GV Tours in Puerto Montt-AVOID

[BernieB]

I just returned from a South American Cruise and had made arrangements for a Private tour of Puerto Montt with this company over 6 months ago. On arrival we were put in a bus and told that a "few extra people" would be with us. After waiting 30 minutes for them, we complained and were told we would be given a city tour while waiting. We were driven about a mile when the bus broke down and we then waited another 1/2 hour for a replacement. We then went back and picked up 20 (!!!) more people. The bus had no speakers, so anyone beyond the first few rows couldn't hear. Our group wanted and had arranged for a private tour so we could see what we wanted, when we wanted, for as long as we wanted. We got none of that. To make matters worse we were taken to lunch at a place where the bottles of water we were given had black specks of ? floating in them and one of our group got very ill (I think the bottles had just been filled with "local" water and served to us as bottled water.) FINALLY, at the end of the day when we had to pay, I told Veronica that I was unwilling to pay for a private tour when I didn't get one and offered her the group rate that was 25% less. She started screaming and crying in the bus causing a scene and said I was trying to take advantage of a "poor Chilean woman". I tried to reason with her as a business person saying she did not deliver what was contracted for, but she just wailed louder. AVOID THIS COMPANY.

[Suzy Q]

Wow. I had contacted GV tours several times via email with no response some months ago. Gave up and went with someone else. Your description of the tour is exactly why we prefer and arrange PRIVATE tours. I'm hoping all of ours work out favorably. Sorry for you, though.

SQ

[xpcdoojk]

I sort of agree and sort of disagree. We knew before we booked that others would be with us on this tour. It is an excellent value. Gail and Veronica are very nice people. We were lucky the others didn't show up, so we were by ourselves. I think that they need to be more specific with the people that book the tour and tell them exactly how they need to meet the bus at a certain time. When I emailed them often before our trip they always replied. They are a little bit on the unprofessional side, but having said that I felt very comfortable with them and would not mind spending another day with them in Puerto Montt.

 

jc

[BernieB]

I was very clear that we wanted a PRIVATE tour and if fact her price list has the following:

 

Tours:

-Private: $100.00ea.

-Regular: $75.00ea. (less than four)

-Four or more: $50.00ea.

Large groups

$25.00ea 18 to 22

$28.00ea 11 to 17

$30.00ea 10 or less

 

We were a group of 8 and were to pay $50 each. The large group price which is what she delivered should have been half that.

[mike35]

We used Gail and Veronica on 1/5/06 and had a wonderful time with them. Two other couples, whom we met on the Insignia CC board, joined us, and I think we would all agree that GV met or exceeded our expectations. Gail is a character and the perfect foil for Victoria, who is the more "cerebral" of the two. I'm very sorry that Bernie had such an unfortunate experience.

 

Mike

[roberts2005]

My wife and I were on the Millenium. We used GV tours. We arranged and paid the full price of a private tour. $100.00 per person. Our tour was fantastic. We had the same lunch as the orginal poster. No problems withn the food or water. Overall the tour was a ten out of ten. All my emails were answerd promptly

[neryes20]

We also went with GV tours when we visited Puerto Montt on the Millenium. We had a fantastic time and enjoyed all of the places we saw.

 

I do understand BernieB's situation, since Gail and Veronica should have been much more specific on the price of the excursion beforehand. We received the same price listing in an email from them before going on the cruise and were surprised that we were charged $50 per person instead of $25, since we were in a group of 20.

 

However, in GV's defense, we looked again at the email they sent us and it clearly states below the price listing that the $25 per person for a group of 18-22 did not include lunch. But anyways, since the tour was so much fun and it included a good Chilean meal, it was definitely worth $50 per person and we gladly paid it.

[roberts2005]

Just an added thought. My wife left a small shopping package behind in our guides car. They cared enough to some how deliver it to our cabin. I found the whole process to be very professional.

[cruzisme]

we have booked with this particular tour company, so feel better after reading all these postings! What was the best part of the tour (what you saw)? Any hints we should know about beforehand (what to photograph, wear etc?):)

[mike35]

Most beautiful parts were the waterfalls and gorgeous snow-covered mountains. We also enjoyed the stop in Punta Veras, where we won $7000 (Chilean pesos, unfortunately) = $USD14! Also got some great photos of guanacos.

 

Mike

[cruzisme]

thanks Mike for the info! what month were you there? weather conditions? we are trying to pack for the changes in temperatures that we are hearing about (ie summery in B A and then cold elsewhere, esp. Falklands and P. Arenas)

[jazz's mom]

I've been "lurking" (sounds sinister!) for a long time, but was finally prompted to reply to this thread because of my experience with GV Tours.

 

I booked with them last September for our party of 6 for upcoming February 5 cruise on Millennium. I chose them because of CC recommendations and after looking at their web site. After reading BernieB's post, I decided I should contact Gail and Veronica again to re-confirm our arrangements. Was unpleasantly surprised to learn that we were not booked for the "private tour" we were expecting at $50 per person. That would be $100 per person Veronica or Gail (can't tell whom I'm "talking" with) replied.

 

I believe the problem lies not in their intention to deceive anyone, but rather in the description/pricing information on their web site. While it's true that nowhere does it mention "private tours", it does state very clearly that an "intimate tour" with "average 6 persons" is available at $50 per person including lunch. Nowhere is there a price of $100 per person. Since we are a group of 6, my assumption :( was that we were the "intimate" tour/group of which they were speaking. If I'd been quoted $100 per person initially, I'd have no problem.

 

My last e-mail to Gail/Veronica was to say we'd still like to use their services, but I felt they should honor the prices from their web site.

 

Obviously, they need to change/update their web site. I hope we can work this out because based upon the majority of posts here, they offer a nice day in Puerto Montt, and that's what we're looking for.

 

If asked, I'm happy to provide web address for GV Tours.

[Linda-E]

We were on the recent Millennium cruise and used GV tours for a party of 6. We did have a private van and we charged the $50 we expected. Veronica was the guide on the bus; daughter Annie was on another van; Roberts2005 and his wife (Hi!) had a private guide for the two of them. We had Gail as a guide.

 

Gail is not a tour guide. He was born and raised in the US, speaks no Spanish, reads info about the area from a paper prepared by his wife. The commentary on most of his "tour" consisted of "this is a new house" and "this is an old house."

 

That being said, we had a fine time with the group we were with and the scenery was beautiful. The tour with lunch was a great value. But if I were to book with GV tours again, I would make sure that Veronica or Annie was our guide.

 

Linda

[roberts2005]

My emails with Gail were clear about price. The best parts of the tour were Fruitlar and Petohue Falls.

[xpcdoojk]

We were on the recent Millennium cruise and used GV tours for a party of 6. We did have a private van and we charged the $50 we expected. Veronica was the guide on the bus; daughter Annie was on another van; Roberts2005 and his wife (Hi!) had a private guide for the two of them. We had Gail as a guide.

 

Gail is not a tour guide. He was born and raised in the US, speaks no Spanish, reads info about the area from a paper prepared by his wife. The commentary on most of his "tour" consisted of "this is a new house" and "this is an old house."

 

That being said, we had a fine time with the group we were with and the scenery was beautiful. The tour with lunch was a great value. But if I were to book with GV tours again, I would make sure that Veronica or Annie was our guide.

 

Linda

 

We had both Veronica and Gail on our trip, and Veronica is pretty challenged with English, while Gail is obviously fluent. Again. I felt it was an excellent value for the money. If you are wanting a private tour, be specific with them in your email.

 

jc

[roberts2005]

As I have previosly stated this was a great tour. If it is true that they didn't pay this is how American tourists get a bad name. Gail trusted me to arrange the tour with no deposit. I wouldn't blame him to require payment up front from future tours.

[NDRB]

While I can certainly understand Bernie B.'s frustrations with the tour, I truly hope that he wasn't exhibiting all of those sorts of behavior that create such strong anti-American sentiment amongst other people of other nations (and many South American countries aren't exactly in our "camp!")....

 

We all need to remind ourselves when we travel that we are not just tourists, but also ambassadors of our country!

 

Nina

[cruisincousin]

We were in Puerto Montt on the 27th of January on the Regal Princess. I arranaged a tour ahead of time with GV Tours. There was never a time when I had a problem with communication. All of my emails were answered promptly and explicitly. I knew exactly what kind of tour we were getting and how much it was going to cost. I also knew what the other options were so I could tell fellow passengers while I was on the cruise. I had booked a tour of 10 passengers and it was to include lunch. As it turned out I met a lot of others who wanted to join us and I emailed from the ship and we booked another van also including lunch. The cost was $50/pp. We were met promptly and had a full day. We saw everything there was to see and had a delightful lunch. Veronica was a real sweetheart and gave us an excellent narrative. Her English was excellent - never a problem understanding her. Gail drove our van. Their daughter accompanied the other van and everyone loved her. At the end of the day everyone thanked me for arranging it and said it was the best tour they had been on. I recommend GV tours highly. As a matter of fact if we had taken the tour from the ship it would have cost $149 not including lunch. Please don't hesitate to use this company - they are lovely people and more than willing to oblige.

[scubadiver77]

We are on the Regal leaving Val on the 24th of February and have reservations with GV Tours. Was this a tender port? Did you have a problem disembarking at this port? Were you able to leave the ship before all the ship's tours had left? Was the walk to see the falls difficult? Ed

[dileep]

I was very clear that we wanted a PRIVATE tour and if fact her price list has the following:

 

Tours:

-Private: $100.00ea.

-Regular: $75.00ea. (less than four)

-Four or more: $50.00ea.

Large groups

$25.00ea 18 to 22

$28.00ea 11 to 17

$30.00ea 10 or less

 

We were a group of 10 and were to pay $50 each. The large group price which is what she delivered should have been half that.

 

We used GV Tours last week. Some of the price info is confusing and I talked to Gail about that.

 

There were 10 of us in a Kia van and we paid $50 per person. Lunch was included. We had to pay $5 per couple entrance to Petrohue Falls. Our tour lasted almost 7 hours and they would have stayed longer if we had not asked to get back to Puerto Montt for some shopping.

 

They are very nice people and you don't have to prepay them. I would recommend using them.

[dileep]

We are on the Regal leaving Val on the 24th of February and have reservations with GV Tours. Was this a tender port? Did you have a problem disembarking at this port? Were you able to leave the ship before all the ship's tours had left? Was the walk to see the falls difficult? Ed

 

Not long but somewhat rocky. You need to watch your step. Someone on our cruise fell and broke her leg. It is a beautiful place with a fantastic view of Volcano Osorno.

[cruzisme]

thank you Dileep for your helpful tips regarding GV tours and also telling us about the footwear etc. for when we visit the penguin rookeries (another thread) we are booked with them for Valentine's Day! we plan to take lots of photos of the area--the falls sound gorgeous!:)

[cruisincousin]

Regarding tendering. I don't know if it is always a tender port or not because they do have docks there - just depends on if there is another ship (cargo ship was docked) or not. Because I had arranged the tour and there were 18 of us I went to the pursers office and arranged to get priority tickets. When we were all together we just let the person who was in charge of the tenders (not the girl in the lounge) and he got us on a tender right away. They were most cooperative.

[dileep]

We were on the recent Millennium cruise and used GV tours for a party of 6. We did have a private van and we charged the $50 we expected. Veronica was the guide on the bus; daughter Annie was on another van; Roberts2005 and his wife (Hi!) had a private guide for the two of them. We had Gail as a guide.

 

That being said, we had a fine time with the group we were with and the scenery was beautiful. The tour with lunch was a great value. But if I were to book with GV tours again, I would make sure that Veronica or Annie was our guide.

 

Linda

 

We were in a group of 10 in a van and this was their only tour that day. We had Gail driving and Veronica as the guide. I was somewhat confused about all the different options (private vs intimate etc) and what the cost was for each option.

 

After having talked to Gail in person I think I now understand the options.

 

1. You get a car for a private tour for $100 per person incl lunch, assuming that there are 2 people.

 

2. You can get a "private" (they should change the name) tour for 10-12 people in a van for $50 per person inl lunch. This is what we had. One couple did not want lunch and they paid $40 per person.

 

3. Bus tour for more than 12 people for $28 per person or less depending on the size of the group. I think they have or are discontinuing this.

 

They do not appear to be registered travel service providers; that may be why they meet you outside. Having said that, they are pleasant and easy to work with. They never rushed us, stopped for pictures where we wanted, and served us Pisco Sour at one of the stops.

 

I do agree that they need to crispen their communication and clearly state the options. We enjoyed our tour with them. BTW, they own and run and Bed & Breakfast too.

[crazy4cruisn]

Thanks for the information on the GV tours. How were the rest of the tours you booked? Would you recommend all of them?