ATV Ensenada - Any Feedback? + Other Non-ship Excursions?

[Smokeyham]

Hi,

 

We will be stopping in Ensenada in November and are looking at options for non-ship provided shore excursions.   Has anyone any feedback on ATV Ensenada?  - http://www.atvensenada.com/atv-zip-line-combo/

Thinking of doing their ATV and Zip line combo and wondering if they are safe (for both activities)?  

Our scheduled time in this port is 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM so thinklng there is plenty of time.

If you have any other suggestions for non-ship excursions I would love to hear those as well.

 

Thanks.

[MyTMo777]

I can't answer your ATV/zip lining question, but when we were there in November 2018, we walked down to the harbor and found several local boats offering tours for $2-$5 per person. They only go out for about an hour. You get to see sea lions and just enjoy the ride, but the biggest draw was that they go close to your ship, and I got some great photos of our ship (NCL Bliss) that I would never be able to get anywhere else. It was a lot of fun to interact with the other passengers on the tour boats, support the local economy, and get to know the owner of the boat. We also enjoyed wandering the shops and restaurants in the harbor area. We enjoy getting a taste of the local culture more than doing the typical tourist activities, but that's just us. Despite being told Ensenada was a terrible port, it turned out to be my second favorite of our entire cruise.

[meliss35]

• Smokeyham: did you ever do the ATV ride?

[Smokeyham]

10 minutes ago, meliss35 said:

• Smokeyham: did you ever do the ATV ride?

Hi @Meliss35 

No, we haven't done that cruise yet.  Reviews for the activity seem to be good. 

[fac429]

I can't speak to this particular tour, but I can tell you that depending on the number of people you're planning on going with there's a way for you to do that same zip line tour and also ride ATV's at the same place (as opposed to driving your own ATV down there).  We did this in 2018 at the same place that this tour goes to (Las Canadas Campamento).  Loved both the zip line tour and ATV trails (but keep in mind it was my first time doing both). 

 

Anyway, there's a company called Ensenada Excursions and Tours that can pick you up from the dock, take you down there (I think it's about a 20-30 minute drive) and bring you back.  You can arrange with them to stop for food or go see La Bufadora or whatever on your way back if you like.  We're using this company when we head there at the end of October, and the price for what we're doing (group of 5, just doing the zip lining) is very reasonable.  I also inquired about how much more it would cost to rent the ATV's for an hour, and it was less than the tour you linked.  But I think it also made a difference that we had 4 or more people in our group.

 

The location is kind of far outside of town, and it's basically a large family campground in a rural area.  When we were there I felt 100% safe.  The zip line/rope bridge course was a lot of fun.  The guides spoke perfect English, and definitely seemed to know what they were doing.  The ATV trails were awesome that time of year (this was in April, so things were fairly green around the trails, but this time of year I expect it's much browner).  We paid a guy there to basically lead us around on the trails, but that was our choice- you don't have to do that if you don't want to.  

 

Your other option, which is basically what we did last time (and felt a little dodgy) is to use taxis to get there and back.  (Well, technically Uber to get down there and a taxi to get back- we found out after we arrived that Uber wasn't going to pick us back up from down there).  I've read that you can pay a taxi driver to take you down there and wait around while you do all your stuff, but we didn't do that.  I remember reading that if you go that route you definitely want to negotiate the price beforehand.

 

I realize you originally posted this months ago and may have already made other plans, but I would highly recommend contacting Ensenada Excursion and Tours and get a quote for the campground.  We loved it, and are excited to head back next month!

[Smokeyham]

@fac429

 

Thanks very much for your detailed information.  Our cruise is in November and I will look into the options you suggested.