Wild West Voyages — Local services in Moab

So glad we went with this company! We wanted to do an afternoon half day white water river rafting tour with our kids (boy 12 and girl 17). And to be honest, we called everyone else first because they had higher ratings on Google than this company, but they were all booked for the time that we wanted. As it turns out, we were very lucky to end up with Wild West Voyages! In retrospect, many of the Google reviews were pretty old and the lady that a couple 1 star ratings were complaining about was nowhere to be found. Maybe nobody writes reviews for Google anymore, because they are #6 on TripAdvisor. So, I'm contributing this one.

Catherine was so helpful on the phone, taking the time to explain everything in such knowledgeable detail. Our drivers were so nice and our guides were so great! These aren't young newbie Teenagers guiding the rafts. Between Jay and Isaac, they say they've done over 1000 runs on this river!

First of all, it would be a mistake to call this trip "white water" river rafting. This segment of the Colorado river is pretty flat and there were only really 2-3 small named class 2 "rapids." On the other hand, it was a great family introductory trip for our 12 year old. He had a lot of fun and is looking forward to trying higher grade rapids in the future. There were a couple of "keepers" to avoid so it definitely helped to have a knowledgeable guide. And it was a fantastic way to spend a hot desert afternoon. The swim areas were so refreshing!

The vans are newer, smaller and air conditioned. We saw some big old rickety school buses with the windows open driving around town. Glad we weren't in one of those in this desert heat.

The picnic was a decent individually stapled bag lunch prepared by the market in town. Your choice of Turkey or Ham sandwiches with cheese and lettuce, a banana and a cookie. Mayonnaise, mustard and basically Italian dressing like packets. They must have been in a cooler because they were fresh and cool when we ate. There were huge coolers of cold water on the rafts. And the guides each keep a "dry bag" for phones and wallets and things. We bought the waterproof clear bags and rented the water boots which were totally unnecessary. I was afraid of loosing my flip flops, but now I know they would have been completely fine. There are pictures of the same area where we ate lunch in some of the other reviews. This wasn't the hot prepared burger lunch that we read about with some other companies, but then again I did see one of those young teenager guides for another company pee in the river then come right back up to prepare lunch (gag). So I ate my cold deli sandwich quite happily.

Our adventure became quite real near the end of our ride. Jay was watching the clouds come in and prepared us for possible rain and wind. What we didn't know was the strength of the eventual "Monsoon" that hit us. The winds were gusting to 35-40 mph according to the guides at the end and they really earned their money that day trying to row into it. I thought the wind was gusting closer to 50 mph. Eventually we had to put in one beach head closer than where our rides were waiting. I asked some of the other guides and only 1 could remember a day with wind stronger.

Again, so glad we went with this company. Their experience, it turns out, was more important that day than we could have known.

All in all, we had a great experience and we would highly recommend this company for...

I had such a great time going down the Colorado River. The scenery was excellent . Our guide was a very beautiful woman . Her name was Anna . She pointed out some of the most beautiful areas. And took us through the rapids in the best places to be on them rapids . Some were pretty hairy . I remember going through one of them and it looked like our raft was going over or I was going over the side . But she steered the raft so that it settled right under me and then the water was calm and I was looking at the scenery so much that I never even noticed that the sun was burning me . My friends offered me some sunscreen but I was oblivious to the sun burn that I was getting. And so I said no thanks but that was a bad mistake for me . Cause the next day I could hardly walk or move my knees and calves were cooked and blistering. So remember that when your in the raft going down the river the sunscreen will help you survive the next couple of weeks with out having to heal your hide. Because that sun on the river is like being under a magnifying glass. And your skin will become your Hide if you don't at least keep it covered . And if someone offers you some sunscreen .... it could be because they are noticing that you are burning up. But I'm telling you I learned a valuable lesson but I would do it again in a heart beat I would remember to use sunscreen or at least have long pants. I would really like to find the guide we had that day. She was so beautiful that I was flustered every time she asked me a question and I'm embarrassed every time I remember.. But now I wish that my mind worked like everyone else's. I would realize at the time things were happening. But me I look at things afterwards and see things that I should have done or said and never get the chance to express how I feel. But that the way it goes. I had a day on that river that I will never forget one of the best days of my life. I may be going again soon. As soon as I can scrape up the money . It was a...

I will take responsibility for being ten minutes late to leave time. Called ahead of time on ride into town to let them know. I was told that they would NOT wait for us. We kindly asked if they would ask the 2 (TWO) additional participants if they would mind waiting 10 (TEN) minutes for us to arrive. She (Wendy?) told us she would NOT ask them. She said he would NOT be accommodated but we could switch to an afternoon only rafting trip. Having come from Florida for this trip, we decided to go with the afternoon slot. When asked if our rate would be accommodated, I was abruptly told "no." ZEEEEEERO customer service. Oh well, we toured downtown Moab for a few hours...

This town is awesome, the sights are outstanding, Moab Side by Side rentals was stellar in their customer services; unfortunately Wild West Voyages was sadly unaccommodating. Customer service was POOR. Oh well, I'll take the hit on being Ten (10) minutes late.

Won't let this ruin our adventure.

My advice: go elsewhere for river trip rentals! There are many other outfitters in Moab!!

So, after taking the afternoon trip I MUST ammend my post... Our driver Gena and our float guide Jonah were exceptional! Knowledgeable, friendly, interactive, and enthusiastic. They made the trip worth the price. A great experience, especially for my 11 year old.

I have managed people for over20 years. One thing I've learned. You can often teach skills, but you cannot reach inherent behavioral capacity. Gena and Jonah are people that make your company excellent. Whitney needs to working the back, or possibly find new employment... She might just kill your...