rjet4 Posted December 14, 2009 #26 Share Posted December 14, 2009 We just did this tour 5 days ago and it was worth every penny. Yes it is lots of in and out of the van, but lots of great sites in the 7 hours. We were at the beach for 1.5 hours with the water taxi ride. I would do this tour again. We had a group of 14 that booked off the NCL ship excursion and they were robbed at knife and gun point. It can be a scary place, but was our favourite and would do it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sylindersam Posted December 15, 2009 #27 Share Posted December 15, 2009 Wife & I took this tour last wk. Lucky to be in the van with Cosol the man. Has 7 white vans; all clean as a whistle. Very fast paced. Vans move as a block but not strictly together; they get to each place a few minutes apart. He has an 8th van (blue) that carries drinks and was always there and waiting (how'd they do that?). Continuous commentary about what we were passing, what was next and island stories and history. Cosol on the phone constantly in Creol checking and keeping things going, stopping and paying his vendors thru the window. Banana Plantation, scenic overlooks, breakfast break (isand finger foods), volcano cauldera, little waterfall, boat ride to snorkel beach, lunch (big hot island bread & cheese, afternoon cookies. If you are a fuddy-duddy and don't want to go with the mood, stay on the ship. You will either have a good time or get mad at how happy they are. It was $65 per. He told us a story about some Euro folks who thought they weren't treated special enough so they didn't pay. Imo they whad to be jerks with attitude. No body in our van was unhappy with anything. There were souvenier sellers at every stop but just say no thanks and they moved on. All in all EXCELLENT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdevriesgr Posted December 15, 2009 #28 Share Posted December 15, 2009 If your going to St Lucia I would recommend the Cosol tour it was one of the best tours we had .Not only do they give you a great tour but they give you lunch all you want to drink and take you to a great beach. :Dhttp://www.cosol-tours.com/ The pictures are 1 the beach they take you to....2 The waterfall at the national park and gardens ..3 Our guide at the banana plantation Our Baptist guide and his son. you will really enjoy this excursion it is on of the best ....This was my first trip on the Dawn and this was the the best excersion I ever had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeno Posted December 15, 2009 #29 Share Posted December 15, 2009 Well worth it. Try and make sure you get with Cosol himself. The other drivers are good but not as good as he is We had his brother Yellow Bird and he was great! Wonderful day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeno Posted December 15, 2009 #30 Share Posted December 15, 2009 Cosol is a great tour operator and is very high energy. He delivered the tour exactly as promised. With that being said please be sure that you understand that much of the tour is spent in a van. If you are in ANY way sensitive to car sickness or motion sickness please think carefully about this tour. I wish I had. Everyone in our van was sick by the time we got to the end. It has nothing to do with the driver it is just the terrain. I was not impressed with the beach we went to either. We are going to St. Lucia again in February and this time I will only see it by boat. I am only speaking from my personal experience! We had Yellow Bird and were very imopressed with his driving. My husband is very prone to motion sickness but had no problem, due in part to his very professional driving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eetonaee Posted December 15, 2009 #31 Share Posted December 15, 2009 Hopefully this link works - look at pages 7 through 10 and you will see photos of our Cosol tour in November. The Cosol guides are very professional and you get a real taste of the island http://neilloomer.smugmug.com/Travel/Caribbean-Princess-November/10270263_Q2TNL#709038799_hqrYa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pomperaugrr Posted December 16, 2009 #32 Share Posted December 16, 2009 We did Cosol's tour two years in a row. It was that good. As was stated, the drivers are top notch. I was impressed with the cleanliness and the good mechanical condition of the vans. On those twisted and hilly roads, you will be happy not to hear the brakes squeaking. St. Lucia is a beautiful island and Cosol's tour is a great and safe way to see it. There were some vendors at some stops, but they were not pushy, like one will find in many Caribbean islands. We actually had to approach them. There is some van travel, but there are lots of stops in between, so you don't feel like it is a long ride, despite the distances covered. The food and rum punch is very good. This was easily one of our favorite general island tours in the Caribbean. Cosol (Francis Nerius) is at the terminal and greets you, then directs you onto your van. He has definitely put together a great tour package for the price. Both times, we happily tipped our driver $20 after the tour, they were that good. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellyrobin Posted December 17, 2009 Author #33 Share Posted December 17, 2009 We are booked on Cosol tours in jan. ereryone seems to love it. Maybe it is the rum punch.Can anyone tell me if tere is somesnorkeling along the way? i thought i read it somewhere. Well if we don't it's no big deal because ithink were snorkeling inevery other port.I'm feeling tipsy just thinking about the rum punch. When in Jan.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellyrobin Posted December 17, 2009 Author #34 Share Posted December 17, 2009 When in Jan.? We'll be there on 1/28. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojo2rusty Posted December 18, 2009 #35 Share Posted December 18, 2009 I was on the Cosol tour a week ago today 12-10-09. It is worth every dime. We had to pleasure of actually having Cosol as our guide. We had a fun group and Cosol just added to the fun. We saw a big part of the island. Cosol grew up on the island so has a great deal of knowledge. You will not be disappointed. You will go to a banana plantation, and of course you get to sample the banana's. Claudia provides a great sample of local snacks on one of the stops and as mentioned in another post the HOT cheese bread is to die for. This bread is so pipping hot when we got it you couldn't hold it in your hand. Near the end of the tour Cosol will take you to a water taxi that takes you to a beach for some beach fun. You will have to wade out into the water a little to get into the taxi so make sure you either have shoes you can get wet or ones you can take off to wade out. Would recommend shorts or pants you can roll up also. Also the beach you go to is a little rocky so you might want some water shoes. You will have an amazing time with Cosol. I will also add, the vans are clean and in very good condition and the AC works! Unlike some island tours I have been on you wonder if the vehicle will make it. Not these, you can tell they are well maintained inside and out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdevriesgr Posted December 18, 2009 #36 Share Posted December 18, 2009 We had a great time you get plenty to eat and Drink and a great Tour you do not pay till the end of the tour:D http://community.webshots.com/album/575961173xFvziw check out the photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jen1jmu Posted December 20, 2009 #37 Share Posted December 20, 2009 So I see in everyone's reviews that you go on a boat ride to view the Pitons. Is that still part of the tour? Maybe I'm not looking carefully, but I don't see any mention of a boat ride on Cosol's website. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeno Posted December 20, 2009 #38 Share Posted December 20, 2009 We took this tour earlier this month. The boat ride is the water taxi to the beach. You travel right along the shore below the pitons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenny wren Posted December 24, 2009 #39 Share Posted December 24, 2009 We were lucky enough to do this trip with Cosol himself and two other passengers.....so just the four of us and Cosol...absolutely brilliant...I got the recommendations off this site and booked prior to us going via his email address. Nothing to pay until we returned to the ship so no worries about losing your money. It was just the best day of our 22 night cruise !! wonderful ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nceyeguy Posted December 24, 2009 #40 Share Posted December 24, 2009 We took this tour on our Ruby Thanksgiving cruise last month. We had Baptiste (sp) as our driver, although Cosol was in another van traveling with ours and one other. It was indeed one of the highlights of our cruise, as we got to see so much of St Lucia, and the stories behind it. We have taken ship tours here before, but nothing like this. Highlights for us were the waterfalls, the multiple views of the Pitons, water taxi to relax at the beach, bat cave, volcano Ok but it sure stinks, food, drinks, warm bread, banana education, coconut milk, fishing vilages, just too many to even list. My advice is to do it. The price is very right for what you get in service and education about the Island of St. Lucia. Ruby Princess 11/24/09-12/04/09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingandcruising Posted December 29, 2009 #41 Share Posted December 29, 2009 Great tour....i agree with all the postings. Very well organized, there must have been about 100 people (10 vans) the day we were there....3 ships in port. Great food, and the driver was great too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cary1306 Posted December 30, 2009 #42 Share Posted December 30, 2009 interested in going after reading all good reviews. what is the email to cosol to book going in january. whendo you pay him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
English_in_Spain Posted December 30, 2009 #43 Share Posted December 30, 2009 interested in going after reading all good reviews. what is the email to cosol to book going in january. whendo you pay him? His email address is cosol966@hotmail.com and you pay him at the end of the tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBM Posted December 30, 2009 #44 Share Posted December 30, 2009 We booked our December 8th COSOL tour based on this board. It had to be the very best island tour (private or ship related) that we have ever been on. Our driver was Baptiste and he was great. Vans are cool and comfortable and the 'drink' van following behind was awesome...great rum punch, beer, soda and water. The stops we made were all very interesting and the food was delicious. At one point we could have snorkeled but we chose to have a longer boat ride close to the Pitons. Some bathroom breaks were $1, others no charge. The tour was easy walking, nothing strenuous. The $60 charge was well worth every penny---cash is requested and not collected until the end of the tour. We did tip Baptiste. COSOL, the owner, was very visible throughout (even though he was not our driver). He kept watch and made sure everyone was happy. I highly recommend this tour... www.cosoltours.com !! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBM Posted December 30, 2009 #45 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Seems I posted my COSOL comments as a new thread---wrong spot! So here I am in the proper spot. We loved the tour and would highly recommend it. Our driver was Baptiste and he was great....vans were clean and comfy....stops made were all interesting and the food we tasted was delicious...easy walking, not stenuous....lots of twists and turns so may not be for you if you are prone to car sickness...could have snorkeled but we chose a longer boat ride in front of the Pitons...Cosol was very visible throughout the day making sure everyone was happy....the 'happy blue van' with the yummy rum punch, beer, soda and water was always available.....some restrooms charged $1 others were free....$60 fee was collected at the end of the day....we tipped Baptiste, for a job well done with lots of good humor, in addition to the fee....highly recommend COSOL tours!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stipmom Posted December 30, 2009 #46 Share Posted December 30, 2009 JBM, did some people snorkel and some choose the longer boat ride or did everone have to do the same thing? I have booked Cosol but I am concerned about the wading in the water to get on the beach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBM Posted December 31, 2009 #47 Share Posted December 31, 2009 Actually we misunderstood our driver....we thought the snorkeling area was off the beach where the van parked....it was not, it was the boat ride past the Pitons and the water was great there for snorkeling. If you consider booking, ask Cosol in an email about the snorkeling. I think the boat would have docked and some could have snorkeled and others stayed at the beach...am I'm thinking it might have been a resort type area--?? not sure tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Drop Posted December 31, 2009 #48 Share Posted December 31, 2009 We took Cosol's Tour the first week of December and it was sooooo worth it! We were fortunate enough to have Cosol himself as our guide, which made it that much more fun. He is an island native so he knows alot about the island and almost everyone on it. He is very interesting and entertaining when he narrates as he drives around the island. There is also a mobile bar which we named "The Blue Bus" and it stops every time you do. It carries the best rum punch - Cosol's own recipe, and lots of beer, water and sodas if that's what makes you happy. You do lots of riding in the van, but the vans are very comfy and cool and you make plenty of stops for picture taking and souvenirs. One of the things that really impressed me is how much he gives back to his community. The children there don't have free buses to school, so Cosol takes several of them to school each morning and in turn they clean his vans. He also uses locals to make the impressive spread of local treats and delicious hot bread with cheese. He makes stops at different locations and gives people the opportunity to shop for souvenirs or take pictures with snakes, etc. If you want a tour with a taste of St. Lucia with a flare from one of its own, you need to take this tour and I promise you will not be disappointed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggie27 Posted December 31, 2009 #49 Share Posted December 31, 2009 Because of what I have read and researched, I just booked him for our cruise in Feb. We will be in St. Lucia Thursday the 18th. There is 10-18 of us - using him. I have to give him final count the week before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted December 31, 2009 #50 Share Posted December 31, 2009 When Cosol takes you to the beach do you have to wade in the water to get there-we are not going to snorkel or swim. Also can you change at the beach? Doe he give you the option of ending the tour right before the beach? One last question are there chairs and umbrellas at the beach or least some shade. Thanks a lot, Rodan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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