Mudbugs?

[bookbabe]

We're booked on the POH at the end of December, and were intrigued by the description of the "Mudbug & Waterfall Safari" on Kauai. I've done a search on past threads, and there don't seem to be any real reviews of the excursion.

 

Has anyone gone on the Mudbugs? I'd really love some first-hand (or even second or third hand) opinions of whether it's worth the fairly high price.

[bookbabe]

Well, the deafening silence and the lack of any real threads anywhere in CC on Mudbugs in Kauai has caused me to answer my own question... through the power of google and the total avoidance of work this morning. :D

 

One family seems to have posted their trip reviews online, and they include a number of photos and descriptions about the Mudbug Safari they experienced:

http://www.col-ed.org/family/joan_ralph_photos/hawaii2006/daily_diary/kauai_page.htm

 

I hope posting the link is okay, since it's not my site or review, but I guessed it would be fine because I just found it via a Google search so it's nothing secret or private, and it's not a commercial site. I wanted to answer the question here, as I doubt I'm the only one to be curious about the Mudbug shore excursion and what it's like...

[dan03jaz]

I booked the mudbug adventure. I think it will be fun. I have read a few reviews on it and people seemed to like it (as long as you don't mind getting dirty). I am going on the POH 11/27 and will let you know how it was.

[bookbabe]

I booked the mudbug adventure. I think it will be fun. I have read a few reviews on it and people seemed to like it (as long as you don't mind getting dirty). I am going on the POH 11/27 and will let you know how it was.

 

Awesome! I really appreciate it. I've had a hard time finding any concrete info about it, and with the price, I'd much prefer to hear a first-hand review before booking it. :) Thanks!

[bobsydney]

Have a look at www.kauaiatv.com/html/tours-waterfall.html to get an idea of what it might be about. I don't know which company NCL uses but I think this tour is something similar to what you are looking at.

 

I looked at doing an ATV tour when I went, and did a fair but of googling in doing so, but decided in the end to opt for a helicopter flight as my first priority, and there wasn't really enough time available to do both. Back on board, I didn't hear anything negative from people I spoke to who did the ATV thing, they all had a great time, but by the same token, everyone I spoke to did a heli tour or the zipline tour also had very positive things to say about their experience.

 

Hope I haven't confused the picture further.

 

Cheers

Bob

[TSUmom]

I myself did not do the mudbugs as I am not one to enjoy getting "muddy". We have some friends from our cruise that did it and throughly enjoyed the whole experience. They saw parts of the island that we did not get to explore and had a wonderful time - we have seen some of their pics and I see why it is called "mudbugs". They drove their own ATV with a group of others, outerwear clothes were provided and if I remember right they even stopped for a swim. Enjoy your trip!!! We are going back in August and hope to return to the islands every year!!!!

[tank18]

I have two separate sets of friends who have done it - one in July and one in September - and both said it was the best part of their trip! We are booked to do it on Christmas Eve!

 

:D jen

[3boyzmom]

We just got back (last night!) from our cruise. We did the mudbugs with our 3 boys, ages 10, 11 and 6. We all had an absolute blast! You will be COVERED in mud, but it's not the stinky kind or anything. It had not rained in Kauai for several days, so the trail was not as muddy as it should have been. It was actually dusty in some parts. The scenery is beautiful, the guides are fun, and I highly recommend it! The picnic spot is near a small waterfall and a couple natural pools where you can swim. Beautiful!

[bookbabe]

We just got back (last night!) from our cruise. We did the mudbugs with our 3 boys, ages 10, 11 and 6. We all had an absolute blast! You will be COVERED in mud, but it's not the stinky kind or anything. It had not rained in Kauai for several days, so the trail was not as muddy as it should have been. It was actually dusty in some parts. The scenery is beautiful, the guides are fun, and I highly recommend it! The picnic spot is near a small waterfall and a couple natural pools where you can swim. Beautiful!

 

Thanks for the first hand report! It's now been officially added to my excursion list! :D It's a good thing PoH has a laundry service.

 

I can't wait...only three weeks until we fly out!

[French.]

We were on the Pride of America but had this exact tour available. We went on December 14th and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and the 2 guides were awesome. I pretty much agree with everything said here and on the other site you posted, except the camera situation.

 

You do NOT want to take a regular digital camera on this trip. It WILL get dirty and ruined. You can (and should) take a camera if you have an underwater case for it, or an underwater disposable camera. The guide himself uses a regular digital camer in an underwater case as he approached me during the tour to compare.

 

So I took my camera as I have an underwater case for it. The outfit will try to sell you a CD with all the pictures taken by the guide throughout the day. I would have purchased it as I went with my BIL and step son and thought the pictures the guide took came out very nice. He got pictures that I couldn't possibly have gotten (us driving past and flinging mud). His pictures all came out very nice. I got some that are keepers, too, but they are all from the actual mud bug point of view. But of 3 of us, none of us thought to bring money so we were unable to purchase the CD. In fact, I found this very thread doing a Google search because I want to see if they have an archive copy I can purchase now that I'm home.

 

I also did the helicopter ride and while it was a memorable event, I don't necessarily think it was better than the mud bug. I much prefer keeping some part of me on the ground, even if it's a tire. I got some incredible pictures from the helicopter ride but I was scared. I wasn't convinced a nasty wind wouldn't blow us sideways, resulting in a crash to the ground. We had some turbulence and some very dark clouds about, and even had some rain while in the air.

 

I'm glad we did the helicopter but don't know that I would do it again. I would definitely mud bug again.

 

Also, you need not worry about doing laundry. They outfit you with the pants and shirt (and even shoes if you need them). Just wear a bathing suit under your clothes when you go as you will have an opportunity to swim (it was too cold for me), and their clothes aren't in pristine shape. Buttons were missing from the crotch closure and the t-shirts had some tears in them. So if you wear a bathing suit underneath you'll only be exposing your bathing suit. I hope you have a great time. We did!

[niki1785]

French - I am booked on the POH for September and my fiance and I would love to go on the mud bug tour. I went to the NCL website and clicked on Shore Excursions and clicked on Hawaii and Kauai, but I can't find the mud bug tour anywhere!? Is it called something other than a mud bug? How did you book this... through NCL?

 

Any help would be wonderful!

 

I have been looking into it for a while now, and it sounds like a lot of fun! Do you have any pics online?

[bookbabe]

I went to the NCL website and clicked on Shore Excursions and clicked on Hawaii and Kauai, but I can't find the mud bug tour anywhere!? Is it called something other than a mud bug? How did you book this... through NCL?

 

We're booked to do this next week on the PoH and can't wait!

 

The link to NCL's shore excursion is here:

http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/shorexDetails.html?groupId=NWK_43

 

Thanks to everyone who provided firsthand info on this...your hints will help a lot! :D

[niki1785]

Bookbabe, thanks so much for the link. I saved it in my favorites for easy finding! I seriously don't know why I had such a hard time finding it before :o

 

Have an amazing time on the PoH and please tell us all about it!

 

Thanks so much!!