ABC TOURS think twice

[beauty1492]

ABC TOURS. We took the all day Jeep Safari. For anyone thinking of this tour DON’T!

We were on the Carnival Destiny 10-22 I will be posting a total review soon.

It is little more than a 4 x 4 ride. After being pick up at the terminal in a regular 4x4, We went into the office and paid. Then to our shock the 4 x 4 had no lift gate or steps and we were expected to climb in. I have done many 4 x 4 tours and never had to climb up over a side! Our guide just shrugged when I said I can’t climb this (I’m short and stand less then 5 feet with heels) He said you can ride in the other truck. Well these were people traveling together that had hired ABC tour to follow our 4 x 4 tour. They were very kind and let us switch places. Now we are traveling with an unknown driver on Unknown Island. When we went in the rough our “driver” started to cuss softly then loudly as the truck started to slide sideways. I will say it was a thrilling ride- but not a good kind of thrill! Our tour guide (and that is being kind) really told us nothing of the places we visited. Actually he said very little at all. We did do the Island from top to bottom. When we got to famous Natural Pool, (I know because we saw the sign) our guide said from the cab of the truck, you have 45 minutes. I didn’t know to take snorkel equipment. We climb all the way down and it was a hard hike, then we didn’t have a mask-bummer! We were never offered any drinks that were supposed to be included-- we had to ask! The Ostrich Farm was tourist trap don’t bother. The natural bridge was interesting even if it was broken. The Indian caves were interesting but you only walk in 10-20 feet. We were drop off at Baby Beach for snorkeling 1.5 hours and it was great. We could have spent the whole day there. Then a trip back to the ship but instead of going to the docks, he just

drops us off in the middle of intersection in town and we walked to ship. Beware of this tour--take only if you want transportation !!

beauty

[andnickali]

I was on the tour in the beginning of November and thought it was awesome- I'm not sure what your actual complaints are, other than the guide was not what you expected and you could not get into the jeep? We drove in a seperate Land Rover (10 of us total) and followed the lead guy- who had the drink cooler and water (which is available for the taking at any stop) there was one 4X4 behind us with another group of 8 people. All of the Land Rovers I saw had back entrances with a stepdown. The guide was not very outgoing- he offered minimal amounts of information about each stop, but I had heard that Claudio (who has excellent reviews) was on the 1/2 day excursions now.

 

The tour company has very positive reviews in a large thread and I read every post prior to booking and knew exactly what we were getting into. I do agree, the tour is definitely off road and was more hilly then I expected. Going to the natural pool is intimidating for someone that has never done any type of four wheeling before (which my family had never). But, I looked at it as an adventure- and as far as getting to the natural pool- I had envisioned some dangerous slope based on the reviews and was surprised that it is nothing more than a set of steps cut into the rocks- I would not think that a person of average fittnes would describe it as challenging- I know it wasn't for my family of five or my MIL and FIL who are in their 60s.

 

This is not a tour for the an airconditioned bus sightseeing tourist- it involves seeing the natural side of Aruba first hand.

[bplazo]

We just did this tour last week and it was one of our favorites. My daughter, her boyfriend, and me sat in the back and my husband drove. We were going down hills that I thought for sure he would lose control or not get back up the hill. I was laughing so hard that I fell off the seat and on to the floor several times. One time I almost flew out the back door but my daughter pulled me back in (I was suprised at this since it would have given her a good reason to be rid of me).

 

We had a nice lunch at a nice restraunt outside and then continued on to several other stops. But bewared if you have a weak bladder like I do it will cost you a fortune to use the bathrooms. I think it was a quarter at the natural bridge and 50 cents at the beach.

 

A great tour would do it again.

[AtlantaKelly]

We did the 1/2 day jeep tour with ABC last spring and also had a fantastic time! Our family of 4 (I have 2 teenagers) rode with another group of 4 adults. A guy named Bob from Michigan drove - he was a mechanic and a great driver. I agree about the bumpy ride . . . I never thought we'd make it up some of the rocky hills, but that's what made it SO FUN!! We loved the adventure and have some great pictures. We had never been to Aruba before and I feel like it was a nice sampling of the island.