excursions in Panama and Costa Rica

[vmcpa]

Will be sailing on the Freedom in May and would like suggestions on shore excursions.

[golfadj]

Go to port of call threads but would highly recommend my friend mario for panama

[FlaBubba]

Cozumel, go to Chankanab park, its four miles from the ship, in fact you can see the ship from their beach. You can get there by cab. Park entrance fee gets you the Sea Lion show a beer and a T- shirt. Also you see the Dolpins and Manatees. Snorkle off their beach, drink, eat and have a good time.

Costa Rica, All about Limo is a nice bus tour with a stop at a wild life preserve and a ride on the river. Then off to a banana plantation which was really interesting.

Panama, We did the Embera indian village trip by bus and dugout canoe. This was the highlight of the tours. enjoy.

[vacruizer]

I usually go for independent tours but opted for ship tours in these two ports. Panama, especially, is a really a rough place around the immediate port. Once you are into the countryside it's beautiful but traffic problems are common so you want to make sure you have PLENTY of time to get back to the port. Another common practice in Panama is for locals to block the roads and demand payment to pass through.

 

Costa Rica is one of my favorite places. We did the Bocuare Haven tour through Carnival. We had a small group of maybe 17 or 18 people total on the tour. If you are at all into nature and birdwatching this is a wonderful tour on a private family ranch in the foothills of the mountains. It's easy trail walking - not strenuous at all, and our guide was incredibily knowledgable about the local flora and fauna. It's one of my favorite excursions of all time and the lunch the family served us was wonderful.

 

In Panama we did the Two Oceans by Railroad which was a much bigger excursion but each train car had it's own guide so it seemed more personal. We took a one hour train ride along the canal to the Pacific, then took a short bus ride to the Miraflores locks. We got there just in time to see a large ship in the locks. It was really fascinating to see. Then a short tour for some sightseeing and photo stops (Bridge of the Americas and Ft. Amador) before we boarded the train to head back. I really enjoyed it. The train is really nice - if only Amtrak were half as nice as this train.

 

We originally considered the ferry through the locks but decided we didn't want to pay that kind of money to only do two sets of locks and not do a full transit. Will save that for a cruise that actually transits one of these years.

[golfadj]

Cozumel, go to Chankanab park, its four miles from the ship, in fact you can see the ship from their beach. You can get there by cab. Park entrance fee gets you the Sea Lion show a beer and a T- shirt. Also you see the Dolpins and Manatees. Snorkle off their beach, drink, eat and have a good time.

Costa Rica, All about Limo is a nice bus tour with a stop at a wild life preserve and a ride on the river. Then off to a banana plantation which was really interesting.

Panama, We did the Embera indian village trip by bus and dugout canoe. This was the highlight of the tours. enjoy.

 

We did the indian village tour with Mario. Collectively we thought the Indians were the most unhappy group of people we ever saw. After our tour we can understand why they are unhappy.

 

What did you think of the Indians you met?

[tess51]

Just last week, we took the Charlie Soto OKey Dokey A-1 tour in Costa Rica. Enjoyed it very much. Rain forest, banana plantation, canal boat tour and lunch at a resort.

 

Had friends in Panama who gave us a private tour so can't help there other than we enjoyed old Panama City, and the Miraflore locks.

[F22Smitty]

 

In Panama we did the Two Oceans by Railroad which was a much bigger excursion but each train car had it's own guide so it seemed more personal. We took a one hour train ride along the canal to the Pacific, then took a short bus ride to the Miraflores locks. We got there just in time to see a large ship in the locks. It was really fascinating to see. Then a short tour for some sightseeing and photo stops (Bridge of the Americas and Ft. Amador) before we boarded the train to head back. I really enjoyed it. The train is really nice - if only Amtrak were half as nice as this train.

 

Two Oceans by Railroad was a great relaxing tour and you get to see the whole canal, plus some of Panama City.

 

In Costa Rica we went White Water Rafting and had a blast. Very exhilarating. The only bad part was the hour bus ride each way.

[sharonh1885]

We took a ferry boat through a couple of the lock of the Panama Canal. The tour was through Carnival. Thank goodness it was as we were those people running for the ship at the end of the day. Transportation through the canal is not timed for Carnival rather for profit of the canal authorities and cargo takes priority over the ferry. When we arrived back at the port, they had already shut down the escalator and my handicapped DH had to climb the stairs and run to the ship. He was in so much pain the next day he could barely walk. Getting back to the ship aboard the bus had as many delays as the ferry going through the locks. I'd be hesitant to take a private tour in Panama if you plan on getting too far out of the port area.

[DiamondBill102]

We were on the Freedom in Jan. In Costa Rica we did the Okey Dokey Tour. Did Zip lining and lunch, Banana plantation and river boat ride....this was by far one of the BEST tours we have done. Our tour guy Ray was AWESOME.

If you decide to book this I would suggest you ask for Ray.

 

In Panama we used My Friend Mario. We did a Fort (sorry forgot the name of the fort) a walk through the rain forest and went to the Panama Canal and watch some ships pass through. Highly recommend this tour as well.

 

Please let us know when you get back what tours you did and how you liked them.

[DiamondBill102]

We took a ferry boat through a couple of the lock of the Panama Canal. The tour was through Carnival. Thank goodness it was as we were those people running for the ship at the end of the day. Transportation through the canal is not timed for Carnival rather for profit of the canal authorities and cargo takes priority over the ferry. When we arrived back at the port, they had already shut down the escalator and my handicapped DH had to climb the stairs and run to the ship. He was in so much pain the next day he could barely walk. Getting back to the ship aboard the bus had as many delays as the ferry going through the locks. I'd be hesitant to take a private tour in Panama if you plan on getting too far out of the port area.

 

 

Sharonh I don't understand. You said the tour was THROUGH Carnival but you still had to run for the ship? If it was with Carnival they would have to wait for you.

[miched]

Save your money and stay on board. Most of those tours are over priced and not worth the time.

[DiamondBill102]

Save your money and stay on board. Most of those tours are over priced and not worth the time.

 

 

Miched how can you say that? What is the sense of taking a cruise if you going to stay on the ship? And to be able to see the Panama Canal as a ship passes is truly an amazing site. I think it cost us $100.00 for the Panama canal...visit a Fort with tons of history and a rain forest. I don't know where you are from but we don't see those things to often in New York.

 

As far as Costa Rica where we went zip lining we had a blast. Nothing like being with friends and doing something for the first time. These excursions are what makes memories.

[kelligirl]

Save your money and stay on board. Most of those tours are over priced and not worth the time.

 

Unfortunately, we almost did this in Panama. We ended up taking the Carnival tour Portobelo and Canal Tour. I have to say, seeing the Panama Canal in action was the highlight of our cruise. Visiting the old pirate city of Portobelo was incredible as well. We walked over to the liquor store on our own, bought popsicles and beer and talked to the locals. For a ship-sponsored tour, we all were pleasantly surprised.

 

So please, by all means get off the ship and see Panama!

[golfadj]

It would be silly to travel to panama and not see the canal. Incredible especially since it was built 100 years ago without the equipment used today.

[NCTribeFan]

Well, we can't really tell you what you would enjoy, can we? We can tell you what we did and whether we enjoyed it, but we don't know what sort of excursions you'd like.

 

I second the suggestion of doing a lot of reading on the two POC boards. That's always where I start my research. If someone on my roll call has been to the port before, I get their opinions.

 

Once I find something I think sounds good, I check Trip Advisor, and go to the company's website and do some reading there.

 

I also contact the operator with any questions I have before I book.

 

Having said all that, let me say that when we were on Miracle last December, we toured Panama with My Friend Mario and Costa Rica with Charlie Soto. Both were excellent.

 

But the Panamanian excursion had to be one of the best I've ever taken. It was excellent. Had it not been for some of our fellow travelers, it would have been perfect.

 

If you'd like, you can click on my name and search the threads I've started. I write thorough reviews after my cruises and covered the excursions in detail (with pics).

 

But, again, just because I thought it was wonderful doesn't mean someone else will. It's just one person's opinion.

[CeleBrat]

We did the indian village tour with Mario. Collectively we thought the Indians were the most unhappy group of people we ever saw. After our tour we can understand why they are unhappy.

 

What did you think of the Indians you met?

 

Just last week, we took the Charlie Soto OKey Dokey A-1 tour in Costa Rica. Enjoyed it very much. Rain forest, banana plantation, canal boat tour and lunch at a resort.

 

Had friends in Panama who gave us a private tour so can't help there other than we enjoyed old Panama City, and the Miraflore locks.

 

We will be sailing the Miracle, leaving tomorrow, doing these exact tours. I'll be posting a review when I return.

 

CeleBrat

[racingraysswimmom]

We were on the Miracle March 20 cruise and visited Panama, Costa Rica, and Belize.

I found the best information on the Ports Board and with recommendations from previous cruisers, we did our excursions independently.

 

In Panama we did myfriendMario. We went to the Embera Indian Village, hiked to a waterfall (20 min each way and involved some rock climbing), and then we went to the Canal and saw a Celebrity ship go thru the locks.

My only comment is that you must watch the time carefully. We made it back to the ship by a hair. However, b/c of daylight savings time, there was a 2 hour difference between ship time and island time which screwed things up for many tours.

 

In Costa Rica we did JJ Tours. Again the 2 hour difference was confusing as we got off the ship at 5AM Island time or 7AM Ship time. Our tour was fantastic and JJ does a great job. We did the Veragua Rainforest and then the Tort. Canal. We also stopped for lunch at a restaurant on a beach and for coffee shopping at a grocery store. The aerial tram at the Rainforest and seeing all the wildlife esp. at the Canal were highlights for our group. We highly rec. JJ.

 

In Belize we took a water taxi to Caye Caulker Island and spent the day at the Split. We rented beach chairs and an umbrella and had a lovely lunch/drinks at the nearby restaurant. We rented snorkel gear from a boat docked by the restaurant for $2.50 per person. We snorkeled right around the dock/pier area. For serious snorkelers I would rec. a tour to go out farther by the reefs. This was just enough for the kids/adults to sample. They saw lots of fish including a seahorse/starfish right in the area.

 

Hope this helps.

[Janan]

Will be sailing on the Freedom in May and would like suggestions on shore excursions.

Really when in May if it's the 8th come join our roll call! We'll be doing the 6-1 limon highlights thru Greenway tours, the Aerial tram in Panama and the Isla passion via twister in Cozumel, figured we would do something different here...Costa Rica we decided to go with an independent because there were so many positive reviews and they advertise here on CC....Panama we wanted to do the two oceans by railroad but everything I've read says it isn't reliable (train keeps breaking down!:eek:)

 

Hi Celebrat, Back to your cruising ways (and those reviews!)

 

Andy

[sunlover5]

DHLexpress102 totally agree. We did the Charlie Soto tour in Costa Rica and we also had Ray. To this day that cruise has been our favorite. Isn't Ray great??? We did the banana plantation, toured a farm, the canal ride. He then took us to a grocery store to experience that. My DH did waverunners the day before and his back was hurting. Ray personally took us to a drug store and explained DH needed motrin. Absolutely fabulous!! We had 18 of us from our roll call. He was so attentive to an elderly couple also. Just a great guy!!

In Panama we did the canal ferry trip booked through Carnival. We are so glad we did. We were there on a Holy day so canal traffic was slow, which was great for us. It was amazing touching the sides of the canals and having pictures of that. I thought I was going to "hate" it, but DH wanted to do it. So glad we did. The bus ride was not bad to the canal for us. We made it back in time to even shop a little at the port.

[cjjack]

Two Oceans by Railroad was a great relaxing tour and you get to see the whole canal, plus some of Panama City.

 

In Costa Rica we went White Water Rafting and had a blast. Very exhilarating. The only bad part was the hour bus ride each way.

We are going on the Freedom in June and were considering the rafting with Charlie Soto. We have a 10 and 8 yo. Do you think the rafting would be safe for them? They are excellent swimmers, but afraid of them falling out of the raft and getting hurt. Any detailed info on this tour would be most helpful as I cannot seem to find other reviews on this. Thank you.