Using JJ for a tour?

Sorry if there have been posts regarding this, but the search is down. Has anyone used JJ for a tour? I found his name on one of the threads and he has answered me back, but just wanted some feedback on doing a private tour out of Puerto Caldera. It will just be my mother and I so not a big group. Will be there at the end of Feb, so not in any rush, but would like as much information as possible. Thanks!

I just booked with JJ also. I don't really know what to see so I'm going to leave it up to him. I'll be intrested in any feed back from others. I told him what I like to do and see so I'm sure we will have a good day.

Looks like you will be going with him before we are in in Feb. Can you please post a response when you get back? We are just trying to figure out what to do in Costa Rica and am having a hard time finding something that interests me and is affordable from Puerto Caldera! What port are you going from?

We will be on the Pacific side which is Punta Areanas. We will be there in late March. You will have already gone by then. So maybe you will post for us and let us know the good ,the bad, and the ugly.

How can I get a hold of this tour operator. Do you have his e-mail?

You can reach JJ at this email address

joiner72@hotmail.com

We are going to go to Sarchi, The Rain Forest, an animal sacutary to see sloths and monkeys, Jaco Beach and lunch somewhere.

Looks like you will be going with him before we are in in Feb. Can you please post a response when you get back? We are just trying to figure out what to do in Costa Rica and am having a hard time finding something that interests me and is affordable from Puerto Caldera! What port are you going from?

We are looking into using JJ during our stop in Port Limon. How was your tour with JJ?

We just got back and had a tour booked with JJ and he never showed. Hope you have better luck.

We just got back and had a tour booked with JJ and he never showed. Hope you have better luck.

OH that doesn't make me feel good. I leave next week. I wonder what happened. If you hear from him let me know. Thanks for reporting back. I will also when I get back in April.

Not what I was hoping to hear, but I do appreciate the feedback. Most of the reviews I've read have been positive, hope this was a one time situation.

Would love to hear if anybody else has had the same issue

OH that doesn't make me feel good. I leave next week. I wonder what happened. If you hear from him let me know. Thanks for reporting back. I will also when I get back in April.

Please let us know if you have better luck.

Please let us know if you have better luck.

I sure will let you know. I hope this is a one time thing also. I have not heard anything bad from him so far, so that is why I booked with him. I emailed him and asked what happened. I will share with you what he says.

I guess I'll have to have a back up plan.

I sent him an email and haven't received a response.

I sent him an email and haven't received a response.

I emailed him the day I read your post. He responeded. I leave on Sunday so when I get back I'll let you know what happens. I hope all works out well.

I emailed him the day I read your post. He responeded. I leave on Sunday so when I get back I'll let you know what happens. I hope all works out well.

I hope you have a great time on your tour with J.J. We really enjoyed our day with him in Feb as we got to see and learn and enjoy so much.

We did the tour with JJ last week.

They were there on the pier upon disembarkation with signs

for our group and others also.

Our tour guides were a couple of young guys Kobe and Danilo.

Both were great, very friendly.

We did the zip line (which was great)

then the banana plantation, then the canals.

Unfortunately we ran out of time and had to skip the rest of the tour.

We did the tour with JJ last week.

 

They were there on the pier upon disembarkation with signs

for our group and others also.

 

Our tour guides were a couple of young guys Kobe and Danilo.

Both were great, very friendly.

 

We did the zip line (which was great)

then the banana plantation, then the canals.

 

Unfortunately we ran out of time and had to skip the rest of the tour.

Thanks for the feedback. One of the concerns brought up on a couple of other boards with outside tour companies in this port is traffic and being late for the ship. I noticed you mentioned that you had to cut the tour short due to time. How close were you on time, did you ever feel like you weren't going to make it back in time.

My experience is that most of these tour opertors are familiar with the cruise ships times and are very aware of getting their customers back on time. They sure don't want the word out that they've made people miss the boat.

We toured with J.J just last week in Limon. It was a truly excellent excursion. J.J himself was our guide, as well as Maureen, a student working toward a degree in tourism. We had a group of 18 and our 4-hour tour turned out to be 6 hours and was well worth the $45 pp we paid. We stopped at a roadside fruit stand and tasted some wonderful fruit, then on to a banana plantation which was fascinating. He then took us on a one-hour tour of the Tortuguero Canal in a covered boat where we saw many birds, some sloths and a pet crocodile and enjoyed the beauty of the area. We then headed to Playa Bonita for a swim in the sea and a delicious lunch of the local cuisine and beer. We ended at a local grocery store where we were able to purchase coffee and vanilla at prices that were a true steal! J.J. never rushed us; in fact at the beach he told us to take as much time as we wanted. Throughout our bus tour of the city, J.J shared so much of the culture of this beautiful land. It is easy to see why he loves COsta RIca so much.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend or use J.J again. Just know that due to the area, his email is not always working and it may take a day or two for him to respond.

We did the tour with JJ last week.

 

They were there on the pier upon disembarkation with signs

for our group and others also.

 

Our tour guides were a couple of young guys Kobe and Danilo.

Both were great, very friendly.

 

We did the zip line (which was great)

then the banana plantation, then the canals.

 

Unfortunately we ran out of time and had to skip the rest of the tour.

What did you have to skip??

We have talked to JJ about a combination tour with him doing both zip lining and white water rafting. He has told us that both are possible to accomplish when we are there in May on the Carnival Freedom but now hearing that you had to cut your tour short with him I'm curious if we are really going to have enough time for both. If not, I want to be sure we are doing our top choice first.

What did you have to skip??

 

We have talked to JJ about a combination tour with him doing both zip lining and white water rafting. He has told us that both are possible to accomplish when we are there in May on the Carnival Freedom but now hearing that you had to cut your tour short with him I'm curious if we are really going to have enough time for both. If not, I want to be sure we are doing our top choice first.

We are also sailing on the Freedom in May and using JJ, we were promised a private tour. I guess he has more than one vehicle and guide. I may have to e-mail him to check.

JJ tours . . . . . . hmmmm . . . . . . . .

Took a JJ tour a couple of weeks ago. Had JJ & Maureen. It is true that as soon as you get off the ship, there are folks standing there with signs to identify their specific tours. There can be more than one JJ tour going on that day though, so look for the one that has your contact person's name on it. Also don't assume JJ will be your tour guide since logistically he can only be on one of the tours.

My feedback on JJ tours is this:

*Be specific on what your tour will consist of & how much it will cost:

There were about 21 of us on our tour. And as more people joined prior to the date, an additional area of interest was identified via email to JJ & he was very accommodating in saying that yes, this could be done. When we were actually on the bus that morning & asked about the added destination. He again said no problem however we then found out that it would cost us each an extra $30/pp. Needless to say we decided not to do this because some families didn't have that much additional cash on them (for a family of 4 - $120 extra). I don't think JJ purposely meant to mislead us via his emails, I think it was just more of a miscommunication. So if you are customizing your tour - make sure you are clear ahead of time.

*Be specific on what is most important to you:

JJ did offer an alternative to the $30 extra activity that would only cost an additional $10/pp. Everyone was in agreement with it & was looking forward to doing this. However, because this was an addition to the initial tour, it was tacked on at the end. Unfortunately we ran out of time & didn't get to do this. Again, I don't think this was JJ's fault. I think he just didn't realize that that was probably what we most wanted to do.

*Watch your time:

JJ is a very nice guy & I think he truly wants you to have a great experience. He is a wealth of knowledge & you might find yourself stopping momentarily along the road so he can pick a plant from a tree & then give you a mini inservice on it. Great information. Problem is, is that you could end up spending more time on the front end & run out of time at the end, like we did. I would recommend asking JJ for an idea of how much time each activity will take & then if it adds up to how much time you have, then keep an eye on the time so that you don't end up running short.

*continued*

JJ tour suggestions continued:

*Be clear about the things you don't want to spend time on:

We got to the T. Canal & it was so busy that our bus could not find parking. JJ suggested that we go to Playa Bonita for 30 mins to get something to drink & then return. We had been clear from the start that we weren't all that interested in seeing Playa Bonita since none of us cared about swimming or going to a beach. The group huddled though & decided that 30 mins would be okay. Unfortunately Playa Bonita was busy & service was slower than slow. Some folks in our party ordered lunch (they had no way of knowing that it would take forever). We all waited, & waited & waited. A short trip to the beach turned into a 90 min to two hour trek. Our tour was suppose to be 4 1/2 hours & at the 4 1/2 hour mark we were still at the dang beach restaurant - having paid our $2/piece for the cokes, no food in site & the band coming by for tips again. At this point we were all very frustrated & starting to get nervous. The folks that ordered food cancelled it. I believe that JJ's intentions were good, but since he undoubtedly takes tours to this restaurant all the time, he has to know that the service is not all that fast. Lesson learned here was if you are just going for a drink, just order a drink. Be very specific that you want to leave within the time frame he gave you. Don't let it quadruple in time since it will replace something that may have been more important to you.

*Overall:

We did make it back to the t. canal & had a nice tour of it. I think that the majority of the group however at this point were nervious about making it back to the ship on time so I don't know that folks enjoyed it as much as they would have otherwise. & of course, we never got to do the wildlife park which was in place of the sloth sanc. that we all had really initially wanted to do. We did make it back to the ship on time but luckily traffic wasn't bad (& you just never know if it will be).

The shopping that I had hoped to do once I got back, didn't happen because of the time.

JJ is a nice guy. You really can't help but like him. & he tried very hard to make up for the beach restaurant snafu. Plus the $45/pp was a good deal for what we got. So I don't regret the excursion, I just wish I knew then what I know now in terms of really being specific with him in regard to additional places to see/cost, priiority places to see, & time allotment.

Hope this is helpful.

Just back from my Panama Cruise with a stop in Costa Rica. Met up with JJ on the pier just as he said he would. We had a good day visiting Sarchi, an Orchid Garden, Coffee and Banana plantations. There is some really pretty countryside there. We ate empanada's at a local restaurant. They were really good.

There is alot of road construction happening near the port which caused alot of traffic. We were unable to go to Jaco Beach due to that. That was a bummer. We had to be back on the ship by 2:30 so we didn't have a full day.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know everything went just fine with JJ. No problems or worries.

JJ tour suggestions continued:

 

*Be clear about the things you don't want to spend time on:

 

We got to the T. Canal & it was so busy that our bus could not find parking. JJ suggested that we go to Playa Bonita for 30 mins to get something to drink & then return. We had been clear from the start that we weren't all that interested in seeing Playa Bonita since none of us cared about swimming or going to a beach. The group huddled though & decided that 30 mins would be okay. Unfortunately Playa Bonita was busy & service was slower than slow. Some folks in our party ordered lunch (they had no way of knowing that it would take forever). We all waited, & waited & waited. A short trip to the beach turned into a 90 min to two hour trek. Our tour was suppose to be 4 1/2 hours & at the 4 1/2 hour mark we were still at the dang beach restaurant - having paid our $2/piece for the cokes, no food in site & the band coming by for tips again. At this point we were all very frustrated & starting to get nervous. The folks that ordered food cancelled it. I believe that JJ's intentions were good, but since he undoubtedly takes tours to this restaurant all the time, he has to know that the service is not all that fast. Lesson learned here was if you are just going for a drink, just order a drink. Be very specific that you want to leave within the time frame he gave you. Don't let it quadruple in time since it will replace something that may have been more important to you.

 

*Overall:

 

We did make it back to the t. canal & had a nice tour of it. I think that the majority of the group however at this point were nervious about making it back to the ship on time so I don't know that folks enjoyed it as much as they would have otherwise. & of course, we never got to do the wildlife park which was in place of the sloth sanc. that we all had really initially wanted to do. We did make it back to the ship on time but luckily traffic wasn't bad (& you just never know if it will be).

 

The shopping that I had hoped to do once I got back, didn't happen because of the time.

 

JJ is a nice guy. You really can't help but like him. & he tried very hard to make up for the beach restaurant snafu. Plus the $45/pp was a good deal for what we got. So I don't regret the excursion, I just wish I knew then what I know now in terms of really being specific with him in regard to additional places to see/cost, priiority places to see, & time allotment.

 

Hope this is helpful.

Just read your post. We too ran out of time. No sloth sanctuary. We did see alligators. The problem with this port is that everything is so spread apart it takes forever to get anywhere. We did run into alot of traffic which made it hard getting back. We, also, were offered an excursion to an alligator farm at an additional cost. We did not have the additional money to do this.

I just want to be clear that I was in Punta Areans, which is on the Pacific side of Costa Rica. That makes a big difference with tours. Most tours are out of Limon. I believe Limon has alot more to offer.