Danilo Hall

[bell2]

Has anyone done a recent tour with Danilo Hall/Caribbean Adventure tours? There were some nice postings about him last year, but I haven't seen anything very recent, and was wondering if he continues to have a good reputation as our family group was thinking of booking with him.

 

Also, at the risk of sounding really wimpy, are the tours with local operators in Costa Rica (Puerto Limon area) considered very safe for tourists? They do sound like a much nicer experience than the large ship excursions for seeing things.

[AAL]

Our family of four did a tour with Danillo on 3/12/06 and would highly recommend him to anyone. He was waiting for us at the pier, and took us to the two activities we had requested, ziplining and the Tortuguero (sp?) canals. Along the way, he provided lots of information about the area, in fluent English.

 

The highlight of the day was something that we did not pre-arrange: Danillo also took us to the home of someone who rehabilitates injured animals. We saw sloths up close (and fed them banana peels), and various birds, but the best of all was getting to hold a baby monkey. Because of this, our 18 year old daughter declared this trip "our best vacation ever" (and we've taken some nice trips!)

 

Before returning us to the ship, Danillo asked if we wanted to stop at a local grocery for coffee and vanilla, which was quite inexpensive. (It is also available at a higher price at the market at the pier, which was another pleasant shopping stop.)

 

We were not at our most energetic in Costa Rica, having arrived at 6:00 a.m. right after a long day in the Panama Canal, and Danillo was very accommodating. Knowing we would be tired, I had asked for an early return to the ship, and Danillo had us back at about 2:00. If we'd wanted, we could have spent time at a nearby beach, but we were ready for lunch and a nap!

 

I would not hesitate to recommend Danillo to any one of any age. It was great to be with a personal guide rather than a large ship group, his e-mail communication beforehand was excellent, and he delivered everything we asked for -- and more!

[Mrs. Gump]

Are there age restrictions for the zipline? My 8 and 11 yo kids were able to do this in belize.

[AAL]

According to this info on Las Brisas' website, 5 is the minumum age for ziplining:

 

Childrens rates apply from 5 – 12 years old.

Children within this age range may have to travel in tandem with the tour guide. (A qualified instructor will make this decision depending on the weight, height, capabilities of the child).

Children under 5 are not permitted to take part in the zip line tour

 

The website is lasbrisasdelajungla dot com.

 

In my opinion the equipment was very safe; it is all relatively new and we each had two safety clips, so even when changing from one line to the next, we were clipped to at least one line at all times.

 

We went ziplining at the urging of our 13 and 18 year old daughters; I would do it again in a heartbeat.

[bell2]

ardithl,

 

Thanks very much for your recent post recommending Danilo Hall. We have booked with him in April, now.

[Corey]

We booked with Danillo Hall 2 yrs ago and it was one of the best tours we have taken on 13 cruises. We did white water rafting and zip linning. I'm sure he will take excellent care of you guys.

 

Corey

[sppath1]

where do I get in contact with him

[Floflegs]

Does Danilo only work out of Limon? We are in Puntarenas

[emporess]

Danilo's email is adventure_caribbean@yahoo.com.

 

Danilo was waiting for us at the pier. He tried to get us to go into a tiny taxi stating he was booked up. My son is very tall and we really couldn't comfortably fit. Somehow, Danilo decided to do the tour himself and had a van for our family of four. He is very informative and we did the incredible white water rafting. The only problem is that he got us back to the ship 40 minutes late. Thank goodness the ship waited for us. I would recommend him, but pay attention to the time because he didn't!!

 

We would use him again. He's a good guy.

[Magnet]

We used Danilo during our vacation in Limon in early October 2007. He was very resourceful and knowledgeable about the area. He is bilingual Spanish/English. He went out of his way to broaden the experience beyond the basic agreements and requests. He enhanced our experience tremendously.

 

I recommend him highly.

[cal.girl]

We used Danilo Hall for a tour on 11/26/08 and had a great experience. He speaks English fluently and is a wealth of information on Costa Rica. We did the jungle breeze zip lining, the Tortueguero canal boat tour, and had lunch at Playa Bonita beach. It was raining off and on all day but it didn't slow us down much. One comment about Danilo...he's an extremely slow driver. It probably cost us about an hour just because he drives so slow. He had other groups that day that went with other drivers/guides so you should specify if you expect to have Danilo for a guide.

[maryhou]

how was Bonita beach? Would you be able to spend a few hours there relaxing? Are there any chairs & food etc?

[cal.girl]

There are a couple of restaurants at Playa Bonita beach, but no chairs for rent that I saw. But it was a cloudy, rainy day and had been downpouring for several days prior so probably not a good representation of what might be available when the weather is better.

[GCurry]

I had tried to book white water with him, but needed two couples and couldn't find a second on our cruise.

We ended up on a Okey Dokey tour with Ray and Stayton, I can't say enough about how great that was.

We did meet Danilo Hall at the Bonita Beach Restaurant, I think they all use it. The local food was good with some cold Costa Rican beer included in the tour.

I was very impressed with Danilo and wouldn't hesitate to tour with him, but I would insist that he be the one to take you.

 

One comment about Danilo...he's an extremely slow driver. It probably cost us about an hour just because he drives so slow.

That's funny, as Stayton the driver on our Charlie Soto tour sort of eased it along as well. I do know he was trying to spot sloths and monkeys in the trees as we went along, but we saw plenty of both on the boat ride.

[crzer1]

Two groups from our cruise on Jewel Dec. 28/08 - Jan. 9 ,09 used Danillo and both groups were very happy with their tours. One group of six (who met on CC did the river rafting and zip line and my husband and I did the canal, snorkeling, hiking at the Cahuita Nat. Park and a visit to a Bananna Plantation. Danilo took the group of 6 in a van and we had a cab driven by Dexter who was also wonderful - he stopped by the side of the road to show us special flowers - orchids, hibiscus etc. and had lots of great infomation. We also met Danillo who is a very pleasant guy to deal with.

The snorkeling was not great due to run off from a couple days heavy rain, but we still really enjoyed our day and would highly recommend Danillo.

Liz

[maryhou]

We used Danillo HIll onour cruise over Christmas. He was waiting for us at the pier. We went on the 1 hour drive right up to the water. Carnival parked at the top of the hill because the bus is so big and all their passengers there had to walk down probably a mile at least. I did NOT read that in the Carnival trip info. I was so glad we booked with Danillo. We were back to the ship with plenty of time and learned alot about Costa Rica from our 1 hour drive to the white water rafting. OMG this is a fun fun excursion for families. We have a 13 & 17 year old and the four of us had a blast!!

[travelite]

Two groups from our cruise on Jewel Dec. 28/08 - Jan. 9 ,09 used Danillo and both groups were very happy with their tours. One group of six (who met on CC did the river rafting and zip line and my husband and I did the canal, snorkeling, hiking at the Cahuita Nat. Park and a visit to a Bananna Plantation. Danilo took the group of 6 in a van and we had a cab driven by Dexter who was also wonderful - he stopped by the side of the road to show us special flowers - orchids, hibiscus etc. and had lots of great infomation. We also met Danillo who is a very pleasant guy to deal with.

The snorkeling was not great due to run off from a couple days heavy rain, but we still really enjoyed our day and would highly recommend Danillo.

Liz

 

You are one of the few posters that mention Cahuita N.P. Did you have a guide with you in the park?...to spot birds, wildlife, point out plants, walk the trails, etc. Is there a boat tour at the park? We were also told there is horseback riding? It was mentioned that this is not the best place for snorkeling. Did you snorkel in another location? Personally, I have never found a good snorkeling area in C.R. We've had extended stays in C.R. and have been to many of the N.P. in the country, but not to Cahuita. What were your impressions? We are not interested in just sunning on the beach.

[crzer1]

Hi,

Yes, we had a guide as we walked the nature trail in Cahuita. Our taxi driver handed us over to a father and son team who took us on a small boat to a reef off the main beach in Cahuita for snorkeling. As I said in my earlier posting, the snorkeling was just so-so becasue of the run off after the heavy rains. That was the only place we snorkeled in Costa Rica.

After we had enough time in the water, they took us to a point of land where the son and my husband and I disembarked. The father returned to the starting place by boat but the three us walked back on the nature trail. It took us about an hour ( I walked slowly becasue of a bad knee) The guide pointed out lots of monkeys, sloths, interesting birds and flowers on the way. Many of them, especially the sloths, we would not have noticed if we had been on our own.

After arriving back at our starting point we had lunch at a restaurant on the beach and then met up with our driver who took us to a bananna plantation which was also very interesting.

We really didn't see a whole lot of Cahuita but what we did see was beautiful. We didn't see horses or notice whether there was a boat tour, but I'm sure Danillo would be able to answer those questions for you if you e-mail him.

The day in Costa Rica arranged through Danillo was the highlight of our cruise. Our guides were very friendly and informative and we felt very safe with them. We also thought the cost of the private tour was very reasonable.

Cheers,

Liz

 

 

You are one of the few posters that mention Cahuita N.P. Did you have a guide with you in the park?...to spot birds, wildlife, point out plants, walk the trails, etc. Is there a boat tour at the park? We were also told there is horseback riding? It was mentioned that this is not the best place for snorkeling. Did you snorkel in another location? Personally, I have never found a good snorkeling area in C.R. We've had extended stays in C.R. and have been to many of the N.P. in the country, but not to Cahuita. What were your impressions? We are not interested in just sunning on the beach.

[travelite]

Danilo's email is adventure_caribbean@yahoo.com.

 

Danilo was waiting for us at the pier. He tried to get us to go into a tiny taxi stating he was booked up. My son is very tall and we really couldn't comfortably fit. Somehow, Danilo decided to do the tour himself and had a van for our family of four. He is very informative and we did the incredible white water rafting. The only problem is that he got us back to the ship 40 minutes late. Thank goodness the ship waited for us. I would recommend him, but pay attention to the time because he didn't!!

 

We would use him again. He's a good guy.

 

The above email is not for Danilo in Costa Rica.

If anyone has a recent email for him please post it. Thank you.

[travelite]

Hi,

Yes, we had a guide as we walked the nature trail in Cahuita. Our taxi driver handed us over to a father and son team who took us on a small boat to a reef off the main beach in Cahuita for snorkeling. As I said in my earlier posting, the snorkeling was just so-so becasue of the run off after the heavy rains. That was the only place we snorkeled in Costa Rica.

After we had enough time in the water, they took us to a point of land where the son and my husband and I disembarked. The father returned to the starting place by boat but the three us walked back on the nature trail. It took us about an hour ( I walked slowly becasue of a bad knee) The guide pointed out lots of monkeys, sloths, interesting birds and flowers on the way. Many of them, especially the sloths, we would not have noticed if we had been on our own.

After arriving back at our starting point we had lunch at a restaurant on the beach and then met up with our driver who took us to a bananna plantation which was also very interesting.

We really didn't see a whole lot of Cahuita but what we did see was beautiful. We didn't see horses or notice whether there was a boat tour, but I'm sure Danillo would be able to answer those questions for you if you e-mail him.

The day in Costa Rica arranged through Danillo was the highlight of our cruise. Our guides were very friendly and informative and we felt very safe with them. We also thought the cost of the private tour was very reasonable.

Cheers,

Liz

 

Does Danillo have a web page? Do you have his correct email? I tired the email posted on this thread and got a reply saying this is not a tour service for Costa Rica.

[crzer1]

I contacted him at:

 

adventure_caribbean@yahoo.com

good luck,

Liz

 

Does Danillo have a web page? Do you have his correct email? I tired the email posted on this thread and got a reply saying this is not a tour service for Costa Rica.

[crzer1]

his webpage is:

http://www.geocities.com/adventure_caribbean/

 

when you try the e-mail - there is an underscore between adventure and caribbean.

 

 

Does Danillo have a web page? Do you have his correct email? I tired the email posted on this thread and got a reply saying this is not a tour service for Costa Rica.

[cancun2]

Just returned Mar 22/09 from a week on the Carnival Freedom. We used Danilo Hall and he was fantastic. Met us at the end of the pier and took us to the white water rafting site and at the end of the tour since we had time he took us to see monkeys and one of Costa Rica's beaches and the downtown area. He was great and very friendly. We feel like we have a friend in Costa Rica

[Lisaanne]

I saw no listings of prices on the website. I know there would be different prices for different tours. What were the prices for the tours experiences by fellow CC's, if you don't mind me asking? And, was there a minimum number of people required for the tours? Thanks for all your help, everyone. I don't think cruising would be nearly as fun without all the info obtained here.

[Flying L]

I have just returned from visiting Limon, Costa Rica while on a cruise. We were there March 26. Danilo was waiting for us at the end of the pier holding a paper with my name on it. I had scheduled a tour for 4 but two chose to do a rain forest tram through the cruise line. I don't do heights which made me choose the canal ride, banana plantation, butterfly and aviary area and whatever else we chose to see. I won't go into detail but Danilo was very accomodating and placed us privately with Rey (pronounced Ray in English) in an airconditioined taxi. He spoke English and was an excellent driver and guide. There was never a time where I felt hurried or unsafe.

 

Rey first took us through Limon which was truly culture shock as was Colon, Panama and then drove us out of the city to see monkeys in the top of the trees and the small (2-3 inch} hairy bats on the tree trunk. We then stopped at an organic fruit stand and sampled some bananas and went to the banana plantation. We were ahead of the ship's tours which made us feel as though we were on our own plantation with the workers. After that he took us to the canal and we were in a private boat for a tour of the canal area. We were able to see several sloths making their way to their weekly deposit and heading back up into their trees. I could see the lice and/or ticks crawling in their fur with my binoculars. We saw two crocodiles which were not very large, howler monkeys way up in the tree tops and a young boy with a turtle and crocodile in his boat. I am certain that he was there for the tourists. There were birds flying everywhere as it was still early in the day. While we were on the canal boat tour, Rey drove to the butterfly garden to meet us there.

 

The boat ride ended at the butterfly garden which was extremely interesting. Rey was at the dock waiting for us. We again had our own personal tour, this time with the owner. She said that usually there are 30 tourists on the ship scheduled tours and we were quite fortunate to be the only two with her. The butterfly garden and aviary are in a secondary rain forest only because of trail improvements for the tourists. Otherwise it is the rain forest. There were more of those little bats on trees. Her daughter approached us with something attached to her blouse. It was a rescued two toed sloth who is being fed powdered goat's milk with a small syringe. It was quite cute but after seeing the other sloths earlier with the bugs on them I didn't offer to pet her. They are also known to be more aggressive than the three toed sloths. The aviary had many species of birds including a couple of toucans. The last part is a nice area where she serves lunches. We didn't eat there but those who did reported that it was delicious. It was a Costa Rican meal and eaten in an open air covered area.

 

After that Rey asked if we wanted to go to the beach and eat lunch and I asked if we could get some coffee from a supermarket. I got a 2 pound bag for which was priced at 3500. I had no idea what that would translate to and waited for them to calculate the charge. It was all of $7.

 

Since our cell phone wouldn't work in Limon I asked if he could take us to get a phone card. He drove up and down the streets and honked at all his friends until he finally parked and took us into an internet and phone store. There were several pcs there with three students hovered around each one and 5 phone booths in the back. I just dialed the number to the States and talked for about 10 minutes. Then I went to the counter and again I was totally at their mercy as far as charges. After the clerk took out a calculator and punched in numbers she told me that I owed her ONE DOLLAR. I was truly shocked as I was at her mercy as far as charges. On the ship it would have been $25.

 

Being not up to par (me that is) due to seasickness I had Rey deposit us at the pier and we went back to the ship for lunch. I understand that there is an excellent place at the beach to eat but after over 4 hours of truly sightseeing I was ready to return to our home away from home.

 

I apologize for this quickly written post but feel that I need to return some information for others to use as I have used much from many Cruise Critic posts. I am still rocking from 10 days on the ship and hope to regain my balance soon.

 

Good luck to all who are going to Limon and Central America.

 

Marilyn