Puntarenas - private tour opertor ??

[triplejs]

hi to all, Jan 23, 2013, Panama Canal, Island Princess -

 

looking into private tour in Puntarenas.

 

any cruiser experiences with Arenas Travel ???

 

thx triplejs

[triplejs]

bump

[kcscrapper]

Good morning -- I haven't heard of the operator you mention and you can easily see whom I suggest be avoided! -- the responsive offering I make in this reply, is to suggest you check Trip Advisor - both in the site information and in the forum. Over this last ordeal, it has become my impression that Cruise Critic is good for ship information, Trip Advisor is better for land and shore information.

[adventurenerd]

We want to share our experience in Puntarenas as we had a wonderful time there.

 

We wanted to explore Carara national forest to see many animals and birds. Vic was the perfect person for that since he is based in the Carara and very knowledgeable Naturalist.

 

We started as soon as the ship docked at the port since many animals are most active early in the morning. We wore long sleeves and long pants and good trekking shoes to go little bid deeper into the forest. Mid December was end of rainy season and the ground was not so wet. We did not have any difficulty walking in the forest. We saw Capuchin monkeys, scarlet macaws, ferdelance snake, leaf cutter ants, bullet ants, toucans, humming birds, agouti, and many other animals and birds and also many fauna of the jungle.

 

Vic explained about animals and birds and eco system of Costa Rica as we explored the jungle. On our drive back to the ship he quizzed us on the different animals and general biology of the Jungle and things that we had learned in our time together, it was great fun, we really paid attention when he lectured us during our tour so we were well prepared to answer most of his questions, it was great fun to try to remember everything but he is the master and eventually tripped us up with some really difficult questions, the drive back can be a bit boring and we enjoyed the game very much.

We highly recommend him to every one who is looking to have a great tour in Puntarenas.

 

You can check his review at trip advisor. His address is www.victourscr.com

 

Have a great trip. We did Coral Princess in Dec 2012 and had a wonderful time.

[deezeee2]

We were in Puntarenas on 3/29/2013 and had a fabulous day touring with Arenas Travel. We took their "Animal Lovers' Tour" and have only the highest compliments for an absolutely lovely day. We fed monkeys, came up close and personal with crocodiles on the Tarcoles River and experienced gorgeous Scarlet Macaws at a sanctuary with beautiful gardens and other wildlife as well. We had other stops to see local sites, flora and fauna as well. This company and this tour are highly recommended! Enjoy.

[cheriooo]

Did the panama canal tour in April. Had the pleasure of using Odyssey tours for a delightful tour of Monte verde. Tour was first rate. Driver and tour guide were pleasant knowledgable and entertaining. Making the reservation was easy and the driver was waiting for us by the pier. Really made an enjoyable day.

[mathtchr]

Whatever you do, do NOT use OKEY DOKEY tours. We just got back from a Panama Canal experience and had a stop in Puntarenas where we used this tour company with Charlie Soto. He did not show up as our guide even though he was hired a year in advance, but instead sent someone else. It was a 98 degree day and the van had a non-working A/C unit and NO water was provided. The driver was his brother and some woman came along with him which we were only informed about when we entered the van. The van was like a torture chamber. Do NOT use OKEY DOKEY TOURS !!!!!