Tour Guides in St Lucia

[bola]

I would love to book a tour with one of many

guides mentioned. Doing a tour the way I want is very

appealing! However, I'm new to this and a little

nervous. How do you know if they are reputable?

Also, how do you make payment?

Places I'm interested in are the Drive in Volcano,

waterfall, great view of the Pittons. I also

would like a little time for shopping. Would love any suggestions

we will be in port 9-5 in March 2007.:)

[wrp96]

I followed the many recommendations on this board and booked with Cosol (www.cosol-tours.com ) and had an absolutely great time. He takes you all over the island, and if there are specific places you want to go talk to him and he will try and make sure you see them.

 

As to reliability, the guides that those of us recommend on these boards are extremely reliable. Their entire business rides on them giving cruise ship passengers a great time in St. Lucia, and many of them rely on the recommendations that they get on Cruise Critic. If they ever caused a cruise ship passenger to miss the ship, you can bet those people would be back on these boards complaining. So book with one of the guides most recommended on these boards and you should have no problems.

[bugman of bonita]

Everything you mentioned plus more can be had with Valcins taxie service for $80 especially the views. They have brand new vehicles and speak fluent english. Post more questions and I will answer.

[bola]

Is the $80 per person.

Do we pay that when we arrive or do we

put down a deposit prior?

[bugman of bonita]

We met driver Winston as we were walking out the gate. The $80 was total for the vehicle. He mentioned more people and price per person is lower. Ships tour was $49 per person no matter how many passengers each. So 6 passengers with Winston is only $15 per person and you don't have to put up with a busload of rude people that are always late at each stop. He will stop or pass any site that his passengers suggest. I don't believe he requires any upfront deposit in advance. He gave me his card with phone number and e-mail address for future considerations. If anyone hear wants this just let me know?

[bugman of bonita]

We met driver Winston as we were walking out the gate. The $80 was total for the vehicle. He mentioned more people and price per person is lower. Ships tour was $49 per person no matter how many passengers each. So 6 passengers with Winston is only $15 per person and you don't have to put up with a busload of rude people that are always late at each stop. He will stop or pass any site that his passengers suggest. I don't believe he requires any upfront deposit in advance. He gave me his card with phone number and e-mail address for future considerations. If anyone hear wants this just let me know?

[bugman of bonita]

We met driver Winston as we were walking out the gate. The $80 was total for the vehicle. He mentioned more people and price per person is lower. Ships tour was $49 per person no matter how many passengers each. So 6 passengers with Winston is only $15 per person and you don't have to put up with a busload of rude people that are always late at each stop. He will stop or pass any site that his passengers suggest. I don't believe he requires any upfront deposit in advance. He gave me his card with phone number and e-mail address for future considerations. If anyone hear wants this just let me know?

[bugman of bonita]

We met driver Winston as we were walking out the gate. The $80 was total for the vehicle. He mentioned more people and price per person is lower. Ships tour was $49 per person no matter how many passengers each. So 6 passengers with Winston is only $15 per person and you don't have to put up with a busload of rude people that are always late at each stop. He will stop or pass any site that his passengers suggest. I don't believe he requires any upfront deposit in advance. He gave me his card with phone number and e-mail address for future considerations. If anyone hear wants this just let me know?

[bugman of bonita]

We met driver Winston as we were walking out the gate. The $80 was total for the vehicle. He mentioned more people and price per person is lower. Ships tour was $49 per person no matter how many passengers each. So 6 passengers with Winston is only $15 per person and you don't have to put up with a busload of rude people that are always late at each stop. He will stop or pass any site that his passengers suggest. I don't believe he requires any upfront deposit in advance. He gave me his card with phone number and e-mail address for future considerations. If anyone hear wants this just let me know?

[Host CJSKIDS]

We used Herod for our private tour in November and it was truly one of the highlights of our trip.

 

There were 4 of us from Naples and Herod gave us a great day and did everything we wanted. We wanted a quick lunch on the way back to the ship and he stopped off at a local place in his town and picked up the greatest Chicken Rotis and then got us some local butter bread at another stop. He had a cooler full of water, juice, rum punch and Piton Beer and when we ran out of beer he stopped briefly at his house to reload the cooler! Herod was gracious, incredibly friendlly, very knowledgable of the island and everywhere we went everyone knew him and waved.

 

We plan on spending a week in St Lucia when the Ritz finally opens there and you can bet that we'll be planning trips around the island with Herod once again.

[NoNoNanette]

Everything you mentioned plus more can be had with Valcins taxie service for $80 especially the views. They have brand new vehicles and speak fluent english. Post more questions and I will answer.

 

Would you post his website or email, please? I'm trying to put together some beaches and hire a driver for December. (I like to give the less-publicized folks a shot when asking for quotes!) ;)

 

Many thanks!

[suenjeff]

We recently used a driver named Jackson with Phillip Tours, we had a fantastic time with him. We saw all the main tourist attractions including the Pitons and the Sulphur Springs volcano. We booked in advance and no deposit was required. You can find him here www.philliptoursstlucia.com

[va boy]

DW and I used Fabian in dec . he was great and well worth the money . he has a nice van ,and supplys all kinds of refreshments with the tour . if you book him , he will take good care of you .

[lgarner]

We just got back last Friday and we took a private tour with Herod. We had originally tried Cosol but he kept wanting to put us on a tour with others that went were we had already been (we had seen the volcano before) he finally offered a private tour but it was more expensive and by that time I had read about Herod on this board. I contacted Herod and he outlined a private tour that was just what we wanted. The cost was $220 for 4 of us and it included all entrance fees. He timed everything just right so that we got to a botanical garden (not Diamond but I can't remember the name) and water fall just before the bus/vans arrived. The four of us were in the waterfall alone. He bought us fish cakes and johnny cakes and at one point stopped at a little store and bought us caribbean butter bread - very good stuff - still warm from the oven. He is a great guide and added a lot of information about the island that we never knew. We felt very safe with him. He also took us to a place for some wonderful snorkeling. We spent about 6 hours with Herod and felt like old friends when we left. He has promised to send me his mothers receipe for rum punch - it was out of this world!! He even helped us purchase just the right type of rum!! His contact info full name is Herod Stanislas and his e-mail is as follows: hstanislas@hotmail.com

If you book with him, tell him hello from Lisa and Steve and Tom and Carol from Virginia.

[lgarner]

Forgot to say that we paid him in cash. He met us at the dock and was there promptly - waiting for us with a sign. No problems from start to finish. We gave him a nice tip but he earned every bit of it.

[dkbryan]

My wife and I just returned from the Serenade of the Seas. In our 5 island cruise, our best tour was given by Cosol in St. Lucia. We felt that the $45 per person was very cheap for all of the things we did and saw during the tour. Cosol is more than a tour operator--I believe that he really cares about his island as well as the tourists that visit. He does a great job!

[3dblouder]

Fabian is the way to go! AWESOME. We enjoyed his tour tremendously!!! He had a great price at $45pp...so many snacks and beverages. Very patient and accommodating. He really was very friendly and informative. http://www.*****.com

 

We did the Fabian tour a couple of weeks ago and he was great the price was $45pp... I would book him again in a heartbeat.

3dblouder

[cruising forever]

We're booked with Cosol in March.............I googled Herod's tours and got this site http://www.*****.com/index.html so guess they are about the same for the island tour.

[chgo]

Does anyone know of a tour guide for four or five hours? We are currently with cosol and think 8 hours is too long.

Thanks, Bill & Joanne aware

[alaskancruzr]

We just returned from a fabulous trip with Fabian. We booked a private tour and he surpassed our expectations - friendly, informative, and as previously stated, his tour also includes local snacks and beverages. He ranks up with the very best in our book. Our tour was about 5 hours but you can set your own itinerary and time table.

[alaskancruzr]

We just returned from a fabulous trip with Fabian. He is friendly, informative, and, as stated before, supplies beverages and local snacks. His tour surpassed our expectations. Our private tour lasted about 5 hours but you can set your own itinerary and time table. Fabian ranks up at the top of our list for tour guides.

[mamaday]

Trying to decide which tour to take in St. Lucia. We want to see the island, but don't want to spend 6-8 hours in a minibus with 15-20 people (Cosol tour). Any suggestions on RCCL land and sea tour vs. Herods vs. Serenity. Thanks for any input. :)

[PinaColadaMama]

I was wondering if anyone has any experience with either Cosol or Fabian that had kids on the tour. I will have our 6 and 9 year old girls with us - who are used to traveling, but they are still 6 and 9. Any previous experiences with either?

 

Thanks!

[sweetcruise]

You can check out Frank's tours he will limit the tour to your liking. www.*****