rinse off.

[Pepperwood]

Thanks for everyone's replies! I am just a little nervous, though. Our cruise leaves port at 4 and it's tendered. If Cosol's tour starts at 8AM and is 5.5-6 hours long, that puts us at the port around 2. I know it's 2 whole hours, but I wasn't sure how traffic would be, or how long it would take to get back to the cruise ship from where Cosol drops you off. Did anyone have any problems?

 

Cosol will have you back in time. He knows his whole business is dependent on getting cruise ship passengers back to their ships on time, and he doesn't fool around with that. He knows what time your ship will leave and has you back with usually 1.5-2 hrs to spare--enough time to check out the cruise pier shopping area before reboarding. We know because DW decided she hadn't bought enough banana ketchup, so we had to see if any of the cruise pier shops had some.:)

[swimmer_steph]

Hi there Kamakiri,

 

Congrats on post #1, we all started there once ourselves.

 

Yes, the beach is private. It is located in a remote area, and is gated and the tour bus must pass the guard post to gain entry. This is part of a resort, very quiet and lovely. We did not swim so we just sat around, took photos and did a little shopping with a local vendor selling clothes & jewelry. There were bathrooms, but I don't know if there were lockers available or not. Since there were just 8 of us on our tour we just sort of watched over the stuff belonging to the others as they went swimming/snorkeling. We had permission to be there, but I had the feeling that we should not invade the areas meant for the resort guests. As we were only there for about an hour it was not a problem.

 

As for the stops, they were about every 10 - 15 minutes, sometimes just at a scenic overlook next to a guardrail, other times next to a place where there might be bathrooms, a vendor selling souvenirs and a place to just stretch your legs. He asked us to let him know if there was something that we wanted a picture of and he would stop. This was very laid back and just a relaxing day.

 

I'm not sure that one should expect much in the way of architecture to observe. There was a very old church, and some municipal buildings, but not exactly what I would call photo ops. We drove through some fishing villages and you must keep in mind that many of these people are very, VERY, poor. The local poverty is obvious, just like every island that you may go to, as there were a lot of shacks in town, many looked to have only a small single room inside. Further away there were more single family homes, but many were very tiny, and run down. The nicer places were mostly up on the top of the hillsides where there is a nice view of the ocean. These places we just drove by, so it was a photo op as we moved down the road, not a place where we could stop. Hilery did slow down and point out bamboo growths, various trees with blossoms, fruit, nuts, etc. in order that we could get a quick picture, but we just kept moving along in order that we would stay on schedule.

 

There is a lot of natural beauty there, we saw the rain forest, banana plantation, waterfalls, various trees, flowers, views of mountain peaks, a trip to the volcano, lovely spots high up in the hillsides from which to observe the ocean and the beaches down below, and of course went to a beach. We also had the opportunity to meet some very pleasant people who live there.

 

Hopefully this will help to prepare you for your day in St. Lucia.

 

Randy

 

 

Randy,

 

THANK YOU for such a detailed description of your experience. My husband and I are VERY excited about St. Lucia; we've always wanted to see the island.

 

One thing you mentioned does concern me. I know that many of the people there are financially poor so I have a question: as you were touring this island (and/or other Caribbean islands) did you see many skinny stray animals? I realize that may seem like a bizarre question but we recently returned from Acapulco and I was NOT prepared for seeing all of the homeless dogs and it really affected me.

 

Should I be prepared to see skinny animals if I take an island tour?

 

Thanks so much for your honest opinion b/c what you say will affect what we do on the islands.

[Randy & Kathy]

Randy,

 

THANK YOU for such a detailed description of your experience. My husband and I are VERY excited about St. Lucia; we've always wanted to see the island.

 

One thing you mentioned does concern me. I know that many of the people there are financially poor so I have a question: as you were touring this island (and/or other Caribbean islands) did you see many skinny stray animals? I realize that may seem like a bizarre question but we recently returned from Acapulco and I was NOT prepared for seeing all of the homeless dogs and it really affected me.

 

Should I be prepared to see skinny animals if I take an island tour?

 

Thanks so much for your honest opinion b/c what you say will affect what we do on the islands.

 

Hi Steph,

I did not actually think about pets while we were on the tour, but as I think back about it, I don't remember seeing any pets in the fishing villages. We saw under nourished adults, and a few children, hanging around the streets. My guess is, if there had been pets, they probably ended up in someone's stew pot a while ago. When you think of poor, think poorer yet. These shacks were on the main street and have been placed wall to wall, some of them are smaller than some peoples walk in closet.

Once you are out of town and working your way up the hillside you will see more of the single family houses, most built on small lots. There were a few children and some animals in those areas. Some animals were pets, many were goats, chickens, etc. Usually the higher up the hillside you go, the nicer the houses look. This is a pattern that we have seen on most of the islands that we have visited over the years. Poverty is there, unfortunately, just as you will see it in most every country of the world, and in every US city if you travel through the areas where it exists.

The natural beauty is there too, and it does help that the tourist industry is helping to put some dollars into their economy. What I have noticed is that in most of these places, we have met some of the nicest, most pleasant, people that you could hope to encounter. They seem to have accepted their place in their society and I have found these island residents to be very willing to chat, and even enjoy sharing some information about their place, and many have a nice sense of humor.

 

If you go there just remember to not focus too much upon the poverty, just take in the beauty of the island, enjoy the narration from your tour guide as to the history and culture there, take pictures, maybe pick up a few souvenirs and hopefully you will find some of the residents to converse with. St. Lucia has jumped way up there on the "nice place to go" scale with my DW and I. Cosol Tours was responsible for making this such a nice day for us.

 

Hopefully this has been some help to you.

 

Randy

[rrshinn]

We took the Cosol Tour last week and it was one of the best tours we have been on. Excellent value for what you pay and they take very good care of you. Also there was some ship's crew on our tour so they got the word too on the best tour.

[swimmer_steph]

Hi Steph,

 

I did not actually think about pets while we were on the tour, but as I think back about it, I don't remember seeing any pets in the fishing villages. We saw under nourished adults, and a few children, hanging around the streets. My guess is, if there had been pets, they probably ended up in someone's stew pot a while ago. When you think of poor, think poorer yet. These shacks were on the main street and have been placed wall to wall, some of them are smaller than some peoples walk in closet.

 

Once you are out of town and working your way up the hillside you will see more of the single family houses, most built on small lots. There were a few children and some animals in those areas. Some animals were pets, many were goats, chickens, etc. Usually the higher up the hillside you go, the nicer the houses look. This is a pattern that we have seen on most of the islands that we have visited over the years. Poverty is there, unfortunately, just as you will see it in most every country of the world, and in every US city if you travel through the areas where it exists.

 

The natural beauty is there too, and it does help that the tourist industry is helping to put some dollars into their economy. What I have noticed is that in most of these places, we have met some of the nicest, most pleasant, people that you could hope to encounter. They seem to have accepted their place in their society and I have found these island residents to be very willing to chat, and even enjoy sharing some information about their place, and many have a nice sense of humor.

 

If you go there just remember to not focus too much upon the poverty, just take in the beauty of the island, enjoy the narration from your tour guide as to the history and culture there, take pictures, maybe pick up a few souvenirs and hopefully you will find some of the residents to converse with. St. Lucia has jumped way up there on the "nice place to go" scale with my DW and I. Cosol Tours was responsible for making this such a nice day for us.

 

Hopefully this has been some help to you.

 

Randy

 

Randy,

 

THANK YOU so much for answering my questions. You told me exactly what I wanted to know. I like having a general idea of what to expect when visiting a new country and now I'm prepared. :)

 

I'm going to email Cosol Tours tonight to set up the day.

 

Thank you again!