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Jhoana S.
November 18, 2025
This experience is mainly a tourist trap, and not much of an experience. First off, I paid extra for a VIP buggy when I initially booked, and when I looked at mine compared to people who paid less for a normal buggy, the quality was super poor. The more expensive VIP buggies were smaller, and in much worse condition than the cheaper buggies. Upon arrival a guide approached us and advised that for an extra fee we could upgrade to a private tour, which would only be us and 1 guide. The guide advised that we could drive as fast as we wanted on a private tour, and spend as much or as little time as we wanted in each stop. He stated that going with a group would require us to drive slow, our time at each stop would be very limited, and we would be limited to what we could do because the group sizes are quite large. We decided to pay the upgrade charge because it sounded good. We paid $84 extra for this service, and much of what was promised was not delivered. Despite it just being us and our guide, we did not exceed 20 MPH (32-33 KPH), even on straight aways and paved roads. We also had time constraints placed on us at each stop, just as a group would. And we didn’t even avoid the same limitations the groups had, because we kept arriving with another group ahead of us, or one behind us would arrive usually just within minutes of us arriving at a stop. In addition to that, each stop is basically just filled with vendors who are trying to force merchandise on you. At the first stop, which was a small tiki hut with coffee, Mama Juana, and assorted Knick Knacks, we decided to buy a hand full of things. We were quoted approximately $160 in total for everything we bought here, which included the mandatory 18% tax. I later saw on my bank statement that I was actually charged $225, and not the quoted $160. I will see what, if anything, my bank can do for me about that, but I’m not very hopeful. The next stop at the cave was nice, but it’s very small, and the staff there rushes you, even in the brief moments when there aren’t many people around. Again at this location numerous vendors are trying to force things on you. The final stop was the beach, which is actually nothing exclusive. It’s literally a public beach that I could drive up to on my own for free, if I wanted to. Here the vendors were the worst and the most high pressure. They have cocktails that are way overpriced, and they initially misrepresent the prices to you. I paid about $70 for two cocktails that were terrible, initially being told that the price would be about $40. While there vendors were also placing animals, such as iguanas and parrots, onto people and taking their photo, then demanding outrageous prices. I heard people being charged anywhere between $50-$100 for cell phone photos, and they were none the wiser, because the vendors mumble and speak quickly so you aren’t aware of the actual price. And they also count on the fact that you won’t realize you were overcharged or misquoted until you’ve already left, as many people don’t bring their phones on the buggy tours, and won’t see their actual bank charges until later. Basically this buggy tour is a guided tour to overpriced stores where the locals will try to hoodwink you in any way possible, and the guides do nothing to try to assist you in understanding anything, or ensure that you aren’t being extorted, despite being in their care and on their tour. 100% do not recommend, unless you just need a guide to take you to expensive souvenir stores, or you just want to flush approximately $400 down the toilet.
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Christina B. June 24, 2025
Nothing about this excursion turned out how we expected. I gave a 3-star instead of lower because, despite the issues we encountered, the staff at the stable was super nice and helpful and even gave us a ride back to our hotel instead of making us wait for the rest of the group to return. (To note - we were happy to wait because we weren’t in a hurry, but they graciously offered to save us the time so we accepted).
To start - the shuttle driver was at least 30 minutes late picking us up. The person I was communicating with via WhatsApp kept telling me the driver was on the way. Their communication specifically stated to not be late for our pick up time because they would leave us. We were early, they weren’t even on time. :(
We did horseback riding and the rest of the group on the shuttle did buggies. Our guide seemed to be in quite a hurry after we started because every time we slowed down, he would nudge our horses to move faster. We had to ride through several dump sites on our trail. There were also many low hanging trees on the trails. At one point I had a vine wrapped across the front of my neck despite ducking as low as I could to avoid that tree.
About 1/2 way through the ride my daughter’s back started hurting so we asked the guide to just take us back and go slow on the way. The early return was not the fault of the guide - we asked for this because my daughter was hurting from the ride. When we got back we decided to just hang out at the stable until it was time to go. After a while one of the employees offered to take us back (see comment at start of review in this).
We did get to see the cutest little calf on the trail, so that was a nice surprise for us.
