ABC Jeep Safari

[Ashkins]

Anyone have any experience with it?

 

Disney Magic 5/02

 

Carnival Destiny =) 5/30/2004

 

[DMorris]

We are thinking about booking with them for our November cruise? I would be interested in hearing about them too.

 

Email: Deanna34769@wmconnect.com

 

Until our Martian Yatch Club Adventure

 

RCCL Adventure of the Seas 11/14/04

RCCL Voyager of the Seas 10/26/03

Carnival Pride 11/9/02

Premier Cruise Lines (5 sailings)

[jolly pirates]

You check out all the fun for yourself

www.abc-aruba.com

 

have a great time!

[Ashkins]

umm.. We did check it out via their web site some months back. What I would like is personal feedback from someone who might have done it.

 

Disney Magic 5/02

 

Carnival Destiny =) 5/30/2004

 

[Skimble1973]

Hi Ashkins,

 

I'm a 30 yo German and have been to Aruba last November (Summit, Celebrity). I booked a whole-day-jeep-safari on the web at with WIX-Tour.

At the pier I met the driver ... he worked for ABC-Tours and told me they were cousins and WIX tours wouldn't do the trip that day.

Our guide's name was Claudio, there were 5 jeeps and 6-8 persons on each car. Claudio drove the first one. On the other jeeps everybody had the chance to drive for one or two hours.

The tour was quite rough, but it was fun! We had a many stops and learned a lot about the island (Claudio was great). We also had a stop at Natural Pool and Baby Beach, about 30 minutes each. So we didn't have so much time to swim.

We were picked up at 8:30 AM and returned to the pier at 5:30 PM.

 

Do this trip if you want to learn something about Aruba. It's absolutely worth the money.

 

Further questions? Write me soon (I'll leave for my next cruise on Saturday).

 

Skimble1973@gmx.net

 

Eric

[sangoofy]

Doesn't look like much feedback. We have booked them for our June 2004 cruise, be glad to share feedback afterwards. Meanwhile, you can check out the guestbook comments on the Abc website for comments by guests, not sure how biased they maybe though.

[micheleg]

Hiya All,

 

I organized our whole thread going on an Jeep Safari with ABC Aruba. We are on the Summit last October. Needless to say they didn't disappoint!!! You can certainly check out my posts and read my review of our cruise...also check out our sailing thread so that you can see that if you orgainize you can even get a better discount than what's offered on their website.

 

ABC Aruba did not disappoint, even after Celebrity changed our itinerary without notice. They were fully booked for the day we finally arrived, but were there with jeeps and bells on and accomodated us like we were royalty. It was a full day, and we barely made it back to the ship!!! It was a blast and a memory that will last forever!! You won't go wrong!!!! (and no...they don't pay me to gush over them!)

 

Hope this info helps and have fun in Aruba!

Michele

 

Celebrity Infinity - 4/17/05

 

Celebrity Summit - 10/03

Explorer of the Seas - 8/02

Fascination - 8/01

Costa Romantica - 3/94

Celebrity Zenith - 9/92

Celebrity Zenith - 5/92

Celebrity Horizon - 7/91

Carla Costa - 5/91

Costa Riviera - 5/90

Costa Riviera - 10/89

Costa Daphne - 4/89

Costa Riviera - 10/88

Costa Daphne - 5/88

Carla Costa - 8/87

Costa Flavia - 1960's

[sangoofy]

Thanks micheleg- can't wait to get there. The safari looks awesome. We have a party of 9 going. How much time did you get for the swimming/snorkeling/cliff jumping? Where was lunch? How long was your tour?

[micheleg]

Hi Sangoofy,

 

From what I remember, we had over an hour at Baby Beach, which we thought was plenty of time. The cliffs was about 30 to 40 minutes...not real sure.

 

Lunch was at some goofy place and it took forever. Other tour groups stopped there as well. The food was ok...not great, but ok. That was the only part that wasn't so wonderful, but we really didn't care. We were having a great time.

 

Our tour was all day. On the way back to town, we hit some traffic and were really afraid that we were going to miss the ship. We detoured through a back alley and parked our jeeps at a parking lot across from the pier. ABC said they would come back later to pick up the jeeps. We literally ran through the back of a shopping center to get to the security checkpoint to get back to the pier and then speedwalked back to the gangway.

 

We were filthy...but happy. We had no time to go shopping or anything.

 

Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

Michele

 

Celebrity Infinity - 4/17/05

 

Celebrity Summit - 10/03

Explorer of the Seas - 8/02

Fascination - 8/01

Costa Romantica - 3/94

Celebrity Zenith - 9/92

Celebrity Zenith - 5/92

Celebrity Horizon - 7/91

Carla Costa - 5/91

Costa Riviera - 5/90

Costa Riviera - 10/89

Costa Daphne - 4/89

Costa Riviera - 10/88

Costa Daphne - 5/88

Carla Costa - 8/87

Costa Flavia - 1960's

[sangoofy]

Micheleg: Thanks for the addl. info, very helpful. Since Aruba is our late night island on our itinerary, don't think we will need to be worried about missing the ship, although we do have another excursion in the evening planned to start at 6:30, since the safari is 4.5 hrs long beginning at 9:30, we should be okay I think, right??

[sangoofy]

test

[micheleg]

Sangoofy...if you're only doing the half day, you should be more than fine. We did the whole day. It was wild!!!!!!!!!!!! When we were there the ship left at 5 or 5:30...I don't remember. Just keep checking your watch..it takes about 20 minutes from Baby Beach (if that's your last stop) to get back to the pier.

 

Have fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Celebrity Infinity - 4/17/05

 

Celebrity Summit - 10/03

Explorer of the Seas - 8/02

Fascination - 8/01

Costa Romantica - 3/94

Celebrity Zenith - 9/92

Celebrity Zenith - 5/92

Celebrity Horizon - 7/91

Carla Costa - 5/91

Costa Riviera - 5/90

Costa Riviera - 10/89

Costa Daphne - 4/89

Costa Riviera - 10/88

Costa Daphne - 5/88

Carla Costa - 8/87

Costa Flavia - 1960's

[CHS]

Just got back from the AOS 5/2/04 10 day cruise

We were in Aruba on 5/9/04 and did the ABC Jeep tours with Claudio. It was a Blast. He gives you alot of info about the island. There was 4 jeeps on this tour with Cluadio driving the first one. These jeeps fit 8 people very comfortable, two in the front and 3 people on each side in the back. We saw the California LightHouse, Baby Bridge, we snorkeled in The Natural Pool & We also saw The Chapel, The Natural Bridge went ate lunch at some little cafe, we saw the Bat Cave and then ended our tour at Baby Beach where we snokled again. This was an all day tour and was back to the ship by 5:30. Don't miss out on this very exciting rugged jeep tour. Aruba was a late night port so we didn't have to worry about getting back to the ship early. We left Aruba at 1:00 in the morning.

 

If you take this tour ask Cluadio what Monkey See Monkey Do is. Hint check out all the rock piles along the coastline when taking this jeep tour.

 

Fran

[sangoofy]

Just got back from our cruise last week. While in Aruba did the ABC Xtreme Jeep Safari with our party of 9 in one jeep, we used to of our party to alternate driving to reserve space enough for all of us to travel together in 1 jeep. Still part of the tour caravan led by Leroy who was awesome. We made stops at the Ostrich Farm, Gold Ruins, Natural Bridge, Natural Pool where we were able to swim, snorkel and jump off cliffs into crystal clear water. After some pretty excited rides up and down rugged terrain, we ended up at a local restaurant for lunch (included in price) , alcohol there was extra. Lunch consisted of chicken, rice, salad. Then headed back to our ship. Great tour, dusty but cool ride. Rum punch provided to non-drivers along the way by Leroy. Great excursion had by all!

[pd933]

I have taken the whole day trip. GREAT time, we also had Claudio as our guide. I drove the whole tour what a BLAST there are few roads and you just follow Claudio. By the time you stop at Baby Beach you are covered with dust, you need to swim just to get rid of the dust. Snorkling was not good when we visited Baby beach on the tour but we stayed at a timeshare and previous trips snorkling was good. The natural pool is also GREAT. Claudio told me driving would be easy only one up and down, he didn't say it would be over the mountain!!! Thats how you get to the Natural pool. Only 4 wheel drive jeeps, horses and ATV make it to the Natural pool. My wife and I had lunch with a couple from a cruise and they said a similar tour with the cruise ship was around $100 PP WOW!! We only paid about $60 pp. This is a great way to see Aruba.

[Birdnutty]

We went on this tour this past March. We had a blast, but have some words of caution to pass on.

 

We took the Extreme Safari 1/2 day tour. Advertised as from 9 AM to 1 PM. There were up to 12 in a Land Rover (which actually was more fun, I think) and we bumped and rolled all over Aruba. It was a blast. We took off from their office at about 10 AM, once we got everyone settled. The full day and half day tours went together for the beginning, then the full day split off after lunch and continued on, taking in a cave and swimming at Baby Beach. Everything runs on "island time" and takes much longer than we're used to here in the states, so it helps to be aware of that from the beginning. The stops were timed pretty punctually, and the swimming in the natural pool seemed too short. However, we sat at the restaurant waiting for our chicken and fries lunch for well over an hour and a half! Seemed to be a ploy to get us to buy drinks at the bar there. Would've preferred more time at the Natural Pool snorkeling. We finally got back to our ship at 4 PM, instead of the 1PM we expected. It's a really good thing we did not have another tour set up for the afternoon, or we would have been screwed. Many of the folks who'd signed up for the full day quit after lunch, and I'm really glad we did only the half day. The other would've been too much. In retrospect, I would've preferred to go to Baby Beach than the Natural Pool, if I'd had the choice. It was novel and very pretty, but not spectacular.

 

Word of warning: If you are going to book your own tour, make sure you bring along seemingly unnecessary items like a first aid kit and plastic Ziploc type bag. Companies that are not associated with the cruiselines do not have to adhere to the same stringent rules as those that do, and sometimes it can lead to a "not as great as it could've been" experience like I had. At the very first stop, I had the misfortune of severely twisting my ankle on the very rough rocky terrain. I crumbled to the ground, creating a 6 inch by 5 inch abrasion on my leg from the coral rocks (similar to scraping along on small, sharp gravel), gashing my elbow and a variety of other places. The guide did have a first aid kit, but it wasn't well stocked, and as the guide explained, people take things from it without replacing them. OK, I can deal with that. All he really had that I could use was a small handwipe, which I used on the scrapes and a gauzy -type bandage, which I put on my ankle. He had plenty of ice for the drinks he supplied, but there was no bag in which to put it. So I was not able to ice my ankle at all. I could've used a soda can, but bending down to hold it would have not worked - you get seriously bumped around on the rough roads and need both hands to hold on. The abrasions bled like crazy, filling up the wipe quickly. I had brought nothing, although I had thought of bringing baby wipes, which I'd forgotten. Big mistake. I continued on with the tour, my ankle throbbing and swelling, and my leg dripping. I REALLY wanted to do this trip, and even if I'd been given an opportunity to leave it (which I wasn't) I was going to give it my all and continue on. Three stops later, the last stop before lunch, was the Natural Pool. I was glad to have the salt water to wash out my cuts, as there'd been no antibiotic or even cleaning agents in the wipe I had, and coral scrapes can lead to nasty infections. I wish I'd been told how much of a haul it would be to get down to it - it was a lot of treacherous walking and climbing (for someone who's impaired) - probably a good 300 feet (at least) down steep, rocky, uneven steps/rocky steep path. I never would've goneif I'd realized how rough it would be. It was brutal and the guide paid no attention to my plight. Once I finally got down the cliff, I found that getting into the water entailed climbing over large, slippery rocks. But I did it. The water felt wonderful (the ride is hot, dusty and very windy) Since it took me so long to hobble down to the water, he was calling people out of the water shortly after I got in. Then I had to get back up the cliff. Oy. There was no time to rewrap my ankle before climbing back up the hill or after returning to the jeep, and trying to do it while the jeep was in motion would've been suicide. The rough terrain we were traveling over was incredible, the views were absolutely beautiful and I had lots of fun despite all of this. It was exhilarating. And it would've been wonderful if I hadn't been hurt. Next time I will be more prepared. 97% of the time, nothing bad happens. For the 3% of the time when something like this does happen, it sure as hell is worth it to be ready for it.

[fsupharm77]

What about taking 2 year old on the half day safari? if we get back by 2 that is nap time and that would be great. any ideas or input?

 

TIA,

Sarah

[KJHorton]

We are trying to decide on the full or half day jeep tour? Has anyone done both? Any recommendations?

Thanks.

[KJHorton]

Does ABC go snorkeling at the German boat?

[A.Emgee]

We just returned from the trans-canal voyage of the Coral Princess. We were in Aruba on Friday, October 8. We went with ABC Tours Aruba because it was recommended by fellow Cruise Critic members. Here's my review:

 

We booked online using the secure website and chose the Xtreme Safari, which is a half-day tour lasting from 9:00am to 1:00pm. The credit card was billed $99.00 for two people shortly after booking. The communication with Marvin Kelly, the owner/managing director of the company via email was excellent – replies would come always in at most one business day.

 

We were told by the confirmation email to arrive at the pier by 8:30am. We were there at 8:20am and a friendly ABC employee had a clearly marked sign saying ‘ABC Aruba Tours’ and also had a blue T-shirt with the ABC logo. There were four others from our ship on the tour, so we were told to wait in an adjacent sitting area until the tour was ready to proceed. When everybody was gathered, we were directed a short distance down the pier to a waiting van. Unfortunately, the van’s air conditioning was not functioning, but the ride was quite short – maybe five minutes. We stopped at the nicely air-conditioned ABC office where we signed a waiver form. There were many tourists from local hotels, and in total there were enough people to fill five Land Rover Defender 4x4s. Two jeeps were doing the full-day tour and three jeeps were doing the half-day tour.

 

Our guide was Claudio Jr. aka Claudito (or “Dito” as he was called by everybody). He told us he was Aruban-born but had spent time in San Francisco and more recently in Holland. He had just returned to the island three months ago. He spoke Papiamento (the local language), fluent English, Dutch, and Spanish as well. He was in charge of the three half-day jeeps (the full-day jeeps had their own guide). He found two volunteer drivers for two of the jeeps, but no one from our group of six from the Coral Princess wanted to drive. So he drove the lead jeep with us in it, and the other two jeeps followed. This was a wonderful arrangement for us, because Dito talked and answered questions while he drove which made for a fuller experience.

 

Our first stop was the ???black stone beach. Here, Dito told us that this was the windward part of the island and typically it was very windy in Aruba, particularly at this point. He gave us some of the history of the island and described how Aruba became so prosperous. The remains of a fort-like structure sat on the beach in front of us, and he told us that it had been a gold refinery that was designed to look like a fort in order to fend off pirates. We spent about fifteen minutes here. Dito had ice cold water and generic soda (regular and diet) in our jeep which was a true lifesaver, as it was a blistering hot day with a heat index of 110°F! While we were on the beach, many other tourists arrived, including those with four person jeeps, tour buses, and those on horseback. One thing we noticed was that our Land Rover Defenders had a canopy which provided shade, whereas many other 4x4s had no such cover. This made a huge difference, as we would have likely gotten heat stroke without it!

 

Next, we headed to the Natural Bridge. There are in fact two Natural Bridges in the area. The large one that is frequently photographed is about 500 years old whereas the newer one is less than a century old. Dito explained that we could use the restrooms in the adjacent store (appropriately named the “Thirst Aid Station”) but that they charge 25 cents for the privilege. However, our next stop five minutes away would have free restrooms to use.

 

After the Natural Bridge(s), we headed to the Ostrich Farm. There, we had a tour by one of the facility’s guides. Ostrich “farm” is actually a misnomer because no ostriches are actually grown for food on the island. The neighboring island Curacao is the main source of ostrich farmed for meat. Most people on the tour had not tried eating ostrich meat before. We were told that it doesn’t taste like chicken as most people erroneously believe, but rather it’s more like beef. At the Ostrich Farm we had the opportunity to feed some younger ostriches. They give you a large bowl to hold at waist level and have you step backwards towards a fence. The birds on the other side of the fence reach around your shoulder and side to access the bowl with their long necks and beaks. You can do this as many times as you want and you are free to take as many pictures as you please. Then we had the opportunity to hold an ostrich egg and learn how ostriches are farmed in the Dutch Antilles. Eggs are laid every other day but due to the high humidity, they cannot mature in the Aruban climate. As a result, eggs are taken into an air-conditioned incubator where they hatch. Finally, we had the chance to use the Ostrich Farm’s restrooms and see their small gift shop. They also had a small restaurant which served ostrich dishes, but I don’t think anybody tried these.

 

Our next stop on the tour was the Natural Pool. This cannot be accessed by regular vehicles as the road is unpaved. The ride to the Natural Pool was dusty, hot, and bumpier than most roller coaster rides. It’s a good thing we all had our seatbelts fastened! Dito said that the company owned ten Defenders and there are almost always two that are in the shop for repairs. He said that his record on tour was five flat tires for three jeeps! We found that the seats had a metal bar behind the cushioning and this was digging into our backs. One of our passengers also got quite a large bruise on her hip from the buckle of the seatbelt repeatedly hitting her side! So it’s probably a good idea to bring an extra towel or something as cushioning.

 

Once we arrived at the area near the Natural Pool, we had to walk down a very uneven path to reach the pool. It’s probably best to have sneakers for this trek, and those without a reasonable level of fitness would be ill-advised to walk it. The views from this area were absolutely stunning, so be sure to have lots of film. Dito gave us all masks and snorkels as there are some fish in the Natural Pool. However, none of the equipment seemed washed or sanitized, as it was covered in sand and he even told us to clean it. Most people in our group didn’t want to use the snorkel, but we used the mask. Once we got down to the Natural Pool, we put our belongings on the adjacent rocks. There was a guide (park ranger?) who instructed us on how to enter the Pool (the entrance is algae-covered black volcanic rock – very slippery). We spent about 15 minute swimming the Pool and there were a few fish, but nothing spectacular. We then had to take the same dirt road back and once again this was dusty and bumpy.

 

Our next stop was lunch. Along the way, Dito pointed out that we were less than twenty miles away from Venezuela, and from one lookout point we could see the shores of South America! He also talked about the different type of snakes and the different types of cacti on the island. Lunch was served at a covered outdoor restaurant called “Best Pizza”. Ironically, we had grilled chicken breast with lettuce, tomato, rice, and fries. The portions were quite large. One passenger was a vegetarian and they prepared something else for her.

 

After lunch, we headed back to the ABC office while the full-day jeeps continued their tour. Apparently, on the full-day tour the jeeps go to the California Lighthouse (eastern part of the island) and also to the most westerly point of the island, so it’s a genuine cross-island tour. At the ABC office, we were split up into groups depending on our final destination (cruise ship, hotel, etc). Ordinarily, we would have been transported by bus, but since their bus had malfunctioning air conditioning that day, we were instead taken back to the cruise ship terminal on the Defender.

 

All in all, this was a great tour put together by a first-class company. For a first time visit to Aruba, I would recommend doing an organized 4x4 tour as driving a rental jeep around the island may be a strenuous and challenging task (there are hardly any road signs anywhere!).

[PurrSusan]

Thanks so much for your review. We are thinking about signing up for the all day trip when we go to Aruba next Oct. I was just wondering, did you wear a bathing suit under your regular clothes since you were in the water at times or did you change clothes? Did you bring a towel with you or did they provide towels? Also, you suggested sneakers for walking down to the Natural Pool. Would sneakers be ok for the entire tour (except in the pool, of course!)? One last question....how deep is the Natural Pool? My husband is not a very strong swimmer and doesn't like to get in water too deep. Thanks for the note about the unsanitized snorkle equipment. I always carry a bottle of Purel when I go on excursions........you just never know!!

[A.Emgee]

Thanks so much for your review. We are thinking about signing up for the all day trip when we go to Aruba next Oct. I was just wondering, did you wear a bathing suit under your regular clothes since you were in the water at times or did you change clothes? Did you bring a towel with you or did they provide towels? Also, you suggested sneakers for walking down to the Natural Pool. Would sneakers be ok for the entire tour (except in the pool, of course!)? One last question....how deep is the Natural Pool? My husband is not a very strong swimmer and doesn't like to get in water too deep. Thanks for the note about the unsanitized snorkle equipment. I always carry a bottle of Purel when I go on excursions........you just never know!!

Yes, we wore bathing suits under our regular clothes. I also brought a change of clothes because eating lunch and feeling wet can be uncomfortable. They did not provide towels, so bring them from the ship. Sneakers would be a great idea for the whole tour. Water shoes would be an acceptable alternative too. Natural pool has areas no more than 4 feet deep (standing on slippery rock) but in the middle it gets quite deep. I couldn't come close to touching the bottom and I'm 6'1".

 

Hope it helps. Enjoy your trip!

[PurrSusan]

Thanks for the info! At least now I know that he go in parts of the Natural Pool. He will feel more comfortable about that and I can swim some in the deep part. We'll probably take water shoes for actually getting in the water & sneakers for the walking part. I appreciate your input--I like to plan way ahead of time! Thanks again, Susan

[lyndaedris]

Thanks so much for the reviews of ABC tours. I am going to book the jeep safari. We will be in Aruba on Dec. 6 cruise on RCCL Empress of the Seas. Had no idea what to do. This solved the problem. These threads have never failed me.

 

Cruise on:D

[spicy1]

Are the jeeps stick shift or automatic? I would love to drive one when we take our tour, but I only know how to drive automatic...:rolleyes: