El Tours 4x4 or Wix Essence of Aruba

[chiapet]

DH, 2 DS (ages 6 & 10) and I are interested in doing either El Tours 4x4 Jeep Safari OR Wix Tours Essence of Aruba ... and have the following questions:

 

1) Is the 1/2 day El Tours 4x4 Jeep Safari one that we can fit all 4 of us AND self-driven by us?

 

2) Has anyone done the El Tours FULL Day ... and is it even possible to fit it in ... if we're in port 8am-6pm?

 

3) Has anyone done the Wix Tours Essence of Aruba ... and how was it?

 

4) Have you used El Tours or Wix Tours LATELY ... and how were they to deal with by making a reservation online ... did they show up?

 

Thanks for any info you have!

[Arubalisa]

Sorry I do not have any experience with either of these tours. Have you done a search here of the forum for info?

 

In the past we used Kini Kini http://www.kinikini.com/kk/servlet/Tours for an ATV tour and found them to be excellent. It was one of the best tour experiences we have had on the island. They provide a half day or full day jeep tour where you can self drive or be driven. We opted for a private tour because it was not much more money and I see it is the same for their jeep tour, $10 extra per adult?

 

Another option would be a private tour given by taxi. At $40 per hour for four people, not a bad price for a private tour.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/tags.php?tag=bully+taxi+driver

[chiapet]

Sorry I do not have any experience with either of these tours. Have you done a search here of the forum for info?

 

In the past we used Kini Kini http://www.kinikini.com/kk/servlet/Tours for an ATV tour and found them to be excellent. It was one of the best tour experiences we have had on the island. They provide a half day or full day jeep tour where you can self drive or be driven. We opted for a private tour because it was not much more money and I see it is the same for their jeep tour, $10 extra per adult?

 

Another option would be a private tour given by taxi. At $40 per hour for four people, not a bad price for a private tour.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/tags.php?tag=bully+taxi+driver

 

Thanks for the info Arubalisa.

 

We did look at Kini Kini ... but w/ all the talk about CC problems of late ... we were reluctant to give out our CC info to a tour co ... esp. if we're not sure if they'll show ... which is another problem I see w/ some companies there in Aruba.

 

Taxi driver Bully was definitely another option too ... thanks again for suggesting him!

[Arubalisa]

Unless Kini Kini's procedures have changed, we did not have to give them our credit card until we arrived at their office for the tour. They actually picked us up at the resort (it states on their website they provide the same service from the cruise terminal) and brought us back to their office from where then tour started.

:o Actually, the "office" is simply a room in the owner's home. You walk through their front door, into their living room and then on into a back room where they have an office. They are a small husband and wife operation and it was the wife who handled our credit card, we had no problems, otherwise I would not recommend them. ;) Just as an added note, taxis only accept cash.

[chiapet]

Unless Kini Kini's procedures have changed, we did not have to give them our credit card until we arrived at their office for the tour. They actually picked us up at the resort (it states on their website they provide the same service from the cruise terminal) and brought us back to their office from where then tour started.

 

:o Actually, the "office" is simply a room in the owner's home. You walk through their front door, into their living room and then on into a back room where they have an office. They are a small husband and wife operation and it was the wife who handled our credit card, we had no problems, otherwise I would not recommend them. ;) Just as an added note, taxis only accept cash.

 

Thanks for the info ... that changes things ... I will take a closer look at them now :)

[Shamrock359]

Sorry I do not have any experience with either of these tours. Have you done a search here of the forum for info?

 

In the past we used Kini Kini http://www.kinikini.com/kk/servlet/Tours for an ATV tour and found them to be excellent. It was one of the best tour experiences we have had on the island. They provide a half day or full day jeep tour where you can self drive or be driven. We opted for a private tour because it was not much more money and I see it is the same for their jeep tour, $10 extra per adult?

 

Another option would be a private tour given by taxi. At $40 per hour for four people, not a bad price for a private tour.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/tags.php?tag=bully+taxi+driver

Hi,

Can you tell me if you get to drive the ATV yourself? Is that what they mean by single and double riders? Do you think you had enough time at all the stops? Do you get some snorkeling time in? First time to Aruba so am trying to get it ALL in.

Thanks so much!

[chiapet]

Hi,

Can you tell me if you get to drive the ATV yourself? Is that what they mean by single and double riders? Do you think you had enough time at all the stops? Do you get some snorkeling time in? First time to Aruba so am trying to get it ALL in.

Thanks so much!

 

Just about all the ATV's are drive yourself (1-2 passengers) ... however, we've found some of the "Jeep" tours not to be ... since they sometimes use larger vehicles than the 2-4 passenger types.

 

Not sure about the rest of your questions ... maybe Arubalisa can help again w/ that ... thx.

[Scubachick84]

Shamrock359, I took the Kini Kini all day ATV tour. You do drive your own if you're booked as a single rider, double rider you or your companion can drive and someone rides behind, like on a motorcycle. I found that we had a good amount of time at the stops, they weren't really in a rush by any means. We were meant to go to a snorkel beach after the lunch, but my party opted out of this for various reasons and headed back to this ship at this point. Aside from this, there was no snorkeling in the first half of the day.

 

Laura

[Arubalisa]

To add what Laura stated, we were not rushed either. We dropped one stop to add additional time at the natural pool where we swam instead of snorkeled.

[Shamrock359]

Thanks for the info!! I'm looking forward to Aruba.