We just completed a tour with Cosol last week, and I was very happy with the service and kindness we received. On the day we were in port, Cosol had two vans, one being driven by Cosol, and the other by his brother, Yellowbird. We were with Yellowbird.
All of the things that have been noted by others were true for us as well. The rum punch was flowing throughout the trip, and the lunch spread took us by surprise not only in the amount of food available, but by the quality of it as a whole. It was nice to experience locally prepared foods.
One thing that wasn't mentioned, but we enjoyed, was the Yellowbird stopped along the way to pick up little items for us from the local vendors, including homemade cookies, fruits, bread, etc. It was a nice surprise, and I appreciated the fact that throughout the trip he was giving back to the local people who I'm sure appreciated the business.
The tour itself was very good and informative, but quite draining. The road system in St. Lucia is one of the worst that I've been on, and the winding trips around the mountain made me a little carsick (not at the fault of Yellowbird, as he drove very safely...the road itself was the problem). We stopped at the volcano, the pitons, Jalousy beach, Marigot Bay, the Botanical Gardens, and two fishing villages.
While I am very happy that I did the tour, I will most likely opt for a different tour of the island next time. As I mentioned before, it was a VERY draining drive and trip through the country and took every minute of 6 1/2 hours, with probably 4 of them being in the van.
Everything we saw was definitely worth seeing and I would highly recommend people to take this tour if it's your first trip to St. Lucia or you've never experienced the full island.
A few notes...
- It was asked about whether there is a land/sea portion, being dropped off at the port. In our trip, it was a complete land tour, and the boat ride to the beach and back was about midway through our land tour. An option to take a boat back to the ship was not available.
- Jalousy beach was our least favorite of the six islands that we visited (Antigua, Grand Turk, St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Barbados). It was a very rocky beach and there were a ton of jellyfish (they were small, so the pain wasn't severe, but it's still not fun to be stung by 3-4 jellyfish over the course of a 20 minute swim). The snorkeling was nice, but we gave up relatively quickly because of the issues with the beach itself.
- We spoke with another group that had been on the tour, and apparently the boat trip to the beach has been improved over the past year. While getting in and out of the boat still isn't ideal for someone who is disabled, there were a number of older (70+) people on our trip who were able to get in and out of the boat without too much trouble.
- The value of this trip was great. For what was offered, the price tag of $65 per person was an absolute steal. The gas alone was probably close to a full tank, not to mention the food, drinks, etc. that are provided as part of the trip.
Cosol Tours
in St. Lucia
Posted
We just completed a tour with Cosol last week, and I was very happy with the service and kindness we received. On the day we were in port, Cosol had two vans, one being driven by Cosol, and the other by his brother, Yellowbird. We were with Yellowbird.
All of the things that have been noted by others were true for us as well. The rum punch was flowing throughout the trip, and the lunch spread took us by surprise not only in the amount of food available, but by the quality of it as a whole. It was nice to experience locally prepared foods.
One thing that wasn't mentioned, but we enjoyed, was the Yellowbird stopped along the way to pick up little items for us from the local vendors, including homemade cookies, fruits, bread, etc. It was a nice surprise, and I appreciated the fact that throughout the trip he was giving back to the local people who I'm sure appreciated the business.
The tour itself was very good and informative, but quite draining. The road system in St. Lucia is one of the worst that I've been on, and the winding trips around the mountain made me a little carsick (not at the fault of Yellowbird, as he drove very safely...the road itself was the problem). We stopped at the volcano, the pitons, Jalousy beach, Marigot Bay, the Botanical Gardens, and two fishing villages.
While I am very happy that I did the tour, I will most likely opt for a different tour of the island next time. As I mentioned before, it was a VERY draining drive and trip through the country and took every minute of 6 1/2 hours, with probably 4 of them being in the van.
Everything we saw was definitely worth seeing and I would highly recommend people to take this tour if it's your first trip to St. Lucia or you've never experienced the full island.
A few notes...
- It was asked about whether there is a land/sea portion, being dropped off at the port. In our trip, it was a complete land tour, and the boat ride to the beach and back was about midway through our land tour. An option to take a boat back to the ship was not available.
- Jalousy beach was our least favorite of the six islands that we visited (Antigua, Grand Turk, St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Barbados). It was a very rocky beach and there were a ton of jellyfish (they were small, so the pain wasn't severe, but it's still not fun to be stung by 3-4 jellyfish over the course of a 20 minute swim). The snorkeling was nice, but we gave up relatively quickly because of the issues with the beach itself.
- We spoke with another group that had been on the tour, and apparently the boat trip to the beach has been improved over the past year. While getting in and out of the boat still isn't ideal for someone who is disabled, there were a number of older (70+) people on our trip who were able to get in and out of the boat without too much trouble.
- The value of this trip was great. For what was offered, the price tag of $65 per person was an absolute steal. The gas alone was probably close to a full tank, not to mention the food, drinks, etc. that are provided as part of the trip.