Looking for good private tour guide

[Mary Ellen1]

Do you know if you get out and tour the forts or just drive by them:confused:

Also what time does he take you? We are in port from 7:00 - 3:00.

We want to have some time for shopping and just walking around.

We just did the Freedom in April and had timing issues (waiting a long time for the excursions to get going:()

 

Hi there,

 

We did not tour the forts. We stopped near El Morro for pictures, for about 15 minutes or so. Great view of the ocean from there.

 

We met Albert around 7:45 or 8am, ship's time (which in March was 8:45-9am local San Juan time), and we had about 90 minutes for shopping & wandering through Old San Juan at the end, before we had to get back to the ship.

[reno3]

Hi there,

 

We did not tour the forts. We stopped near El Morro for pictures, for about 15 minutes or so. Great view of the ocean from there.

 

We met Albert around 7:45 or 8am, ship's time (which in March was 8:45-9am local San Juan time), and we had about 90 minutes for shopping & wandering through Old San Juan at the end, before we had to get back to the ship.

Thanks, husband and son want to tour the forts.

I would like to go to the rain forrest but if we can't walk the forts I guess we may go on our own and skip the rain forrest:(

[reno3]

Changed plans....

Doing both forts.

DS and DH will jet ski for 90 minutes.

(I let them decide this time:p)

Shopping and back on ship:)

[Kristin1112]

We booked Albert for our 05/16 tour. As it turns out, Albert himself was not available - sounds like he books and then farms out the work if he's not available.

 

Honestly, the person we ended up with (Pedro) was STELLAR. We could not have had a better tour guide. Our driver was Yoshua and he was very careful and mindful on the road. The bus (seats around 25) was very clean and comfortable - and air conditioned.

 

Pedro was extremely knowledgable and funny. He is someone who has been everywhere and done everything and have a conversation with you about anything. Name a city in the US? He's either lived there or spent time there and can rattle off certain retaurants or streets.

 

English was excellent and talk about FUNNY! Our tour was so educational - telling us about the people and the culture - showing us different plants and animals in the rainforest...unique things that you wouldnt think they'd tell you.

 

Of course, we stopped for the worlds best pina coladas and some authentic food on the way back - personally I think he probably owns the place or gets something for bringing all the people there, but it was worth the stop. Super cheap and GOOD! (If you see the dog on the roof, you're at the same place).

 

Sadly, the police had the road to old san juan blocked off and we didnt get to complete that part of our tour. Would have liked a little discount off the $50 price, but they didnt offer it. They did offer us to do some shopping but we were all tired and opted to go back to the ship instead.

 

BTW, if you do the rainforest tour - wear very comfortable shoes (not flip flops) and possibly bring water shoes with you if you want to walk up into the waterfall. Part of the tour is walking up and down some uneven terrain and you will have the opportunity to walk up part of the waterfall.

 

In the end...my father, who has been around the world a hundred times said this was the best and most informative tour he's ever been on - he was greatly impressed.

 

Dont hesitate to book this tour through Albert - even request Pedro if you can. He was amazing and I would refer him to anyone.

[Maere]

Albert was reserved and confirmed by me for 5/22 @ 2:30 because I needed time to get some of my party off the ship-----he was not there....I was told he had waited an hour before leaving. I pointed out to various other drivers that since it was 2:20, I was actually early. My party of 6 included a 90 and an 88 year old....did not appreciate having to negotiate in the heat with another driver.

I reserved in February and confirmed the week before our cruise. No excuse for leaving with other people.

 

Do NOT use Albert unless you have a back-up plan.

 

Maere

[Mary Ellen1]

Oh wow. I'm so sorry that happened to you. We used him in March & had a fabulous time.

 

Do you think the problem was due to time zones? Was the ship on the same time as island time? In March (before the clocks were changed to Daylight Savings Time), ship's time for us was 1 hour earlier than island time. It was very confusing. For Albert, he met us between 8:30 & 9am, but for us, that was 7:30-8:00am.

 

But obviously, if all the other cab drivers agreed that it was 2:20-2:30, the problem was with Albert...

 

Again, sorry for your situation...

[Maere]

no---we were all on the same time...........just leaves a bad taste for the entire visit........

I am sure others had a great time....like the 4 he took that day!

 

Marianne

[DonnaK]

We just returned from San Juan and have to tell you about Victor Rivera. He gave us a walking tour of old san Juan that was totally awesome. We saw so many things that we felt like if we went back to the times of Columbus.

Victor told us that he is a member of Puerto Rico Tour Guide Society.

(you can search their site).

If you are interested in culture and history call Victor at 787 604 8654

or email him at victorpaporivera@hotmail.com

Highly recommend this guide who has so much pride for the old city of San Juan and Puerto Rico.

 

Tito, thank you so much for the recommendation! I'm going to email him now

[cruisingkimo]

My husband and I and friends of ours were on the Caribbean Princess May 9-18 2010. We had pre-arranged with Albert Aguire (Surfcabs) for a Rainforest tour on May 12. I have several emails. Albert assured us that we were confirmed for the tour and told me that he'd be waiting outside the gate in San Juan and for us to give him a call on his cell when we were off the ship. We got off and Albert was nowhere to be found. I called him and he seemed surprised and told me that he'd already picked up another group and was on the way to the rainforest. he apologized that he had forgotten us and said he'd try to ahve one of his associates take us. He said he'd call me right back. Well, after waiting for quite a while we started asking aother folks if they could take us to the rainforest. By that time no one would take us as the rainforest closes at 6 and the drive could take an hour or more in the late day traffic. Albert called me back after an hour and a half, yes it really took that long, and left a message. Long story short-we all had been so looking forward to the rainforest and never got there despite Albert's "you are confirmed" emails. I would not recommend him and would recommend that if you are planning to use Albert that you have a back up plan. You may need it.

[Maere]

Sorry you had the same BAD experience.......

 

Maere

[Kristin1112]

Its too bad he's going to lose a lot of business because of these experiences - we booked through albert and got a superior guide. Sounds like we were lucky.

[Mary Ellen1]

Its too bad he's going to lose a lot of business because of these experiences - we booked through albert and got a superior guide. Sounds like we were lucky.

 

Totally agree. Sounds like he's really flaked out lately. We had an incredible day with him in March -- probably the best day of our cruise. I feel so bad for the folks here who had a bad experience. Ugh.

[kittykid]

Really sorry to hear that. Me and my family just returned back from our cruise vacation and I really have to say that our few hours in Puerto Rico where our highlite of our cruise, thanks to Albert Aguirre (surfcabs@yahoo.com) who gave our family total attention,providing us with a great tour of old San Juan, Rainforest and Beach areas that I know for sure not many other travelers from our ship experience, giving us extra time to try local food along the way and stoping at areas and sites that will stay with us for a lifetime.

[Maere]

Kittykid----I am very glad your reservation was honored....I am still beyond disappointed with his lack of professionalism and follow-up afterwards. I can never recommend him but again, am very glad your plans went well!!

 

Marianne

[kittykid]

No business big or small is totally perfect, seems you have a personal problem with this tour guide. We absolutely recommend Albert as a person to reach out to if you planning to visit San Juan, Puerto Rico.

[M.Bella]

I agree with kittykid, we all make mistakes. We had a tour with Albert and he was great. He was waiting for us outside the port with a welcome sign, did not rush the tour and went above and beyond to give our family a super experience while in Puerto Rico. I truly recommend this gentlemen.

[rickb609]

For those of you that are looking for a private guide in Puerto Rico, I highly recommend Luis Raul Rosado. Raul runs a tour he calls the Natural Wonders Tour. Raul stayed in constant contact with me right up until the time we arrived in port. He was waiting for us just outside the terminal gate. His car was airconditioned and he had a cooler of drinks (including beers) waiting for us. He took us around Old San Juan first. It was obvious right from the start that he loves what he does and is proud of his island. Once we finished with Old San Juan, he drove us to the rain forest (El Yunque). He took us to different rivers and waterfalls within the rainforest. At only one area did we see other tourists, otherwise we were visiting local spots which were wonderful. In addition to being a wealth of information about the natural wonders of the island, Raul could also be performing stand up comedy, he had us laughing for much of the trip. Raul will work his tour around the needs and desires of your group. We are adventurers and we found the trip a workout, but that is what we wanted. I feel that I got to see a side of Puerto Rico that few else get to see. I will always consider Raul a friend and by the end of the day he felt like one of the family. You can find him on facebook by name and/or Natural Wonders Tour.

[cruisingkimo]

Sorry you had the same BAD experience.......

 

Maere

 

No business big or small is totally perfect, seems you have a personal problem with this tour guide. We absolutely recommend Albert as a person to reach out to if you planning to visit San Juan, Puerto Rico.

 

I must respectfully disagree with your response to the other poster. Having had the same experience even with NUMEROUS emails from Albert confirming our reservation I have to say that this is not a "personal problem." A tour guide being a no show for a confirmed reservation is a professional problem. That same tour guide saying he'd get one of his associates to take care of you then not calling back for over an hour and a half, knowing your group is waiting at the pier, is not a "personal problem." Albert doesn't honor his commitments and doesn't even call back to let you know that he is not going to rectify the problem. I highly recomment that anyone traveling to SAn Juan book with someone else and only leave Albert as your last resort. That way if you are stood up at least you were prepared.

Kim

[cruisingkimo]

duplicate

[Sandy Flipflop]

Well, I just emailed Albert. I will specifically discuss his issues of no show then watch what happens between now and cruise time then decide what to do. Will let others know.:cool:

[smeck]

Well, I just emailed Albert. I will specifically discuss his issues of no show then watch what happens between now and cruise time then decide what to do. Will let others know.:cool:

 

I sent Albert a identical email yesterday I'm still waiting for a answer.

[Maere]

You are brave taking a chance on Albert---I hope it works out for you because it is NOT fun when your plans are not honored.

 

Marianne

[Fourseventeen]

SJ-April 28th 2010.

Personally I wasnt happy with ALbert and Surf CaB Tours. I contacted him about 2 months before our date in SJ. I explained to him it was my wifes birthday that day and I wanted to hire a PRIVATE van just for the 2 of us and possibly 2 of our friends. He gave me a flat rate to rent his services for the day....with just us and anyone we invited to come along. When we were picked up at the pier we opened the van door to see 6 others already in the van!!! My wife sat in the middle row and myself in the back row squeezed in next to 2 larger gals. Needless to say I was pretty upset BUT we had no other option but to suck it up and go! I had in writting (email) that his service and van was booked for the 2 of us ONLY at a flat rate (equivelant to 6 people) so that we could have the van to ourselves and so we could go where my wife wanted to go for her birthday. We ended up having to go places we wouldnt have gone to because others wanted to go there. Put a huge damper on our day. Needless to say I didnt pay him the flat rate he quoted me but instead I divided that by 8 people and paid that price. His services werent bad but the fact that he promised me something and lied pissed me off. Plus he kept hinting around for tips throughout the trip which was a bit annoying as well. We made the best of our trip to SJ but we are going to have to go back next year to see the stuff we wanted to see and couldnt because of the others we had in OUR van that we had PRIVATELY booked! I spoke to Albert 2 days before we arrived and he again confirmed the van was ALL ours. I spoke with the others in the van and come to find out 2 of the others also had the van booked privately and the other 4 people onboard were picked up on the dock...they said ALbert approached them asking if they needed a tour. Not very happy with his quality of service.

[DgBg100106]

SJ-April 28th 2010.

Personally I wasnt happy with ALbert and Surf CaB Tours. I contacted him about 2 months before our date in SJ. I explained to him it was my wifes birthday that day and I wanted to hire a PRIVATE van just for the 2 of us and possibly 2 of our friends. He gave me a flat rate to rent his services for the day....with just us and anyone we invited to come along. When we were picked up at the pier we opened the van door to see 6 others already in the van!!! My wife sat in the middle row and myself in the back row squeezed in next to 2 larger gals. Needless to say I was pretty upset BUT we had no other option but to suck it up and go! I had in writting (email) that his service and van was booked for the 2 of us ONLY at a flat rate (equivelant to 6 people) so that we could have the van to ourselves and so we could go where my wife wanted to go for her birthday. We ended up having to go places we wouldnt have gone to because others wanted to go there. Put a huge damper on our day. Needless to say I didnt pay him the flat rate he quoted me but instead I divided that by 8 people and paid that price. His services werent bad but the fact that he promised me something and lied pissed me off. Plus he kept hinting around for tips throughout the trip which was a bit annoying as well. We made the best of our trip to SJ but we are going to have to go back next year to see the stuff we wanted to see and couldnt because of the others we had in OUR van that we had PRIVATELY booked! I spoke to Albert 2 days before we arrived and he again confirmed the van was ALL ours. I spoke with the others in the van and come to find out 2 of the others also had the van booked privately and the other 4 people onboard were picked up on the dock...they said ALbert approached them asking if they needed a tour. Not very happy with his quality of service.

 

 

Sorry to hear that your plans were not honored and that the Birthday celebration was not what you both wanted.

 

Thank you for posting your experience, it just convinced us not to take this tour guide. Again sorry and Thank You.

 

:(

[Mary Ellen1]

I'm so sorry to hear about your experience -- and all of the other recent posters here, too. As someone who had a fabulous day with Albert (in March), and recommended him here, I am surprised and perplexed by his actions. This is really inexplicable. What the heck is he thinking??? Like all the folks who heard about him here don't come back & post their experiences? Very strange...

 

It would have been bad enough for your tour to turn out that way, but the fact that it was your wife's birthday really stinks!!!! :(