Segway tour in Nassau?

Has anyone ever done the segway tour in nassau? I was doing some research and came across articles from Nov 09 where 18 people were robbed and beaten while on this tour. Has anyone heard if security has increased?

Yes! We did the the Bahamas Segway and Beach Experience tour, booked via Royal Caribbean on Tuesday, March 30, 2010. We had a great time!

This was actually our SECOND segway tour, and second one in Nassau. In 2008, we did a Segway tour at Fort Charlotte and the Botanical Garden. Since we were going back to Nassau and had a blast two years ago, despite some rain, we opted to try this different tour. Our greatest surprise came when we were picked up at the dock in Nassau, and the driver of the van and owner of the company is the same gentleman who taught us how to ride Segways two years ago! Turns out, he parted ways with the old company last year and has set up this alternate tour.

The tour itself was great! It's quite a bit further out of town...a good 30+ minute drive...but the property they take you on is through the woods and along the shore...it's totally offroad...it's actually sometimes also used as a horseback riding trail.

The big highlight is the stop at the beach...it's a fantastic, secluded, beautiful spot...such a change after being on a cruise ship or at beach stops with hundreds on the shoreline. At this beach, there were the NINE of us on the tour, plus the two tour guides...that was it!

Overall, I would certainly recommend. You can also check out their website: www.bahamassegwaytours.com

Noel

Thanks for this information! I was wondering about the Segway tours. We'll be in Nassau in June and the ship doesn't get in until noon. I was trying to decide what to do.

Would you recommend booking through Royal Caribbean or should we try to book directly?

Just a postscript to my DH's post above (Sensfan11): As I understand it, there are now (at least) two companies operating Segway tours in Nassau. The robbery back in November occured on the Segway tour at Earth Village. This is NOT the same location as the RCCL "Bahamas Beach and Segway Experience" that we did on March 30, nor is it the same company as far as I know. When we were talking to Aaron (the owner of Bahamas Segway Tours), he mentioned in passing that since our last tour with him in 2008, he split from his business partner (I think he said in November, so not sure if it was related to the robbery or not), and that the other company had been doing tours out of Earth Village but had some "problems" and were now back at the original location at the Botannical Gardens. On our cruise, RCCL offered two different segway excursions (one with each company) at the two different locations (beach and botannical gardens). We did the beach tour and it was awesome - I'd highly reccommend it!

Thanks for the input. That makes me feel a little better about doing the tour. New location, company, etc. If given a choice between the beach tour or the botanical gardens, which one did you prefer? Both sound good. We are family of 4 with 2 boys age 17 and 12. I am unsure how much my 12 year old will like it. He has never learned to even ride a bike. I love beaches and am leaning towards that one. How much time do you get to spend at the beach?

I *THINK* that the crime wave you read about was confined to one or two criminals who were apprehended. There are 1 or 2 locals who post here, maybe they know better.

Thanks for the input. That makes me feel a little better about doing the tour. New location, company, etc. If given a choice between the beach tour or the botanical gardens, which one did you prefer? Both sound good. We are family of 4 with 2 boys age 17 and 12. I am unsure how much my 12 year old will like it. He has never learned to even ride a bike. I love beaches and am leaning towards that one. How much time do you get to spend at the beach?

The beach tour was great - very "off-road", and when we did it, there were 4 kids in our group (probably between 11 and 16) and they all had a blast. One of them did take a tumble, but they were going a little too fast over a bumpy stretch. There is a way to lock the speed on the Segway - when you are just learning they set it at 6 km/hr, and once you get the hang of it, they increase it to 10 or 12 km/hr. If he's nervous, they can probably keep it at low speed, though the machines handle better and are more responsive when "unlocked". IMHO, riding a Segway is easier than riding a bike, and no physical exertion required :o - just a bit of balance. We spent about 45 minutes at the beach, which might have been a little short but it's so beautiful and totally undeveloped, that kind of makes up for it. We also stopped at another point along the way where we picked up some great conch shells. Personally, I preferred the beach tour, though the botannical gardens was great too. The gardens themselves weren't much to look at, as much of it was destroyed by a hurricane a few years back, but the excursion also included a tour of historic Fort Charlotte, so if your boys are into pirates and cannons and stuff, they might like that as well.

great excursion

I checked out the website and they are only offering tours in the morning the day we'll be there (we get to Nassau at noon). So we'll definitely have to book through Royal Caribbean. Looks like the price is the same anyway.

Marie and Sensfan, what time was your beach tour? We'll be on Monarch of the Seas and they are offering the tour at 12:30 and 3:00. I was wondering if we'd have time to grab a quick bite to eat at the buffet before the tour group meets. Or should we opt for the later tour?

Also, do the tour guides take pictures? I'd love to get one with me and my hubby. I'll bring my camera along too.

Where did you put your towels and things during the tour?

 

Marie and Sensfan, what time was your beach tour? We'll be on Monarch of the Seas and they are offering the tour at 12:30 and 3:00. I was wondering if we'd have time to grab a quick bite to eat at the buffet before the tour group meets. Or should we opt for the later tour?

 

Also, do the tour guides take pictures? I'd love to get one with me and my hubby. I'll bring my camera along too.

 

Where did you put your towels and things during the tour?

We were on the Majesty so we arrived in Nassau early in the morning, and the tours were offered at either 8:30 or 11:30 a.m. - we opted for the early one and were back on the ship for lunch. And yes, the tour guides will take pictures for you with your camera - we got some great shots. There is a small backpack attached to the front of the Segway where you can put your valuables (wallet, camera, etc) and for the larger stuff (beach bags, towels, etc.) they have a jeep which goes on ahead of the tour and meets you at the beach, so your stuff is there when you arrive.

Thanks for the information. This sounds so fun!

We signed up for the tour. I'm so excited! :)

What kind of clothing should we wear? Did you wear bathing suits under your clothes? What about shoes? Are flip flops ok or do we need closed-toed shoes?

Hello all !

I have sen this question asked several times but never answered.

How strict are they on the weight limit? I mean do they get out scales?

Thanks

Hello all !

 

I have sen this question asked several times but never answered.

 

How strict are they on the weight limit? I mean do they get out scales?

 

Thanks

I'd shoot the tour company an email. I emailed them to ask about what shoes to wear and they responded within a couple of hours.

I was looking up Segway tours online to get an idea about how hard they were to ride. All the other tours I found listed a weight limit of 250 pounds. So I was surprised that the Bahamas tour allows up to 275 pounds. Maybe since the Segways are for off-road, they can handle more weight?

The wheels on the off-road segways are larger, so you're right, they can probably hold a bit more weight... no scales in sight either time we did the tour, but then again, pretty much everyone was "average" build... And to answer your earlier question, yes, wear your swimsuit under your clothes if you want to go in the water, as the beach is completely undeveloped so there's nowhere to change.

I just got back from Nassau and doing this tour and I thought it was the worst Segway experience I have ever had. Yes, the segways are fun to ride and the tour guides are very friendly as well as the driver. However, it was scorching hot. On the ride to the location, there was no air conditioning int the van. When we got there they had 6 chairs sitting out in the sun for us to sit on while they gave us a briefing on using the segways.

After a few minutes learning the ropes we were ready to go. Let me just say that there is absolutely nothing to see on this tour. There are no bathrooms or facilities of any kind. It was like you were riding around in the back pasture at my house in the country. Nothing but dirt and weeds. After riding about 25 minutes you got to a little dirty beach area, but beautiful ocean, and you could swim if you had everything you needed. In other words, you were wearing your swimsuit under your clothes and had brought your own towels.

We stayed there about 30 minutes then it was back on the segways for the ride back to the starting point.

There were no people at all around on this tour. I could easily see where it could be a target for criminals to rob tourists. It is very isolated.

This tour was the one given by best on bahamas dot com. So, if you are going to do a segway tour I would definitely check out the other provider. We were also on an early morning tour. I felt sorry for those after us. They were already sweating when they got out of the van. One of the participants on our tour had to get off and sit down because she almost fainted. Luckily we were almost through and I had a bottle of water with me to give her because the tour guide didn't seem to know what to do.

Thanks for the warning, briternik. Sorry you had a bad experience. :(

I think that even though people know it is hot in the Bahamas in the summer, they don't realize how hot "hot" is. I live in Florida and right now it's in the low 90's. With the humidity, it feels like 105!

If you're planning to do on outdoor excursion, please be prepared. Wear your lightest, loose-fitting cotton clothing and a hat. Drink lots of water - bring your own bottles! Get in the shade as often as possible.

It's good for everyone to know the signs of heat exhaustion. Here's a link to the information: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/faq.asp

I emailed the company and asked about flip flops because I figured that would be cooler than having heaving sneakers with socks on my feet. They said flip flops were fine. We'll wear our bathing suits and bring towels so we can get in the water.

We just did this tour on the 4th of June. We were in the 12 to 3 pm time slot. It was very hot but my entire family loved it. It was the bahamas labor day so the streets were filled with people to watch the parade. We never felt like we were in danger. They could not pick us up due to the roads being shut off (for the parade) and half the shops also. They did have someone meet us and walk us to another location. Any location on that day was hot unless you stayed in an air conditioned hotel. It was over 95 degrees all day! I did use the outside company Bahamas Segway Tours. We even gave both the tour guide and driver a tip. Meek the driver was so friendly and funny.

The beach tour was just that a tour around the beach area. The guide stopped us several times and showed us various trees and bushes. She also stopped a conch graveyard...we got one to take back home with us. We did stop for a beach break and they had chairs in the shade and gave us water to drink. Then they took us back to the port. It was wonderful. My 10 year old rode and had no problems so I am sure you will love it. We all wanted to do it again...if you are interested in seeing things and not off roading then you should book the flower gardens and not the beach tour. If you are interested in an adventure then the beach one is for you.

I will post pictures tomorrow of the areas where the instruction went on and the beach too.

Can't wait to see your pictures! Did you wear bathing suits and swim or just walk the beach?

We did get into the water but had clothes (no towels-to heavy to carry around) on not a big deal we dried quickly in the heat. THe beach was not dirty it was natural with pine cone and pine needles...at least where we stopped.

and a three of us cooling off.....:D

I also have video if you would like to see them I can email them to you just shoot me an email at melliott@ccol.net....

Romeo, I just looked at your pictures and your tour was the exact tour that I took. It's funny how we can each come away with a total different outlook on it. I thought it was awful. I'm glad you had a good time, though.

I never felt scared either, I just thought it was a very secluded area and had the potential to have problems.

The beach area wasn't too bad right at the spot we stopped, but I walked along the shore about 50 yards and there were old tennis shoes, broken bottles, and bits of trash everywhere. I guess being at Half Moon Cay the day before had me spoiled.

Thanks for the pictures! I would love to see the video too. I sent you an email. Please let me know if you didn't get it and I will send it again.

Thanks for the pictures! I would love to see the video too. I sent you an email. Please let me know if you didn't get it and I will send it again.

Did not get it try again...please!