Odyssey tours

[PILGRIMS]

We booked a private tour with Odyssey tours in Limon for a family of 7. Four adults and 3 kids. Alvaro & Diego both responded with emails and they gave me a breakdown of the tour. We´ll holding a sign with your last name and our logo into it. Diego even contacted us via Facebook confirming our reservation and our itinerary the day before we got to Costa Rica. So we were very excited for this stop.

 

Here is a copy of the email itinerary they set up for us.

 

7:30 Pick up out side the pier gate.

8:00 am Taking the boat to do the Tortuguero Canal.

9:15 am Leave to Veragua aerial tram.

10:00 am Take the gondola for do the tour.

12:00 noon Drive to the bananas plantations and Sloth´s spot.

1:00 pm Get to the lunch place at Kimbombo Restaurant where you can enjoy of typical lunch.

2:00 pm Drive to El Faro view point.

2:30 pm City tour by Limon town.

3:00 pm Back to the ship.

 

We walked a few steps to the outside gate where we were suppose to meet Diego and found Carlos with a hand written sign. We asked where was Diego he said he was on another tour. We confirmed our itinerary with him and the prices. So we went on the tour. We were going to the Canal first. Son on the way had some nice small talk and Carlos said he tours all over the Country and has been doing this for many years. We then stopped at a house where Carlos got out to speak to who we thought was suppose to be the person to take us on the Canal tour. After he came back, we drove up the road a bit and then had to turn around because he driven to far. On the way back, he stopped and asked somebody walking down the road for directions we drove a bit further stopped short then backed up and finally were at the boat dock. As we got out of the car, he asked us for our money up front.....I guess that should have been our second warning, the first him not knowing where we were going. After talking with him and saying that we have done many private tours and have never had to pay up front we gave him all but about $80 because he didn't have change for us and we felt trapped that we had to pay upfront. It was only $20 for the change. We had a nice tour on the Canal. We then went on our way to the Aerial Tram ride. Where again he drove past the entrance by a good half an hour. So again we had to turn around and go back. Which we were now a good hour and a half behind schedule because he didn't know where he was going. When we got to the Tram we explained that we only wanted to do the tram ride we didn't want any walking. It took them awhile to get organized, but when we finally did, we had a nice ride down. When we got to the bottom we said we only wanted to go down and back up. They told us no we had to wait over there for the rest of the group we said why we told them up top but they insisted that we had to. So we waited. When we finally got to the top they tried to get us to do another nature walk we just walked away saying that is not what we wanted. We asked Carlos why we had to wait and couldn't do what we asked. He spoke to the people at the desk but never came back with an answer to us. Also, on the way to the tram we had to keep shutting off the air conditioner because there wasn't enough power to get up the road to the tram. (per Carlos) Needless to say it got very hot as it was a very humid day. When we got back to the car Carlos said what do you want to do, we can't do the Banana Plantation or the Sloth Sanctuary and be back at the ship by 3 like our schedule said. He never even mentioned the lunch that was suppose to be included. After a bit of a crazy ride we finally said, just take us back to the ship. We were just too aggravated and very hot. We also wanted to make sure we were back on time as we didn't have a lot of confidence in him. When we got closer to the ship we told him you better call Diego to ask for a refund for the things we didn't see or the lunch we never had. He tried to tell us there was no cost for the Plantation or the Sanctuary and that lunch was only going to cost $5 per person so just keep the $80 you never paid me. Our argument was that not only did you not deliver what was promised, because you didn't know where he was going or set up ahead of time for the things we asked for we should get a bit more and also for his time that didn't get used. So basically we were in Costa Rica from 7:30 am until 2:15 we only went on a Canal ride and a Tram ride. We were just very disappointed as we were looking forward to seeing this port because we had heard so many beautiful things about Costa Rica. Oh thats right when we got back to the ship, he tried to just drive past security to get on the dock. They guard was yelling at us as he kept driving past the stop sign. At the second guard station the guard was standing in the middle of the road waiting for him and told him to turn around and go back to the first station where they told him you are not authorized to be in here, so you need to go outside the gates. Carlos also tried to say we were lying when we were talking to Diego and that he made up the time on the road and we weren't that far behind schedule. BEWARE OF CARLOS & ODYSSEY

[Tikibird]

We were very happy with our custom-designed tour to see the beautiful birds of Costa Rica. This was a private tour for us 2, we didn't manage to attract anyone in the roll call. The day of arrival in Puntarenas, we finished breakfast quickly, then managed to get down to the docks and were allowed off 15 minutes early. Our guide, Alvaro from Odyssey Tours hadn’t arrived yet but he showed up before 7am and handed us to his birding guide-Nestor who studies biology and knows birds very well. We headed off to Carara National Park to see the scarlet macaws, this is one of the rare places in the world where they are common and can be easily found. The trails were muddy because the first rain of the season had been the previous night and we were struggling to stay on our feet. Ina was the first to fall flat on his back-not hurt but got all muddy. I later fell on my side because I was protecting my camera. We spent about an hour watching the scarlet macaws come and go, then headed back to one of the main trails near the park entrance. There weren’t many birds on this side but the leaf-cutter ants were really interesting. From Carara, we went to the town of Tarcoles but decided to pass on the crocodile show, head straight for lunch at a typical Costa Rican lady’s home and then shopping at Molas and Café which had a nice selection and accepted credit cards (I was in trouble, LOL). The final stop was the El Manantial Sanctuary also called Lapa Sanctuary to see Costa Rican birds up close flying free. On the way, we saw a beautiful motmot (national bird of Nicaragua) and 2 trogons nesting. The sanctuary was really nice, most of the macaws were free to come and go as they pleased but chose to hang around for the free food. All the birds here had been recovered from smugglers or private collections. There were also some non-Costa Rican birds like Hyacinth Macaws, cockatoos and eclectus. Nestor dropped us back at the end of the market near the ship where I quickly bought some more parrot art and we made it back on the ship in time.

[patrickmoran]

Tikibird, what was the cost of the birding tour? Thanks

[Capt. Orca]

Pilgrims, i wonder if you got intercepted by someone who was not really with odyssey. I only ask because your experience was the exact opposite of ours. We were a party of 8, and the itinerary was exactly as agreed upon and the communication with Alvaro was excellent. We were met outside the gate of the pier, and our guide, Victor, did an outstanding job. we went to Manual Antonio Park, which included a nature walk and spent time on a beautiful beach. we enjoyed a good lunch, stopped for a little shopping, stopped at the crocodile river, and came back to the ship exactly on time. Their van was fairly new, in good repair, and we had a good driver, in addition to the guide.

 

I would use Odyssey again without any hesitation. Their price was fair and they delivered!

[PrincessLucy]

Pilgrims, i wonder if you got intercepted by someone who was not really with odyssey. I only ask because your experience was the exact opposite of ours. We were a party of 8, and the itinerary was exactly as agreed upon and the communication with Alvaro was excellent. We were met outside the gate of the pier, and our guide, Victor, did an outstanding job. we went to Manual Antonio Park, which included a nature walk and spent time on a beautiful beach. we enjoyed a good lunch, stopped for a little shopping, stopped at the crocodile river, and came back to the ship exactly on time. Their van was fairly new, in good repair, and we had a good driver, in addition to the guide.

 

I would use Odyssey again without any hesitation. Their price was fair and they delivered!

 

 

DITTO. We used them last November - Would give them a 100% AA+ rating :D

[yappie]

Recently completed the Panama Canal cruise on the Island Princess. Had an independent tour for a group of 25 with Odyssey. Alvaro and Diego were great to deal with. They were prompt and responsive. Tour included ziplining or a butterfly park (for those that did not want to zipline), viewing crocodiles, Jaco Beach, and lunch. Only disappointment was a shopping stop at a small store.

 

Art

[H.2000]

Alvaro, we had a great experience!

 

Re Manuel Antonio national Park and Beach Tour

Saw Monkeys, slots, butterflies, snake, crocodiles and so much unspolied nature a plus a great beach that allowed for superb relaxation and sun.

 

We were pleasantly surprised as to how clean the area away from the city was, yes the trip to and from was long but that was to be expected and worth the end result.

 

If any one wants pictures I can forward.

 

Regards Lou

[themnms]

Alvaro, we had a great experience!

 

Re Manuel Antonio national Park and Beach Tour

Saw Monkeys, slots, butterflies, snake, crocodiles and so much unspolied nature a plus a great beach that allowed for superb relaxation and sun.

 

We were pleasantly surprised as to how clean the area away from the city was, yes the trip to and from was long but that was to be expected and worth the end result.

 

If any one wants pictures I can forward.

 

Regards Lou

 

I would love to see pictures...my email is bestbaby1 at aol dot com...thanks..also if I could ask, we booked the tour for Dec and are taking our grandma who is able bodied but a little slower and needs to rest once in a while. Is the walking to the beach easy? I had ready it was a one mile hike and I was worried

 

thanks so much

Mel