Rare trbarton Posted May 12, 2014 #1 Share Posted May 12, 2014 (edited) Anybody booked private tours on a Panama Canal Cruise? Here is some of the ports we will be in doing a full transit: San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua Puntarenas, Costa Rica Cartagena, Columbia Aruba Any contact information that you may have along with costs and tour details will be helpful. You can also email me at trbarton743@aol.com and put Panama Canal Tours in the subject line. Thanks!!! Tom:) Edited May 12, 2014 by trbarton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjmbruce Posted May 12, 2014 #2 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Anybody booked private tours on a Panama Canal Cruise? Here is some of the ports we will be in doing a full transit: San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua Puntarenas, Costa Rica Cartagena, Columbia Aruba Any contact information that you may have along with costs and tour details will be helpful. You can also email me at trbarton743@aol.com and put Panama Canal Tours in the subject line. Thanks!!! Tom:) Yes, I booked private tours during my Panama cruise in December of 2012. The only port we have in common is Aruba. Here, I hired a taxi driver named Bully to be our guide. It was $45 an hour (flat fee) to do whatever you wanted all over the island. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sue2go Posted May 12, 2014 #3 Share Posted May 12, 2014 You might try posting this on the Panama Canal destination board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pompeii Posted May 12, 2014 #4 Share Posted May 12, 2014 We did this itinerary in March and loved all the private tours we booked: San Juan del Sur - superb horseback riding experience with Rancho Chilamate. Beautiful eco ranch, fantastic people, spirited horses, galloping on the beach!! I can't say enough about this wonderful operation, even if my legs were sore for two days! http://ranchochilamate.com/ Puntarenas - ziplining over waterfalls with Adventure Park and Hotel Vista Golfo. People we went with who had ziplined before said that this was by far the best zip lining they've ever done! Even the ride up the mountain was an adventure. 25 lines over waterfalls, and a swimming hole halfway through. http://www.adventureparkcostarica.com/en/ Cartagena - segway tour of the walled city with Segways Cartagena. The segways are a blast and a comfortable way to see the beautiful walled city on a hot day. We had a lot of fun with this. http://segwaycartagena.com/ Aruba - snorkeling at Mangel Halto with Aruba Bob. Very beautiful but a bit strenuous!! He includes underwater photos of your snorkel day. http://arubabobsnorkeling.com/ This is what we did, but whatever you choose, have a great time!! We absolutely loved our Panama cruise!! And just to give you a frame of reference, I am late 50's and mu husband is mid 60s. We prefer active excursions rather than bus tours, at least for now! Susan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
two_black_dogs Posted May 12, 2014 #5 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Looking for info on these ports/ private tours as well, so I'm posting to remain in touch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyskie Posted May 12, 2014 #6 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Totally recommend the Segway Tour in Cartagena! Great reviews on TripAdvisor. Our group consisted of couples from our roll call. He can only take 9 at a time, prefers 8. Book the morning tour that way you won't be rushed to get back to the ship. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mapu Posted May 12, 2014 #7 Share Posted May 12, 2014 We used Dora de Zubiria She was great and gets top ratings on TripAdvisor. cartagenatour.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
we3peas Posted May 12, 2014 #8 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Aruba-we used Ivan for an all over the island tour Cartegena- we used Claudia she was awesome and we got a dvd of the tour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRUZGAL53 Posted May 12, 2014 #9 Share Posted May 12, 2014 (edited) We used Macau tours in San Juan del Sur in March. We had a fabulous day for a fraction of the ships prices (and we saw a lot more). The owner is Edwin...he was great to work with. Our guide that day was David and he was fantastic! :) In Costa Rica we have have used Odyssey Tours many times. Brothers Diego and Alvaro run the business. Fun tours...everything from Zip lining to sight seeing. Edited May 12, 2014 by CRUZGAL53 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lone_stranger Posted May 12, 2014 #10 Share Posted May 12, 2014 We used Macau tours in San Juan del Sur in March. We had a fabulous day for a fraction of the ships prices (and we saw a lot more). The owner is Edwin...he was great to work with. Our guide that day was David and he was fantastic! :) In Costa Rica we have have used Odyssey Tours many times. Brothers Diego and Alvaro run the business. Fun tours...everything from Zip lining to sight seeing. Macau Tours has a fabulous tour, but the time seemed dicey in that there was little forgiveness for the unexpected event that might cause a delay in returning to the ship. Having experienced this in Italy and not wanting a repeat, I am hesitant about going on such a tour. Did your tour take the entire time the ship was in port? How did you handle the tendering considering the length of the tour? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRUZGAL53 Posted May 12, 2014 #11 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Macau Tours has a fabulous tour, but the time seemed dicey in that there was little forgiveness for the unexpected event that might cause a delay in returning to the ship. Having experienced this in Italy and not wanting a repeat, I am hesitant about going on such a tour. Did your tour take the entire time the ship was in port? How did you handle the tendering considering the length of the tour? Being Elite gave us an advantage because we were able to get out on the first tender. We toured all day (Masaya Volcano, Masaya market, Rivas, Granada City, and more plus we had a wonderful lunch.) We arrived back at the dock in plenty of time before the ship sailed.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare trbarton Posted May 13, 2014 Author #12 Share Posted May 13, 2014 We used Macau tours in San Juan del Sur in March. We had a fabulous day for a fraction of the ships prices (and we saw a lot more). The owner is Edwin...he was great to work with. Our guide that day was David and he was fantastic! :) In Costa Rica we have have used Odyssey Tours many times. Brothers Diego and Alvaro run the business. Fun tours...everything from Zip lining to sight seeing. Does anyone have a link to Macau tours in San Juan del Sur? Thanks! Tom:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare trbarton Posted May 13, 2014 Author #13 Share Posted May 13, 2014 (edited) Being Elite gave us an advantage because we were able to get out on the first tender. We toured all day (Masaya Volcano, Masaya market, Rivas, Granada City, and more plus we had a wonderful lunch.) We arrived back at the dock in plenty of time before the ship sailed.:) What time did the tour start & end and what was the charge? Were there others from the ship or were you the only ones? Which tour did you take? Thanks? Tom:) Edited May 13, 2014 by trbarton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRUZGAL53 Posted May 13, 2014 #14 Share Posted May 13, 2014 (edited) Macau Tours has a fabulous tour, but the time seemed dicey in that there was little forgiveness for the unexpected event that might cause a delay in returning to the ship. Having experienced this in Italy and not wanting a repeat, I am hesitant about going on such a tour. Did your tour take the entire time the ship was in port? How did you handle the tendering considering the length of the tour? Edwin's email is edwinruiz@macuatours.com. The tour was from 8 am until about 4 pm. There were 10 of us (some friends and some from Cruise Critic). The van held 16 people. I can't remember the exact cost bu it was very reasonable. Edited May 13, 2014 by CRUZGAL53 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRUZGAL53 Posted May 13, 2014 #15 Share Posted May 13, 2014 What time did the tour start & end and what was the charge? Were there others from the ship or were you the only ones? Which tour did you take? Thanks? Tom:) Our Tour was in a MODERN TOYOTA VAN WITH A/C that fits 16 people. The tour started at 8:00 a.m. or before that time (we were off the ship by around 7:30 am).Our first stop was be Rivas (to use the bathrooms). The distance from San Juan del Sur to Rivas is 25 minutes. Then we visited Granada City (Granada city is the oldest town from the western hemisphere on mainland). The distance from Rivas to Granada is 1 hour. We saw the volcano and had lunch at the Masaya market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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