ABC tours

[CruisingHogFan]

Haven’t seen much posted about them on here. TripAdvisor has them ranked as number #1 tour group and seems like a great company.

 

Just wondering if anyone has done the combo UTV/Jeep tour that goes to Natural Pool. Around 6 hours so seems like a great way to see some highlights of the island and still leave the full afternoon to relax on the beach. (In port from 8am till midnight)

[genealogyfan]

I've taken them twice. I definitely recommend them. I believe we took the 1/2 day jeep tour which included Natural Pool and other locations. The lunch that was included was really good too.

 

ABC Tours let you ride in the jeep or drive it. When we took it 3 of our jeeps had drivers from the company, but one group drove themselves. We were amazed at his skills going over all the offroading, hills, rocks, etc..

 

Personally I'm not impressed with the Natural Pool, I think it's alot of work and not worth swimming in it.  I did swim in it the first time I took one of these tours, the first time I went to Aruba.  This company has been around awhile, and is reliable and I'm not surprised of all the good reviews on tripadvisor.

 

 

[CruisingHogFan]

51 minutes ago, genealogyfan said:

I've taken them twice. I definitely recommend them. I believe we took the 1/2 day jeep tour which included Natural Pool and other locations. The lunch that was included was really good too.

 

ABC Tours let you ride in the jeep or drive it. When we took it 3 of our jeeps had drivers from the company, but one group drove themselves. We were amazed at his skills going over all the offroading, hills, rocks, etc..

 

Personally I'm not impressed with the Natural Pool, I think it's alot of work and not worth swimming in it.  I did swim in it the first time I took one of these tours, the first time I went to Aruba.  This company has been around awhile, and is reliable and I'm not surprised of all the good reviews on tripadvisor.

 

 

Thank you for the update! We are considering this as it’s our first trip to Aruba. I can see where natural pool might be a one and done due the the hassle! The tour I’m looking at goes there by jeep then you get 3-4 hours on the UTV and follow a guide.

 

Also considering just renting a UTV for 4-5 hours and doing the island on our own (just can’t do the natural pool) Price is about the same as the tour.

 

Either way we want to be done by noonish so we can go to eagle/palm beach on our own for the afternoon  before heading back to the ship to change/dinner. 
 

Is there much to do around port at night or have to taxis back to Palm Beach area?

 

Thanks again!!

[genealogyfan]

I've never taken a cruise to Aruba, always have stayed in Palm Beach. ABC Tours picked us up and returned us to our hotel. It was nice having a driver take us around, although I have rented a car in Aruba, and you really can't get lost there, since it's not that big of an island.

 

I've seen taxis in front of the many hotels in Palm Beach, so I'm sure you could walk up to a hotel (like Hilton, Hyatt) and grab a taxi. There are alot of good restaurants in the Palm Beach area. Palm Beach has a nice walkway that goes between the beach and the hotels. The sidewalk along the road is always filled with people. There are stores (mostly touristy ones) and good restaurants to see in Palm Beach.  The sunset is really beautiful along Palm Beach and any beach on that side.

 

On one visit, my friend and I went to Oranjested and I wasn't that impressed.

[Perky1]

My research on ABC tours is they are highly recommended but I don’t like their cancellation policy.  For that reason we are looking at doing Around Aruba Tours for the same type of tour. 
 

@genealogyfan - was the Natural Pool hard to get to.  We have a couple with bad knees and unsure footing…do you think we could do it?
 

[genealogyfan]

22 minutes ago, Perky1 said:

My research on ABC tours is they are highly recommended but I don’t like their cancellation policy.  For that reason we are looking at doing Around Aruba Tours for the same type of tour. 
 

@genealogyfan - was the Natural Pool hard to get to.  We have a couple with bad knees and unsure footing…do you think we could do it?
 

The Natural Pool is hard to get to, it's unsure footing across rocks, once you get to it, it's not easy getting in/out of the water. I've gone there twice, so the second time I went with someone who has issues with her back/neck and recommended we not walk across the walks to it or swim in it. We just waited and it was fine.

[Perky1]

@genealogyfan Thank you!

[CruisingHogFan]

On 8/15/2022 at 5:53 PM, Perky1 said:

My research on ABC tours is they are highly recommended but I don’t like their cancellation policy.  For that reason we are looking at doing Around Aruba Tours for the same type of tour. 
 

@genealogyfan - was the Natural Pool hard to get to.  We have a couple with bad knees and unsure footing…do you think we could do it?
 

What is your concern with the cancellation policy?  Can get a full refund up to 7 days out if you end up wanting to cancel. 

[Perky1]

16 hours ago, CruisingHogFan said:

What is your concern with the cancellation policy?  Can get a full refund up to 7 days out if you end up wanting to cancel. 

When I went to book this popped up as their cancellation policy

[CruisingHogFan]

20 minutes ago, Perky1 said:

When I went to book this popped up as their cancellation policy

yes, but that’s under the 7 days policy. Anything over 7 days is full refund with no fees. 
 

I called and if the ship doesn’t make the port/late for some rare circumstances they will refund since it would be out of the guest control.

 

They have over 22,000 reviews and ranked number #1 tour guide for many years so I’m not worried and still plan to use them when we go. 

[Perky1]

3 hours ago, CruisingHogFan said:

yes, but that’s under the 7 days policy. Anything over 7 days is full refund with no fees. 
 

I called and if the ship doesn’t make the port/late for some rare circumstances they will refund since it would be out of the guest control.

 

They have over 22,000 reviews and ranked number #1 tour guide for many years so I’m not worried and still plan to use them when we go. 

It’s all what you are comfortable with.  I am more comfortable with the correspondence I had with Around Aruba.  I did contact them both.  I am sure they are both pretty similar and we will both have a great time.