ATV's in San Juan or St. Maarten

[bigtime cruiser]

Has anyone done the Carabali ATV excursion in San Juan, or the ATV in ST. Maarten if so my questions are:

Was it worth the money ($125 San Juan)($99 St. Maarten)

Would you recommend this to a first timer on an ATV?

Out of a 1-5 stars how would you rate your experience?

Thank you in advance,

Mike

[green eyed lady]

ME ME ME!!! We did the ATVs with Hacienda Caribali 2 years ago. We booked on our own and we loved it! We were going to rent a car to go there but at the last minute we decided to use their transportation. It's about a 45 min ride (we were staying at the El San Juan hotel). I don't remember how long we were on the ATVs, but it was tons of fun! It was me, DH and 3 sons aged 16, 19 and 20 at the time. We each had our own ATV and our guide was pretty good. Wear long pants because the sides where your legs go get HOT :eek: You actually ride at bottom of the rainforest on a trail so it's not really a "tour of the RF". I would give it a 4 rating. Definitely something to try :D Oh and they stop halfway thru and you can swim in the waterfall area. We didn't swim but it looked like fun. And you get VERY dirty, so wear old clothes. We threw away our old sneakers when it was over :rolleyes:

[nikinakinoo]

Has anyone done the Carabali ATV excursion in San Juan, or the ATV in ST. Maarten if so my questions are:

Was it worth the money ($125 San Juan)($99 St. Maarten)

Would you recommend this to a first timer on an ATV?

Out of a 1-5 stars how would you rate your experience?

Thank you in advance,

Mike

 

Hi

I did the ATV in St Maarten and my thought to it was...WOW. They take you all over the Island, stop off to get some great photos then stop at Orient beach for an hour before heading back. I had never done this before, they go through the saftey and instructions with you before you head off. You travel in convoy and there is an instructer riding along side the group incase of any problems. I really enjoyed it I think I paid about $69 2 years ago and it was worth the money.

Definitley a 5 star. Hope this helps...oh and do not forget high factor sun cream because the sun does really catch you.

Have fun

[gdpups]

Never done the ATV's in San Juan, but I'll second the 5 stars in St. Martin. Out of my 10 cruises it was by far my favorite excursion and I'd never been on an ATV in my life.

[Tankminder]

Anyone know if there's a minimum age restriction - or height restriction? My 14 year old son is 5' 8" (taller than me actually) - and has ridden quads for years. Sounds like something we might really enjoy.

 

Thanks!

[nikinakinoo]

Anyone know if there's a minimum age restriction - or height restriction? My 14 year old son is 5' 8" (taller than me actually) - and has ridden quads for years. Sounds like something we might really enjoy.

 

Thanks!

 

Yes unfortuatly they state you have to be atleast 18 years old, when I did it 2 years ago there was also a weight limit

[bigtime cruiser]

Thank you all so much for the info. It sounds like a win win situation no matter what island we decide. Thank you once again, We are getting so excited as our cruise gets nearer. We are on the Liberty of the Seas May 2nd.

 

Mike and Sonia

[houlacruiser]

RCI also has a "Fun Mobile" Tour in St. Maarten. I posted the link for my review below. It's a little more than the ATV's, but we loved them.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1152577

[green eyed lady]

Yes unfortuatly they state you have to be atleast 18 years old, when I did it 2 years ago there was also a weight limit

 

My son was 16 and he was allowed to drive his own :)

[bigtime cruiser]

Thanks for sharing your review about the fun mobile. It looked like you had a lot of fun.

 

I think we have decided to go with St. Maarten as more people have given us feedback on that one. We have found a website that offers this excursion for $69 bucks per person of course this is not with Royal Caribbean but the tour looks all the same.

 

One other question if I may, did you book in St. maarten through cruise or on your own for the ATV's. If it was booked on your own what website and was it a packed tour or just a few people.

 

Thank you,

Mike

[Sabiney]

We did the ATV tour in St Maarten Jan '09. We booked on line through Island Marketing. We've done several tours on different islands through this company and have never had any problems. We did an ATV tour this past February on St Croix (different company) and it was good, but St Maarten was the best by far. It was just my husband and myself with our guide. We loved every minute of it! The ATV's were new and the trip was about 1/2 & 1/2 on road & off road with a beach break at Orient Bay. A great way to see a beautiful island.

 

Pat

[bigtime cruiser]

Thanks for the quick reply Pat. That is the same company we found and have also done other tours with them on different islands. All of which have been with no other guest so it was more like a private tour. My wife seems to like safety in numbers but I always get my way :) which is the cheaper way!!!!! When we take a vote I always use 2 hands :) One day I am sure she will catch on but when she does I will throw up a foot as well.

[green eyed lady]

Since you decided on ATVs in St. Martin, if you are still looking for something to do in San Juan, I highly recommend the Segway tour with Jose. Now this was definitely 5 stars! ;)

[bigtime cruiser]

Thanks for the tip we will try that out. We have tried to book it on the cruise but said it is booked then tried to contact Jose directly and he told us we must book thru the ship as he only offers other tours from his website once ship has left port. Must be some sort of agreement thru RCCL anyway the cruise says inquire on board so maybe a few spots will be left. I am crossing my fingers as this Segway tour looked like a great combination of History ,Sightseeing and Adventure.

Thank you to everyone who responded,

Mike

[BethV114]

Thanks for sharing your review about the fun mobile. It looked like you had a lot of fun.

 

I think we have decided to go with St. Maarten as more people have given us feedback on that one. We have found a website that offers this excursion for $69 bucks per person of course this is not with Royal Caribbean but the tour looks all the same.

 

One other question if I may, did you book in St. maarten through cruise or on your own for the ATV's. If it was booked on your own what website and was it a packed tour or just a few people.

 

Thank you,

Mike

 

My sister and I ended up doing this tour a few years ago when our western caribbean cruise got turned into an eastern caribbean cruise due to the weather. As you can imagine, it was virtually impossible to book any excursions through the ship since everyone else was scrambling to adjust to the change, as well, and they weren't allowing you to book through your televisions. Since we couldn't even book a diving excursion through the ship (even those sold out within minutes!) we decided to just wing it in port. We went to the information center at the pier when we left the ship and easily booked ourselves on the ATV tour. The price was lower than what was offered through the cruise ship, and our group consisted of people who had booked independently like us, as well as others who had booked through Royal Caribbean and Carnival (which as also in port that day). We had a great time and I would highly recommend this tour.:)

[girl993]

My friends and I rented ATV's at St.Marteen from a local deal for $60 a bike for the entire day. Granted we weren't with a tour and didn't get much instruction but it was one hell of a good time!

[arc918]

Has anybody done this tour with their kids on the back of the ATVs?

[bigtime cruiser]

Thanks for all the help. We have decided to book the St.Maarten ATV's and we will make sure to post a small review when we get back. It seems as though the St.Maarten tour was a bit more popular and got a 5 out of 5 rating !!

Wish me luck,Mike

[kel19]

bigtime cruiser I was just checkin to see what you thought about the ATV tour in St maarten?

[JoeLongIsland]

Booked for the ATV on St. Maarten with Island marketing as well. Would you think sandles are ok to wear on the ATVs, being that we're going to spend time at the beach.

[green eyed lady]

Booked for the ATV on St. Maarten with Island marketing as well. Would you think sandles are ok to wear on the ATVs, being that we're going to spend time at the beach.

 

No you should wear closed shoes and long pants. The engine gets very hot and you will burn your legs if you're not careful :eek:

[NoCaNiNaCast]

Hi

I did the ATV in St Maarten and my thought to it was...WOW. They take you all over the Island, stop off to get some great photos then stop at Orient beach for an hour before heading back. I had never done this before, they go through the saftey and instructions with you before you head off. You travel in convoy and there is an instructer riding along side the group incase of any problems. I really enjoyed it I think I paid about $69 2 years ago and it was worth the money.

Definitley a 5 star. Hope this helps...oh and do not forget high factor sun cream because the sun does really catch you.

Have fun

 

Who did you book with in St. Maarten?

 

Thanks.

 

 

Carol