The side-by-side rented from this company performed well enough for the trails and we were comfortable with it. Throughout the day the trails, scenic points, and stops were wonderful. The only stop that was rushed was the lunch time stop. We barely had enough time to eat before the group was on the move again. The other stops at the historic and scenic spots during the day were great, though, with ample time provided to explore on foot. Our guide told us that we would be concluding the tour at the moonshine distillery in Gilbert around 6 pm where we could stay and hang out if we wanted and we where we could part ways. We didn't arrive at the distillery until 8:30 pm. We had no idea that we would be driving on trails in the dark and we were not happy about this part of the tour at all. We were often left behind by the guides and/or others in the tour, but at some point someone always stopped to wait for us. By the time we got to the distillery (which closed at 8 pm), the person running it was intoxicated. Our plan was to have dinner at the Trail 12 BBQ after our tour ended. The website posted the closing time at 10 pm so we thought we had plenty of time even though were were getting there much later than expected. However, when we finally got back up to Twin Hollow where the BBWQ , it was 8:45 pm and they were closing at 9 pm! Fortunately, the ladies working there were kind enough to make us some sandwiches and desserts to take with us back to our inn. We turned in our machine, bought some souvenirs, and left. The tour throughout the day was fantastic. Our biggest complaint was the after-dark riding on trails. What was also a huge concern was the allowance of the consumption of alcohol while driving the machines. Almost everyone in our guided tour (not us!) was consuming alcohol...drivers AND passengers. This was very upsetting to us and we were shocked that this was allowed...especially since the trails and landscape being navigated was not easy terrain. The other issue I had was how often we were driving on regular roads and highways. This made me very uncomfortable. While it was legal to do in these parts, I didn't like driving on the main roadways due to the high speeds and being close to other vehicles. Our tour guide stressed many times to wait for each other at trail and road intersections and not let each other get behind or "lost". This advice was sometimes taken, but mostly was not followed during the night time riding. At this point, my husband and I were angry that safety was not a priority, especially at night time. I wish they would have given us the option to continue the tour after dark or to go back to Gilbert. We definitely would have gone back to Gilbert to the distillery and to have dinner. The machine we rented was fine, but it did not have a windshield. This was also fine, however, the helmets they rented us were not full face covered helmets. They also did not rent us goggles. We highly suggest making full helmets and goggles available to rent.
My last suggestion is to book your groups according to experience. We were one of the only ones in our group that had no prior experience driving/riding these machines, so naturally we were slower and more cautious. It was evident that everyone else in our tour had prior experience as almost all had their own machines. It would have been nice to be booked with a group that was more similar to our experience level. The tour could have easily been broken up into 2 or 3 groups according to experience level. This would also have allowed us to not get "left behind" so much by the group and guides. Had safety been more of a priority, we would be giving a better rating for this company. The staff was friendly and kind,...
Ā Ā Ā
Read more
Learn more insights from Wanderboat AI.
