Train, boat, and bus tour with Carnival

[elsplace2]

Has anyone done the tour offered by Carnival, Caribbean train, bus and boat experience? What did you think? Can you describe the day?

 

Thanks for any advice!!

[patrickc]

We loved it. Our tour guide (Leo from Swiss Travel) was wonderful! Our tour was with HAL, so I would think it is the same. This was the most popular tour. The order is switched around a bit for all the groups. We started out w/ the banana plantation- it was Del Monte-- and I have to tell you, we just thought it was the wildest thing to see. The workers were so, so friendly.. be sure to walk over & watch the big bunches roll in, then they are sprayed, and roll along a cable, etc. You are not there long, so walk about quickly & get your pictures. Next we did the train. It was fun- you stop a few times & can see & hear the howler monkeys. Was a pretty neat old train! They take you out to the beach, where you stop & get out for 15 mins or so (I had no idea we were going to get to see a beach, so that was a bonus). The train goes out & back, so you'll ride backward for part of the way. Next, we did the Tortuguero canal-- really nice little dock area w/ live music, fruit, beer, clean restrooms... again, the people were so incredibly nice. The boats are big, safe-- & you are quite secure (we were a little nervous, but this is a nice excursion)- oh & it was covered. The tour guide (Leo) remained with us- and he used a mirror to reflect light up into the trees & along the banks to point out sloths, vampire bats, Jesus lizards, iguanas & tons of birds. The bus ride is quick back to the ship. We walked around the little tented area by the dock & bought souvenirs- and some Imperial beers. We loved Costa Rica-- we also had brilliant sunshine, not a cloud in the sky, which we heard was quite rare. Have fun!

[elsplace2]

Thanks Patrickc for your experience on this.....It sounds GREAT! I hope the Carnival tour is pretty much the same....I especially love the thought of going to a beach. (Did anyone go in the water?? Should we bring bathing suits, to jump in real quick to cool off, if its hot, or was there, not enough time?) You mentioned going to a dock where there was fruit, beer etc. Was that included in the price or did you have to pay extra for it?

 

Anyone else out there, experience this tour.....in particular, is the Carnival version like this one?

[patrickc]

We docked in Puerto Limon- so if you dock there, I would think the tour would be the same since HAL & Carnival are same company, but I could be wrong.. kind of like how they use same private island.

 

I would not bother w/ bathing suits- it is rough- a lot of surf & don't think it looked too safe or inviting (it's not crystal clear blue water--). We just enjoyed taking our shoes off & walking along the shoreline- water was warm. The sand is volcanic so has a lot of black mixed in. You only have about 15 minutes or so. It is really pretty though- very remote, lots of tall coco palm trees- great photo op w/ the train parked on the beach- just very, very exotic feeling.

 

At the banana place, go to the far end first where they bring them in-- and then follow along the production line (everyone clogs the one area where the bus lets you out). Talk to the workers- they were funny! It's all outside. It was so organized & clean-- I certainly would pay $1 lb for bananas after seeing all the hard work.

 

The beer & fruit were all free, no charge-- and it was nice-- seemed very clean.

 

This was a nice tour, good mix of different things. Take rain ponchos, from what we heard, it usually rains every day- we were just very lucky! I kind of hope I didn't share too much-- I did not know what to expect so think part of it was that we were so pleasantly surprised by each part of the tour! This one def gets an A.

[elsplace2]

Thanks again, for the added information.....it's NEVER too much information.....as a matter of fact the more detail the better!! I'm really looking forward to this tour, now!! Especially knowing there may be free beer involved!! ;)

[jankn]

We did the same tour, train, bus, and boat and it was actually one of the highlights of our cruise, our tour guid was named Zelma, and she was so personable that it felt like we were her favorite group ever....she no doubt makes everyone feel that way. We were there for Valentines Day and the first thing she did was give us all a Valentine type sucker....she was very excited about her country and what she had to show us so that really impressed us. We saw so many things that others who went on tours didnt see at all so we were really pleased and I'm really recommending it to everyone. Have a wonderful time !

[calico79]

My friend and I are planning to do this tour when in Costa Rica later this summer. It sounds like a great way to see Costa Rica! Thanks for the info!

[calico79]

I booked the excursion today! Very excited! Were the bugs bad? They suggest insect repellent for this excursion, but is it necessary?

[nybumpkin]

We did this tour through Carnival and it was as patrickc described it. We did it in the reverse order, though - Tortuguero Canal first, folllowed by train, followed by banana plantation. We didn't spend any time at the beach, though, and what beach we saw wasn't very good for swimming. Great tour. We liked the shopping area near the port - in fact, we've become hooked on some of the Costa Rican coffee.

 

calico79 - we had no problem with bugs - I don't even remember seeing many.

[calico79]

My uncle used to bring back the coffee when in Costa Rica on business. Excellent coffee! I am looking forward to getting some of that while there.

 

thanks for letting me know about bugs, wanted to make sure before going.

[Miss Dot]

Have been wondering about this tour. We are signed up thru Carnival for July. Hope we do stop at the beach. Was also wondering about the bugs. Mom is 74 and afraid of the water, so I was a little concerned about the boat part. Fell better now. THANKS for the info