Charlie Soto- paying cash at end?

[ccletzgo]

so good to read a recent review of this tour. I have had this booked for a while now. (even though we wont be there until April:o)

 

Is 8 people the most he would take at once? or could we expect even more?

 

I wondered if you could actually get close to the monkeys. I am even more excited now..:D

[Mike&Lynette]

The most that would fit in our van was 8 (plus charlie and the driver). You will love the monkeys! It was the highlight of the tour for me....although the whole trip was good.

[Putterdude]

We just did a tour with Charlie on Jan 13. He is a great operator and his guide we had, Rey, was super. We took his B4 tour, the Jungle Boat tour, and because of the number of guests he had, he chartered and small bus. Unlimited, water soda and beer. You can't go wrong with him.:)

[potomacgator]

My wife and I are thinking of taking the tour of the Veragua Rain Forest and Tortuguero Canal with Charlie Soto. I like the idea of paying at the end of the tour. However, I am hesitant about carrying around $250.00 in cash with me all day.

 

Has anybody paid Charlie with a money order or travelers checks or know anybody who has?

 

The Cruise Critic port review indicates that the Rain Forest Aerial Tram Park as a place not to be missed. However, on another thread on this site poster, JNCRUISEBUMS, stated that the Veragua Rain Forest was a better place to visit, but to date have not replied to my request for the basis for their recommendation. Does anybody else have an opinion on this question?

 

Thanks.

[jwcook]

My wife and I found Charlie's A-1 tour in Costa Rica a wonderful experience. Charlie is the real deal and tries to give everyone a great tour no matter which tour you choose.

I cannot recommend OkeyDokeyTours highly enough. If you want to know more about our tour experience I will be glad to answer your email. jwcook01@aol.com.

 

Jeff

[Host Karen]

If you want to know more about our tour experience I will be glad to answer your email. jwcook01@aol.com.

 

Jeff

 

Jeff, Cruise Critic prefers that its members share their experiences on the forums rather than offline. That way, everyone can benefit from your experience.

 

Thanks.

 

Karen

HostKaren@CruiseCritic.com

[JNCRUISEBUMS]

My wife and I are thinking of taking the tour of the Veragua Rain Forest and Tortuguero Canal with Charlie Soto. I like the idea of paying at the end of the tour. However, I am hesitant about carrying around $250.00 in cash with me all day.

 

Has anybody paid Charlie with a money order or travelers checks or know anybody who has?

 

The Cruise Critic port review indicates that the Rain Forest Aerial Tram Park as a place not to be missed. However, on another thread on this site poster, JNCRUISEBUMS, stated that the Veragua Rain Forest was a better place to visit, but to date have not replied to my request for the basis for their recommendation. Does anybody else have an opinion on this question?

 

Thanks.

Sorry, I have been BUSY getting ready to put our house on the market! The Veragua rain forest has a tram that drops 300 feet from the top of the rain forest to the bottom. At the bottom there is a very long boardwalk that you walk on and view the forest. While we were there we saw a red frog, ants carrying leaves, birds etc.! We loved it. You can walk back up 350 steps back to the top if you like. They have a frog, butterfly and insect habitat NOT to be missed. We were served a lovely lunch, a wrap, lots of fresh fruit, drink and chips, all included in our days tour!!!!! I believe ghey also have ziplines. It has only been open since last July. The rest of our tour with Rey we saw a pineapple, coconut, coffee, chocolate and banana plantations! What a day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nancie

[colorado35]

I am also interested in the B-4 tour. Could you tell me where and what you saw. I know it includes the Crocodile boat tour; but what else did you do for 7 hours?

[Putterdude]

I am also interested in the B-4 tour. Could you tell me where and what you saw. I know it includes the Crocodile boat tour; but what else did you do for 7 hours?

 

We started out meeting him at the head of the pier about an hour after docking, his coach was close by. We left Punte...and went to spot where we were allowed to feed a number of white faced monkeys that where in the wild. We then proceeded to a highway fruit stand where we a breakfast of fresh local fruit...they also had restrooms there. Then we went to the river boat site where we did the river for about 1.5 hours while the zip linners when off on their tour. On the river we say Crocs including see the operator feeding one, lots of waterfowl, parrots, lizards, igunans and alike. We were picked up from the boat tour and taken to where the zip linners were finishing up and we toured a restored coffee plantation village. Then we deaparted to Jaco beach where we had lunch a local cafe then went for a walk on the beach itself. We then started our return to the ship stopping at bridge on the highway and walked over it....we counted 22 crocs that we could see. We then went to a local supermarket, evidently a sub of Walmart, where we could purchase coffee. Then it was back to the ship.

It was a very full day.:)

[dottiedef]

Could someone tell me how much the B-2 tour cost you?

Was zipline EXTRA??? How much? Was the van crowded? Really any info would be appreciated.

 

Dottie

[orangearmy]

Could someone tell me how much the B-2 tour cost you?

Was zipline EXTRA??? How much? Was the van crowded? Really any info would be appreciated.

 

Dottie

I e-mailed Charlie regarding this tour and was informed by him that the price of this excursion is 99 dollars including the Zipline portion. He said that he would met us at the pier with a sign (With our names). Can't tell you if the vehicle will be crowded but it seems like a great tour for a reasonable amount of money to me. You also don't have to pay him till the tour is over.

[Putterdude]

I e-mailed Charlie regarding this tour and was informed by him that the price of this excursion is 99 dollars including the Zipline portion. He said that he would met us at the pier with a sign (With our names). Can't tell you if the vehicle will be crowded but it seems like a great tour for a reasonable amount of money to me. You also don't have to pay him till the tour is over.

 

I think you will find that is vehicles differ depending upon the number of pax he is expecting. While he has some vans of his own, in our case he had chartered a small bus.:)

[wrm3rd]

Just a post cruise update on one of the private tours we took while on the 02/14/09 Celebrity Mercury Panama Canal sailing.

 

Charlie Soto from OkeyDokeyTours gave us a great private tour in Costa Rica.

We had 3 couples in our group and had a great time feeding the Monkeys, Zip lining, visiting Jaco beach, shopping, and a great lunch.

 

Compared to the Celebrity Zip Line excursion, ours was 3 hours longer, more flexible, cheaper, and saw more after talking with others that took the Celebrity excursion.

 

 

Note sure about the Celebrity Costa Rica Zip line, but the Zip Line in Cabo wouldn't allow the people to take their Cameras on the Zip Line.:mad: We not only took our Cameras, but the Zip Line workers took some pictures for us.

 

 

I would advise anyone considering a private tour to use Charlie, he was the best!

 

We paid cash (USD) at the end of the tour, + tip, no problems, back to the ship with time to spare (shopped 50+ vendors at pier).

 

The Zip Line was included in the price, but we tipped the Zip line guys as they went out of their way on our tour. We did not have to prepay for the tour, but copy of email wouldn't hurt.

 

 

 

I have a question for all of you that have toured with Charlie Soto in Costa Rica. I have read through the boards and have seen mixed reviews, but mostly good things about the tour; we are up for an adventure... just as long as we make it back to the boat in time!

 

I am a little concerned about the paying cash at the end; is it Costa Rican currency? USA currency? Do we tip?

 

Also- should I bring a copy of my email correspondance with them for confirmation of payment amount & tour inclusions?

 

It says that the zip line (no additional cost) in the email, however I have read that you pay that portion separately. Can someone explain this to me?

 

Thanks!

 

Kim

[Linda41]

I e-mailed Charlie regarding this tour and was informed by him that the price of this excursion is 99 dollars including the Zipline portion. He said that he would met us at the pier with a sign (With our names). Can't tell you if the vehicle will be crowded but it seems like a great tour for a reasonable amount of money to me. You also don't have to pay him till the tour is over.

 

I emailed him about the B2 tour and told him we were not interested in the zip line and asked the cost of the tour. He replied that it was $99 per person. This was a bit higher than the ship's tour so now I'm wondering whether to use Charlie or what to do. He also mentioned it can be 2 1/2 hrs driving on the way to San Jose. (What's at San Jose???) I really don't want to spend 5 hours round trip out of 7 hrs total on the road. His email response was not very clear.

 

Linda

[Tweedy]

Ask him for clarity if you aren't sure.

 

I've booked the B-4 tour with him for October. I asked all possible questions and he answered. If I wasn't sure what I was reading in his email, I rephrased it and sent it back asking if I understood what he was saying.

[Putterdude]

Tweedy, I agree with you, I found him extremely responsive and a treat to deal with, however there is that translation into English, particularly in the written form, which can be a bit of a problem.

[ExDean]

Just off the Island and had a "private" tour with Charlie since two other couples didn't show. Carlos was our excellent guide and we experienced things the big tour busses don't. We paid $99 USD cash each plus tip which included the zipline (we' were the only ones there, also), lunch, beer, soft drinks, and water in the minivan. We also tipped the zipline. Can't recommend OkeyDokey enough.

[KYWEST1]

Is it less expensive if you ask for lunch NOT to be included? Also, what did they serve you? We have 6 kids in our group, and I thought just ordering for them a la carte would be a better idea.

Thanks for any info

[RET_REF]

Just off the Island Princess and we also had a "private" tour thru Charlie since one other couple didn't show. George was our excellent guide and we experienced things the ship tour buses don't. We paid $110 USD each in cash each plus tip which included the Veragua Rain Forest admission with a lunch (we met up with another group of six from the UK on another private tour and toured the rain forest with them as a group) he had beer, soft drinks, and water in the minivan.The rest of our tour with George we saw a pineapple, coconut, coffee, chocolate and banana plantations and some howler monkeys, the beach, and a photo stop in Limon to take pictures of the ship in the harbor! What a day We Can't recommend OkeyDokey enough.