Question about Spencer Ambrose Tour

Like a previous poster, I am trying to decide between Spencer Ambrose and Cosol tours. I cannot seem to figure out for the Land/Sea tour whether Spencer does ride through the mountains one way and then speedboat back or does the speedboat both ways. I would like to ride through the mountains at least one way. Does his tour save alot of time using the speedboats returning earlier than Cosol or do you see additional sites?

Like a previous poster, I am trying to decide between Spencer Ambrose and Cosol tours. I cannot seem to figure out for the Land/Sea tour whether Spencer does ride through the mountains one way and then speedboat back or does the speedboat both ways. I would like to ride through the mountains at least one way. Does his tour save alot of time using the speedboats returning earlier than Cosol or do you see additional sites?

I was getting quotes and info from him a couple of months ago and did go with Herod because of price. He (spencer) does the land first then back by sea. It is your preference. Soufriere is 1 1/2 hours from cruise port and they do stop. If you don't mind being in a car both ways, then fine. If you'd like to get back quickly, the boat is much quicker and fun. You do see a different view of island this way that you would not see in a car. I honestly would recommend this way rather than a bus up and a bus back. Spencer does answer emails quickly so ask him any questions you may have re trip. I did meet him at Jalousie beach with his daughter when we were there with Herod and he is a great guy.

I was getting quotes and info from him a couple of months ago and did go with Herod because of price. He (spencer) does the land first then back by sea. It is your preference. Soufriere is 1 1/2 hours from cruise port and they do stop. If you don't mind being in a car both ways, then fine. If you'd like to get back quickly, the boat is much quicker and fun. You do see a different view of island this way that you would not see in a car. I honestly would recommend this way rather than a bus up and a bus back. Spencer does answer emails quickly so ask him any questions you may have re trip. I did meet him at Jalousie beach with his daughter when we were there with Herod and he is a great guy.

Thanks, great tips! I wrote to Cosol, Herod and Spencer and heard back immediately from Cosol. Looks like Herod may be the best for us based on price and speed boat back. A problem is that I understand he may not run the tour for less than 10 and we are a couple. First things first, would like both Herod and Spencer just to get back to me before I make the decision.

For what it's worth, Specialty certainly has (relatively) recently changed his land/sea tour itinerary. It is now by sea both ways, with the many portion in Soufriere itself. This apparently gives more time in the village and on the beach. So, if you want a tour that is by land down and sea back, Spencer no longer offers this.

For what it's worth, Specialty certainly has (relatively) recently changed his land/sea tour itinerary. It is now by sea both ways, with the many portion in Soufriere itself. This apparently gives more time in the village and on the beach. So, if you want a tour that is by land down and sea back, Spencer no longer offers this.

So it sounds like Spencer has speed boat both ways, Herod one way and Cosol only by land. I would like the combinationof sea/land as it would give us the opportunity to see this beautiful country both by land and sea plus saving a little time.

Youve summed it up bedformom....Spencer is a boat both ways, Cosol is land both ways, and there are various other operators which are land down and sea back, Herod's being one of them.

Enjoy your visit.

Youve summed it up bedformom....Spencer is a boat both ways, Cosol is land both ways, and there are various other operators which are land down and sea back, Herod's being one of them.

Enjoy your visit.

No, not true. Spencer Ambrose is by "Land" in a van first, then back by speedboat. We will be in St. Lucia for a 3rd time this Jan, and have used Spencer each time. His tours are wonderful and the one called by "Land and Sea" is just what it says. It is a drive through the mountainous windy road terrain for the first half, then a boat to Jalousie Beach between the Pitons for lunch and by boat back to the pier. The best of both worlds.

No, not true. Spencer Ambrose is by "Land" in a van first, then back by speedboat. We will be in St. Lucia for a 3rd time this Jan, and have used Spencer each time. His tours are wonderful and the one called by "Land and Sea" is just what it says. It is a drive through the mountainous windy road terrain for the first half, then a boat to Jalousie Beach between the Pitons for lunch and by boat back to the pier. The best of both worlds.

According to spencer's website the land and sea tour was replaced: "Spencer's Land, Sea & Beach Adventure replaced Spencer's Land & Sea Adventure, June 1, 2014." This tour goes round trip by speed boat

Two years ago we did the Spencer tour. His driver picked us up at Castries, drove the mountain route, stopping off a few places, then to Soufriere where we took a little boat around to Jalousie Beach. After lunch we took a speedboat all the way up to Castries.

As this was two years ago perhaps I shouldn't add any comments. So here goes. Our driver drove extremely fast and dangerously. The stops were fairly miserable - a roadside banana stall, a bread shop, some desultory hot springs. The public area on Jalousie Beach is grotty, with no shade and rundown seating. The lunch provided by Spencer was swill so we lunched at the hotel which was just great. The speedboat ride back was OK, the highlight of a rather disappointing day, but we picked up a lot more people who made several stops for swimming en route.

No, not true. Spencer Ambrose is by "Land" in a van first, then back by speedboat. We will be in St. Lucia for a 3rd time this Jan, and have used Spencer each time. His tours are wonderful and the one called by "Land and Sea" is just what it says. It is a drive through the mountainous windy road terrain for the first half, then a boat to Jalousie Beach between the Pitons for lunch and by boat back to the pier. The best of both worlds.

Perhaps you should check out his tour details recently. Up until this past summer, his tour WAS land down by van and sea back by boat. However, he changed them this summer and it is now sea both ways, with the land portion only in Soufriere. No one here has any reason to steer a visitor wrong, so want to make sure that you, a repeat visitor who has traveled with Spencer in the past, are aware that he has changed his tour offerings up. Be sure to double check your tour details to make sure you're doing the tour you want

Perhaps you should check out his tour details recently. Up until this past summer, his tour WAS land down by van and sea back by boat. However, he changed them this summer and it is now sea both ways, with the land portion only in Soufriere. No one here has any reason to steer a visitor wrong, so want to make sure that you, a repeat visitor who has traveled with Spencer in the past, are aware that he has changed his tour offerings up. Be sure to double check your tour details to make sure you're doing the tour you want

We did Spencer's Land, Sea and Beach Adventure tour on 12/16/14. You are picked up by boat at the pier. We took a short boat ride and then got in vans and headed to the mud baths, waterfall, and a restaurant for a nice lunch. We then were taken back to the boats and headed to Jalousie Beach for a couple of hours. We then took the boat back to the pier with several stops along the way to see different things like the bat caves, photos of the Pitons and other points of interest.

Our group of four adults had a fantastic day with Spencer and his daughters. Probably the best part was that this tour was timed perfectly. We were leaving the different stops when the masses were arriving.

We did a land tour in 2009 and this was by far the way to go. It has just the right balance of land and sea and beach time.

Pat

Sabiney, did you get to stop at the banana plantation? I hope so - we are taking this tour in January and want to see the plantation and buy odd banana products, like banana ketchup! His site still says that is a stop but your description didn't include it so I'm wondering if it has been dropped now. Did you get back with enough time to browse the shops at the pier?

Sabiney, did you get to stop at the banana plantation? I hope so - we are taking this tour in January and want to see the plantation and buy odd banana products, like banana ketchup! His site still says that is a stop but your description didn't include it so I'm wondering if it has been dropped now. Did you get back with enough time to browse the shops at the pier?

We stopped on the side of the road at one of the plantations and everyone got out of the vans for what seemed like 20 minutes. He explained about the bananas, harvesting and some of the surrounding plants. The bananas were not ripe when we stopped which was a bit of a disappointment to us. We tried them on our land tour years ago and fell in love with St Lucia bananas. They are small and super sweet. Not like what we get in the states. We were going to look for some when we got back to the pier, but totally forgot.

There are vendors selling products at the different stops you make. We bought some hot sauce and banana ketchup at our beach stop. It's the same product at each stop along with different local trinkets.

Our tour was a little delayed in starting, so there was not a lot of time left at the end for shopping. But, we never felt uneasy about making it back to the ship on time. My understanding is that the delay was caused because someone on one of his other tours decided to request a car seat the day of the tour, instead of arranging in advance and he had to get one and deliver it.

I have to add that the snorkeling at Jalousie beach was wonderful! I was totally surprised and we've snorkeled at a lot of different islands. About the time we were ready to head back a huge cat came in loaded and the water was not as clear and way too many bodies, but we were leaving anyway.

Pat

Thanks for the detailed information. Very helpful. We are really looking forward to this tour.

In 2011 we went with Herod on the sea tour. We waited at the dock for 45 minutes as his boat was not there and was broke down. His employee had a phone and kept contact with him as he found a replacement vessel. We were picked up in a huge catamaran for our very small group (15-20 people). It was a great and relaxing trip along the coast, going into and out of the ports and sites. We made it to Jalousie and enjoyed snorkeling, which is some of the best snorkeling around. Herod made sure we were well taken care of, even though I know he most likely lost $$$ that day. We were returned in a speedboat.

In 2013, we booked the land/sea tour with Spencer. We were picked up in a van, taken to a banana plantation, a bakery, past sulfur springs, stopped and were able to see the volcano where people were covering themselves in mud/ash/? which is suppose to make you years younger. We then loaded back up and went to Soufriere where we were put into a boat and taken to Jalousie beach. In all, we got in and out 4 times, "2 side road shops, banana plantation and the volcano".

Last year, Feb 2014, we took the sea tour with Spencer. It was cool and raining hard when we left the ship, we stood under the canopy deciding weather to even go or not. We were pelted by rain nearly half the way to the pitons (made for some good pictures). Once we got there, the sun came out and it was beautiful. We were the first ones there. The snorkeling was great. I hear it gets cloudy later in the day from all the snorkelers.

Whether you go with Cosol, spencer or herod, the pitons and jalousie beach is all the same. To the left of the dock is the area where we are allowed to use the beach chairs. Yes, they are old, the beach is short and it is very rocky (bring water shoes). The bathrooms are also not up to date. It is not an area where you want to lay out and work on your tan as most of it is under the trees. Everyone is allowed to walk across the whole area of the beach (even in front of the hotel). There is a hotel on the right side of the dock where you can rent a chair if you would like to. It is a beautiful beach and everyone is welcome to use the restaurant if they like. If you want to see some beautiful pitons and get some great snorkeling in, then you will enjoy this place. Spencer's dinner was very good the day we went (both times). It was some rice, chicken and salad. Every meal was packed in a container. We had adequate beer, water, pop and rum punch. We returned in a high speed boat ride back. Spencer drove us there and back on our last trip and was very informative about his business.

Personally, we have done the land tour already and feel we don't want to do it again. It was great to see once. The scenery is beautiful and it was great to shop. But the roads here are narrow, some bumpy and windy. The back of a van may not be the most comfortable. I am going to try and book with Spencer again for our upcoming cruise. I'm interested in the boat ride to Soufriere. We didn't get to see much in that area as we just used it to get into a boat.

I hope if you decide to go to Jalousie, you can see the good things it has to offer and oversee the shortcomings.

We did Spencer's Land, Sea and Beach Adventure tour on 12/16/14. You are picked up by boat at the pier. We took a short boat ride and then got in vans and headed to the mud baths, waterfall, and a restaurant for a nice lunch. We then were taken back to the boats and headed to Jalousie Beach for a couple of hours. We then took the boat back to the pier with several stops along the way to see different things like the bat caves, photos of the Pitons and other points of interest.

 

Our group of four adults had a fantastic day with Spencer and his daughters. Probably the best part was that this tour was timed perfectly. We were leaving the different stops when the masses were arriving.

 

We did a land tour in 2009 and this was by far the way to go. It has just the right balance of land and sea and beach time.

 

Pat

We did this exact tour too-possibly the same day! (Too lazy to look it up.)It's exactly as described and we had a wonderful time. I actually appreciated not having to ride for a couple of hours on the mountainous roads.

So: speed boat ride to Castries, fairly short land tour to the volcano and lunch, beach time, speed boat ride back.

We did this exact tour too-possibly the same day! (Too lazy to look it up.)It's exactly as described and we had a wonderful time. I actually appreciated not having to ride for a couple of hours on the mountainous roads.

 

So: speed boat ride to Castries, fairly short land tour to the volcano and lunch, beach time, speed boat ride back.

Pretty sure you mean speed boat to Soufriere, as your cruise ship docks in Castries, and the volcano, mud baths, Jalousie beach, etc are located in Soufriere......just clarifying for others checking out reviews and tour info.....

Pretty sure you mean speed boat to Soufriere, as your cruise ship docks in Castries, and the volcano, mud baths, Jalousie beach, etc are located in Soufriere......just clarifying for others checking out reviews and tour info.....

Um, yeah, of course I do--brain bump! Thanks.

I appreciate everyone's very helpful information. I too am trying to decide on which tour to take and this discussion has helped me to decide to try and go on Spencer's Land, Sea and Beach tour. It sounds like it will meet all of my needs, scenery, beach and a little shopping!