Herod's Tour

[jks9103]

Has anyone taken a tour with Herod? There's tons of reviews on Cosol but I'm not seeing much on Herod. I've looked on Herod's website and it looks like a fun and interesting tour. I also emailed him last week requesting more details about the tour and got a reply back within a day with an answer to all my questions. The tour is from 8:30 to 2:45, including about an hour at the beach, payment is in cash at the end of the tour. I would just like to get some opinions before booking with him.

[KroozFoolz]

We took Herod's tour last March and enjoyed it very much. The description on his website is pretty accurate - you "could" go for a swim at the falls - some went "wading" - but the time there is somewhat limited. From what I have read here about Cosol's tour, Herod's is very similar, and we "ran into" Cosol's group several times during the day. You should know ahead of time that a LOT of time is spent riding in the van on the very winding roads - if you are prone to motion sickness, this can be a problem. We were in a second van, following Herod's van, but our guide and his driver were very good. Even though you spend a lot of time riding, you do see a lot and the scenery is lovely. Our time at the beach was shortened by a brief heavy shower just as we arrived there, but that is the nature of the island, and you get wet if you go swimming, so no big deal. I have some pictures, if you would like to see them, and I would be glad to try to answer any other questions you may have.

[grobbins]

We took Herod's Land and Sea last February. It was a great day. We are definitely not 'bus tour' cruisers but Herod's tour was fun, informational and we saw so much of this beautiful island. There were several vans in his group but our party of 4 was alone in our van. Jalousie Plantation was a highlight and the boat back to the ship was awesome. It was the highlight of our trip. Herod was professional with a great team around him. I highly recommend it.

[jkloni]

We just took Herod's tour 11/7 while on our Norwegian Spirit repositioning cruise. He was wonderful. If people just realized that you can get a private tour for 4 - 6 people for the exact same price as Cosol charges and you are not one of 15-60 people.

 

Cosol's tour may be as nice as Herod's. But I would go back with Herod in a heartbeat. He was so personable, informative and nice, and we had all the beer, softdrinks, water and rum punch any of us could drink, while showing the 4 of us all of the places he talks about on his tour description. After tasting the johnnycakes and fishcakes, we bought 2 bottles of the banana ketchup and 1 large bottle of the hot sauce from Mama. He pays all of the fees to get into the waterfall and volcano. On the way back he stopped at this house and I thought he must have to tell a friend something. ...no... he brought out 2 loaves of butter bread in those french bread paper bags that were so hot out of the oven we could barely hold them. Wow. We talked about that bread several days after we were back on the ship.

 

Do yourself a favor and consider Herod. He is just as nice as they come and if you have at least 2 couples it's $50 each. You pay him at the end of the tour. His van is large with AC.

 

Kathy

[jkloni]

We just took Herod's tour 11/7 while on our Norwegian Spirit repositioning cruise. He was wonderful. If people just realized that you can get a private tour for 4 - 6 people for the exact same price as Cosol charges and you are not one of 15-60 people.

 

Cosol's tour may be as nice as Herod's. But I would go back with Herod in a heartbeat. He was so personable, informative and nice, and we had all the beer, softdrinks, water and rum punch any of us could drink, while showing the 4 of us all of the places he talks about on his tour description. After tasting the johnnycakes and fishcakes, we bought 2 bottles of the banana ketchup and 1 large bottle of the hot sauce from Mama. He pays all of the fees to get into the waterfall and volcano. On the way back he stopped at this house and I thought he must have to tell a friend something. ...no... he brought out 2 loaves of butter bread in those french bread paper bags that were so hot out of the oven we could barely hold them. Wow. We talked about that bread several days after we were back on the ship.

 

Do yourself a favor and consider Herod. He is just as nice as they come and if you have 4 or more people, it's only $50 each. You pay him at the end of the tour. His van is large with AC.

 

Kathy

[woodofpine]

Highly recommend Harrod. The 'Land and Sea' was very all encompassing, educational, and fun. We had a bunch of kids with us and he kept them happy and attentive. We did villages, falls (swam), the volcano, had an excellent creole lunch at a restaurant (all to ourselves) on the beach at Soufriere gazing at the Pitons, then ended at Jalousie/Anse des Pitons beach between the peaks from where Harrod accompanied us back to the Castries pier by boat. Excellent value.

[charhdof]

I highly recommend Herod! I have been back to St. Lucia now four times and honestly it is because of my very first experience with Herod and St. Lucia. He is very professional, personable, reliable and fair. He has an extensive knowledge of the island and it's history and makes for an unbelievable day. You might want to see if he can get his friend Alvin to take you out in his lil' boat between the Pitons. It is gorgeous and unforgettable. Herod to me is the only ambassador to St. Lucia and her beauty! DO NOT HESITATE>>>BOOK YOUR TOUR WITH HIM NOW! And when you do...tell him Char says Hi!!!!

[Geoshar]

We had a fantastic tour with Herod last month, and I was about to recommend the tour to a friend..but his website seems to have disappeared from the Internet??

 

It was the highlight of our cruise..so I hope I am wrong in thinking he is no longer in operation??

[lolakeane]

I am trying to find Herod's website with no luck. I tried Herods Taxi and Herods Tours St. Lucia, and neither works. His tours sound wonderful. Any help would be appreciated!

[roosterhead]

I just received and email from him about his website, he is updating his site and it should be up within the next week. He does still answer his email which is hstanislas@hotmail.com.

[lolakeane]

Hooray! Thanks Roosterhead. I appreciate your help.

[All Ann]

We went on the tour with Herod in December/07, he was absolutely wonderful. He did a great job and was very informative. It was just our family, so it was nice to have him all to ourselves. We loved St. Lucia, it was beautiful, and Herod made it a great day, my favorite day of the whole cruise.

[Victorias]

I emailed Herod and he replied very quickly. It looks like his website is still in the process of being updated. I inquired about a land/water tour on 2/21/08 and he would need a minimum of 10 people. Anyone interested?

[melagali]

We just came back from our cruise and we took a tour with Herod and absolutely loved it and him. There were just myself, my husband, my daughter and a couple with us. His van was spotless and new.

 

He was very informative, a great driver which is a must on these hills ;)

He paid for all entrance fees.

 

He bought for the all the food we got along the way, like fish cakes, fresh bananas, johnny cakes (or something like that), even a real surprise on our way back. He also provided any drinks we wanted.

 

It's the first time ever we take such a long tour and I'm glad we did. We had a great time and will book a tour with Herod again in the future.

 

He told me he was updating his website, so it should be done soon.

[Pendennis]

Do you have an e-mail adress for Herod ?

Many thanks,

Richard

[Victorias]

This is how I emailed him and he responded quickly:

 

hstanislas@hotmail.com

[jks9103]

I've booked with Herod for our April cruise. To pay in cash, is he referring to US dollar or the St Lucia currency? Sorry if this is a stupid question, first cruise and first time traveling outside the US.

[descom90277]

Has anyone taken a tour with Herod? There's tons of reviews on Cosol but I'm not seeing much on Herod. I've looked on Herod's website and it looks like a fun and interesting tour. I also emailed him last week requesting more details about the tour and got a reply back within a day with an answer to all my questions. The tour is from 8:30 to 2:45, including about an hour at the beach, payment is in cash at the end of the tour. I would just like to get some opinions before booking with him.

 

We toured with Herod in January of 2007 and he was great! It was just the two of us and Herod. He was very personalable and a great tour guide. We seen most of the island of St. Lucia, from the drive through volcano to his home town of Soufriere. We got to see the pitons, and we even had enough time that we got to hang out at one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen and the best thing there were no tourist at the beach we went to, and it was right below the pitons. Herod is great if you tour with him tell him Denise and Dan said HI.

 

Denise & Dan

[jkloni]

US cash. He is a very sweet man and you will enjoy your time with him.

 

Kathy

[LuvKruzn]

We booked a group of 8 from the Royal Princess on January 31 with Herod for the land tour. There were 3 other ships in the harbor, so he filled his van with 2 additional passengers.

 

He did have a partner that picked up 10 pasengers from the other ships. Herod was waiting for us on the dock and we had to wait for 15 to 20 minutes for the other passengers. You may want to inquire when you book if he will filling the van with others.

 

The tour of St. Lucia was exactly as described on his website. Herod was very personable and a very gracious host. He is a former school teacher and is very easy to understand and very informative. We enjoyed the St. Lucia foods, and drinks, including a lovely rum punch made using his mothers recipie, and Piton beer.

 

The tour included a lovely visit to a waterfall tropical garden, the drive-thru volcano, and an hour stop a a lovely beach resort between the two Pitons for swimming and snorkeling. He even made a stop at his home to pickup extra drinks.

 

Following the beach stop. the land tour basically returns to the port via the same route. He offers an another alternative which is a buffett lunch and speed boat return the the dock for $20 more pp, if you book a group of ten. I'd suggest that option for a nice variation.

 

We had a very lovely day, made very enjoyable by numerous photo stops away from the masses of other tour buses.

 

Herod provided one of the best value tours we have had arond the world.

 

Highly recommended.

[Diana68]

We took Herod's tour on Feb. 21st. A member of our roll call set this up for us. We had a great day, and traveled in two vans, just our group. I have pictures from this tour on my web-shots page. If you have any questions, just ask. Here is the excerpt about our tour from my full trip review http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=722686:

Candy had booked 17 of us from our roll call on Herod's land and sea tour in St Lucia. The tour took us down the west coast by van where you can see some of the most beautiful scenery on the island. St Lucia is the most beautiful, lush and green port that we visited. We saw Morne Fortune, Marigot Bay, a banana plantation, fishing villages, rainforest, the pitons, a waterfall, botanical gardens, and the drive in volcano. Harod kept us well fed all day, with fresh bananas at the plantation; hot butter bread from a bakery; Johnnie Cakes, Fish Cakes, Banana Ketchup, and hot sauce at the gardens; and then took us to an all you can eat buffet of traditional foods at a restaurant called The Still. We had a cooler full of sodas, water, beer, and rum punch available all day. We were able to swim and snorkel at Jalousie Beach between the pitons. The water was very calm while we visited, and I was able to see a large variety of coral and fish here. After the sightseeing we boarded a speed boat at the beach, and cruised along the Caribbean coastline back to the cruise ship docks. Our captain stopped to show us a bat cave, and pointed out other landmarks along the way. The cost was $70 per person and inclusive of all admissions, taxi and boat fares, drinks, and lunch. This was a great tour. Thanks again Candy! :D

[jkloni]

We took Herod's tour on Feb. 21st. A member of our roll call set this up for us. We had a great day, and traveled in two vans, just our group. I have pictures from this tour on my web-shots page. If you have any questions, just ask. Here is the excerpt about our tour from my full trip review http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=722686:

Candy had booked 17 of us from our roll call on Herod's land and sea tour in St Lucia. The tour took us down the west coast by van where you can see some of the most beautiful scenery on the island. St Lucia is the most beautiful, lush and green port that we visited. We saw Morne Fortune, Marigot Bay, a banana plantation, fishing villages, rainforest, the pitons, a waterfall, botanical gardens, and the drive in volcano. Harod kept us well fed all day, with fresh bananas at the plantation; hot butter bread from a bakery; Johnnie Cakes, Fish Cakes, Banana Ketchup, and hot sauce at the gardens; and then took us to an all you can eat buffet of traditional foods at a restaurant called The Still. We had a cooler full of sodas, water, beer, and rum punch available all day. We were able to swim and snorkel at Jalousie Beach between the pitons. The water was very calm while we visited, and I was able to see a large variety of coral and fish here. After the sightseeing we boarded a speed boat at the beach, and cruised along the Caribbean coastline back to the cruise ship docks. Our captain stopped to show us a bat cave, and pointed out other landmarks along the way. The cost was $70 per person and inclusive of all admissions, taxi and boat fares, drinks, and lunch. This was a great tour. Thanks again Candy! :D

 

Wow. That is a great price considering it included all of the costs for admissions and lunch! We did Herod's tour in November but did not have enough of us to do the land and sea tour and our time was very limited. Hopefully next time! I'm glad you had a good time. We did too.

 

Kathy

[woodofpine]

As I posted above, Herod's an excellent operator. I just wanted to bump this so he didn't get pushed to page 2.

[jspirit]

He uses a speed boat, not a catamaran. How was the ride and the condition of the boat. One review from around 2006 said the boat broke down and since then he has used a different company. Just wondering if anyone has been on the boat more recently . How did you enjoy that part of the excursion? Does Herod go with you on the boat?

[Diana68]

He uses a speed boat, not a catamaran. How was the ride and the condition of the boat. One review from around 2006 said the boat broke down and since then he has used a different company. Just wondering if anyone has been on the boat more recently . How did you enjoy that part of the excursion? Does Herod go with you on the boat?

Herod did go on the boat with us. He had said that we could have up to 22 on our tour, but the boat was very full with 17. A couple of people stood, since there was no place else to sit, except on the deck. The Captain of the boat had me sit in the captains seat, while he stood in front of me driving the boat. The boat went pretty fast, and there were waves, so some people got wet from the spray, most didn't though.