Questions about Cosol tours

First of all, let me say that I was so pleased with how fast Cosol Tours replied to my email. And I'm sure the tour would be great too, but at $45 per person it works out to $225 for a family of 5. (same rate for children and adults) While I really would like to book the tour I'm wondering if there isn't a cheaper alternative?

Here's an excerpt of the email which I am copying here just in case it helps answer someone elses questions...

The tour fee is US$45 per person. You only pay in cash at the end of the tour. We will be visiting the waterfall, volcano, botanical garden, marigot bay, fishing villages, banana plantation, shopping, beach and snorkling at the Hillton Jalousie hotel that between the Pitons and many more things on the way. I will be paying all the entrance fees. There will be lots to see, lots to do, lots to sample of our local taste on the way, and I will have a cooler with drinks like water, rum punch, local beers and soda. We will be leaving at 8:30am and I will be waiting for you by the security booth, ask to show you the way to the security booth which is next to the taxi stand and I will have a sign which says "COSOL" at the "Lobby". Bring along your camera, swimsuit and snorkling gears.

What are the entrance fees?

What did you do for lunch?

If you took kids, did they enjoy the tour?

The other concern I have is that will be the day when noone wants to go off the ship and i will (once again!) be evil dictator-mom dragging everyone off to explore. So, maybe I should just wait till we get to St. Lucia and see what everyone's in the mood to do?

:confused:

Forgot one more question.....can you swim at the waterfall? We'd prefer that to swimming at the beach.

We just returned from the Serenade yesterday. We toured with Yellow Bird who is actually Cosol's brother. The tour was definitely the highlight of our trip. The brothers were great and very friendly.

Swimming at the waterfall can happen.....we only stopped there for about 25 minutes. There were a few girls who were going to go in the water and they never made it in because it was too cold. Not sure if you children would go in due to the temperature of the water.

Lunch.....didn't really eat lunch. On the way you sample a lot of the local foods---bananas, bread, johnny cakes, fish cakes, cookies etc. They also have unlimited water, sodas, beer and rum punch.

The beach they take you to is AMAZING!!! It is actually one of Oprah's favorite places to visit. I don't think you could have asked for a better beach.

As far as the cost I think it was worth it, but I can see your point about having to pay for five. We were only a party of two. Everyone that took the tour was raving about it so I am sure you would enjoy it.

Let me know if you have any other questions!!

double post!!

also have you considered leaving the children on the boat while you tour? A lot of families did that and were very happy with the activities for the children.

Triple post....sorry very impatient!

I toured with Cosol and it was well worth the cost. He is a lot less expensive than any of the cruiseline tours you could take - and you will see more of the island.

My wife and I also just returned from the Serenade of the Seas which stop at 5 of the islands. We did 4 tours in 5 days and Cosol's tour was our favorite even though it was the 2nd cheapest tour we did. Our guide was Adrian who is Cosol's cousin. There were 4 van loads of people (the vans were relatively new and had great air conditioning) and we probably were with Tracey980 even though we did not meet.

IMHO, Cosol's tour is where you will get the most bang for your buck. In addition to seeing a lot of great attractions, you will have a good time. Cosol is simply different from the other tours we took. He takes a lot of pride in his island and wants to show as much of it to you as possible. He's more than a tour guide. He goes out of his way to make sure you are having a good time. Even though he was not driving our van, he came back to us at nearly every stop.

At one of the stops, my wife bought some necklaces. When Cosol saw them he said, "Thanks for supporting our economy."

We ate at the waterfall. That's where we had the Johnny Cakes and fish. They make sauce out of banana ketchup and hot sauce which tasted great on the fish (it sounds awful, but I loved it!) We stopped and got long narrow loaves of bread that were still warm. We also ate bananas at the spot they were grown. As far as entrance fees, we paid nothing. That was all handled by Cosol.

In the afternoon we stopped at a resort called Jalousie. This resort is located between the Pitons which provides a nice gentle beach area complete with grass huts on the beach. My wife and I decided to do some snorkeling at the base of the Piton on the right. We walked right off of the shore and was able to see a variety of tangs, lunar wrasses, a porcupine puffer, several large sponges, as well as some soft and hard corals. Since the water closer to the ropes is as deep as 25 feet, it is the closest experience I've had to scuba diving. In four cruises, this is the best snorkeling that I've done.

I felt that the $45 per person we paid were the best bargain of our cruise. I was more than glad to give him an additional tip at the end of the tour. St. Lucia is one of the most picturesque islands in the southern Caribbean.

One last thing--our captain decided to leave a little early so we could do a 360 at the Pitons. The view of the Pitons from the ship were breathtaking!

If you want to know more, just ask!

Thanks for the great replies :) I'm feeling MUCH better about the cost now. Sounds like everyone loved their tour.

We could leave the kids onboard...but I'd prefer they came with us.

With two teenage boys food is always an important question! Good to know there will be some available along the way. The fish and banana ketchup/hot sauce sounds yummy!

What time did you return to the ship? Were you worried about getting back on time?

Is Jalousie Resort close to Anse Chastenet? We have stayed there (a million years ago).

I might add to my earlier post that we met Cosol at 8:30am and he had us back to the ship a little after 3:00pm. He keeps on top of ship schedules so he knows exactly when you need to return.

Also, I believe Cosol's real name is Nereus Francis. So when you get email from him, you'll know who it is.

I'm not sure if Jalousie is close to Anse Chastenet or not. I can tell you that it is located on the shore right in between the 2 pitons. It's a beautiful setting.

One more thing...if you or your family get car sick, you might want take Dramamine or Bonine before the tour. There are NO straight roads on St. Lucia accept for the few blocks while going through town.

Hope this helps!

Doug

Thanks for the additional info...especially the part about car sickness. I certainly do remember those VERY narrow ,winding roads. My daughter can get car sick on a striaght road if the drive is long, so we'll be sure to give her some medicine before setting off. Her brothers claim she does it so she can get the window seat LOL

First of all, let me say that I was so pleased with how fast Cosol Tours replied to my email. And I'm sure the tour would be great too, but at $45 per person it works out to $225 for a family of 5. (same rate for children and adults) While I really would like to book the tour I'm wondering if there isn't a cheaper alternative?

 

Check out Cosol's webiste, it states there is special rates for children. You should inquire about the cost.

I agree with Doug's comments. Great tour!!!!!!!!!! My only issue was that it was alot of time in the van... but... that was mostly because we had 5 islands in 5 days... with all day excursions planned. It was just a bit much. If we had a sea day in the middle... things would have looked different I am sure. But this tour was a great value and an awesome way to see all of the highlights of this beautiful island in one tour!!!!!!!!! St Lucia is by far the most beautiful island we have been to.

Check out Cosol's webiste, it states there is special rates for children. You should inquire about the cost.

I looked at the website www.cosoltours.com and saw the price per person is $40 not $45 but I did not see any info about children's rates. Am I looking at the correct site? :confused:

I also would like to know if we are on a private tour or part of a group. Because, for example, we might perfer to go to a snorkelling beach while others want a swimming beach.

I guess I should just email him. Will keep you posted.

Cosol has a new and improved website. You'll find it here: www.cosol-tours.com

This sight has a few pictures as well as the new pricing. I felt that it was worth more than we paid.

Cosol has a new and improved website. You'll find it here: www.cosol-tours.com

This sight has a few pictures as well as the new pricing. I felt that it was worth more than we paid.

I also would like to know if we are on a private tour or part of a group. Because, for example, we might perfer to go to a snorkelling beach while others want a swimming beach.

He quotes a separate all-in price if you ask for a private tour. We have a private tour booked with him for 4 of us (in 2 weeks time) as my sister is disabled and worried about either holding people up if she's part of a larger tour group, or going to places that won't be suitable for her. Booking a private tour has taken that worry away. The cost for us is $270 which I suppose is a lot compared to the per person price, but Cosol emailed us his itinerary and we we were able to choose what we wanted to do - spend more time at somewhere and less at another.

I also would like to know if we are on a private tour or part of a group. Because, for example, we might perfer to go to a snorkelling beach while others want a swimming beach.

He quotes a separate all-in price if you ask for a private tour. We have a private tour booked with him for 4 of us (in 2 weeks time) as my sister is disabled and worried about either holding people up if she's part of a larger tour group, or going to places that won't be suitable for her. Booking a private tour has taken that worry away. The cost for us is $270 which I suppose is a lot compared to the per person price, but Cosol emailed us his itinerary and we we were able to choose what we wanted to do - spend more time at somewhere and less at another. This

I also would like to know if we are on a private tour or part of a group. Because, for example, we might perfer to go to a snorkelling beach while others want a swimming beach.

He quotes a separate all-in price if you ask for a private tour. We have a private tour booked with him for 4 of us (in 2 weeks time) as my sister is disabled and worried about either holding people up if she's part of a larger tour group, or going to places that won't be suitable for her. Booking a private tour has taken that worry away. The cost for us is $270 which I suppose is a lot compared to the per person price, but Cosol emailed us his itinerary and we we were able to choose what we wanted to do - spend more time at somewhere and less at another. This cost would

I also would like to know if we are on a private tour or part of a group. Because, for example, we might perfer to go to a snorkelling beach while others want a swimming beach.

He quotes a separate all-in price if you ask for a private tour. We have a private tour booked with him for 4 of us (in 2 weeks time) as my sister is disabled and worried about either holding people up if she's part of a larger tour group, or going to places that won't be suitable for her. Booking a private tour has taken that worry away. The cost for us is $270 which I suppose is a lot compared to the per person price, but Cosol emailed us his itinerary and we we were able to choose what we wanted to do - spend more time at somewhere and less at another. This cost would seem less if there were more of you on the private tour I suppose.

We used this tour company previous week, and was with YellowBird. We had a fantastic private tour and it was great. Don't forget to bring them apples - they just love them. I am sure that you will not be sorry - and take it easy on the rum punch - its very potent. -

We've booked with Cosol and I decided to take a peek back at the website and got the old site instead of the new and improved one, which made me think something was not right. Glad to know I was looking at old news........he should probably get it disabled to avoid confusion.

Note to self to pack up some snacks! Is there any place to buy some snacks on land before we start the tour (remembering it is frowned upon to take food off the ship)?

another stupid double post..........grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

We've booked with Cosol and I decided to take a peek back at the website and got the old site instead of the new and improved one, which made me think something was not right. Glad to know I was looking at old news........he should probably get it disabled to avoid confusion.

Note to self to pack up some snacks! Is there any place to buy some snacks on land before we start the tour (remembering it is frowned upon to take food off the ship)?

No one will check taking food off the ship. Mostly fruits they are interested in. Most ships have luncheon meats at breakfast for the European guests so you can make some sandwiches if you want. We took some cakes and donuts for an excursion on Antigua just to have a snack between breakfast and lunch. Really wish we had done this for Cosol tour. If you want to bring bag snacks, I would buy them before you board the ship in San Juan or wherever.

We've booked with Cosol and I decided to take a peek back at the website and got the old site instead of the new and improved one, which made me think something was not right. Glad to know I was looking at old news........he should probably get it disabled to avoid confusion.

Note to self to pack up some snacks! Is there any place to buy some snacks on land before we start the tour (remembering it is frowned upon to take food off the ship)?

No one will check taking food off the ship. Mostly fruits they are interested in. Most ships have luncheon meats at breakfast for the European guests so you can make some sandwiches if you want. We took some cakes and donuts for an excursion on Antigua just to have a snack between breakfast and lunch. Really wish we had done this for Cosol tour. If you want to bring bag snacks, I would buy them before you board the ship in San Juan or wherever.

Yes, Cosol does respond to emails quickly. $45 is a great price for the tour. Do not think that the amount of food that you taste will hold you over. We bought additional fish since they were very small. This is not a complaint--just a fact. Personally, I thought that the rum punch was disgusting, but there is vanilla and chocolate for a reason!! I was disappointed that I requested Cosol himself as the driver in 3 emails and he ignored the request in his responses. We instead had Yellowbird who was introduced as his brother. I think that I would have enjoyed it much more with Cosol. Yellowbird was a nice guy, but after meeting Cosol I saw that he was the one with great personality.