We booked the so-called "Lands End Experience" expecting a relaxing glass-bottom boat tour; what we got was misleading information, and blatant disregard for passenger safety and a hugely uncomfortable boat ride. This definitely reeks of a bait and switch operation.
The Pick-Up:
We were instructed to be 10 minutes early at the "Craft Center" to meet someone from the mythical “Gray Line” company. (We never once saw or spoke to anyone from Gray Line.) The pick-up location was unmarked, lacking any storefront, signage, or banners to tell us exactly where to be. After a scavenger hunt guided by confused locals, we finally located our transport van whose arrival was five minutes late and a block off the supposed meeting point. The driver put an arm band on us labeled Nova Tours???? When asked if he was from Gray- line he said “yes” and had our name on his roster. Once at the boat dock they put another arm band on us labelled Enva???
Our reward for this confusion? A two-minute drive to a tacky souvenir shop for a "Tequila Tasting" that consisted of one single, abysmal shot of tequila. It was an utterly transparent time-waster designed to shunt us toward overpriced trinkets.
The Schedule: Lies and Linguistic Torture
Despite booking what we thought was a 12:45 boat tour, we were informed upon arrival that our boat wouldn't leave until 2:00 PM. We requested an earlier slot as we did not want to shop for over an hour and a quarter. We were originally flatly denied an earlier boat, and then, at the last minute, they shoved us onto a tour half an hour before the original time—but it was entirely Spanish-speaking!
When my husband asked about the language, the operator promised, "he will do it in English as well." That was a lie. The ensuing "narration" was 90% Spanish and 10% mangled English that might as well have been static. We were effectively trapped on a boat for 45 minutes with no information, confirming that this tour’s primary goal is not customer experience, but merely getting you out there and back.
The Boat Ride: A Dangerous "Insta-Worthy" Circus
The tour description’s inclusion of the term “Insta-worthy” should be a flashing red warning: this is not a sightseeing experience; it’s a predatory photoshoot opportunity.
Once on the boat, we were given two rules: Wear your life jacket and stay seated. Both rules were immediately discarded for the sake of Instagram clicks. After seeing maybe 30 uninspired fish through the cloudy glass bottom, we arrived at some rock formations, and the chaos began.
The guide initially scolded my husband for simply trying to change his seat to get a better spot for a photo op, but then encouraged and abetted a dangerous display of negligence. Passengers began stripping off life jackets and climbing onto the bow in dangerously choppy water to allow the guide to take pictures of them! One couple put their small child in jeopardy, removing his life jacket while the father nearly fell over trying to hold onto him as the boat was rocking hard. The mother then launched into a prolonged, self-absorbed photoshoot, striking 10-12 poses while safety was utterly abandoned. We on the other hand were never even offered a photo, confirming that the tour company is only interested in extracting payment from the 'influencer' wannabes.
The description's inclusion of "Insta-worthy" is clearly code for "this is a high-priced photo shoot, not a tour." But beware, they charge extra for the pictures they take and only offer to take them for those they deem the “beautiful people.”
This was not a tour; it was a poorly organized, misleading, and genuinely hazardous boat ride. The lack of professionalism, the misleading information about the schedule and language, and the disregard for passenger safety make this "experience" an insult to vacationers who are looking for a relaxing opportunity to see some local attractions.
The high point of the excursion for me was at the end of the so-called tour, when the guide had the audacity to hold a tip jar directly under each couple’s noses, and all the cheap influencers refused to tip him!
Final Verdict
From the confusing, late pickup and the insulting "tasting" to the complete lack of understandable narration and the disregard for safety rules, this "3-hour tour" (was actually only 45 minutes!) was a complete and utter bust. The identity of the actual operator (Enva, Nova, Gray Line?) is as confusing as the experience itself. Do yourself a favor and book literally anything else.
Die Reise wurde als Glasbodenboottour dargestellt. Die Boote auf dieser Tour sind nicht die transparenten Boote anderer Unternehmen und haben auch keinen Glasboden.
Das für diese Tour verwendete Panga-Boot verfügt über scheinbar zwei umgebaute Lebendköderbrunnen mit einem 24 x 16 Zoll großen, mit Algen bedeckten Glas am Boden.
Wir haben Fische über der Seite des Bootes gesehen, aber nichts durch die Glasscheibe. Tatsächlich wurden die Bereiche mit Glasboden zur Aufbewahrung von Rettungswesten genutzt.