Cosol Tour in St. Lucia

[rd36mnm]

There is absolutely no mention of a beach stop or water taxi to a beach on Cosols website. Can one assume that he is not doing any longer? Seems if he was doing he would mention. I want to book with him in May, but the beach at the Pitons is a must for us.

[Randy & Kathy]

There is absolutely no mention of a beach stop or water taxi to a beach on Cosols website. Can one assume that he is not doing any longer? Seems if he was doing he would mention. I want to book with him in May, but the beach at the Pitons is a must for us.

 

rd36mnm,

We never had a water taxi, it was a place where the tour bus dropped us off, then returned just over an hour later and picked us up again.

I would suggest that you send them an email and ask if the schedule of places to go is as we have described, including the stop at the beach. If they confirm that you are going there, you will love it. It is a sight that is not like one that I have seen before, a definite photo op.

Randy

[swom]

I just sent him an email asking to make sure the tour still included a beach stop. I'll let you all know what he says.

[youngestof9]

I just did the Cosol tour on Wednesday (I hate being home :( )

 

We did a water taxi to the Jalousie (sp?) beach for about 45 minutes (make sure you grab towels to bring because you can't use the chairs on the beach) and then the water taxi back to hang for a little bit.

 

It was the best BEST tour - I'm not usually a "tour" person, but by the end of it, I totally felt like I really experienced everything St. Lucia has to offer - what a beautiful island.

 

It was a BUSY day for Cosol and he actually had drivers he normally doesn't have to use and we had Kingsley Ramo (not RamBO as he told us - he said he was too skinny LOL) and he was AMAZING and fun and funny.

 

I would do this tour again just for the fun and laughs.

 

And I held the boa constrictor from the trees :)

[2Fltravelers]

I just sent him an email asking to make sure the tour still included a beach stop. I'll let you all know what he says.

 

Yes, it does include a beach stop-Jalousie Beach right bewteen the 2 Piton peaks which was owned by Hilton but has been sold. Because of a dispute with the current hotel owners, Cosol no longer can drive up to the beach but since it is public and has public access, he now uses a water taxi type service to get back and forth. They are more like 10-12 passenger motor boats and the view of the Pitons from the boats in each direction makes it seem like a better idea than just driving up to the beach. since the view provide a wonderful ride. You can use the beach chaises but it will cost you $20 so he asks that you don't. Besides, we were there for about 1 hour and it was hot-no breeze and that was in January (14th). However, my husband said the snorkeling was the best of the whole cruise (bring your snorkel gear for this tour).

[lscanlon]

Yes, it does include a beach stop-Jalousie Beach right bewteen the 2 Piton peaks which was owned by Hilton but has been sold. Because of a dispute with the current hotel owners, Cosol no longer can drive up to the beach but since it is public and has public access, he now uses a water taxi type service to get back and forth. They are more like 10-12 passenger motor boats and the view of the Pitons from the boats in each direction makes it seem like a better idea than just driving up to the beach. since the view provide a wonderful ride. You can use the beach chaises but it will cost you $20 so he asks that you don't. Besides, we were there for about 1 hour and it was hot-no breeze and that was in January (14th). However, my husband said the snorkeling was the best of the whole cruise (bring your snorkel gear for this tour).

 

We went on Cosol's tour last week. My wife and I took the water taxi to Jalousie Beach with everyone else, but hadn't brought our suits along, so we didn't actually go swimming. We weren't about to pay $20 for a chair, but by the pier and close to the snorkeling area is a wide wooden board under the trees, and it served nicely as a seat for us.

 

While I'm at it I'll give a big thumbs-up for Cosol's tour. It was one of the highlights of our trip.

 

Leo

[lscanlon]

We went on Cosol's tour last week. My wife and I took the water taxi to Jalousie Beach with everyone else, but hadn't brought our suits along, so we didn't actually go swimming. We weren't about to pay $20 for a chair, but by the pier and close to the snorkeling area is a wide wooden board under the trees, and it served nicely as a seat for us.

 

I should also mention that the water taxis are big rowboats with outboard engines. To get into them, you have to wade into the water, "ouch" yourself over a stony area, and hoist yourself onto and into the boat. This is no problem for young people, but for out-of-shape, 60-somethings like yours truly, it's not all that easy.

 

Leo

[huntwc]

Hey Youngest of 9...did you really do that? I am sorry but if you see any snakes on this tour I need to know so I can cancel with Cosol..I am TERRIFIED of them!

 

Can all of you who have done this tour please let me know if these awful creatures are part of the tour???:eek:

[2Fltravelers]

Hey Youngest of 9...did you really do that? I am sorry but if you see any snakes on this tour I need to know so I can cancel with Cosol..I am TERRIFIED of them!

 

Can all of you who have done this tour please let me know if these awful creatures are part of the tour???:eek:

 

Never saw a snake or anything that looked like one.

[Randy & Kathy]

The only snake we saw was one that one of the local fellas had and he was standing by the road with it. It was draped around his neck, only about 4' long, and he was there for people to take pictures of it or to touch it (naturally he was expecting a buck or two as a tip for providing this) but we saw nothing like that in the wild, only this "pet" one. Relax, you do not have to go near it and all of us on the tour bus just took some pictures, he was well away from everybody.

Randy

[swom]

Yes he does still do the beach as everyone has said!

 

Yes we still go to the beach.

 

 

COSOL

[youngestof9]

Hey Youngest of 9...did you really do that? I am sorry but if you see any snakes on this tour I need to know so I can cancel with Cosol..I am TERRIFIED of them!

 

Can all of you who have done this tour please let me know if these awful creatures are part of the tour???:eek:

 

Yes I did :) They actually pull to the side of the road where the locals pull the boas out of the trees and you pay them $1 to hold one. My husband wasn't too happy I did it, but you only live once. I'm not a snake lover by any means, but I just did mind over matter. and NO...there's no snakes ANYWHERE on the tour but this stop and you don't even need to get out - if nobody in your van wants to stop, you're safe :)

 

Here's a pic :)

[huntwc]

Hey youngest...why in the world would you include a picture with your post knowing full well that I have a phobia... If you had any idea what something like that does to someone with a phobia I hope you would have thought twice. I could not even read your post because my heart started racing....

[youngestof9]

well that certainly wasn't my intention to freak you out - I wanted to show how large the snake was. I would imagine asking about snakes would get a response about snakes.

 

Maybe canceling Cosol is a good idea if you're going to be that freaked out about a picture.

[sunsetbeachgal]

I am on the Emerald Princess right now, and did Cosol a few days ago and it was THE BEST! As far as snakes, I am terrified and he did not stop the van where the fellows had a "picture with a snake" thing...he just kept going! Just warn your driver-you will be fine.

 

Cosol Tours is great-I highly recommend them!

[floatinrocks]

We just came back and did a Cosol Tour. The tour was fine until we were to go to Jalousie Beach. You have to go by boat now because it's a 45 minute walk to the beach as they are not allowed to use the access road.

 

The boats are metal, with metal seats also. The boats all had water in the bottom and no wood over the bottom or mats of any kind. My SIL slipped and fell hard against the edge of the metal seat.

 

She has 2 broken ribs and a bruised kidney, she'll be off work 4 - 6 weeks.

I would not recommend his tour until he does something about the transportation to Soufriere.

[CincyCruiser22]

We just came back and did a Cosol Tour. The tour was fine until we were to go to Jalousie Beach. You have to go by boat now because it's a 45 minute walk to the beach as they are not allowed to use the access road.

 

The boats are metal, with metal seats also. The boats all had water in the bottom and no wood over the bottom or mats of any kind. My SIL slipped and fell hard against the edge of the metal seat.

 

She has 2 broken ribs and a bruised kidney, she'll be off work 4 - 6 weeks.

I would not recommend his tour until he does something about the transportation to Soufriere.

 

We were in the boat when this happened. Sorry to hear she is hurt so badly. The boats were hard to get in and out of with the waves. I thought the tour was very informative, had great local food to try, and enjoyable overall. If you don't like long car rides I would suggest going on a tour and catermeran on the way back to the ship (land and sea tour through Carnival). The ride back is long, but again I thought it was well worth the money.

[2Fltravelers]

We just came back and did a Cosol Tour. The tour was fine until we were to go to Jalousie Beach. You have to go by boat now because it's a 45 minute walk to the beach as they are not allowed to use the access road.

 

The boats are metal, with metal seats also. The boats all had water in the bottom and no wood over the bottom or mats of any kind. My SIL slipped and fell hard against the edge of the metal seat.

 

She has 2 broken ribs and a bruised kidney, she'll be off work 4 - 6 weeks.

I would not recommend his tour until he does something about the transportation to Soufriere.

 

So sorry to hear about your SIL. Our boat seemed to be in better shape but you are right. He needs to come up with a better way to get in and out of the boats. A small ladder that attaches to the side of the boat would be helpful in the meantime. I hope your SIL gets well soon.

 

BTW, it seems we are on the same Azamara cruise next year.

[Serendipity43]

My husband and I took Cosol tours last week. This excursion was the highlight of our trip. After getting off the boat we had no problem finding Cosol. There were several different groups with different guides, and I was happy to be in the van with Cosol. There were about 8 other people on the tour with us.

 

The first stop of the tour was the banana plantation where we were given an informative lesson on the plantation by Cosol. Cosol had worked on a banana plantation and was able to give us a very real and interesting perspective on how hard the work here is. The men and boys who work here carry 45 pound boxes of bananas 5 miles to receive only $1 in return.

 

After the banana plantation (and stopping several times on the way to see beautiful outlooks of the island) we were taken to a very pretty open air restaurant where breakfast was served. Breakfast consisted of three large buffet tables where authentic island food was served. Everything was unique and wonderful! Also rum punch and peanut butter alcohol were served (that's right...peanut butter alcohol :D).

 

After lunch we were taken to Jalousie beach. It was absolutely beautiful. There is a reef there with abundant snorkeling, and the grounds are stunning. To stay here is actually $700 a night!

 

After the beach we visited the volcano and botanical gardens (also beautiful). We were then given bread with cheese. Throughout the entire tour we were offered unlimited drinks.

 

Cosol tours was an amazing experience that I would recommend to anyone that I know. Cosol is a man who is very charismatic, and who cares deeply for his island. I can honestly say that meeting him was an absolute pleasure. He made our day and visit special and for that I give my thanks to him.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Our group of six did a Cosol tour last week and also felt it was a highlight of our trip. Thanks for posting such a comprehensive review!

[Thomas2280]

I went to St. Lucia earlier this month and had originally booked an excursion through the cruise line, but Cosol Tours had been recommended by someone on Cruise Critic, so my parent snad I canceled the one with the cruise line and gave Cosol Tours a try. This was the best excursion I have been on. The driver's were friendly and full of information. The vehicles were in great shape (I've seen some on other excursions that had dents and dings all over). The provided everything you needed. We made numerous stops along the way for pictures and they even feed you along the way. The food was local food made and prepared and it was fantastic. We heard from other people that day that had gone on other excrusions that day that, that their excrusion was nothing like ours.

So the moral of this review is if you're planning on taking an excrusion in St. Lucia, book it with Cosol Tours!

[floatinrocks]

So sorry to hear about your SIL. Our boat seemed to be in better shape but you are right. He needs to come up with a better way to get in and out of the boats. A small ladder that attaches to the side of the boat would be helpful in the meantime. I hope your SIL gets well soon.

 

BTW, it seems we are on the same Azamara cruise next year.

 

What a small world, hope to meet you onboard!!! It's going to be a fantastic experience!

[sangoofy]

Hubby and I are celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary this Sept and booked on the RCI AOS for 1 week. One of our stops, St. Lucia and after reading all the reviews as well as description of his tour, I emailed him and reserved him for our Sept 2009 visit. He responded within 1 hr of my email and provided me with more than enough info and was very friendly. Cannot wait to get there.

 

Jan

[BroncosFan2010]

I am almost 100% sold on booking this tour, but I have one question that has not been answered anywhere on this thread.

My DH is allergic to fish. He can be around it, but just cannot eat it. Will he be okay on this trip? Will there be other things he can eat? I don't want him to be hungry all day!

[Randy & Kathy]

I am almost 100% sold on booking this tour, but I have one question that has not been answered anywhere on this thread.

My DH is allergic to fish. He can be around it, but just cannot eat it. Will he be okay on this trip? Will there be other things he can eat? I don't want him to be hungry all day!

 

Hi Mokaheena,

There were some samples of local foods that were provided by our tour guide, some were fish items, some were not. (this was the first time I have ever sampled actual sugar cane):) Those can easily be pointed out. There were a couple of roadside stands where we stopped for a short time to look around and take pictures, and there was a window where one could walk up and place an order for food, there were even picnic tables provided where you could sit down to eat something. The tour guide will help you with this as well. Hilery, if he is to be your guide, was very accommodating and will assist you with any such need. It might be reassuring to contact Cosol Tours and explain this prior to booking and explain this allergy to them in order that they can make arrangements for you, if that is necessary. They were extremely helpful to all of us on our tour. I just know that this can all be worked out for you, good luck and enjoy.

An ex-Michigander, ;)

 

Randy