15 Aug 2022
We booked a private tour for our family of four. We specifically booked the 8:30am tour to avoid more heat later. We were to be picked up at our hotel at 8:30 and no one showed up. After 30 minutes, an employee of our hotel called the company and they had no knowledge of our reservation. They explained they was a problem through the booking company and weren’t expecting us until the next day. They finally picked us up an hour late. The driver/guide was very nice and knowledgeable so this review is about the Jungle Bikes operation, not the guide.
We were taken to what looked like the garage, not the picturesque “base” shown in photos. They had 4 ATVs set up for us. They clearly had to scramble since we weren’t expected. One of the ATVs was out of alignment and my daughter had a lot of strain on her shoulder, so did I when I switched with her. She didn’t tell the guide because she thought that was just how they feel, but when my husband tried it he said it was way off. I guess they didn't have time to test drive or do checks before we arrived.
We were told it is very dusty so we could optionally purchase bandanas. They had a package of colors and we each selected one and found they were necessary. (fyi the whole package of a dozen or more probably cost $10-20 or less). We were charged $5 each so another $20 on top of the private tour cost.
The tour was extremely hot, not in the company’s control, but they had no water for us until the end (2 hours). It seemed like the guide could have strapped a little cooler on the back of his ATV. We had to start much later than planned so it was hotter than it would have been if it were on time.
I think the company’s response to this will be that the booking company didn’t send the information or something like that. This is not our problem, it seems like you should know your whole week’s bookings in advance. And when something goes wrong you should try to make it up in some way.
We paid extra for private to get the best experience possible. We felt with the inconvenience caused, they could have at the very least provided the bandanas at no charge. My husband had to take the $20 out of the tip for the guide to cover this, so sorry Javi, you would have gotten a bigger tip.
If they had done ANYTHING to relieve the inconvenience, we wouldn’t have written this review.