PUNTARENAS Costa Rica

[Bucky3]

Has anyone done a tour with Charlie Soto recently from PUNTARENAS - not from Limon. How was it? What was the charge? Please, any information will be greatly appreciated. We will be there in April. Thank you so much!

[Jonas Grumby]

On our recent Panama Canal tour, we spent our day in Puntarenas with Charlie Soto of okeydokeytours.com. Despite the (mostly) great reviews Charlie had received on here, we had some causes for concern: the Hotmail account, the lack of detailed information on the tour page, and those rare negative reviews.

 

We shouldn't have worried. Charlie gave a fabulous tour and showed us a magnificent time.

 

We chose the B-2, which included the zipline canopy tour. There was some confusion where to meet Charlie; with all of the tour guides allowed directly onto the pier, we were a bit surprised to find that Charlie was waiting for us outside the secured gate. As soon as we arrived, Charlie led us to an air-conditioned minivan with more than enough room for the six of us. (My wife and I were the youngest on the tour; there were two senior couples whom we met at the bus. One couple was in excellent physical shape; the other, shall we say ... wasn't.)

 

Charlie got behind the wheel and personally took us to a local beach, then to a nursery where we got "up close and personal" with some capuchin monkeys. We spent about a half-hour feeding bananas to the animals and taking pictures, after which we got back on the road. Charlie stopped at a roadside mercado and bought us some fresh pineapple and cashews -- a delight!

 

When we got to the location for the Villa Lapas canopy tour, the senior couples decided on the spur of the moment to join us. Here's where we learned a few lessons (over which Charlie had no control):

 

• They say you must weigh no more than 240 lbs. to zipline. They don't enforce this.

• When they say that ziplining is physically strenuous, believe it. The canopy tour began with a half-mile hike over rough terrain, and then comes the ziplining itself. If you come up short of the platform (as you frequently will, for safety reasons), you have two choices: Either the lead guide can come back and get you, or you can rappel yourself, hand-over-hand, to the platform. My wife and I are of slightly less-than-average physical fitness, and we had no trouble rapelling ourselves to the platform. One of the senior married couples, however, were in terrible shape, which led to a tense moment or two. On one zipline, the wife wore herself nearly to exhaustion (rappelling maybe 20 feet before the guide had to go get her); on the next zipline, it was the husband's turn. We had serious questions about whether they'd physically be able to complete the canopy tour, but they recovered enough to make it to the end.

• The ziplines are perfectly safe (one look at how they have been rigged and you'll have no fear). The Villa Lapas platforms, while safe, are not well-maintained, and one or two are missing padding at the leading edge. In rappelling down to one of the platforms -- backwards, hand-over-hand, just as instructed -- my back rammed into the unpadded edge of the platform.

 

The nasty bruise that resulted was a bit of a damper on the tour, but Charlie was a tremendous help. Because of the volume of business he brings to the canopy tour, Charlie's comments to the property manager carry a lot of weight, and I would expect that the padding issue has been resolved by now.

 

Charlie then took us to lunch (included in the tour price) at a very nice beachfront restaurant. From there, we went souvenir shopping in Jaco (I don't think anyone bought anything; many of the "local" souvenirs were in boxes indicating "Made in China").

 

Next, Charlie took us to a local supermarket, where we were able to stock up on Costa Rican coffee, including Cafe Britt. (In the supermarket, a 12-oz bag of whole bean was about US$5.50; it costs at least twice that if you take advantage of Celebrity's "special arrangement" with Cafe Britt.) Finally, we stopped at a bridge under which a lot of crocodiles were sunning themselves. The crocs weren't that impressive, but the views from the bridge were, and we got some incredible photos. Finally, it was back to the ship, with plenty of time to spare before we were required back on board.

 

Cost was (if I remember correctly) $52 per person for the tour, plus an additional $40 per person for ziplining (payable directly in cash at Villa Lapas). We were happy to give Charlie a bit extra for showing us a wonderful time in Costa Rica; and when we get back there, we'll be hiring Charlie again.

 

If you have any questions about Charlie, please don't hesitate to write to me and ask. This isn't an ad, just a very satisfied customer ...

 

Gary

[Bucky3]

Gary, we really appreciate your report on the tour you took in Puntarenas. We have been e-mailing Charlie, and he has been very responsive. We told him we were not interested in ziplining. He said we would have three choices, either ziplining, the skywalk, or the crocodile man tour in addition to the other things you mentioned. I really want to see monkeys and sloths and buy coffee for my sons-in-law! I do have some questions:

 

What was lunch - was it a set menu, or were you able to order on your own? Charlie mentioned drinks along the way - "best beer in the world" according to him. If you could suggest what coffee you bought that you liked that would also be appreciated! Also, do you remember what time you got back to the ship? Oh, and one more question - how long was the drive - were the various stops very far apart?

 

Really appreciate your reply. Thank you so much. It's good to know you would hire Charlie again.

[Jonas Grumby]

You could order anything from the restaurant's menu that you wished. The "best beer in the world" is a Costa Rican beer; he also had plenty of bottled water. As for coffee, the Cafe Britt is a solid choice; there are plenty of different varieties, and Charlie can offer some specific recommendations. The stops were a fair distance -- I think Jaco was about 40 miles from the Puntarenas pier -- but the drive was pleasant.

 

Charlie's a great host, and I know you'll have a great time touring with him.

 

Gary

[Bucky3]

Gary - Your information is very much appreciated. Thank you.

[lanabanana]

I also had a question about the timing. What time were you picked up at the pier and what time were you dropped off, again?

 

Thanks!

[Jonas Grumby]

I believe our schedule was to meet Charlie an hour after the ship arrived. He dropped us off with at least an hour to spare.

 

Gary

[JECC]

Hi Jonas

thank you for a very informative report

we will be in puntarenas in oct 08 and I would love to go zip-lining .

with reference to the senior people . I am 64 190lbs and in moderate health and fitness --how does this compare with the seniors on your trip?

how would you advise ?

jecc

[camNaud]

Gary,

 

thanks for your very informative posting. I came into this part of the boards looking for ideas for when we visit Puntarenas next year. I think I have found the solution. cheers :)

[Floflegs]

We were not happy with Charlie. He did not give us the tour he had promised and put us in an inferior van so he could accommodate a group with a TA.

[murphysmum]

Hello...

 

We were in Puntarenas two months ago on Azamara's Quest. We had a nice long time in port...10 hrs I believe.

 

We booked a private tour to the Monteverde Cloud Forrest and had a wonderful time. The road, as often stated, is bumpy near the end, but the scenery is well worth it. Our guide pointed out many species of birds and butterflys and we enjoyed seeing the domestic animals/farms along the way. It's a great road for photo opportunities.

 

We enjoyed the suspension bridges very much, saw a lot of animal life, the encredibly beautiful forrest and then had lunch at the Tree House in Santa Elena...great, fun place to eat. We ate, as we always do, with the guide and driver and learned a lot about the area during lunch conversation. I even had an impromptu salsa lesson from our guide.

 

Ideally this area would be seen on a land trip with three nights as there is so much to see, but it was completely worth the day trip. We did manage to do a lot, trying many of the locally produced cheeses, doing a bit of shopping, stopping at various reserves and at CASEM, a local craft/art cooperative with high quality items for sale.

 

We planned our trip through www.tropicaldiscovery.com as we have used them for land trips in Central America. I wasn't sure that they'd do a few simple shore excursions, but they organized one for us in Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Guatemala....using local drivers and guides. All of our experiences have been consistently excellent.

 

I highly recommend the Monteverde trip, but would definitely not want to be on a large bus on that last bit of bumpy unpaved road. An air conditioned van was perfect.

 

Whatever you do...Enjoy!

 

murphysmum;)