Is it common to pay after the excursion?

[tsconley19]

My wife and I are booked on the Cosol full day tour. The cost is $75/person. Do most tour operators ask you to pay in cash after the excursion? Do you feel comfortable carrying $150 or more in cash while you travel the countryside of St. Lucia?

Just asking if anyone has had a problem... You know

Thanks

Tom

[SuiteTraveler]

This sounds normal to me. Even in Europe, many tour guides don't ask you to pay until the end of the tour.

 

I feel fairly safe in St. Lucia although there was this robbery - in the botanic garden of 55 Celebrity passengers:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/cruise-news/9994365/Cruise-passengers-robbed-at-gunpoint-in-St-Lucia.html

 

Pretty audacious robbery to rob so many at once if you ask me. However they were caught. This is not the norm on St. Lucia however and I would think your tour guide will do everything possible to keep you and his money safe while on tour.

[chickadee1]

We did pay at the end of the tour. Did not feel unsafe at any time and didn't worry about our cash. Unlike the RCI cruisers, we were a small group (8) and were with a local driver. My advice is to not wear valuable jewelry or bring anything that you are sentimentally attached to(wear an $8. Kohl's ring instead of wedding ring and cheap earrings!). Don't bring wads of cash as there is no place to spend it. Never felt threatened!

Edited January 16, 2015 by chickadee1

[bjinouno]

My wife and I are booked on the Cosol full day tour. The cost is $75/person. Do most tour operators ask you to pay in cash after the excursion? Do you feel comfortable carrying $150 or more in cash while you travel the countryside of St. Lucia?

Just asking if anyone has had a problem... You know

Thanks

Tom

We just came back on friday the 16th of Jan, we did a 7 hour tour with Serenity tours, we had a private car just the 3 of us, with tour guide we didn't pay until he brought us back to the ship port, and it was like 200.00 each. We went to Treetop to go zip linning (had all cash on me) toured the island in and out of the car in different places, went to the mud baths and we left the cash in the locked car on the drivers advice, I said to him, well you know your payment for this excursion is in here, he said NOT to worry. I said OK it's your car and it's going to be your cash.. Everything was fine... IF you plan on doiing Mud baths Leave all your jewlery on the ship in the safe, I know that is a hard thing to do too, but lesser chance of anything happening to it there. We had a wonderful day driving all around St Lucia, from one end of the island to the other around and around the mountains through the rain forest had a wonder lunch over looking the Pitons the entire trip we felt very safe, (well OK was very nervous driving around those mountains with NO rocks or guardrails) It was beautiful! Enjoy