Oscar isnt exactly Mr low cost

[robbyxoxo]

i know Oscar is like THE man here when it comes to booking private tours in costa rica.......and based on all the reviews here, he does a really good job of pleasing his customers.....but for anyone whos not afraid to wait til they get there to book a tour, Im bettin you can find a way better price from someone else......sounds like Oscar charges an avg of $45 per person....just from the snooping around we did in costa rica, im pretty sure you could land a price for almost half that much if you arent afraid to bargain.....there are tons of drivers willing to do any tour you want and to take you anywhere....especially if you get away from the more organized tours and talk to the drivers who are on their own and workin for themselves.......just a thought for those of you who arent afraid to go out on your own and take a chance.....could easily save $80-100 for a party of 4........nothing against Oscar, but im sure hes not the only nice guy there who knows how to do a tour......its just most of the other cheaper priced guys dont have the website and all that...................Oscar charges more because he can get away with it, since he is still cheaper than the ships prices and people here are more than willing to pay his price.........

[blong2200]

Robby,

 

You and I were on the same cruise Jan. 02 on the Zenith and also in the same Cruise Connection party, but don't know if you remember me or not.

 

I was one of the ones out of our group who booked the tour with Oscar. Believe me when I tell you that was the best $45.00 per person we spend on any shore tour. I don't believe that you could hire anyone who could take you to all the places Oscar took us for the price. We went to the banana plantation, the rain forest, a monkey farm, and we toured alot of out of the way places. He was wonderful and informative and had his vans stocked with Cokes, and beer. He took us downtown to get coffee, showed us how to call home, and even stopped Gail by a shop to get an ice bag for her neck. I can not say enough about him. I would go again in a minute with him and would recommend him to anyone.

 

Beth

[tuggers]

I think it was $45 well spent! We even had an hour+ bost trip that was included. He speaks wonderful English so we all understood the commentary.

 

I'm all for bargaining, but I think sometimes you can be peny wise and pound foolish - we didn't have a lot of time in Limon' and this was a good way to see lots of it with a group of friends. It was a terrific time and I don't think saving $10 a person is worth the chance of NOT finding a good tour and missing out on seeing things we may never get a chance to see again!

 

JMO

 

Hey, Beth! You booked that TA yet?

[sunandsalt]

We were on Oscar's tour on Jan. 20th while on the Brilliance of the Seas cruise. His tour was well worth the price. We were scheduled for tour #1 and #2, but because of flooding, all in our group decided not to chance going to the zip line. Oscar was willing to take us, but he advised it could take 2 hours each way, and there was the chance we might get stuck. So we had an extended tour #1. Definately got our money's worth.

 

I agree with the previous poster, why take a chance to potentially save a couple of bucks. Think how much we all spent to get to Limon!

[Ms. B]

I personally would prefer to arrange my tour in advance with someone who has been highly recommended by others. I would be a bit leary of going off on a tour in a strange country with a person that I knew nothing about. I say pay the extra money per person to go with a reliable, highly recommended guide. You can feel good knowing that you had a wonderful tour and paid significantly less than the ship tour.

[houstontx]

So, how does one contact this Oscar???

I don't see a post that says how to contact him.

Thanks for your assistance......

houstontx

[Driftwoodgal]

Houstontx,

 

I juu st got off the Brilliance and I am checking my emails. If you look through the post on Costa Rica you will see several posts with Oscar's email address as well as his cell phone. I am not at home right now so I can't post it right now. You could do a search on my CC board name and find posts that I have done on Oscar. He will be the highlight of your cruise. I will be home after Feb 10th if you need more information.

[booboo4031]

Here's Oscar's email address:

 

cbrown@costarricense.cr

 

a few people said that they hadn't heard back from them but it seems that their spam filter were blocking the email.

[Driftwoodgal]

Robby,

 

I am sure that you could get a cheaper tour with someone else in port, but sometimes you get what you pay for. I remember that someone posted on the old boards that they booked a tour with someone, that name does still appear on this board, and they were not allowed out of the pier area as the tour guide was not in complience with the local authorities.

 

I will not nickle and dime my tours and waste precious time while I am in port. One last thing Oscar's prices vary depending on what you are doing that day. You might want to compare apples to apples before you make your decision about a tour. All tours are not alike.

[tuggers]

DWgal,

 

I totally agree! After I spend my money for a cruise I want the best tour of the area I can get! I still say it is very easy to be 'penny wise and pound foolish'

about tours. I've learned through the years that pinching pennies is not always the way to go and while I like a bargain as well (or better) than the next person, this is not an area where I take shopping to the extreme!

 

Now, if all you want to do in a foreign country is to go to a beach, then by all means find the cheapest ride you can, but if you are looking to 'experience' a country then the tour from the native person is what you are looking for! JMO!