Charlie Soto Tour

[DonMar]

We took at tour with Charlie in February - a great experience. We, two of us, booked a "public" tour and had two other couples on the tour. They were from the same ship and we had a wonderful time.

 

Hi -- thanks for posting. We are considering this for our January cruise but there are only two of us. How many were in your party and how many people were in the tour altogether? What did you see and do on the A-1 tour?

 

Thank you!

Nancy

 

 

Nancy - see my response to the same question a few months ago. Enjoy!

[mrralga]

Hi,

 

We did the zipline tour with Charlie.

 

The landings are not rough but you can end up a little short of the platform and have to turn around and pull yourself back hand over hand. The helper on the platform will grab you as soon as you get close and pull you onto the platform. You really don't control the speed. It is designed to go through to the platform - the helper can slow you down at the end if you are going too fast. If you try to slow down then you will have problems. Also, some of these platforms are far apart and you go quite far and fast. Several of the platforms are really high, and I mean high, it seemed like a 10 story building.

 

It is really hard to say if a person with back issues will be ok. It all depends on how bad your back is and how smoothly you go from platform to platform. It seems like the people that were a little scared were the ones most likely to come up short on the platform probably because they were not focused on using the technique they taught us to use.

 

I am 52 years old and had no problems at all. I just listened to what they told us and did exactly what they said (lean back with feet up and crossed, etc) and "went for it." It was very exciting. My wife on the other hand opted to go down half way through and she said going down was worse than going from platform to platform, she really wished she would have finished cause the going down ride scared the heck out of her.

 

The people that run the ziplines are very good and very helpful. Charlie's tour was very good. We had Carlos as the guide. He was nice and knowledgeable and did a lot of extra stuff for us.

 

Rick

 

 

 

Regarding the zip lining, can someone desribe the landings? Is it abrupt? My wife has concerns because of a sensitive back.

 

How is the speed controlled etc.

 

Thanks in advance for any info...

[Jonas Grumby]

We just got back and can give Charlie our highest recommendation. He led our tour personally and we had a great day in and around Puntarenas. I'll be writing more later in a new thread about our experiences, but we were very pleased with the service we received.

 

Gary

[shunga]

We went on Charlie's A-1 tour last tuesday. It was teriffic. Charlie met us at the end of the pier with a sign. Waited an extra 15 minutes in the parking lot for a no-show.(There will be cosmic retribution for you people). The van/tour bus was very clean, in good repair and easily allowed the dozen or so of us to spread out. Stopped at a road-side fruit vendor and sampled all of the local produce. Very tasty. Charlie picked up the tab. Charlie had free beer and water on board for those who wanted either. Off on 20-minute unsuccessful attempt to see howler monkeys. Then to a banana plantation. I'll never take them for granted again. Very interesting. On the way into the plantation, stopped to see a boy and his sloth. They came right onto the van. You could pet it, hold it, take pictures of it. Really cute. Then off to an hour boat ride on the canals. Probably the inspiration for the old Disney Jungle Ride. Saw birds, sloths, caymans, and iguanas. Then off to the beach. Nice setting. Food and curios available. Then a short tour of Limon, a stop at a local supermarket to buy coffee, and back to the ship in plenty of time to shop at the flea market. The tour was just what we wanted, and well worth the price.

[Conanc]

Shunga,

 

Thanks so much for posting your review. We are booked with Charlie in January and are very excited about spending a similar day in Costa Rica!

 

Nancy

[Iceberg2]

Sent Charlie an e-mail yesterday, how long should I wait for a response from him?

Thanks

[miamijnt]

I got a response in 2 days...Does anyone know if the 89$ A2 tour includes ziplining??My e mail from Charlie says its included but the website says its extra...Also do those who do the walking tour pay less???

[Jonas Grumby]

I got a response in 2 days...Does anyone know if the 89$ A2 tour includes ziplining??My e mail from Charlie says its included but the website says its extra...Also do those who do the walking tour pay less???

 

The A-2 includes ziplining; however, you'll pay $40 at the location to the hotel (where the ziplines are located), and $49 to Charlie at the conclusion of the tour.

 

Gary

[Mrandone]

I'm really afraid that I will not make it back to the ship on time...The A2 tour is 7 hours...we only have 8 in Limon...

[Jonas Grumby]

FWIW, I have never heard of any of Charlie's tours missing the ship's final boarding call. Just make sure he's well aware of your port call schedule, and he'll make sure you're back in plenty of time.

 

Gary

[loriva]

Based on the many recommendations on the CC boards, we arranged to do the A-2 tour with Charlie Soto. We did so with a little bit of concern given some negative recent reviews. But Charlie may have been reading as things for us went very smoothly.

 

We met Charlie and his folks at the end of the dock at the appointed time. (Costa Rica is in the Central time zone. The Coral Princess, which we were on, kept ship's time on Eastern Standard Time--meaning local time was one hour later tham ship's time. But Charlie's folks were there as promised.) The guides were holding signs for the A-1 and A-2 (with ziplining) tours and separated out the two groups into nice air-conditioned vans. I know there have been some complaints lately with Charlie overbooking, but ours worked out just great—maybe because there was only one ship in port that day.

 

We drove first to the Dole banana plantation, for a short tour stopping along the way at a fruit stand to taste the local products and to fill up a cooler with bottled water and sodas that were available gratis along the tour. Then to Las Brisas de la Jungla for the ziplining. Four out of group of six on the A-2 tour did this (two spouses opted not to do so but to watch their significant others.) The tour guide, Jorge, and driver, Roger, took the non-zipliners for a little walk around the property to see the flora and fauna (toucans, parrots, tree frogs, orchids and other flowers, and butterflies) and then drove back down the hill to meet up with us. My DH got some glorious photos from this! (The link is on the roll call for the 30 Nov Coral.)

 

The ziplining was great—really scenic and I felt safe and comfortable with the guides. It was my first time and I was nervous, but got over it pretty quickly. It was pouring rain during most of the trip, which made it hard to see, but otherwise a great experience. There are a lot of tips you can pick up on the destination boards on how to zipline—very useful for first-timers. The most important are lean back in the harness to get up speed (so you don’t stop short of the platform and have to pull yourself the last bit) and to cross your ankles and lift your legs as you come into the platform—the guides will take care of stopping you. We paid $40/person for the ziplining as well as $5 tip for the guides. You can leave your things on the bus, but will want to have some cash for the tip for the guides or to buy a tee shirt. (This was a necessity for our group as we were all soaked and hadn't thought to bring a dry shirt.) The shirts were $10 each.

 

Next onto Tortuguero National Park and a circa one-hour boat ride to see the sloths and monkeys in the trees, many birds, lizards, etc. The sun came out, but it was not too hot so just right. Then onto lunch at a restaurant at Playa Bonita (Pretty Beach). Lunch is not included in the tour fee, so you don’t have to order the plate (called “casado”) that the guide recommends—you’re paying for it so you can order anything off of the menu that appeals. It’s a nice beach, so you could even bring your suit and swim if you don’t want to eat. They also had some people selling tee-shirts, wood carvings, etc. And there were kids with sloths to pet or take photos with. Charlie was at the restaurant to take pulse of tours.

 

After lunch is a drive up to a high point where you can take photos of the ship at the pier. Then back downtown near the ship to a grocery store to buy coffee, hot sauce. and other items. They gave us some Costa Rican coins gratis at the store for our collection. Folks in our group were buying assorted local products to make up gift baskets from their trip for the holidays. Then they dropped us off back at the pier, where there was also a little craft area if you wanted. Charlie was at the pier again at the end of the tour.

 

Again, things went very well with our tours. Charlie was quick to respond to e-mails and I never felt worried we would miss our sailing time.

[paintchip8]

Thank you Loriva for the info. I was confused when Charlie replied to my email that he would meet us one hour after the Coral Princess arrived in port. Our arrival time is listed as 6:30 so I'm thinking 7:30!!! I am still in PJ's at 7:30 when on vacation!

 

FYI - the A-1 tour is now $54.00 cash at the end of the tour.

[speckhead]

I just got back on 12/30 from Limon.

 

We found Okey Dokey Tours from the message board. I booked them and they were Fab!

 

We did the Totuguero Canal and Zipline. $95 for adults. It was $55 if you dont Zip.

 

He then took us to the beach for lunch (we paid).

 

Bus had water, cerveza, and sodas.

 

Kids and adults had a great time.

 

Highly Recommended.

okeydokeytours@hotmail.com

[LHT28]

 

We did the Totuguero Canal

 

What type of shoes are appropriate for the canal tour ?

Should we wear hikers or will Tevas be OK?

[legalgirl]

Can you tell me how to contact Charlie Soto?

[Conanc]

Here is his email address:

 

okeydokeytours@hotmail.com

 

and here is the website: http://www.okeydokeytours.com/

 

We had a great experience with Charlie!

[dst]

We will be in Costa Rica in Jan 09; I was wondering if anyone has done this tour recently? There is a group of us and it seems to get good reviews.

 

Also, was there any stop for beach time?

[musicat]

I took a Holland America cruise to Costa Rica with my in-laws in January, 2008. My sister-in-law set up a "customized" day-long tour for our stop in Costa Rica, with Charlie's Okey Dokey Tours. It was WONDERFUL! We had an excellent driver and guide and they took us where we wanted to go and shared off-the-beaten-path treats that "regular" tours would never see. We had a fabulous time.

 

Charlie earned additional kudos from me for his handling of my situation. In our rush to get back on the ship, I forgot my cellphone in the van. I contacted Charlie as soon as possible via email. He found the phone and went to lots of extra trouble to mail it back to me, undamaged and certainly unused. His handling of this situation in an honest and professional manner put my mind at ease immediately. In this day of scams and identity theft, Charlie's honesty and professionalism are a breath of fresh air!

 

Thank you, Charlie! I highly recommend Okey Dokey Tours and look forward to our next trip to Costa Rica.

 

Paul

Evergreen, CO

[g8trzz]

Hey Musicat,

What kind of "off the beaten track" treats did you experience???

[banditoo]

We're taking his A-1 tour in a couple of weeks so will report back on our experience.

[Floflegs]

We had arranged a tour with Charlie on 28th Feb. It was to be a 4h30m tour with no lunch but crocodile tour and macaw sanctuary. Charlie met us where arranged and we were shown to a lovely modern AC van along with another couple from our roll call. However he came and moved us to an older van which wass not so nice and 8 others went in the new van. Why, I don't know, as we followed each other and there were plenty of spare seats in the new van. First we fed some monkeys then stopped to try fresh fruit. Next we went on the crocodile tour while our companions walked the bridges. The ones in the other van did the crocodile tour too. It was super. However after that things deteriorated. Charlie said we were going for lunch. When we pointed out we hadn't booked lunch he said he would take care of it. We then had to sit for over 90 mins waiting for lunch which was nothing special. After lunch our van went to a view point then to a supewrmarket to buy coffee before going back to the port. We were away for 7h30m in all which we had wanted to avoid as my DH gets pain in his leg with a long trip. Our young guide and driver were fine but it was not what we had wanted. I think Charlie just wants as many passengers as possible and then does his own thing. I would certainly not recommend him.