"Outdoor Adventure" in PV?

[Krazeniq]

Has anyone done the "Outdoor Adventure" in Puerto Vallarta? It is offered through the cruiseship and described as:

 

"The adventure begins with a thrilling speed boat ride across the bay to a secluded beach. Once on land you will board a Unimog 4x4 and drive into the heart of the tropical forests where you'll learn a variety of wilderness techniques, ride mules, splash through streams, rappel through waterfalls into natural river pools, and soar 200 feet above the ground over the jungle foliage on a series of incredible zip lines."

 

I have done the "Los Veranos Canopy Tour" and loved it, so when I saw this one I thought it sounded awesome. I was just wondering if anyone has actually done this particular (Outdoor Adventure) Canopy Tour and was wondering what you thought of it? Also, I found the website for the company who offers this "Outdoor adventure" (the same one the ship uses) and the price is considerably less (like $40 a person) so I was wondering if anyone has booked this on their own, outside of the cruiseline, and if so how did it work out? Any problems? Any info would be appreciated :p Thanks!

[yvqchick]

I am currently booked on this excursion and would love to hear of any experiences....good or bad!

Anyone out there done this, can you give me your fitness level and tell me if you found any of it difficult?

 

thanks

[nhrobo]

Has anyone done the "Outdoor Adventure" in Puerto Vallarta? It is offered through the cruiseship and described as:

 

"The adventure begins with a thrilling speed boat ride across the bay to a secluded beach. Once on land you will board a Unimog 4x4 and drive into the heart of the tropical forests where you'll learn a variety of wilderness techniques, ride mules, splash through streams, rappel through waterfalls into natural river pools, and soar 200 feet above the ground over the jungle foliage on a series of incredible zip lines."

 

 

 

Try these reviews of TripAdvisor.com

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g150793-d1181554-Reviews-Canopy_Outdoor_Adventures-Puerto_Vallarta_Pacific_Coast.html

[nhrobo]

I also tried to book this outside of the NCL cruise I am on and was told by email it was sold out on the day I was in port. Afterwards I read a post that said that the cruiseline had bought out the day. Not sure if that is true, but I was able book it thru my NCL cruise.

[yvqchick]

Thank-you very much, the reviews were very helpful.

looking forward to our Outdoor Adventure!

[Krazeniq]

Thanks everyone for your responses...they are greatly appreciated :p The reviews are very helpful also.

[Krazeniq]

It's been awhile since anyone has posted here, just wondering if anyone else out there has tried this excursion would like to share their experience we me and about a million other CC ers? LOL :D Thanks!

[dfitz]

Hi Krazeniq,

Guess I missed your thread, I've posted more info and pics of our personal experience on the OA on various other threads ... probably posted the most details on this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=930680

I HIGHLY recommend this excursion. Due to contracts between the tour operator and ship, you have to book through the cruiseline. I did question RCCL as to why it was so much more expensive to book through the cruise line than if I could book independently (I'd found discounted prices into the $80's ... however, was worth the ship price of $114). I wouldn't consider the speed boat ride "thrilling" as the description says, but it was a nice ride, dolphin swam just a few feet from our boat for a while, and the view of the lush shoreline is pretty. The little cove you pull into to switch to the 4x4's is very pretty (was used in one of the Terminator movies I believe they said), and the town is very quaint. You may have time at the end when waiting for the boat pick up for a drink at the little beach restaraunt there, so take a little extra $.

 

I did a lot of research prior to booking, also contacted some tripadvisor members for more detailed info. One of the tripadvisor members said he'd done both the Los Veronas and the OA, and he was glad he'd done the LV first because if he'd done the OA, then gone to the LV, the LV would have seemed boring. This goes along w/ what my daughter said, she'd ziplined in Belize prior to the OA in PV, she said the OA made the regular ziplining seem boring.

 

I posted pics of the actual adventure on the other thread, but could only attach max of 5 pics, so I'll put some more here :) If you want any more details/info feel free to contact me at dfitz0321@aol.com

These pics are from the point in the village where the boat takes you and the 4x4 picks you up.

 

In case you can't tell, the OA was my favorite part of our entire trip :D

[dfitz]

Thought I'd go ahead and copy my info from the other thread here so you don't have to go back/forth :)

 

We did the Outdoor Adventure last December ... it is great, worth every penny and every minute. All of us said we would have even done it again that day had time allowed :D I'd love to go back just to do the OA again some day. The equipt was good quality, the guides well trained, even the mules were well-behaved. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being best, I'd give this 10+.

 

Our 19 yr old daughter had zip-lined in Belize and said the OA made regular ziplining seem boring. I had never done anything like this, ever, I'm 49yrs old, and terrified of heights - I can't even stand near the glass in the glass elevators on the ship, but this OA was SO much fun! Our guides were great. I had a bit of trouble on the first zip-line (let go of the line, which allowed me to start twirling and going out of control), but that allowed me to see that they would do anything they could to make sure I was safe and had a good time! The hike and trail are beautiful.

 

You aren't allowed to take your own camera, but wouldn't have time to take pics anyway ... their pics are a bit pricey, but I love having the pics to share and to reflect on the trip ... for Valentines Day I put a book together for my dh, the book wouldn't have been complete w/o those pics :) Don't feel pressured to buy the pics on the spot at the end of the OA, you can order on-line once you get home.

 

The guides are a big part of making this a great experience, I wish I'd taken more cash to leave a bigger tip as our guides were great (the K-team).

You will get wet, there is a water fall rapel where you end in a pool at the bottom (up to your neck) as well as a straight line rapel into a pull of water.

 

We all wore water shoes and were comfortable (got them cheap on SierraTradingCompany.com) My husband and I wore board shorts, and I also had a swimsuit under my tshirt. Our daughter wore swim suit under some lightweight shorts and tshirt. The adventure takes a while, so it was nice to be comfortable. One poor lady in our group wore jeans, she looked uncomfortable after the wet rapels! They do have dressing rooms to change into at the end, so no matter what you wear you can change into dry clothes for the ride back.

 

The pics I'm including are of my daughter, husband, and I enjoying the Outdoor Adventure ... ahhh, wish I was there right now!

 

PS: I do a ton of research before coming to final decisions, highly recommend this ... you might also want to read reviews on tripadvisor.

[dfitz]

here's a couple more pics ... the mules were well-behaved and take you from where you get out of the 4x4's up to a short trail that leads to the first zip line ... towards the end of the adventure, is a little tightrope bridge you cross, it's not very high but gets you across a little rocky stream type of area

[Krazeniq]

THANK YOU SO MUCH DFITZ!!! I appreciate you sharing your experience with me and your pictures are great! The OA looks like so much fun! I just booked it through Princess (it's $139 :( but could've got it for $80 if I was able to book independently...oh well sounds like it's worth the $$ any how) I can't wait to go now :D PV is the last port of call on my cruise ... looks like we'll be going out with a bang :D. Thanks again :)

[dfitz]

Hi Krazeniq, Someone else just returned and posted on another thread about what a great time they had on the OA ... said the same as us, that we all would have done it again that day :D The other poster also agrees that buying the pics they take on the trail is worthwhile ... so do try to budget for that too. I waited til I got home to purchase the pics so I could really take my time looking at them from the comfort of home ... they have them available to view on their website w/in a week of your return home. I had a hard time finding mine online (jumbled with hundreds of others), so I emailed them and they ended up creating a special folder for me of just our tour group's pics which made it much easier to pic out what I wanted.

 

It is a bummer w/ the higher price through the ship, but just don't think about that and have a great time - I know you will. The guides are great, the scenery is beautiful, and the adventure will leaving you thinking about it a long time after :) I'm getting excited for you!!

[Krazeniq]

Thanks Dfitz! I truly appreciate all the help :D I am getting very excited to go on this OA...I can hardly wait lol :p

 

You mentioned buying the pictures...when you purchase the CD are ALL pictures included? I'm guessing it's cheaper to just buy the CD rather then buying the individual pictures. Is it cheaper to buy the CD and DVD there or once you get home? Do they offer a discount if you purchase both the picture CD and the video DVD?

[MSN-Travelers]

THANK YOU SO MUCH DFITZ!!! I appreciate you sharing your experience with me and your pictures are great! The OA looks like so much fun! I just booked it through Princess (it's $139 :( but could've got it for $80 if I was able to book independently...oh well sounds like it's worth the $$ any how) I can't wait to go now :D PV is the last port of call on my cruise ... looks like we'll be going out with a bang :D. Thanks again :)

 

While the tour operator cannot sell you this excursion directly, due to the contract they have with the cruise industry, this excursion is available through a third party tour broker.

 

One of the board sponsors is Puerto Vallarta Tours dot Net (their banner is often at the head of the forum) and they offer this excursion at a price that is less than the ship. The excursion runs several times a day and it is important to know what time slot the broker sells to see if it fits your ship's arrival/departure times.

 

Contact them and see what they have to say.

 

Enjoy!

[dfitz]

You mentioned buying the pictures...when you purchase the CD are ALL pictures included? I'm guessing it's cheaper to just buy the CD rather then buying the individual pictures. Is it cheaper to buy the CD and DVD there or once you get home? Do they offer a discount if you purchase both the picture CD and the video DVD?

 

You're welcome!

I don't remember the cost of the pics if you ordered there, maybe take this price list ... seems it was cheaper from home? This is the current prices posted on their website:

1 Image (quick email link) $25

8 Image (quick email link) $99

16 ..............................$139

All photos on CD ........... $249

W/ three of us in our family, we were able to get all of our good pics and at each different area by purchasing the 16 pics for $139, then I asked if they'd sell me one more addtl pic for the cost breakdown of the 16 for $139, so an addtl pic for about $9 since I was already purchasing 16.

The all photos is your entire group (I recall about 12 people total in our group).

 

 

While the tour operator cannot sell you this excursion directly, due to the contract they have with the cruise industry, this excursion is available through a third party tour broker.

 

One of the board sponsors is Puerto Vallarta Tours dot Net (their banner is often at the head of the forum) and they offer this excursion at a price that is less than the ship.!

It is always worth trying again, but they wouldn't book us when they heard we were w/ the cruise line. I think they are all so close they want to be careful about not stepping on eachother's toes :p

[Krazeniq]

Thanks MSN-Travelers for the advice, I'll definitely look into that :)

 

Thanks Dfitz for the price list...so the "All Pictures CD" is of everyone in the tour not just of you and your personal group? Also, when you asked for the additional picture for the $9 did they do it for you easily or did you have to finagle them a bit? Thanks :o

[Eeyoregon]

Q: Um, I'm, well, fluffy (not overly fluffy..more than 150 lbs but less than 190 lbs) and not in the best shape of my life but no injuries or health problems. Do those who have done this excursion think that I could do it? We will be there mid-March so need to factor in temperatures as well.

 

How strenuous on the shoulders is it?? My DS 16 had shoulder surgery 1 year ago March and is doing fine but if the repelling/zipping is shoulder intensive, then maybe we better skip it.

 

THANK YOU for any input/advice/comments.

 

Gina

[melissy123]

We have never done ziplining, and were going to do just do the "Los Veranos" canopy tour, but decided to go for this after looking at all the reviews. Not sure how often we would make it back to Puerto Vallarta anyway.

I was able to purchase with the "third-party" for $93 per person for our April trip, which beats the $144 per person that HAL offers. Saved $200 for the four of us (which sort of makes it OK that this is $100 more than just the ziplining trip). It's a bummer not being able to take your own camera, but if you end up in a river, would seem like a good bet not to take your camera with you.

Thanks for all the reviews and pictures.

[CurlyRed964]

I have ziplined in Jamaica and Honduras. This by far is the most awesome thing I have done. It is an experience unlike any other I have done and I am an adrenaline junkie from way back. Rappeling down the waterfall was unforgettable. The staff was fun, knowledgable, helpful and most of all competent! The photos are expensive, so see if you can go in halves with someone else in your group for the cd of the day's adventure and then send them a copy or send them via email. After we finished with our adventure, we went back to the tiny little town we started from and went to a little hole in the wall for tequila shots before heading back on the zoidiac boat. Do it, this is definitely on for the books!

[dfitz]

Gina, I'm in the same range as you (I'm 49 yrs old, 170lbs, pre OA workouts consisted mostly of 2-3 mile dog walks ... but this excursion ended up being part of my incentive for weight loss so I can do even more extreme adventures next time, I'm down to 163 now). The Outdoor Adventure was one of, if not the greatest fun I've ever had :D You will only have a couple fairly short uphill walks before and after the 1st zipline, we had a couple other people who were in worse condition than me, and none of us had a problem. Didn't notice any strain on shoulders, maybe DS could do some extra stretching type exercises just in case? If you look at zipline pics, do you think the position of having one arm up above head holding line would be a problem? DS won't need to put much pressure (a little pulling on the rope to brake), and it's not in that position for long. If still concerned, has doctor cleared recovery, finished physical therapy? The guides have hold of ropes for rapelling, too, so you're not the only one holding/controlling your weight.

I've attached a couple pics: 1, you can see my chubbiness and, 2, my daughter's arm position for zip-lining,

 

Krazeniq, Yes the "All" is of everyone in your tour (about 12 people) ... like someone else suggested, find someone in your tour to share a CD w/ ... if you take a laptop w/ you, maybe you could even copy onboard ... be sure to exchange emails w/ eachother in case something happens and you lose your laptop though :) And no, I didn't have to do a bunch of finagling to get them to sell me the 17th picture at the lower price ... I'm one of those people who figures never hurts to ask, so asked and he said sure ... suppose no guarantee to that, and you might have all the pics you want/need w/ 16 anyway ... I just had 2 that were similar that I couldn't decide between.

 

CurlyRed, well said!! Our 4x4 group chose to skip the tequila stop ... I think we were all still too excited about what we'd just finished & didn't want to risk having anything take away from our OA adventure :p

 

Melissy123, Thanks for the confirmation that you were able to find a 3rd party to book w/ at cheaper rate ... it's such a great time that I hate to think of people missing out because of the cost being too high! As far as cameras, although I never felt rushed, they really do keep you moving so that there is no time to stop and take pics ... the guides take multiple groups out each day (they are in GREAT physical condition), so they do have to stay on some type of schedule.

[Eeyoregon]

dfitz: Thank you for your honest comments. My son was cleared to return to normal activities and PT is all done. I think we are gonna do it!!

 

Q: I can book thru the cruiseline. BUT I also checked-out the "other" tour operator and could save $90 (which is HUGE for this single mama!). BUT when you read the itinerary description, if you book thru the ship, you take a boat to the donkeys. If you book independently you take a mercedes military rig to the donkeys. IS THIS THE SAME EXCURSION??? The other descriptions sound the same. I don't want to book the wrong thing.

 

Thanks!

[dfitz]

Hi Gina,

I'd love to hear about your experience when you get back ... I haven't heard anyone complain about it, only positives and raves - which is how we felt too. I totally know what you mean about the cost. I just looked at their website and found that it says this "Departures Monday to Saturday from the Vallarta Adventure Center in Nuevo Vallarta, Puerto Vallarta Marina Terminal and Mismaloya. [i](Pick ups in Mismaloya do not include speed boat ride)" [/i]I'm hoping the cc police don't pull my post, but I'm going to try posting the link for you so you can check out the OA directly ... this is the one the ship uses: http://www.vallarta-adventures.com/outdoor-challange/index.html

We ended up booking through the ship (as much as I hated paying the extra), but that way there was someone waiting to pick us up right after we got off the ship near the parrot cages, and if the tour was late getting back there's that insurance that the ship won't leave w/o you (and this is a longer excursion). The OA guides led us a short walk to their boat. The boat ride is very pretty w/ nice views of the lush coastline, and we had dolphin swim along-side us for a while (but that might have been a lucky thing). Sounds like if the tour does not include the boat ride you're going to have to get yourself to Mismaloya and be prepared for a longer 4x4 ride ... I don't have any info about what that entails, but if you have to ride 4x4's all the way from the ship to where the donkeys are, from what we could see of the road from the boat, it would be a pretty long drive on a windy road ... maybe check w/ the "other" tour operator and ask them what the travel time is from pier to donkey's. When booked through the ship, you still ride in 4x4's for a while but only from the point of where you arrive at the beach in Boca de Tomatlan to where you "gear up".

BTW, I've posted info on various threads and had some tips for buying thier pics (can't take own camera), and clothing shoes, did you come across that info? When you get in/out of the boat, you will jump into shallow water ... but you'll be getting wet when you rapel and cross streams during the excursion too. Board shorts over swim suit worked well, and we had water shoes (picked up for about $20 through SierraTradingPost(dot)com noticed other people wore reg tennies, ... there's a changing area after, so take dry clothes to change after :-)

 

Here's a map I found on-line, the cruise terminal is near downtown, the boat takes you to Boca de Tomatlan and it was an enjoyable boat ride, I didn't pay much attn to how long it took, maybe 20-30 minutes? From what we could see, the road you'd have to drive to get there looked somewhat narrow, and windy ... some of those people are crazy drivers, so not so sure if I'd enjoy driving that far myself. We haven't had many opportunities to travel over the past 20 years, so I did consider this excursion a splurge ... glad I did because it was the highlight of our trip.

 

W/o more research, off the top of my head, sounds like the addtl cost includes convenience of having them meet you right where you step off the ship, nice boat ride instead of 4x4 all the way to OA destination, insurance that ship doesn't leave w/o you, if ship itinerary has to change (late, or can't get into port) they deal w/ tour operator so you don't have to worry ... weighing personal options, I saw this as a once in a lifetime excursion, have no idea when we'll ever have a chance to do it again, so paid the extra. Would be interesting to hear from others who have gone through other operator ... wonder if there's any info on tripadvisor? I have booked all my other excursions direct/independently, but after doing this one, was ok with having paid more through the ship (although price increased since we went, it was only $114pp Dec 09)

[dfitz]

PS: not sure what your ship's excursion cancellation policy is, but when we went, we could cancel an excursion and get full refund up to 2 days before the excursion ... to be sure you secure a spot, maybe reserve now if you have the option of cancelling and going w/ other operator ... it would be nice if you could get the boat ride included @ the lower price.

[Eeyoregon]

dfitz: Thank you again for all of the great information. I was able to click on the link. With the 10% online discount it comes to $264.60 which is $120 less than the cruise ship.

 

I made it as far as the pricing but couldn't find anywhere on the website what time the tour operates, just the days. I suppose I can email them...should I NOT mention my cruiseship affilitiation??

 

TIA

 

gina

[dfitz]

dfitz: Thank you again for all of the great information. I was able to click on the link. With the 10% online discount it comes to $264.60 which is $120 less than the cruise ship.

 

I made it as far as the pricing but couldn't find anywhere on the website what time the tour operates, just the days. I suppose I can email them...should I NOT mention my cruiseship affilitiation??

TIA

gina

Yeah, I got to that same point w/ on-line booking, but then when I emailed to ask about days/times, I told them we were on the cruise and that's when they said I had to book through ship. But I wonder what happens if you've already paid online then emailed and said you needed a certain day/time? But then, there's that slight consideration you need to think about if the ship changes itinerary and OA's cancellation policy - I know I'm making it hard throwing all these considerations in, but it's all the thoughts I went through during my own planning :eek:

 

I believe they offerred 2 different tour times for the cruise ship passengers, and I'd be curious to see if they'll book you or if it's one of those situations I've come across where they sell all spots to the ship for that day. Worth a try, but they'll probably ask you where you're staying, so be ready ... wonder what happens if you're not sure yet :p

 

Someone I chatted w/ on tripadvisor who'd done the OA but had stayed at a hotel said that they were pretty sure some of the people in their group were from a cruise line ... but I know everyone on our tour were RCI cruise passengers.

 

It's a hard decision, I know I consider what it takes for me to earn $120, but then I was also looking so forward to this particular excursion, I didn't want anything to go wrong ... I struggled w/ it a long time before booking thru the ship as much as I hated paying more than what the web price was! But then I looked at how much I saved by booking direct and independently at our other ports and it didn't seem quite as bad :)