Cosol vs Herod HELP!

I have emailed both tours they seem very similar. One is $10.00 more (no biggie) Herods tour is 1-1 3/4 longer then Cosols (unsure if thats a big deal or not)

I am leaning more toward Herods tour because its longer and he is giving me more details about the tour then Cosol. But from what I understand you see basically the same thing....

Here is my problem, Herods is stopping to swim/snorkel at Jalousie beach (situated between the two pitons). I cant even find anything at this beach so I don't know if this is a good place or not. Cosol is stopping at Reduit beach and/or Anse chastanet. Both of these beaches seem beautiful and a major St. Lucia attraction. I am worried that if I take Herods tour and stop at Jalouise I will be missing out. Herod also said we can swim at the waterfalls as well (which seems neat, but unsure if it is a original St. Lucia experience or not)

Any help would be appreciated.

I have emailed both tours they seem very similar. One is $10.00 more (no biggie) Herods tour is 1-1 3/4 longer then Cosols (unsure if thats a big deal or not)

 

I am leaning more toward Herods tour because its longer and he is giving me more details about the tour then Cosol. But from what I understand you see basically the same thing....

 

Here is my problem, Herods is stopping to swim/snorkel at Jalousie beach (situated between the two pitons). I cant even find anything at this beach so I don't know if this is a good place or not. Cosol is stopping at Reduit beach and/or Anse chastanet. Both of these beaches seem beautiful and a major St. Lucia attraction. I am worried that if I take Herods tour and stop at Jalouise I will be missing out. Herod also said we can swim at the waterfalls as well (which seems neat, but unsure if it is a original St. Lucia experience or not)

 

Any help would be appreciated.

I'm not sure this is going to help at all, but if you can get your hands on the travel section of today's New York Daily News, there is an article on St. Lucia with a beautiful picture of Jalousie Beach. It looks like a lovely spot to spend time swimming and snorkeling.

Thanks, I looked online but didnt see anything in their travel section :-(

http://www.print2webcorp.com/news/nydailynews/travel/20060305/p7.asp

thanks though, you on the April 22 cruise as well?

Thanks, I looked online but didnt see anything in their travel section :-(

http://www.print2webcorp.com/news/nydailynews/travel/20060305/p7.asp

 

thanks though, you on the April 22 cruise as well?

Hi CanadianMag;

We have had your rain the last 2 days.

Both companies get great reviews.

We just got back from Cosol and would highly recommend him to any one. He is young and loves his work. Our friends went snorkling with YellowBird (his brother)and said it was great. They Scuba dive and said it was great snorkling at the resort Yellowbird took them too. We drove by and the resort itself looked amazing.

Porky113

Your chioce as both offer a great tour.

We are a group of six booked with Herod at the end of this month. I can let you know how it is when we get back, but by all reviews, his tour sounds great and all his emails have been timely and informative. Plus, he is a former teacher so that makes him okay in my book!!! I am sure either tour will be wonderful. Wish I could see that photo of the beach!!:)

We are a group of six booked with Herod at the end of this month. I can let you know how it is when we get back, but by all reviews, his tour sounds great and all his emails have been timely and informative. Plus, he is a former teacher so that makes him okay in my book!!! I am sure either tour will be wonderful. Wish I could see that photo of the beach!!:)

I would be interested in hearing about his tour to compare with Cosol. Each tour comes highly recommended.

Porky113

Hi, I e-mailed Herod this past Friday with my interests & he e-mailed me back on Saturday with all the details of a tour that fit my preferences. He then followed-up with a phone call also on Saturday. I can tell you that I was very impressed by his attention to detail & his English was great...absolutely no problems understanding him. He also assured me that he would be our guide, as that was one of my requirements. After we spoke & I confirmed we wanted to reserve & how many, he then followed up immediately with another e-mail on details of how to find him when we get off the boat, even though he covered it in our conversation. I am booked with him on April 12th & will provide a review upon my return.

Le Anne

We toured with Herod this past Wed., March 7th and it was the best tour we have had. We were a group of 4 who were joined by a family of 5. His van is new...only a few months old and very comfortable. We had no problem finding him at the pier. He was standing right there with a sign with my name on it. We traveled from Castries down the western coast of St. Lucia through fishing villages and gorgeous lush mountainsides. We stopped at Marigot Bay for pictures, restrooms, etc. Herod has a huge cooler filled with water, sodas, local beer, and homemade rum punch made by his mother. We drove through banana plantations where he got a huge bunch of bananas for us to share. We went to the drive through volcano and were given a tour. We did tip the tour guide. We went to the waterfall and the mineral baths. We all enjoyed the warm water at the mineral baths. He stopped at the tropical gardens and we enjoyed an informative tour there. There was a woman there cooking food and we were all given a delicious piece of fried fish. She had spices for sale as well as hot sauces etc. Herod paid her for the fish we ate as well as he paid for admission to the gardens, the volcano, and later on in the trip, the water taxi that took us to the beach. Our final destination were the Pitons and Soufriere Bay. Herod is from Soufriere...still lives there and travels into Castries every day - it is over a one hour drive.....the roads are very windy and up and down over mountains so you cant drive very fast. We were taken by water taxi to a beautiful beach location that is positioned between the two Pitons. The beach is part of a resort but it is very secluded and not crowded. We stayed there for an hour, relaxed and the water was wonderful. There were waiters coming around taking drink orders. The only down side was that the lounge chairs on the beach had to be rented.....at 30 each.,even though we were only there for an hour. So, we all spread out beach towels on the beach and it worked out great. Herod loves his country and it is evident in the way he speaks of it. He was informative during the whole tour and was able to answer all questions we asked. Our tour was supposed to leave at 8:30 but left maybe 15-20 minutes late waiting for another g roup of people (who traveled with Herods friend in Herod's other van). They did not take the same tour we took. We got back to Castries at about 3:30pm.....enough time for us to get back to St. Lucia and shop around before our ship left at 5:30. If you have any questions, please let me know. From what I have read, you cant go wrong with Cosol or Herod. I chose Herod because he took us to the beach between the Pitons.......it was breathtaking.

I read somewhere on these boards to take Herod apples because they dont get them often. So we saved the apples daily from our cabin fruit baskets and then picked some up from the dining room and gave them to him.

He is a great young man. Very personable, extremely easy to understand, and really made our trip a wonderful experience.

Thanks, I looked online but didnt see anything in their travel section :-(

http://www.print2webcorp.com/news/nydailynews/travel/20060305/p7.asp

 

thanks though, you on the April 22 cruise as well?

Sorry you weren't able to bring up that photo. Yes, we'll be sailing on the 22nd as well. Getting very excited at this point and realizing that I need to do some 'summer' shopping now! So, what did you decide...Cosol or Herod? It sounds, from the reviews on this board, that you can't go wrong with either. Happy cruising!

Kathy

We toured with Herod this past Wed., March 7th and it was the best tour we have had. We were a group of 4 who were joined by a family of 5. His van is new...only a few months old and very comfortable. We had no problem finding him at the pier. He was standing right there with a sign with my name on it. We traveled from Castries down the western coast of St. Lucia through fishing villages and gorgeous lush mountainsides. We stopped at Marigot Bay for pictures, restrooms, etc. Herod has a huge cooler filled with water, sodas, local beer, and homemade rum punch made by his mother. We drove through banana plantations where he got a huge bunch of bananas for us to share. We went to the drive through volcano and were given a tour. We did tip the tour guide. We went to the waterfall and the mineral baths. We all enjoyed the warm water at the mineral baths. He stopped at the tropical gardens and we enjoyed an informative tour there. There was a woman there cooking food and we were all given a delicious piece of fried fish. She had spices for sale as well as hot sauces etc. Herod paid her for the fish we ate as well as he paid for admission to the gardens, the volcano, and later on in the trip, the water taxi that took us to the beach. Our final destination were the Pitons and Soufriere Bay. Herod is from Soufriere...still lives there and travels into Castries every day - it is over a one hour drive.....the roads are very windy and up and down over mountains so you cant drive very fast. We were taken by water taxi to a beautiful beach location that is positioned between the two Pitons. The beach is part of a resort but it is very secluded and not crowded. We stayed there for an hour, relaxed and the water was wonderful. There were waiters coming around taking drink orders. The only down side was that the lounge chairs on the beach had to be rented.....at 30 each.,even though we were only there for an hour. So, we all spread out beach towels on the beach and it worked out great. Herod loves his country and it is evident in the way he speaks of it. He was informative during the whole tour and was able to answer all questions we asked. Our tour was supposed to leave at 8:30 but left maybe 15-20 minutes late waiting for another g roup of people (who traveled with Herods friend in Herod's other van). They did not take the same tour we took. We got back to Castries at about 3:30pm.....enough time for us to get back to St. Lucia and shop around before our ship left at 5:30. If you have any questions, please let me know. From what I have read, you cant go wrong with Cosol or Herod. I chose Herod because he took us to the beach between the Pitons.......it was breathtaking.

 

I read somewhere on these boards to take Herod apples because they dont get them often. So we saved the apples daily from our cabin fruit baskets and then picked some up from the dining room and gave them to him.

 

He is a great young man. Very personable, extremely easy to understand, and really made our trip a wonderful experience.

You sound like you did the exact same tour we did with COSOL. Glad you enjoyed yours as much as we enjoyed ours. Sounds like both men do an excellent job.

Porky113

we used the dispatcher systwem to procure a taxi/guide for the day and did everything you guys did, not the beach.

We had a private tour for the 6 of us.

i found with cosol that he wanted to add 4 people to the van.

6 was plenty crowed. and out guide stop any where we asked. and i didn't feel bad because it didn't affect anyone else in the taxi. we paid $25 a person, but paid our own entrance fees into the volcano and botanical gardens.

Sorry you weren't able to bring up that photo. Yes, we'll be sailing on the 22nd as well. Getting very excited at this point and realizing that I need to do some 'summer' shopping now! So, what did you decide...Cosol or Herod? It sounds, from the reviews on this board, that you can't go wrong with either. Happy cruising!

Kathy

the review by Kely did it for me. I am going to email Herod back and confirm

I have a few pounds to lose then its summer shopping for me too!

We toured with Herod this past Wed., March 7th and it was the best tour we have had. We were a group of 4 who were joined by a family of 5. His van is new...only a few months old and very comfortable. We had no problem finding him at the pier. He was standing right there with a sign with my name on it. We traveled from Castries down the western coast of St. Lucia through fishing villages and gorgeous lush mountainsides. We stopped at Marigot Bay for pictures, restrooms, etc. Herod has a huge cooler filled with water, sodas, local beer, and homemade rum punch made by his mother. We drove through banana plantations where he got a huge bunch of bananas for us to share. We went to the drive through volcano and were given a tour. We did tip the tour guide. We went to the waterfall and the mineral baths. We all enjoyed the warm water at the mineral baths. He stopped at the tropical gardens and we enjoyed an informative tour there. There was a woman there cooking food and we were all given a delicious piece of fried fish. She had spices for sale as well as hot sauces etc. Herod paid her for the fish we ate as well as he paid for admission to the gardens, the volcano, and later on in the trip, the water taxi that took us to the beach. Our final destination were the Pitons and Soufriere Bay. Herod is from Soufriere...still lives there and travels into Castries every day - it is over a one hour drive.....the roads are very windy and up and down over mountains so you cant drive very fast. We were taken by water taxi to a beautiful beach location that is positioned between the two Pitons. The beach is part of a resort but it is very secluded and not crowded. We stayed there for an hour, relaxed and the water was wonderful. There were waiters coming around taking drink orders. The only down side was that the lounge chairs on the beach had to be rented.....at 30 each.,even though we were only there for an hour. So, we all spread out beach towels on the beach and it worked out great. Herod loves his country and it is evident in the way he speaks of it. He was informative during the whole tour and was able to answer all questions we asked. Our tour was supposed to leave at 8:30 but left maybe 15-20 minutes late waiting for another g roup of people (who traveled with Herods friend in Herod's other van). They did not take the same tour we took. We got back to Castries at about 3:30pm.....enough time for us to get back to St. Lucia and shop around before our ship left at 5:30. If you have any questions, please let me know. From what I have read, you cant go wrong with Cosol or Herod. I chose Herod because he took us to the beach between the Pitons.......it was breathtaking.

 

I read somewhere on these boards to take Herod apples because they dont get them often. So we saved the apples daily from our cabin fruit baskets and then picked some up from the dining room and gave them to him.

 

He is a great young man. Very personable, extremely easy to understand, and really made our trip a wonderful experience.

We just returned (yesterday) from our cruise on Serenade of the Seas and spent the best day with Herod! He was definetly a highlight of or cruise! We were a group of six and had Herod all to ourselves! Because we had two teachers in the group, we talked with Herod about his experiences as a teacher in St. Lucia and he took us by some of the schools and by the High school where his father is Principal. What a great side trip that was!! The students are all so cute and wear uniforms. No baggy pants and halter-tops at these schools!! We also did all of the above that Kely did. Herod drove us to the resort between the Pitons--breathtaking!! We also asked Herod if there were any places to purchase local art and he took us to a wonderful place that sold baskets, paintings and carvings from local artists. My husband and I liked one of the paintings of the Pitons so the woman working called out to the artist and there he was, right on site! His name is EDGE. He signed the painting again on the back, titled it for us and put the date. What a great memory. Can't wait to get it framed and hung on the wall!

We had a perfect day with Herod and I would highly recommend him to anyone! :)

No one seems to mention the cost of the COSOL or the Herad tours for some reason; what is the cost?

No one seems to mention the cost of the COSOL or the Herad tours for some reason; what is the cost?

We paid $50.00 per person for Herod. Worth every penny. He pays for all the admissions, brings lots of drinks, both regular and alcoholic, buys bananas, fish cakes from "Big Momma" and is very pleasant to be with. He is well know around the Island, people were always waving to him.

No one seems to mention the cost of the COSOL or the Herad tours for some reason; what is the cost?

Cosol was only $40 per person and we only had 4 people in our van, Yellowbird (his brother) only had 5 people in his van. We did the exact same things that Herod did, except our group opted out of the beach because we were all tired.

We just got back from our cruise and did the tour with Cosol. Sounds very similar to Herod. One thing that impressed me about Cosol was that during a stop to have my picture taken with a Boa (wrapped around my neck!) I started haggeling with a guy that was selling bird feeders carved from coconuts. I was ready to pay and Cosol stepped in, motioned lower with his hand. The guy selling was clearly not happy and said somethng to Cosol in whatever the island language is, Cosol turned to me and told me not to buy it, that the guy was over charging me. After we left, Cosol assured me that i could find the same thing at the open air market for less. He was right, I found a much nicer one for less money. He is clearly interested in making sure that his customers have a great time, everywhere we stopped, he paid for entry fees and food.

A group of us from the Sea Princess were with Cosol on March 3. It was the best tour and day. From reading the other posts it seems a good descripion of his tour has already been outlined so will not repeat it here.

Just want to say that for $40 he gave us almost an 8 hour tour. He is very personable, wants you to have a good time, and is willing to deviate from his set tour if there is some place else you would rather go.

I do not know Herod so cannot comment but I can say you will not go wrong with Cosol.

He also likes apples and I know he would appreciate any that you give him.

I'll be sailing on the Serenade on April 29th. Can you tell me how you booked Cosol or Herod's tour.

Priscilla

I'll be sailing on the Serenade on April 29th. Can you tell me how you booked Cosol or Herod's tour.

Priscilla,

We emailed at: Cosol966@hotmail.com to make our initial inquiry and heard back within 48 hours. I'm not sure about Herod.

Have a great cruise...you'll be getting on as we get off...we'll save you some sunshine, okay?

Kathy

We had a 7 hour tour with Cosol last week. It was fabulous. WE did go to the Jalouise beach and it was great snorkeling (has an area roped off as a nature preserve). Although we could have swum at the waterfalls, we didn't we saved it for the beach. (there was road construction so we didn't go to the beach that he usually goes to) His tour was the highlight of our 10 day cruise on the Sun Princess.

I have emailed both tours they seem very similar. One is $10.00 more (no biggie) Herods tour is 1-1 3/4 longer then Cosols (unsure if thats a big deal or not)

 

I am leaning more toward Herods tour because its longer and he is giving me more details about the tour then Cosol. But from what I understand you see basically the same thing....

 

Here is my problem, Herods is stopping to swim/snorkel at Jalousie beach (situated between the two pitons). I cant even find anything at this beach so I don't know if this is a good place or not. Cosol is stopping at Reduit beach and/or Anse chastanet. Both of these beaches seem beautiful and a major St. Lucia attraction. I am worried that if I take Herods tour and stop at Jalouise I will be missing out. Herod also said we can swim at the waterfalls as well (which seems neat, but unsure if it is a original St. Lucia experience or not)

 

Any help would be appreciated.

We took Cosol's tour on April 12th when we came to St. Lucia on the Sun Princess. It was a fantastic tour and worth MORE THAN twice what we paid for it! GO COSOL!

We also were with Cosol (with Yellowbird as our driver) on April 12th and thought it was a great tour. I was stuffed with everything they fed us, saw many beautiful sights, and thought the snorkeling was fantastic. They said that Anse Chastenette (sp?) is the best so I guess I'll have to go back sometime and compare the two. I would definately recommend this tour and these wonderful brothers to everyone. My friends with us all thought I did a great job in picking out what to do also.

:) You can email Herod at hstanislas@hotmail.com or check out his website at Herodstaxi.com

You will not go wrong if you book him. He gives a great tour!! The beach between the Pitons is absolutely gorgeous!

My husband and another couple toured with Herod at the end of March. We had been to St. Lucia previously and went to Reduit Beach but after Herod's tour, we realized that we had missed so much of the island the first time.

I booked Herod via email after reading many excellent recommendations on this board. We were not disappointed and his tour was the highlight of our trip. Herod is exceptionally professional and very knowledgeable about his island. His van is new and he keeps it in spotless condition.

He took us to many sights on the island including a banana plantation, Anse de la Raye, by Canaries, and other villages along the coast. Once to Soufriere, we went to the Torfaille waterfall and botanical gardens, then to the warm waterfall (which we could have stayed at all day), to the drive-in volcano and then to the beach between the Pitons to snorkel. The snorkelling there was the best of our entire cruise (of 8 islands). There were incredible amounts of fish and coral. Fantastic...not to be missed!!

Herod never made us feel that we were rushed in any way and had whatever time we wanted to spend at each location. He made other stops along the way to show us cocoa pods, coffee beans, a boa constrictor and other island sights. He got us back to our ship in great time and even fit in a stop overlooking Marigot Bay on the way back to Castries.

I cannot recommend him high enough. He charged us $50 per person and there were four of us. We paid him $60 each because he paid for all of the entrance fees and snacks from 'Big Mama' and we felt that it was more than worth the price he charged.

If you would like any other details or have any questions, please contact me at depatt@gmail.com.