C. Soto or O. Brown or ?

[MSPCUBS]

I want to schedule a Costa Rica tour when I am in Puerto Limon (Volendam-Jan.12 sailing). There are only 2 of us (my Mom and I) and I want to make sure the tour is a good one. I have read many good things about Charlie and Oscar both, but also a few disappointing posts, particularly when the group is small. Any advice?

[hcleaner]

I am also interested in anyone's opinion of these two tours. I have read all I can about them both and there is many great posts and then a few negatives. Anyone done a tour with both of them and able to offer a comparison viewpoint?

 

Thanks,

Wendy

[kapeppy]

Sorry I can't answer your question, but I can confuse you even further by recommending Lester from Oregon Tours. His website is:

http://www.oregontourscr.org/Index.htm

 

We (a group of four) used him the first time we were in Costa Rica and enjoyed his tour so much that we used him the second time we were there! He will customize the tour to suit your wishes, including a stop at a local supermarket for coffee and vanilla. We toured the banana plantation, the Tortuguero Canals, learned about cocoa and did some shopping the first trip. Our second trip we did the Canals again, stopped at Playa Bonita (beach) for a soft drink and pictures, toured a bit of the island and then did our supermarket stop. He is very friendly and very eager to please! He doesn't get a lot of coverage on these boards but like I said, we enjoyed his tour so much that we used him not once but twice and it was just the four of us each time.

 

Any questions, feel free to ask and don't forget to look at my pictures!

[wernew2cruising]

Sorry I can't answer your question, but I can confuse you even further by recommending Lester from Oregon Tours. His website is:

http://www.oregontourscr.org/Index.htm

 

We (a group of four) used him the first time we were in Costa Rica and enjoyed his tour so much that we used him the second time we were there! He will customize the tour to suit your wishes, including a stop at a local supermarket for coffee and vanilla. We toured the banana plantation, the Tortuguero Canals, learned about cocoa and did some shopping the first trip. Our second trip we did the Canals again, stopped at Playa Bonita (beach) for a soft drink and pictures, toured a bit of the island and then did our supermarket stop. He is very friendly and very eager to please! He doesn't get a lot of coverage on these boards but like I said, we enjoyed his tour so much that we used him not once but twice and it was just the four of us each time.

 

Any questions, feel free to ask and don't forget to look at my pictures!

Are his prices in US dollars?

[southwardbound]

Is there a web site for O. Brown?

[hcleaner]

Is there a web site for O. Brown?

 

 

http://www.oscarbrowntours.com/

[hcleaner]

Is there a web site for O. Brown?

 

oops. Sorry, board is crazy today.

[hcleaner]

http://www.oscarbrowntours.com/

[southwardbound]

Thanks for the oscar brown website address. You would recommend them?

[hcleaner]

I, personally haven't used him yet. We're booked with him in February 2008. I had a couple of recommendations from cruiser friends who used him and told me they had a great excursion with Oscar.

[Cruise Now]

I want to schedule a Costa Rica tour when I am in Puerto Limon (Volendam-Jan.12 sailing). There are only 2 of us (my Mom and I) and I want to make sure the tour is a good one. I have read many good things about Charlie and Oscar both, but also a few disappointing posts, particularly when the group is small. Any advice?

Dear MSPCUBS:

We just got back from Costa Rica, via Island Princess. My daughter and I had the most horrible travel experience in 15 years of cruising. Charlie Soto is a top-notch scam artist. We thought we had organized a full day tour with good A/C vehicle, driver and guide, to included beverages and lunch. Charlie met us at the ship and shoved us into a beat-up taxi with driver only--no guide. We did not get to see the things we requested, and there were no beverages or lunch. We had the driver return us to port after three hours. We queried the local tour operators, and they all seemed very nice with reasonable prices. Obviously, we did not pay Charlie his requested fee. Charlie is nothing more than a broker for the local taxi drivers, who also found out that they were not getting paid nearly what Charlie was charging his clients. Feel free to direct further questions to my e-mail at fauncey@aol.com. Good luck!

[DonMar]

We toured with Charlie Soto in Feb 07. We had a wonderful time. We took the A1 tour and had two other couples from our ship join us. We had so much fun and the tour guide was very knowledgeable.

 

Charlie met us at the end of the pier and had a a/c van waiting for us. He provided water, soda and beer. The tour took us to a private farm in a remote area where we were able to explore flora and fauna. Even held an adult and baby sloth! They had fresh fruit from the farm for us too.

 

We went to a banana plantation - I think of the experience every weekend at the grocery store.

 

From there we went to the canals and had a nice experience. After the canals we then went to a beach for lunch - fresh lobster on the beach for about $10 per person and that is with drinks!

 

They got us back in time to explore the vendors at the port and the stores around the port.

 

If we go back to Costa Rica we will be using Charlie again.

[Driftwoodgal]

MSPCUBS,

 

We have used Oscar several times, and I have recommended him to thousands that have read the boards. We were one of the first to grab Oscar several years ago when he was starting out. I can say that he is a great tour guide, and really does try to make his customers happy. Because his business has grown he has brought other family members into help him with his tour business.

 

If I was booking with him and only wanting a tour of two, I would ask these questions. Who will be taking us on the tour? Where will they take us and will it be where I want to go. Will they take us to any place that we want to go for the set price?

 

On the flip side. These tour guides don't get business 365 days out of the year. They are dependent on the cruise ships and the time they are in port. The cruise ships gobble up local tours when they find tours that interest lots of people, killing an independent tour operator that has worked really hard to build up a business.

 

Every tour operator will get some negative posts, and everyone that finds an great tour guide will sing their praises. I must say that I have stayed in touch with Oscar for several years and have found him to be good as his word on each and every tour that we have taken with him.

 

I am not sure about a couple of the negative posts that I have read, but that is on my to do list. I hate it when a person that gives the tour can not respond back on the threads. Saying that there are lots of posts here from an operator in violation of the CC boards rules.

 

If I was looking for a tour out of Puerto Limon or Puntateras I would be asking questions from Oscar Brown and his tours in Costa Rica.

 

I have seen posts from Oscar recommending others in places he doesn't serve. Actually those posts were before the restrictions on the board about tour operators not posting on the thead.

[Margienj]

I have to agree with DonMar. We also used Charlie Soto of Okie Dokie Tours in Costa Rica and we had a blast. We too did the A1 tour. We were a family group of 10 and we were joined by others from our ship as well so that our a/c bus was filled. Charlie was everything he promised to be. He met us personally at the port and we had a driver and a tour guide who was very personable. I would highly recommend him to anyone.

[MSPCUBS]

Thank you for all the input. I have booked a tour now with Oscar Brown.

[Driftwoodgal]

Hopefully you will have time to come back and post on the boards about your tour with Oscar. I am sure that you will have a great time, but it always helps, or hurts tour operators with the input from people that have had a recent tour with them. It sure helps others decide on what to do when in port when others post about their day in a port.

[Pami1968]

My friend and I booked tour #2 with Oscar for yesterday. We were told it was tour of the city, stop at supermarket, ziplining at nearby Jungle Breezes, stop at beach and a banana plantation. All in an a/c bus or van, with cold beverages and a guide.

 

What we ended up with was crammed in a tiny taxi with another couple. The a/c barely worked, and no guide, no beverages. We did stop somewhere in the side of the road and got a photo-op with a sloth that was pretty cool. There was also the promised bus, guide, and drinks, but that was apparently overbooked so we got the short end of the stick, but the same price. We got to follow the bus in our tiny car.

 

I won't go into detail about Jungle Breezes, other than to say I had a really bad accident while ziplining in which I am fortunate to not have died. However, that wasn't Oscar's fault.

 

I got an email from Oscar apologizing for the whole thing, but he said that it wasn't him who was with "the tour", but it was his brother, even though the guy introduced himself as Oscar. He did offer me a free tour the next time I am in costa rica, but I'm not willing to suffer through a clown car ride again.

[Corey]

I used Danillo Hall on our excirsion in Costa Rica. He met us at the pier with an very nice air conditioned van with a cooler full of drinks. We went white water rafting and zip lining in the same day. It was awesome. We had a nice lunch and he also took us to a grocery store for coffee and some great local marinades. I highly reccomend him. His e-mail is:

 

adventure_caribbean@yahoo.com

 

You will not be disapointed.

[Billys9319]

My friend and I booked tour #2 with Oscar for yesterday. We were told it was tour of the city, stop at supermarket, ziplining at nearby Jungle Breezes, stop at beach and a banana plantation. All in an a/c bus or van, with cold beverages and a guide.

 

What we ended up with was crammed in a tiny taxi with another couple. The a/c barely worked, and no guide, no beverages. We did stop somewhere in the side of the road and got a photo-op with a sloth that was pretty cool. There was also the promised bus, guide, and drinks, but that was apparently overbooked so we got the short end of the stick, but the same price. We got to follow the bus in our tiny car.

 

I won't go into detail about Jungle Breezes, other than to say I had a really bad accident while ziplining in which I am fortunate to not have died. However, that wasn't Oscar's fault.

 

I got an email from Oscar apologizing for the whole thing, but he said that it wasn't him who was with "the tour", but it was his brother, even though the guy introduced himself as Oscar. He did offer me a free tour the next time I am in costa rica, but I'm not willing to suffer through a clown car ride again.

 

As Pam pointed out she was in a VERY SMALL car with 4 people and a driver. We (8 of us) we lucky to have Oscar and his sister Toni in his Van. They did a fantastic job for us. If you plan to book with Oscar I would request that it be with him and not another driver.

[daveritchey]

Just wanted all of you to know that I just returned from Coast Rica on the Coral Princess and Oscar Brown was awesome. Our group of 8 went with him and another group of around 10 were with his sister. We all had a great time and the group of 10 said many nice things about his sister taking their group.

 

We combined 2 different tours for $105 (total cost) doing the ziplining (which you paid $40 there at the zipline place), river tour, banana plantation, and eating a late lunch (own your own) at a wonderful restaurant overlooking the bay which our ship was docked in.

 

I have to say that it was our favorite tour on the Panama Canal cruise. Oscar's sister, Carol, arranged everything for us. She lives in NY during the slow season and then returns to Costa Rica to help Oscar when it's peek time there. Carol's email address is: limonense03@yahoo.com and you can email her for information. She was very helpful and everything she had told me was what they delivered.

 

I'd go again with Oscar anytime. He tried so hard to show us his lovely country and did an outstanding job of it. He pointed out many things as we moved from one point to the next. At the end of the tour we owed Oscar $65 only because we'd paid the zipline company already.

 

Thanks again Oscar! Great job!

 

Dave

[Conanc]

Sounds like large groups have good luck with Oscar or Charlie but it's luck of the draw when it comes to small groups. Are there any parties of two out there who had good tours with either Oscar or Charlie?

 

Thanks!

Nancy

[lyttleone1977]

I just wanted to post this. The full review of my trip on the Carnival Liberty (10/27-11/4) can be found here http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=34474

In Costa Rica we booked a tour with Oscar Brown. Our guide was Danny, and he was absolutely fabulous. Here is the description.

Tour 6

 

The Cahuita National Park , and a tour on the beaches of Limon.

This tour take you to the Cahuita National Park of Limon, where they charge a donation to enter the park, and for a walk through the forest, and you have a chance to see, monkey, Sloth, and other animals. And also, get the history and information of this particular forest.

We saw spider monkeys, howler monkeys and cappuccino monkeys. We saw iguanas, sloth’s, and kept our eyes out for snakes.

For this tour I take you're to see 2 different beach of the area; Cahuita beach, and Puerto Viejo beach. With these two beaches you have the opportunity to see the white sand beach and the black sand beach. (This is for the people who love to bead in the sea)

The beach was extremely dangerous that day, there was a red flag warning out. It as also extremely windy. It was very cool to see two different types of beaches and to learn why the sand was black (caused by volcanic activity over the years).

Besides, I include, soft drinks along the road, a visit to the Bamboo trade school, banana plantation, coco beans farm, City tour, the two biggest hotels around the coast, one is a botanical garden, and the other one has a nice vie on a tall hill, the rich area, and a surprise stop; which will take you to the highest part of the city. This is $50 per/person, no extra charge. You will have the opportunity to visit the installation of Colon Caribe, where you have one of the biggest souvenirs shop. Are if you prefer, we will just go to the market to do your shopping, this is your choice. This tour is for 5 to 6 hours

We went to the banana plantation first thing, and they were not packing yet, so we just pulled over to the side of the road and he taught us about bananas. We also stopped by a house where they have sloth’s, where my son held one. We also learned about other types of food and such. It was all very interesting. We visited Colon Caribe, a large hotel type area that has a shopping area. We did have an issue after leaving the National Park. We were stopped while going through a check point – there was an issue with my parents passports. It was a little unnerving because the guy was new, but Danny got on his cell phone with Immigration and the cruise terminal and had us out of their shortly. He handled it very well and made me even more appreciative of having someone who has been doing this so well taking care of us. He also took us all over the city, from the ports that the bananas are shipped from to the highest part in the city. At the end of the tour, I asked how we had to pay, which I thought would be credit card, but he said no, cash. He was kind enough to take us to the bank where we were able to get the cash in dollars from an ATM. ATTENTION: this is not a tour for someone who hates riding around in a van. Yes, there are bumpy dirt roads, but that is what Costa Rica offers. This tour is meant for those who want to see as much in a short period of time as possible, but also to learn as much as they can about the culture and environment. This was a great tour that could not be found through the ship! There is a little shopping area inside the port. Word of warning – there are no ATM’s and very few vendors took credit cards. While I think Moira did a great job as the “shopper” on the ship, she said “DO NOT TAKE CASH INTO COSTA RICA AS THERE IS NO SHOPPING”. If you want to pick up so nice pieces of work, take some cash. I was very disappointed that I could not get my shot glasses there, but in the yellow building right there, there is a place that sells t-shirts and shot glasses that has a credit card machine.

 

We had a wonderful tour and we were very glad we had chosen Oscar Brown!!

[2552phxcrzr]

How many people on your tour; we would like to plan a private tour for just DH and myself, but are concerned about the negative reports from similar small, private tourgoers.

[lyttleone1977]

We had 6.

[TallyRockChick]

We LOVED Oscar Brown! We had an absolute BLAST! There were 7 in our group. The more people that are on the tour, the more chance you have of being in the van with Oscar. If its just 2 of you on the tour, and another tour has booked more people, he puts the smaller group with his driver. It makes sense.

 

Here is my review of my cruise, with pictures, for those curious of Oscar and his tour:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=674178