Best Shore Excursions in Costa Rica

[terrydtx]

Our Volendam cruise next month will be our first time to Limon Costa Rica and we are looking for advice for shore excisions. We are 3 couples travelling together in mid 50's. (So zip lines are out per my DH):eek: We are considering Caribbean Train Eco Cruise & Countryside tour. :confused: Anyone been on this tour? Or should we look at something else?:rolleyes:

[doone]

I would highly recommend tortugero(sp) canal tour. I have to say this was one of the best excursions I have done.

Don't forget about the coffee in Costa Rica, its wonderful. As a matter of fact, I still purchase my coffee from Costa Rica at www.cafebritt.com You should be able to purchase coffee onboard the Volendam and have it shipped home from Cafe Britt, I know we were able to do this when I sailed the Panama Canal. This is a spectacular cruise, you will really enjoy it.

Hope this helps.

[terrydtx]

I would highly recommend tortugero(sp) canal tour. I have to say this was one of the best excursions I have done.

Don't forget about the coffee in Costa Rica, its wonderful. As a matter of fact, I still purchase my coffee from Costa Rica at www.cafebritt.com You should be able to purchase coffee onboard the Volendam and have it shipped home from Cafe Britt, I know we were able to do this when I sailed the Panama Canal. This is a spectacular cruise, you will really enjoy it.

Hope this helps.

The Caribbean Train Eco Cruise & Countryside tour includes a 1 ½ hour tortugero canal boat tour, is this enough time to enjoy the canals? Thank you for your advice:confused:

[doone]

Yes, it should be. Its been a few years since I did the canals, but we did a bus tour before the canal. Also, book an early morning tour, the later you get into the day, the less animals tend to be visible as it gets hot and they seek shade.

[Brown Eyed Gurl]

Here is a review I wrote last year on my experience of the Aerial Tram tour in Costa Rica - it was fantastic!
I just wanted to comment on this excursion and say how much we enjoyed it!
We took an air conditioned bus (with a restroom) for about a 2hr drive into the lush countryside. We did drive through/up some small mountains & hills. The roads were bumpy and full of pot holes, but we had a good driver who avoided them. We passed pineapple fields, banana fields, corn plant fields, the university, etc. The tour guide passed around books on the plants & animals of the area. It was not a boring drive. Our driver stopped on the side of the road so we could see/photograph a sloth in one of the trees.
When we arrived at the park, we got out and had the opportunity to use the restroom and switched to either an air conditioned van or an open air tractor to drive the remaining 5 minutes to the actual site. There we watched a 10 minute movie about the park and tram. They said bug repellant is not necessary, but having read on the CDC website that this is an area with a Malaria risk, and we did not have any shots or pills, we used it to be safe. They claim there are enough bats and mammals that eat the mosquitos. Even with the bug repellant I was bitten twice on my legs by something unseen. :eek:
We then boarded, 6 + 1 guide per gondola. The actual ride is about 1 1/4hr long. It is very smooth, it does not rock, but sometimes it feels like you are on a bungee cord and it bounces very gently/slowly when you stop (yes it stops everytime passengers get on/off). Words cannot describe how beautiful the rainforest is. We saw plenty of butterflies, birds, moths, dragonflies, orchids, ferns, palm trees, broccoli trees, air plants, bromeliads, vines. It was amazing. It was just beautiful on the top part when you clear the canopy and see the volcano in the distance. Unbelievably, it did not rain at all the entire time we were there! It was sunny and very hot. It did look like it was going to pour when we were leaving though, so we lucked out.
When we finished the tram ride, we were let off to either eat at the included lunch buffet, shop, or hike the trails, they gave us an hour. We shopped (they had magnets, books, videos/DVDs, coffee, liqueur, candy, t-shirts, mini orchids, keychains, etc available), then ate the most amazing black beans and rice (and steamed veggies) at the buffet. They also had chicken in some sauce, we are Vegetarians and didn't eat it, so I'm not sure what other meat they had available, but I know they had some type of chicken. We were told they cook their rice & beans in coconut oil so it has a different flavor. They had strawberry & banana juice and guava juice to drink.
While at the buffet area we saw a lizard, a family of quati (which we were told is rare to see around people), 2 very large (harmless) spiders, hallucinogenic mushrooms, and a chirping hummingbird.
There was also a little cafe there, in which we bought some cassava (yuca) chips-which were really good!
Very little walking was involved unless you opted to hike one of the trails.
Then we repeated the same transfer as when we arrived, but our tour guide took us to a pineapple farm on the way back (that was never mentioned in our excursion book) and we were able to try fresh pineapple for free, along with some of their other items (pineapple salsa, pineapple jelly, etc), and shop. They had 2 very large (live) horned beetles (about the size of my fist) and a poison dart frog they were showing, that you could photograph.
On the way back, our tour guide made us a grasshopper out of one woven coconut palm frond and gave us a free map of Costa Rica & some banana stickers from Dole. :)
We arrived back to the ship with enough time to shop locally (about an hour or so) but we chose to watch the musicians & dancers on the dock.

[prescottbob]

Ahoy!

You might want to check out the Port of Call boards. Charlie Sotto tours and others seem to have good feedback for various tours that you can book online.

Good luck and have a GREAT CRUISE!

Bon Voyage and Good Health!
Bob:)

[Jade13]

Our Volendam cruise next month will be our first time to Limon Costa Rica and we are looking for advice for shore excisions. We are 3 couples travelling together in mid 50's. (So zip lines are out per my DH):eek: We are considering Caribbean Train Eco Cruise & Countryside tour. :confused: Anyone been on this tour? Or should we look at something else?:rolleyes:

Even if the Canopy Tours are out I would consider white water rafting. Costa Rica is one of the best places in the world. Many Olympic teams train there. We spent a day doing that in 2004 and it was great! Btw, no experiance is necessary as the guides are experts.

[terrydtx]

Thank you for all the information, I am very hesitant to book a non cruise tour in Costa Rica after what happened there last Spring on a Carnival Cruise. A group from the cruise booked a private tour on a bus and the driver took them to a secluded beach were they were robbed at gun point. One of the passengers a 70 year old ex Marine fought with one of the gunmen and broke the man’s neck and killed him. He was held a couple of days by Costa Rican authorities while they sorted out the mess. I heard that because of this incident our state department had issued a travel advisory about Port Limon shore excursions.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Tortugero Canal excursion!!

We did it and loved it!!!

[terrydtx]

Tortugero Canal excursion!!

We did it and loved it!!!

Thanks for the info I think we will go that way Krazy, by the way i love your signature "Cruising is a wonderful way to enjoy retirment" I would add for us "and to make sure we leave no inheritance for our kids":p

[CruisinKiki]

My DH and I did the whitewater rafting there in December through Princess. It was very fun. We saw sloths from the raft as well as a strawberry poison dart frog at the site where we had lunch. It was a great tour and you don't have to be athletic -- we're not. It's pretty small rapids and never any worry about falling out of the raft. The guides were great!

My mother and her friend did the train ride and the banana plant. They really enjoyed it and their photos were very interesting.

[eh2zed]

Definitely the Canal tour but looks like like that is included in the one you chose. An hour and a half is the standard canal tour.

[Harry1954]

Thank you for all the information, I am very hesitant to book a non cruise tour in Costa Rica after what happened there last Spring on a Carnival Cruise. A group from the cruise booked a private tour on a bus and the driver took them to a secluded beach were they were robbed at gun point. One of the passengers a 70 year old ex Marine fought with one of the gunmen and broke the man’s neck and killed him. He was held a couple of days by Costa Rican authorities while they sorted out the mess. I heard that because of this incident our state department had issued a travel advisory about Port Limon shore excursions.
I remember that incident .. it happened just after we had been there on HAL. We booked the HAL excursion that took us to a coffee plantation .. it was really one of the best tours we took, if not the best on the 14 days we were on that cruise. The countryside is beautiful, the people were very nice, and we got to sample a lot of local foods.
harry

[billsrobb]

Here is a review I wrote last year on my experience of the Aerial Tram tour in Costa Rica - it was fantastic!

Aerial tram is it a HAL sponsered excursion or can you book it independently? If its not HAL how do you contact the tour operator?

Thanks,

Robb

[KAYEF]

I had our bug repellant with me and our Tour Director said there was NO NEED to use it.:(
One other lady and I seemed to be the only two who were bitten and we were covered with bites from these minute black bugs. The bites got worse and larger for the more than two more weeks we were on the ship. I would wake up at night scratching, so of course, they became infected.
Arrived home with bites all over my legs and arms about the size of a quarter and red.
USE YOUR BUG REPELLANT NO MATTER WHAT YOUR GUIDE SAYS; those bugs love some people.