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Tour By Van


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We also used Rudy several weeks ago for our tour. He was really one of the best tour guides that we have ever used. We planned in advance what we wanted to see & he did not disappoint. I had booked him about a year in advance & he was always very prompt in answering all my questions. You will be very happy with him & enjoy Acapulco!

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We contracted with Rudy for a tour of Acapulco as the final stop on our Panama Canal cruise aboard the Island Princess. This was, by far, the best arranged tour we have ever had. Rudy had answered every e-mail for months in a matter of hours and was waiting outside the pier for us as promised. He introduced us to Sergio and we had a perfectly wonderful day and were treated like royalty for 8 hours. Sergio could not have been a better tour guide and he saw to our every need. I have --and will--refer anyone going to Acapulco to this company without reservation.

It is disturbing to me that folks find honest reviews of a wonderful tour company to be in question and infer that such reviews are "plants". Please e-mail me directly at embarqmail.com to verify my opinion. Fl is a long way from Acapulco so I have no vested interest in posting a dishonest review.

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Interested in booking Rudy for November cruise. May I ask what was the cost pp and did you have you have to pay inadvance? I know cost depends on number of people and where you go, but I would like some idea. Thanks.

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The cost Rudy gave me was dependent on the number of people on the tour. We paid $75 PP for the tour to just be private for us. The numbers decreased if we had decided to include others. Everything was included except for the admission to the fort which we added after contracting with Rudy. Of course, lunch was not included but we chose to eat at the the restaurant he recommended on the beach and the meal for the 3 of us (Sergio included) was only $20. No money changes hands until the tour is completed which was an amazing concept. No deposits, no written contract. You will LOVE going with this tour. Our 5-6 hr tour turned into an 8 hr tour and we could have still kept going!

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Interested in booking Rudy for November cruise. May I ask what was the cost pp and did you have you have to pay inadvance? I know cost depends on number of people and where you go, but I would like some idea. Thanks.

 

we paid $35 pp and it included the cliff divers, for which they charge a fee.

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Hi Rosefloater, cost does vary depending on how many people you have. We paid I believe it was $40 pp for 6 of us back in Dec. As for payment, he would not allow us to pay until AFTER the tour. It was an excellent tour. You won't regret booking with him!

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When we toured with Rudy in early March, the charge was $45 per person ( I think that was discounted from either $50 or $55 because we had a group--can't remember exactly how many are needed for the discount, maybe 7 or 8), and we spent almost 8 hours with him. He does not want to be paid in advance; he collects his money at the end of the tour and guarantees your satisfaction. We had an absolutely great time with him; can't recommend him highly enough!!

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Interested in booking Rudy for November cruise. May I ask what was the cost pp and did you have you have to pay inadvance? I know cost depends on number of people and where you go, but I would like some idea. Thanks.

 

There were 22 of us. We had 4 vans and were very comfortable spread out in those vans. The tour cost $35US each and was worth every cent and more! You will not regret your decision. It is a wonderful tour.

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Thank you all for your replies. I will certainly consider Rudy for our cruise in November. We booked a tour through the ship last year and it was so disappointing. Most of the time was spent at the cliff divers and the "must see" jewelry store, so this time we would like to see the sights of Acapulco.

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We found Rudy to be excellent. He arranged for us to go just when and where we wanted and was most attentive. For a reasonable premium he will arrange for an exclusive use of a guide, driver and transport to go just where you want, a service we were really pleased with as it enabled us to go off the beaten track a bit and to miss out the things we didn't want to see.

John

 

Thank you all for your replies. I will certainly consider Rudy for our cruise in November. We booked a tour through the ship last year and it was so disappointing. Most of the time was spent at the cliff divers and the "must see" jewelry store, so this time we would like to see the sights of Acapulco.
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we are booking with Rudy for a 4-5 hour tour in the afternoon. I do have a couple of questions.

 

Is there a place that Rudy can take us to eat/drink and watch the divers at the same time? I was thinking of having lunch and a drink while watching the 'show', but not even sure if this is possible.

 

We will have some extra time in the am before he picks us up. Is there anyplace we can go for a couple of hours in the morning on our own? Is anyplace walkable from the cruise ship port?

 

thanks for your help...we are looking forward to our time with rudy.

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we are booking with Rudy for a 4-5 hour tour in the afternoon. I do have a couple of questions.

 

Is there a place that Rudy can take us to eat/drink and watch the divers at the same time? I was thinking of having lunch and a drink while watching the 'show', but not even sure if this is possible.

 

We will have some extra time in the am before he picks us up. Is there anyplace we can go for a couple of hours in the morning on our own? Is anyplace walkable from the cruise ship port?

 

thanks for your help...we are looking forward to our time with rudy.

 

 

Our time was 3pm to meet Rudy...so for the first few hours we went on our own...we walked to Fort San Diego (across the road..paid 6 US for the two of us..which was good because this was mentioned as being something we would do on the tour..but with traffic so bad we didn't do it with the tour)...while there we met a really neat guy Esteban he offered to take a photo of us while we were out front he fort...after talking he told us that he worked for the government and showed us his cruise terminal ID tag..anyways he took us down the road to the flea market....tons of little shops...showed us a few neat places & a few we shouldn't go to as tourists (all of this on foot) then back along the beach to the terminal so we could meet up with the group for the tour...he wouldn't accept any money from us...but he liked our Canadian cigarettes..so we stuffed a few bills in a pack and left them with him...Acapulco was my least favorite on the trip..so I am really glad we lucked out and had our early afternoon with Esteban and the tour with Rudy for the rest of the afternoon...after our tour & the cliff divers we went to the beach and had a few drinks with friends...then spent the rest of the time in the terminal at the bar...and checking out the shops in there...and watch out for the little girls trying to sell you chicklets..they come in droves on the beach path at night and we caught them trying to get into our bags and purses while one tries to keep you occupied flickin the chicklets at ya.

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Just returned from our Celebrity Constellation (outstanding) trip through the Panama Canal. One of our stops was in Acapulco. Based on a number of reviews, I assumed Acapulco would be lower on the list of trip highlights. Not true! Please disregard any references to "faded glory" and "safety" comments concerning this port. Yes, Acapulco has history, if that is what the "faded glory" refers to. It is a big city, so there is always a certain amount of crime, I'm sure, but we never once felt unsafe. We found the city to be clean and beautiful and its people most welcoming. We were very impressed!

 

Perhaps our impression of Acapulco was due to the services of Rudy Fregoso (Rudy Acapulco). We had the pleasure of touring with Rudy and his driver, Sergio. It was an outstanding. Rudy provided us with a very competitively priced tour built around our interests, a spotless, air conditioned van which can go places the large tour bused cannot travel, an outstanding local seafood restaurant, and a chance to interact on a personal level with intelligent local people. He even took many pictures of us on tour, which we had waiting for us when we returned home. It was such a nice touch. Rudy has our highest recommendation.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Our tour with Rudy was wonderful. He took us to the places we wanted to see and others we had no idea that we should see. Our main interest was a turtle release that was about 45 min. south of Acapulco. Rudy got us there before the ship's buses, which was great. Instead of 30 + people there, there were only 6 of us. As we were leaving, the buses were arriving.

 

He wanted to give us a 'well rounded' tour of Acapulco and he did, showing us the rich, middle class, and poorer areas of the city. His knowledge of the history of not only Mexico, but the US and Canada was admirable.

 

The restaurant he recommended for lunch was great. Watch out for the Margaritas! Don't have more than one! ;)

 

I'm not sure if anyone mentioned this, but Rudy also supplies water and soft drinks for his passengers. He also took a lot of pictures of us, which was totally unexpected. I've never had a tour operator take pics with his own camera and then email the photos to us.

 

He was a pleasure to work with, responding to my emails promptly, answering all questions. And his payment policy can't be beat. He refuses money until the end of the tour and only if you're satisfied with his service. I'm sure no one has refused to pay him!

 

You cannot go wrong using Tours by Van.

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Itsanita

The restaurant where the divers perform is not recommended for it's food quality but it can be done if that is what you want. The name is La Perla and while the food is not good it is very nice to look around at all the history and the beautiful view of La Quebrada.

 

As far as walking around the Zocalo is a very short walk from the cruise terminal and there are many local shops and some good food along the way as well.

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Without a doubt one of our favorite tours. I think the test is "would you use Rudy again?" The answer would be a swift YES ... Rudy is very customer oriented and is ready to go the extra mile. Can't say enough about his responses to email queries, etc. One of the best!!!

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We just returned from Acapulco and we used Rudy's Tour by Van and I have to say he was the best and would recommend him to anyone! We were fortunate enough to have Rudy himself and we had such a good time. Made us laugh so much not to mention all the places we got to see. anyone looking for a private tour here can't go wrong by choosing Rudy - he is fabulous. so glad we chose his company.:D

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  • 3 weeks later...
We used Rudy on oour recent Panama Canal cruise and it a was perfect trip when we stopped in Acapulco.

 

Rudy communicated thouroly prior to the cruise. He personally met us on the dock. He assigned a driver by the name of Marco for our private tour. Marco was professional and polite. Because we had toured Acapulco before, we set our own destination for most of the tour. Marco did the rest and it was great!

I highly recommend this group for a tregular or private tour.

 

 

Good to know- I am booked with Rudy in November...really looking forward to it. He won't be able to conduct the tour himself, but I'm sure all of his people are great.

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We used Rudy/Tour By Van on our recent trip to Acapulco. Rudy and our drivers, Marco and Hector, were awesome. We had ten in our group so they divided us into two vans for our comfort. It was very hot that day. Rudy provided us with a shaded area when we went to see the Cliff Diving Show. It made the show very enjoyable. We would highly recommend Rudy and his crew. We saw many areas of the city that would not be accessible by large vehicles. We were back to the ship in plenty of time. No worries. You will not be disappointed with Rudy.

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  • 2 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...

We used tour by van before our panama canal cruise. Rudy was waiting for us at the airport with a sign. He brought us to our hotel. The next day, we were picked up promptly at 9am for a wonderful tour of acapulco, including the divers. At the end of the tour we were taken to the ship. We will definitely use rudy and tour by van again next time we are in acapulco.

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  • 1 month later...

We used "Tours by Rudy" for our day in Acapulco and had a great time. Have no hesitation in recommending his services. Our guide Arturo was very knowledgeable about the city and took us to all the great sites to see. A very enjoyable fact about this company is that they do not take you "shopping" unless you specifically ask for it. They are very accommodating in whatever it is you want to see and do. Arturo even took me to a Walmart when I realized that I needed a specialty battery for my camera!

 

As i said our group was very happy with the tour and I have no hesitation in recommending his services to anyone wanting to see Acapulco at its best.

 

Ave

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  • 4 weeks later...

We contacted Rudy at Tour by Van 7 weeks before our one-day cruise stop in Acapulco.

Within 24 hours we had received a reply email from Rudy promising us a private, comprehensive, personalised and professional tour and boy did he deliver!

 

We chose to visit most of the "usual" touristy spots including the Cliff Divers, the Chapel of Peace, Fort of San Diego and more.

 

Rudy was waiting for us on the pier when we arrived and he ushered us to his spacious, clean, comfortable and air-conditioned van.

Jose was our driver for the day and we were also fortunate to have Rudy himself in our van, sharing his passion for his city with us. These guys were FANTASTIC.

They were both so knowledgeable, friendly and passionate about what they do, and both spoke good English.

The tour was much better than I could have imagined. We got to see all the attractions that we had specified, and we had lunch break at a great restaurant that Rudy had suggested - the lunch was at our own expense - otherwise everything including attraction entrance fees was included in the tour cost of a mere $45 each!.

The van was stocked with plenty of iced water and towelettes for the 7 of us.

 

There had been some recent negative media about Acapulco but not once did we feel unsafe. Quite the contrary. This is a beautiful city to be explored and there's no safer way than to explore it with experienced locals.

 

We give Rudy and the other guides 10 out of 10. We would strongly recommend Tour By Van to anyone.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Best tour of Acapulco by far. This was my second time visiting Acapulco and I really feel as though I got a complete tour of the real Acapulco. Thanks to Rudy and our tour guide Malu for providing us with your great hospitality and service. We look forward to coming back again soon!

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