OscarBrown Tours

[saltyswife]

Does anyone have any experience on how long it takes for them to answer e-mail? I sent one the end of last week to him and his sister about a possible private tour and still no answer.........

[saxmanlee]

Sometimes they respond quickly, sometimes they take a while. Keep in mind the ISP is not the greatest in CR. Which tour are you interested in? We did a combo tour of Veragua rainforest and Tortugeuro canals. It was only 6 people and had a great time.

[michelle1836]

my friend who is in charge of our group got a pretty quick response. I would try sending another e mail

 

Please reply.

God bless you and yours.

Carol Brown

Tour Operator & Co-owner

"Oscar Brown Tours "

Costa Rica, Limon & Puntarenas

Limonense03@yahoo.com

I will be in Limon from December 10th, to about March 2010. You can call me at the free American number (631) 913-3843 (631) 913-3843 (631) 913-3843 (631) 913-3843.

[tweety33]

I have gotten all my responses from them the same day. We got back from there tour last week, not a positive experience, it was shortened and half the stops promised we never got to go to. Will write a review soon.

[travelfourever]

Tweety33...that was our experience too. Did he have you pay for part of the boat trip you never went on? That happened to us. I don't know what happened, but I would never recommend Oscar Brown Tours.

 

Response was always quick from Carol...buyer beware though. Book only one thing if you do book with them (zipline OR canals but definitely not both!).

[tweety33]

Here is my review. We booked the Oscar Brown tour #1 for 4/14/10 $45 for 5 hrs. Carol was very good & prompt with all the emails. We met Oscar at the pier. Another couple was put with us on the tour because they were told the sloth sanctuary tour was closed and they had booked that tour. I feel bad for them because the sloth sanctuary was open and they did not get to do the tour they chose. I was glad they were on the tour with us though, we enjoyed there company very much. Ryan was our tour guide. First he drove us to a fruit stand where we sampled some native fruit which was yummy. They do expect you to leave tips there. There is also a snake in a cage to look at but they have a tip jar there also. Then off to the Del monte banana plantation where Ryan gave us a nice informative tour. Then we were taken to the Tortuguero canal where we boarded a covered boat and rode for 1 hr., mostly just seeing birds, we saw 1 sloth way up a tree, 3 monkeys on another tree way up high, a crocodile head poking out of the river banks. The boat driver expects another tip, and a half hr. would have been better for us, it was a bit long.

Then he drove us to a beautiful sand beach where there was a restaurant. We sat down at a table, purchased a soda and was ready to leave. A soda was $2, and the band playing insisted on a tip there also. When we crammed back into the Hyundai Elantra (3 squished in the back) 1 in front, Ryan didn’t talk after that, we thought we were off to our next stop. Wrong he pulled up to the cruise terminal and said that was it.

We were supposed to go to the bamboo trade school (which I found out later had closed 2 years ago), a coco beans farm, have a city tour, see the rich area, and a surprise stop which will take you to the highest part of the city. They were to include soft drinks along the tour, and make a stop for the purchasing of souvenirs & coffee. Non of these things we did and the tour was done in 2 ½ hrs.

I got no explanation from Ryan, he seemed confused when I kept asking him why he did not take us to these places and cut the tour short. The other couple was quoted $40 for the tour so that is what we also paid. I was very upset. I felt we didn’t really get to see the parts of Costa Rica I booked to see.

I emailed Carol and got no explanation from her either, she said Ryan will be suspended for 3 days ships are in town. She offered me t-shirts, discounts, refunds, not wanting me to leave a review. I did not accept any of her stuff. I booked this based on the many wonderful reviews Oscar Brown has had, but for us it was very disappointing, and I just want future tour bookers to be aware. I have since read a few other reviews who had similar situations, but for the most part they have been very posititve.

[travelfourever]

Saltyswife...any luck contacting Oscar Brown tours?

 

My experience pretty much echoes tweety33. I'd think that maybe the tour company had been sold, but Oscar himself is the one that was our guide.

 

Have fun in Costa Rica either way!

[michelle1836]

Here is my review. We booked the Oscar Brown tour #1 for 4/14/10 $45 for 5 hrs. Carol was very good & prompt with all the emails. We met Oscar at the pier. Another couple was put with us on the tour because they were told the sloth sanctuary tour was closed and they had booked that tour. I feel bad for them because the sloth sanctuary was open and they did not get to do the tour they chose. I was glad they were on the tour with us though, we enjoyed there company very much. Ryan was our tour guide. First he drove us to a fruit stand where we sampled some native fruit which was yummy. They do expect you to leave tips there. There is also a snake in a cage to look at but they have a tip jar there also. Then off to the Del monte banana plantation where Ryan gave us a nice informative tour. Then we were taken to the Tortuguero canal where we boarded a covered boat and rode for 1 hr., mostly just seeing birds, we saw 1 sloth way up a tree, 3 monkeys on another tree way up high, a crocodile head poking out of the river banks. The boat driver expects another tip, and a half hr. would have been better for us, it was a bit long.

Then he drove us to a beautiful sand beach where there was a restaurant. We sat down at a table, purchased a soda and was ready to leave. A soda was $2, and the band playing insisted on a tip there also. When we crammed back into the Hyundai Elantra (3 squished in the back) 1 in front, Ryan didn’t talk after that, we thought we were off to our next stop. Wrong he pulled up to the cruise terminal and said that was it.

We were supposed to go to the bamboo trade school (which I found out later had closed 2 years ago), a coco beans farm, have a city tour, see the rich area, and a surprise stop which will take you to the highest part of the city. They were to include soft drinks along the tour, and make a stop for the purchasing of souvenirs & coffee. Non of these things we did and the tour was done in 2 ½ hrs.

I got no explanation from Ryan, he seemed confused when I kept asking him why he did not take us to these places and cut the tour short. The other couple was quoted $40 for the tour so that is what we also paid. I was very upset. I felt we didn’t really get to see the parts of Costa Rica I booked to see.

I emailed Carol and got no explanation from her either, she said Ryan will be suspended for 3 days ships are in town. She offered me t-shirts, discounts, refunds, not wanting me to leave a review. I did not accept any of her stuff. I booked this based on the many wonderful reviews Oscar Brown has had, but for us it was very disappointing, and I just want future tour bookers to be aware. I have since read a few other reviews who had similar situations, but for the most part they have been very posititve.

 

 

It seems that a lot of the negative reviews are in relation to ryan being the tour guide. we are booked for this tour in July so I am thinking I should request a guide other than Ryan

[travelfourever]

Michelle -

 

We had Oscar...the owner. Just my 2 cents, but I wouldn't tell a friend to book with them. I hope you have a better experience.

[enester]

Wow - We had a fantastic experience with Oscar Brown. He was actually our tour guide also. This is no polished ships tour - it's better. We took tour #2 (two families 9 total). We took his van and stopped to pick up his wife & 2 year old (cutie). After a quick tour of Limon itself (complete with an ATM stop for one of our tour members) - we headed into the jungle where Oscar conducted a knowledgeable tour that included samplings of local fauna. Where the walking tour began, they had a table set up with various fruits and coconut drink. There was also a baby sloth on a branch that you were free to hold for pictures. I kept waiting for the extra money pitch - but it never happened. There was a tip box set out that you were free to ignore if you chose. After we headed up into the mountains where some of us zip lined (great fun). They had a jungle walk for $25 - but the included tour that Oscar had given was great - so it was skipped. After, we headed back and stopped at another spot (rustic) - where you could see his snake - and try some more local natural goodies. Again, there was a tip box that you could part take - or not. No one ever held out their hand. We then went to the banana plantation. Oh, Oscar kept a cooler full of ice with water, pop, & beer in the van (besides water, I partook of a couple beers) - also included. We were pooped after zip lining, so we skipped the beach stop (beautiful place) - he did drive by it anyway - and we also drove to the hilltop view. We were never asked for any funds and didn't pay anything until the tour was over... I was surprised when he took my money - and didn't even look at it. Our costs were:

 

Tour #2: $35.00 each

 

For those that zip lines there was an additional $35.00

 

We did do an additional tip for the great day ~ :)

[saltyswife]

Yes we received a reply after I e-mailed Carol the second time. We set up a custom tour that was like Tour #1 but without the boat ride. I was afraid that my 85 year old in-laws would not do well on the boat ride.

[travelfourever]

Saltyswife, glad that you got a hold of them...Carol was great.

 

enester, we weren't looking for a posh ship's tour and never have been (not that you were implying that). Some people are have had great experiences and some are having really bad experiences. It comes down to over scheduling things and if Oscar had told us that it was going to be extremely tight/to reduce what we wanted to do we would have! We are very easy to please, but enough said!

 

Happy cruising!