Five Star Tours & Charter Bus Company — Attraction in San Diego

We signed up and paid for the Baja California Coastal Day Trip from San Diego. First of all, we were told to be at the tour meeting place in San Diego by 8:45 AM so that we could all depart at 9:00 AM. Six of the seven tour group members were there but we had to wait for one more member to arrive. We were told we would wait "just 5 for minutes" several times and ended up waiting until 9:35 before the person arrived. Our next stop was in Chula Vista to pick up another group of 5. The tour guide said it would be "really quick"--the group was waiting and ready to board. We stopped at a hotel and sat in the tour van for over 20 minutes. The tour guide came back and said we were at the wrong hotel. We went to the correct hotel, picked of the group of 5 and headed out for Mexico after 11:30 AM. The tour we signed up and paid for was not even close to the tour we were provided. We did not visit the Cultural Center in Tijuana (the driver did not even know what that was), we did not see the zoo but the Bullring was pointed out. We stopped only once for a scenic ocean view prior to reaching Ensenada. Our tour did not include Ensenada! We were supposed to go from Tijuana o Puerto Nuevo for a lobster meal with Margaritas and head to Rosarito Beach. We did not even stop! We headed straight for Ensenada. The tour guide took us to an ocean front board walk and we stopped to walk up and down the walk while the guide pointed out a few historical facts. Next stop was to a café type steak and egg place that served only breakfast. Upon hearing the group asking why this restaurant, he told us the other one was closed. We asked about the Puerto Nuevo lobster lunch and the guide had no idea what we were talking about. After more questions, we left the steak and eggs restaurant and guide took us to a Mexican Buffet restaurant that was edible but certainly nothing to praise. No beer or margaritas were served. After the rest of the group told the guide that this is not the tour they signed up for, he agreed to take us back up the coast to Rosarito Beach. We stayed there and purchased our own beer while 2 (out of 12) tour members rode horses on the beach (which they paid for). The guide then took us to Tijuana to a wax museum (are you kidding me?) that was closing in 25 minutes and charged to enter. After that, we hung out in Tijuana shopping district what seemed like forever (10 of the 12 tour group members were waiting on the bus) until the tour guide thought it would be a "good time" to get through the border. The tour guide was friendly and the group was very nice to him, trying to enjoy what was offered and not blaming him. Additionally, 5 of the group members were from Norway and 1 was from Germany. At first, they thought they may have purchased the wrong tour. Fortunately, everyone was kind however, even if the guide thought we were on the Ensenada tour, we did not do what the description of that tour entailed either. Bottom line, it was a completely disorganized event and not worth the money we paid. We would have been better off hiring a taxi to take us on the tour we thought we purchased. It would have been less expensive and we would have received what...

using this company, BIG MISTAKE, HUGE!

We arrived at the train station in San Diego around 1:15pm. Our bus to TJ was scheduled to leave at 2pm. We were told by the gentleman in the office behind the desk that the tickets had not yet arrived. We sat in the waiting area where we could see who entered or exited the office. Several other people went in to inquire about tickets but were told the same thing. We all sat outside the office. Around 1:45pm, the guy who was in the office came out and we again asked about the tickets but he said he was also waiting for them to arrive. He then left. At this point we realized that we would not be leaving as scheduled. The guy returned around 2pm. Around 15 minutes later, two guys walked up and went inside the office. They came out with what appeared to be tickets in their hands. My uncle who had purchased the tickets online went in to inquire. He came out 5 minutes later with the tickets and told us that the guy behind the desk told him that the tickets had been there all the time. He just hadn't realized that they were there. We departed at 3:15pm

The driver (Juan) although very nice, should not be driving commercially for anyone. It appeared that he had trouble seeing over the steering wheel yet he drives extremely fast. There were 12 people on our van and we were all praying. Once we got to the Mexico boarder while we sat in line, the van began to smoke. Juan got out to check and when he opened the hood it was like we were in a fog. Juan came back in and said that he couldn't find anything wrong and it would be ok. (LOL).... Once we finally made it across the boarder (another story) please make sure you have your PASSPORT, they tell you you can use your birth certificate and government issued ID but a couple of passengers were hassled because they did not have a passport with them. Juan began his very fast almost uncontrolled driving again. We finally made it to our destination. We inquired from Juan would he be the driver picking us up and he said yes. We asked him was he going to contact the company to get another bus and he said he would work on this one. PLEASE TELL ME YOU KNOW WHAT'S COMING?

On our way back the van started smoking again and began to cut off the last 2 miles back to the boarder to cross into USA...After several attempts to get it started Juan told us that we would have to walk across the boarder and he would meet us at 7-11 on USA side. He was going to try to fix the van. So we all got off, waited in a 30 minute line to cross back over. By the way the passengers that were hassled on the Mexico side had no problem using their Birth Certificate on this side. Once we got to 7-11 about a 1/2 walk from the boarder, we all sat and waited. After about 30 minutes we reached the realization that Juan would not get the van fixed and we would have to find alternate ways back to San Diego where we had all left our cars.

End result: 5 of us shared a cab and paid $15.00 each.

I am going to call the company and see if they will reimburse any of our money. I...

I wish I had read previous reviews prior to going through this company. Now, I cannot understand why anyone would use this fraudulent company.

Like most of the customers writing their reviews, my family and I were misled (essentially scammed) by Five Star Tours.

My family suffered greatly by the trauma incurred from this trip. We had arranged for a 49-passenger bus from Five Star Tours to pick us up in San Diego by the border line, spend a day in Tijuana, and then to drop us off back in San Diego at the end of day. The bus arrived with wet seats. We had to lay trash bags on the seats so that we could sit comfortably. There was no electrical power or toilet paper in the bathroom. How can customers be expected to use the restroom under these conditions? The typical seat overhead lights were nothing but hollow, exposed panels. Mind you, this is supposedly marketed as a “VIP” experience? The bus that arrived did not match those that were listed on the website whatsoever.

Like many others have mentioned, the bus driver did not in fact cross the border from Mexico to the United States. Nor did he tell us that we would have to cross by foot. Instead, he dropped us off a few blocks from the border patrol pedestrian line, NOT in San Diego as was promised on the itinerary. The driver informed us that we would have to get into line because we did not have the correct I-94 forms. (If you’re not familiar, this form is for international travelers visiting the United States). My family and I are U.S. citizens and were not required to complete such forms. He lied and left my family stranded with no instructions on what to do or where to go next. He did not consider that we had two very elderly women with us who were not prepared to stand in line for three hours (one of which was treated by a medical professional for heart failure exacerbation which he attributes to standing in the border line).

When one of our group members contacted Alfonso, the owner or manager, he told us that driver stated that “we asked him to drop us off” which is grossly false. We never once asked the driver to drop us off. As history has proven, this company is incredibly unprofessional and cares less about the safety and satisfaction of their customers and more about how they can make as much money as possible.

I would like to share that I have already reached out to Alfonso and informed him of our situation. He admitted fault to each of the points that I made and therefore, cannot state that my statements are false, like he has done with other customers who about their negative experiences. They have no interest in rectifying the situation. They are comprised of liars and thieves.

Will definitely be submitting a complaint to DOT and recommend others that have had similar situations do the same (Can find information on the federal motor carrier safety...