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Cosol Tours

Denise40

By Denise40,
in St. Lucia

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daffodil lover

daffodil lover

Posted
Posted
Hello All!

 

This will be our 1st cruise; we leave next month, 11/22. I just found out about Cosol and just may be considering using them as our tour company. How do you contact them? If we pay them after the tour, how are we guaranteed a spot on the van? My husband is concerned about being able to stop at each location to take in view or pics. And I want to know how close do we get to the Pitons?

We just returned Sunday after a week on the Adventure of the Seas. I had the same concern as you when all I had was an email from Cosol telling me where he would meet the passengers. But then I figured, if we pay at the end and it all falls through I'm not out any cash and I'm sure we could find another tour. However, Cosol was there as promised and as others have posted, very organized. We had a wonderful tour with "Bumpy" as our driver/guide. My daughter is headed to St. Lucia in Feb. for a week and I strongly suggested she take Cosol's tour at the beginning to get an overview of the island, then they will have a better idea of how/where they may want to spend the rest of the week.

Two suggestions, first, when you stop for photos there is likely to be a cow or two tied up beside the road...be sure there are no calves hiding in the bushes, my husband had an up close and personal encounter with a cow (with horns) who decided he was too close to her calf that we did not see. No danger of goring or trampling, but added some excitement and he got to put up with a lot of ribbing the rest of the tour. Second, if you are a "tenderfoot" like me, be sure to wear/take water sandals or water socks that you can wear for the beach/snorkle. St. Lucia does not have the sandy beaches of some islands and my sandals could not be worn in the water so I had a heck of a time getting in & out of the boat and out deep enough to swim/snorkle. Luckily my husband is a gentleman and let me wear his.

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eetonaee

eetonaee

Posted
Posted

I just want to quickly add a message of support for Cosol. We took the tour on Friday, November 6 and it was the highlight of a great cruise. 6 hours of touring a beautiful island by van and boat.

 

They pack a lot in the 6 hours and the drivers are fun and happy to meet you.

 

As someone mentioned the biggest hassle you may have is getting in or out of the boats that take you to the beach. Wear waterproof sandals if you don't want to get your shoes wet.

 

All the good things you hear or read about this tour are true.

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cruisercr

cruisercr

Posted
Posted
We just got home from our cruise. 12 people in our van. The vans are very large and roomy. Nice big windows and the AC worked great. This was, by far, the best tour we have ever taken. I wanted to get on the message boards and give Cosol some much deserved LOVE!! There where other Cosol vans taking the same route, but we only saw one once. They make sure to space the stops so you aren't crowded. Any questions, feel free to ask. We loved the tour, it was worth every penny (and the additional tip!!)

what time did you leave and get back to the ship. I worry about getting back in time.

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Manda2831

Manda2831

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We left as soon as we were able to get off the ship (8:30ish) and were back by 4pm. It was wonderful! They're very conscientious about getting you back in time and are very diligent about making sure that you have a good time. They want you to have a great time so you'll come back here and give them good reviews when people ask what tour they should take in St. Lucia.

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Cajun Reefer

Cajun Reefer

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My wife and I did Cosol's tours last weekend while sailing on the Carnival Miracle. I HIGHLY recommend his tour! It was the best tour our of all 3 islands we visited (St. Martin, St. Lucia, & St. Kitts).

 

We were fortunate to get Cosol as our driver; however, I heard others with the other drivers also had a good time.

 

The only suggestions I can give is, first of all, booked him and bring some sandals or water shoes. The boat ride along the Pitons to the beach is incredible!!! This is an absolute must! The island is beautiful.

 

The bananas at the beginning of the tour are the freshest & best bananas my wife and I have ever tasted. The "picnic" / food provided is very good (especially the fish) as well as the bread and cheese towards the end of the tour.

 

We were in port from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM (boat time). We had to be back on the ship by 4:30 PM. Around 3:00 PM, we were given the option to be dropped off for some more shopping (10 min walk from port) or dropped off at the port. You have more than enough time. Cosol is very conscious of the time you have to be back on the ship.

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MikeyB

MikeyB

Posted
Posted

Just got off the NCL Dawn. Took the tour on 11/9. It was completely as advertised. The highlight was the beach. We stayed just an hour and it went quick. Going by water taxi was classy. I thought the buffet would be sit down. It wasn't. just a copy of tables with food. The beers did flow. The warm bread and cheese was very good. Would recommend this in a heart beat.

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Little Pita

Little Pita

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Just off Victory yesterday and I'll just say Ditto to all the other comments. Bumpy was our driver and he was great. We met the other drivers along with Cosol when we stopped for food and they were all VERY nice. The food was fantastic, unlimited beverages, cheese bread was out of this world. The whole day was great!

 

THANKS COSOL!!!

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  • 4 weeks later...
michaelbrehmer

michaelbrehmer

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We are just off the Victory on the November 29th sailing. We did not use any of the ship’s tours, but went on the highly recommended everything-included Cosol Tours. It was beyond everything that we had expected and was the highlight of the cruise. Cosol was a great host and our driver, Adrian, was topnotch. We had seven passenger vans and the eight was the food and drink van. There were two food stops, the first being a wide-ranging taste of island food. (Because we were ducking in and out of rain showers, the food tables had to be moved around a few times to keep the rain off.) Cosol’s tour takes you down to the southern half of the island including a stop at the drive-in volcano. There is also a ride via water taxi to Jalousie Beach which sits between the Pitons. Though some of the beach amenities are controlled by the resort, there are large areas for snorkeling and swimming and total time at the beach is over an hour. After the water taxi ride back, Cosol offered some 160-proof “white lightning” and there were a number of stops for rum punch throughout the day. As Cosol says, “it’s always 5:00 pm somewhere.” On the way back to the ship, there is another food stop for the unbelievably good warm cheese bread. The tour is over 7 hours log, but Cosol is excellent about getting tourists back to the ship on time. Hint: Load up on green apples at the ship and bring them to Cosol. Green apples are a rare delicacy in St. Lucia. We had four couples leave bags of green apples just from our van.

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dougdevriesgr

dougdevriesgr

Posted
Posted

My wife and took the tour from the Dawn last week great tour...If you have a group you will get a better price...If you ask you pay at the end plenty of Drinks though out the tour and food stops..Bring a Dollar for the bathroom at the Food stop...

Here is some photos we took....

http://community.webshots.com/album/575961173xFvziw

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sue402001

sue402001

Posted
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We are taking the tour in January, and we are really looking forward to it! Could you confirm if snorkel gear is provided, or did you bring along your own snorkel gear?

Thanks!

 

There was gear that you could use at a stand on the beach but we had our own with us. The water is crystal clear.

 

You'll love Cosol's tour!

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  • 4 weeks later...
Manda2831

Manda2831

Posted
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Yes, Cosol takes you to the beach in between the Pitons and it's AMAZING! Cosol doesn't offer snorkeling gear for rent and I didn't see life jackets on the beach. The resort may have those kinds of things for rent, but Cosol didn't.

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DrmnOfMaui

DrmnOfMaui

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I believe that the resort did rent them... but you really don't have much time there and I would have been disappointed if they had run out that day or something. We actually picked up snorkels and masks at Costco before we left and brought them with us. We didn't bring the fins because of space, but the masks and snorkels came in really handy a number of times. I started thinking about who else may have been using the snorkel... saw that many of the "shared" ones were really not cleaned and just couldn't go there! So we were happy to have our own! Costcos were a good deal, good quality and came with a bag to transport them too.

 

Hope that helped! We loved this tour and the beach stop was our favorite part!

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funsunner

funsunner

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Thanks! I have my own snorkel gear that I also got from Costco I guess I should buy a set for DH as well! I'm with you on the sanitation part of the snorkel gear, they always say its sanitized but you never know!Just wanted to find out about the life vests as I am not a good swimmer. I also emailed Cosol as well. Question for DrmnofMaui, when you say you don't have much time there what do you mean, can you tell us how long you were there. Thanks, we are really looking forward to St Lucia!

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DrmnOfMaui

DrmnOfMaui

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Thanks! I have my own snorkel gear that I also got from Costco I guess I should buy a set for DH as well! I'm with you on the sanitation part of the snorkel gear, they always say its sanitized but you never know!Just wanted to find out about the life vests as I am not a good swimmer. I also emailed Cosol as well. Question for DrmnofMaui, when you say you don't have much time there what do you mean, can you tell us how long you were there. Thanks, we are really looking forward to St Lucia!

 

I'm nearly certain that there are no life vests... but I agree with the prior poster that the water taxi ride is fantastic! It is just so beautiful.

 

We had about 1 1/2 hours at the beach. It was absolutely beautiful! I have pictures in my review that I have linked below if you are interested. This beach was one of my favorite places of our entire cruise, I know that you will love it!

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  • 2 weeks later...
Kikkycat

Kikkycat

Posted
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We're doing this tour in just over two weeks, so I appreciate all the pointers. Hopefully I'll remember some green apples for Cosol. I'm a little concerned about not having life vests in the water taxi as DH doesn't know how to swim at all.

 

One question I haven't seen answered - is there a place to change into swimsuits on or near the beach, or did everyone just wears theirs all day?

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