Your Lucky Tours or JJ?

[franma]

My wife and me are now exploring via internet various excursions opportunities. The advertised tours of YLT have a reduced programme as compared to other travelling-agencies. We are evaluating either "rain forest" or "tortuguero+plantation". however, YLT does not mention the costs of the tours. might be I would have to mail them. franma, which tour have you chosen?? brunolug of switzerland.

 

I chose this company because of all the positive comments about them here on cruise critic. You can read a lot of them on this board. The tour we're doing includes, Tortuguero park, banana plantation and a beach. He also mentioned some photo stops and shopping...a four hour tour for $45/pp. I think JJ tours have also been recommended here. I suggest you read the reviews and decide. These two companies seem to frequently deal with cruise passengers, so are aware (or should be) of time constraints and the need to get back to the ship on time. Eduardo also picks us up at the ship terminal.

 

Good luck with your search and enjoy your cruise.

 

Fran

[Slade]

I would not book with JJ again. I booked Tour #1(canal tour, banana plantation, fruit stand, cocoa bean farm, shopping, beaches):

 

http://jjcostarica.bravehost.com/tour.html#1

 

My wife and I met JJ outside the port gate and he told me we were waiting for 2 more cruise ship passengers for our tour. He was going off with a larger group to the Jaguar Rescue Center and we were getting handed off to Remy who was going to give us a private tour. We waited half an hour and the other 2 did not show so off we went with Remy. Remy has a red SUV with a crack in the windshield, and his maintenance and brake warning lights on his dash were on. The tour was unorganized right from the start: he asked us if we paid JJ yet and where we wanted to go. *****? JJ should have coordinated this with Remy. It seemed like he handed us off to some random taxi driver he found on the street. We told him we wanted to see the Tortoguero canal, banana plantation, and the fruit stand (I forgot about the cocoa bean farm and the shopping). Remy started driving to the banana plantation and I had to stop him and tell him to drive us to the canal first because I heard we had a better chance of seeing wildlife if we went early in the morning. Remy didn't say much so it felt more like a taxi ride from point A to point B, instead of a tour which we were expecting. He later told us that he used to work in construction and he became a taxi driver when work slowed down in construction. His English was not very good either so we had problems communicating with him. When we got to the canal, Remy asked us for $30 to pay for the canal tour. It was just the 2 of us on a small boat but the boat operator spoke very little English and pointed to the wildlife so it felt like another taxi ride instead of a tour. Then we went to the banana plantation. Remy did not explain what the workers were doing so we watched the workers and figured out what was going on. Remy didn't know where the fruit stand was at first. He made a phone call and then we went to the fruit stand and sampled some fruits. He offered to bring us to the beach but we declined and he drove us back to the port, 3 hours later.

 

JJ sucks because 1) he should have screened the tour guides before handing us off to a taxi driver and 2) he should have coordinated the tour with the tour guide like what we were supposed to see on the tour. I forgot we were supposed to see the cocoa bean farm, stop at scenic sites, and do some shopping so we got shortchanged on the tour. If he tries handing you off to another tour guide/taxi driver, I would run away.

[slyviag]

Thanks for your info. We will be there on Jan 29. We are 4 senior citizens who can all walk...just not a long way. How long does it take to get to the tram? I'm always afraid a non ship tour will make us late and watch our ship said off without us! You trip sounded great.

[EGCruisers]

We used JJ last week in Puerto Limon and had a good experience. We saw everything we were supposed to see and got back to the ship when we were supposed to get there. We would definitely use him again.

[Cellen]

A group of 6 of us did a tour in Costa Rica with Your Lucky Tours on 10th January and I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY. We were put on a rickety old bus that had no suspension with a driver who had limited English and a 20 year old student "guide" who had very little knowledge, was not a professional guide, and was just along for the ride. No sign of Eduardo throughout the tour. The "guide" had no idea of timescales and at the last stop - the banana plantation we were too late and they were closing up for the day.

 

We went to the Jaguar Rescue Centre which was lovely and Cahuita National Park which we also enjoyed, despite the awful transport and lack of a guide who could tell us about the plants and animals that we saw.

 

If you want a properly guided tour in a decent, safe vehicle, do not use Your Lucky Tours.

[Pechez]

just arrived home from 13 day cruise, we used Eduardo, your lucky tours was very attentive and helpfu,l reasonable price, good service, and very acommadating, Thank you again Eduardo and aperto

 

Can you give me a ballpark figure of pricing for a tour with YLT? We will be going there in March 2012 and I am looking for tours now.

Thanks in advance

[tip]

Can you give me a ballpark figure of pricing for a tour with YLT? We will be going there in March 2012 and I am looking for tours now.

 

Thanks in advance

 

We just returned from our cruise and booked a tour with Eduardo from "Your Lucky Tours". There were several of us in the van and we went to the rainforest for a tram ride and a considerable amount of time observing nature. We then took a canal boat ride to view more wildlife. The tour. which took about six hours cost $95 per person ($40 to the tour guide and $55 admission to the rainforest.) We also gave the guide a nice tip on top of that. Believe me it is much cheaper and better than the ship's shore excursions.

 

I highly recommend Eduardo and "Your Lucky Tours"!

[Notagoose]

I booked a tour with JJ in January, and contrary to the glowing reviews I'd read, had a not-so-great experience with him. My friend and I wanted to visit both the sloth sanctuary and the Jaguar Rescue Centre, which was not an option on his website, so I emailed him to see if this was possible. I made it clear there were only 2 of us. He emailed back and said yes, he could do it, and it would be $80 pp. He said if I could get more people to join us, it would be cheaper.

 

When we met him at the appointed time (still just the two of us), he said it would be $25 pp more than what he'd quoted, and that the $80 price was only for large groups, which he said was clear on his website. That doesn't even make any sense, because that particular tour wasn't advertised on his website, and I had brought our entire email exchange with me in which it was crystal clear that were would only be 2 of us. He wasn't interested in looking at my emails. I was SO angry. He convinced us to go to the Jaguar Rescue Centre first and that if we then wanted to go to the sloth sanctuary, we would pay the extra $25. I was very unhappy, but agreed since our other option at that point was picking a random taxi driver.

 

He then passed us off to Carlos (even though the emails indicated that he, JJ, would be our guide). In the end, that was for the best, since I was so irritated with JJ that I probably would not have enjoyed my tour with him. Carlos, I must say, was fabulous and very knowledgeable about the flora/fauna, and we ended up having a great day. If I had to do it again, I'd book Carlos directly and bypass JJ altogether.

[Nigeldelarue]

We used Eduardo with Your Lucky Tours in April of this year. He was GREAT. We had a group of 10 from ages of 10 to 53 and went zip lining , to the banana plantation and to the beach for lunch. He will have a lot of contact with you before you go and make it very clear where to meet him. We were on a small bus with about 22 people and he made sure we had a lot of fun. We would all use him again when we get back to Costa Rica

 

Rick

 

We just had a tour with Eduardo from Lucky Tours and it was the best tour of our whole trip. We never laughed and had so much fun. Very knowledgeable about his country and gives great service. Above and beyond .. I would highly recommend his services

[wendymac]

We just had a tour with Eduardo from Lucky Tours and it was the best tour of our whole trip. We never laughed and had so much fun. Very knowledgeable about his country and gives great service. Above and beyond .. I would highly recommend his services

 

I am thinking of booking Your Lucky Tours in May - did you specifically request Edouardo? Also which tour did you take? Thanks so much :)

[Nigeldelarue]

I am thinking of booking Your Lucky Tours in May - did you specifically request Edouardo? Also which tour did you take? Thanks so much :)

 

Edouardo is the owner and yes do request himself, he is fantastic. The tour we did was the Veranga Rain Forest (Full tour ) and the Tortuga Canal Tour. He also brought us to the beach and shopping as a bonus. Tell him Bev and Ralph said hello. ... :)

[beebee]

Would definitely recommend Eduardo and Lucky Tours!

[cra-z-2cruise]

Had made arrangements with YLT ahead of time, but confusion over local time vs ship time. We arrived in port later than sched and was affraid we missed our pre arranged tour. Tried calling number for YLT, but could not get thru. Approaced by JJ outside gate. Stated he would give same tour for same price and led us to believe that YLT already left.

Let me start off by saying that the day in Costa Rica, and the tour, was the best day or our trip, but looking back, I'm sure we were just extremely lucky.

We had agreed upon tour of Zip Linning, canal tour, banana plantation tour, fruit stand, and coffee shopping. $85 pp.

JJ put us in a taxi and paid the driver and gave instructions.

The driver was Danny. He was freindly enough. 1st order of business for Danny was to stop at a local vendor and buy himself a newspaper. Then as we are driving thru town, he sees his grandson walking to school and stops, picks him up and then drops him at school. We then drove a way from town and arrived at the zip linning location. The place looked closed and I started to worry a little. Danny honks the horn till someone comes out. After a lengthy discussion, they say okay, we will go.

This is where we met Hector. He offered for Danny to drive us up to the top or if we would like to hike up. Since we were there to see the countyside, we opted for the hike. Hector was AMAZING! He spoke limited English, but tried very hard to explain many different species of wildlife and trees, plants. We saw Tucans, poison frogs, huge ants and sloths. He explained different plants, trees, how they grew, what there local uses were. It was about an hour hike up to the top. We were joined by his assist, Teteanna. We did the multiple zips down. Beautiful sites and lots of fun. At the end, we enjoyed fresh bananas and pineapple. GREAT experience. It was a complete private tour.

Back in the taxi and drove thru the countyside. We pulled alongside a banana plantation and Danny told us they were closed. However, as we passed by the entrance, we saw the ships tour bus entering the plantation. Danny stopped a little further down and said he would just tell us how it worked. Honestly, I think he pocketed the admission fee and didn't want to take the time.

Next stop, a local fruit stand. Honestly, the best fruit I have ever eaten.

We did stop on the side of the road when Danny spotted some howler monkeys in the trees.

Back in the car and started driving near the coast, we could see our cruise ship. Danny started talking like he was winding the tour up. That is when I asked about the canal tour. He said, "Oh my gosh, thanks for reminding me, I forgot all about that".

Drive back thru town and at the entrance of the canal tour site a man approached the car and the two men started arguing. I became very nervous at this point. Apparently, Danny owed one of the operators money for a tour from a few weeks earlier and they didn't want to let him in. Again, after some discussion, a deal was made with one of the boat captains and we were welcomed onboard and taken on a private tour of the canal that lasted about 30 min. It was nice.

Back to the car, then a stop at the beach for an optional lunch. We were seated and a few minutes later Danny came, sat at our table and ordered food. While he did tell the waiter, who was a friend of his, to put his on a seperate ticket, when he brought the bill he had put it all on one ticket and just shrugged his shoulders when it was brought up. We didn't so much mind paying, but by this point we are starting to see we are being taken advantage of. The meal was good. Reasonable price and good atmosphere, so hard to complain too much.

Back in the car. Reminded Danny about the coffee shopping. He said, "You do that back at the cruise terminal, besides if have to have the car back by 3:30". He then dropped us off at the ship.

Let me state again that we had an amazing day!!!! Again, I think we were extremely lucky and would hesitate to make the same plans again. While I do think we got good value, we did not get to do everything that was promised as we were led into the taxi. Good luck to everyone and I hope you have a great day in Cost Rica

__________________

[crazydog]

Nigeldelarue,

 

We are interested in the same itinerary as you did for our upcoming trip. How many people were in your group and how much did Eduardo charge?

 

Thanks!

[JanBethC]

We just got back from our cruise and we did JJ tours in Costa Rica since this is what most of the people on our roll call page was doing. I would NOT recommend using them unless you are guaranteed it will be JJ doing the tour. He was nice enough and looking for us as we got off the ship. We ended up with a female tour guide......don't even remember her name. She was AWFUL. We did the combo tour. The stop at the fresh fruit stand was very nice and yummy! We then got dropped off at the Sloth rescue place. That was very nice and interesting, but we thought they forgot to come back to get us. We waited, and waited, and waited, and waited. The banana plantation (DelMonte) was also interesting. The main thing lacking with the tour lady was she did not really give us the history of the island or what we were driving by as we went. She kept talking over and over again about the schools and the different uniforms the kids wear and the time they go to school. Who cared to hear that over and over with every school we passed, I like to hear about the island and it's history.

When we got to the canal part of the tour, we again waited, and waited, and waited, and waited for the boat. Several tour buses of people came after us and they went ahead of us onto the boats......while we waited, and waited and waited for ours. The boat should have been there ready for us when we got there. This was ridiculous. Because of the extensive waiting, the tour on the canal was pretty fast and then we had no time to get off at the beach like we were supposed to for fear of missing the ship!

VERY DISAPPOINTED!!!!!!

Would do a ship tour or Your Lucky Tour next time. :(

[stiej]

Umm...makes me nervous! Im scheduled to go on a JJ tour in 2 wks. Should I switch to someone else???

[plg_cp]

Having a heck of a time contacting Your Lucky Tour.

With all the great feedback and comments about prompt responses, I've been nothing but frustrated. Sent an email a week ago with no response and have even left a voicemail message on each of the two phone numbers on the website.

 

I really don't want to resort to the overpriced cruise line tour but may have no choice!

[JanBethC]

If you get JJ himself, and not be handed off to someone else, you may be ok. After re-reading all of the replies on this thread with problems with both JJ and YLT, I would opt for a ship tour. Half of my group last week did that and had a great experience and the cost wasn't that much more. Also did the ship excursion several years ago in Costa Rica and it was great.

Good luck!!

[deb63]

Umm...makes me nervous! Im scheduled to go on a JJ tour in 2 wks. Should I switch to someone else???

 

If you do choose to stay with JJ, I hope you'll come share about your experience when you return.

 

Our trip is well over a year away - but we are very interested in the Jaguar Recovery Center for our time there. I emailed JJ and Your Lucky Tours for cost ideas, etc. - JJ did respond to every question I had. I haven't heard back from YLT at all.

 

Best wishes with what every you do.

[stiej]

JJ actually called us to talk to us about the tour. I emailed Okey Dokey with Charlie Soto to find out about them as well. We leave next Saturday so I have to make up my mind by then!

[rubyslipper54]

 

HAS ANYONE USED GREENWAY TOURS IN COSTA RICA????

Trip Advisor has good reviews on them....

 

Until We Sail~ Rubyslipper

[crazydog]

I just got back from our cruise. I had a bad experience with Your Lucky Tour. My group was assigned a tour guide that did not speak much English. She was however a very kind person and tried hard. We did not get an explanation of the local area as we normally have in other countries we have visited. Our questions also went unanswered. So there was no commentary as we traveled in our private van. I would not recommend them.

[Holly2]

We used a private guide who was very reliable and spoke good English. He also was very knowledgeable about wild life and he pointed out a lot to us. The cost was less than some of the tours discussed in this thread and it was customized to what we wanted. We were just a group of 4 and Jorge couldn't have been more responsive.

If you want to check it out, jorgel.cr@hotmail.com. We found him through a very enthusiastic CC post and think we were fortunate.

[Lonesome George]

I was one of a group of 20 off of RCI's Jewel of the Seas that booked and took an excellent JJ Tour on March 24th. Visited Tortuguero canal, JRC, beautiful beach/park Tour included a very nice lunch, beverages, snacks.

 

Wouldn't hesitate to recommend JJ, and would certainly look forward to taking a future tour with his company.

 

JJ conducted the tour, along with an associate; William.

Both were personable and welcomed questions about anything and everything.

[bluecruisin]

Our group of 6 were VERY DISAPOINTED with JJs tour on Wednesday April 13th. WE were booked and confirmed to go on Tour#1. We met as planned at the port at 10am. We boarded the bus with of group of 8 others. We were told they were going on a different tour but there would be no problem combining us and neither groups itineary would be affected. Also at that time he asked if anyone could LOAN HIM MONEY to buy drinks for the cooler. Off we started at 10:30 and were taken to the zip line site (which was not part of our tour) We were made to wait there untill 1:25 (THREE HOURS) while the other group waited for thier turn to zipline. After that we were taken to a partial pinapple plantation tour. Then to the river tour, where finally at 4:45 we ate "lunch" there. We were told that we only had a choice of one $50 platter of cold dried food to share. No choices were given. After practically swallowing our food whole . we rushed back onto to the bus. We had to be back to the pier by 5:30 at the lastest. At 5:05 he asked if we wanted to go to the beach or shopping. ONCE Again we reminded him we need to get back to the port right away, by 5:30. We NEVER got to go to the beach, cocoa bean plantation or shopping as promised. Plus our 4 to 5 hour tour turned into 7.5 hours. He demaned full payment but finally relented to a $5 discounted. If we had had more time we would have tried harder for a different outcome. Any questions are welcomed. We just want to protect others from having such a horrible experience.