ATX Rail Expedition

[amy2313]

I just read about a new excursion offered in Cozumel called the ATX Rail Expedition and was wondering if anyone has ever done this. We have done the ATV excursion (thru Wild Tours) and this seems to be a new take on it in off-roading style dune buggy type cars.

 

Any reviews on this would be great.

 

Thanks

[jaredcoreymama]

I would also love to hear reviews!

[amcjeep4life]

We did the ATV tour with Wild Tours in November. While we were out, the x-rails went blasting by us. It looked awesome, and is most likely what we will be doing in Cozumel in October! I hope someone has actual experience they can tell us about!

[amy2313]

I've read good and bad reviews about this one on TripAdvisor so I was hoping to hear what people here thought. The pictures look great but a TripAdvisor reviews reports the tour was slow moving. But I dont see how that could be possible, especially after doing the ATVs with WildTours. Hopefully we'll get a first hand report about this on soon.

[amy2313]

there is another review for this tour from a thread started by Malakie just a ways down on this page. Check out that thread and there is a recent review of the Xrail tour there it says All Terrain Xrails. I did this tour no you don't go superspeed but it was in no way a turtle race either.

 

Would you recommend it??

[ntshop]

Can you tell me if the ATX rails are booked through Carnival or a private party?

[amy2313]

Amy I do recommend this tour but I think that it will also depend on you and how much of an offroader you are I guess. People that do motocross and things are usually only geared for speed but not necessarily the romping part which is what I love most. I do think that if you did the ATV tour with the same company then I am sure that you would enjoy this tour. The new cenote that they take you to is awesome and being able to offroad and see that cenote just made the tour complete I thought. I have now done both the ATV and Xrail tours and I enjoyed them both most recently having done the Xrail tour. So with that said I say good luck and if you like offroading then you will have a great time.

 

 

Excellent - that was extremely helpful and hwat we needed to hear. I sent Wild Tours our reservation this morning!! Hopefully we won't have any problem getting on the 9am tour - that way will still have a chance to spend the afternoon at one of the beaches in the area. I'd like to get in a little snorkeling too!! :)

[WonderousBlue]

I am hearing nothing about this tour is it just not any good?

[mrsfuzzmo]

I personally have not done it, but a good friend did last Dec. and she and her boyfriend absolutely LOVED it. They are 24 yrs. active and were looking for adventure. They booked through Shoretrips dot com and said it was the highlight of their cruise! It's very dirty, you will be covered in mud and dirt at the end, so take clothes along that you can discard, but they loved it.

 

I would definitley try it, but my husband is over the weight limit, so we've done the dune buggies, which were a blast as well.

[JimHam4]

I just read about a new excursion offered in Cozumel called the ATX Rail Expedition and was wondering if anyone has ever done this. We have done the ATV excursion (thru Wild Tours) and this seems to be a new take on it in off-roading style dune buggy type cars.

 

Any reviews on this would be great.

 

Thanks

 

My wife and I (mid 40's) did this tour last February and loved it. Definitely not slow moving but there were times we had to stop for awhile as the guides pried a buggy off a tree once and two other times motors died after being flooded with mud. Bring a second set of clothes and throw your muddy ones away. They WILL try to sell you all sorts of extras (this is Mexico) but you probably won't need them. Didn't need the gloves, wore a bandana I brought and definitely need eyewear. Thinking about doing it again this year when we're back in Cozumel.

[JimHam4]

Found the thread I had previously posted a review to.

 

Followed this thread right up to leaving on our trip so I thought I would post about our experience. We were on the Celebrity Constellation in Cozumel Feb 11. This is a part of the review I wrote up for that trip, there was a person from the shore excursions desk on our trip with us, do not know if he was sent to check on any problems or if he was sent to get some experience about the excursions he is selling.

 

I’m excited for this excursion, but a little nervous as the latest reviews I’ve read say this excursion has steadily slid downhill in quality over the last year or so. My wife and I find the Celebrity Canopies easily at the end of the dock and locate the sign for our excursion; a Celebrity representative is there to greet us and tells us it will be about 15 minutes still before they start checking people in (it’s just a little after 9) When check-in starts we are asked to sign a waiver and given a wristband to identify which excursion we are on. After everyone is checked in we are led through the shops by the representative to our taxis. Here is my first beef with the day, the guide is very nice but she insists on leading us in a cheer to show how excited we are to be going on this trip and have fun. Not a big deal but I just wanted to drive our buggies, not waste time here for a pep rally. There’s about 16 of us and we load up into two vans to head to the south side of the island about 20 minutes away. For those who don’t know the X-rail tour is an off road trip in vehicles similar to sand rails and can go over 60mph. If you’re curious they look like this http://motormaxintl.com/XrailWhiplash.html We will be driving two to a buggy out into the jungle to a cenote where we will have a little swim before driving the buggies back to our starting point. This trip can be booked independently of the ship through a group called Wild Tours. But the costs are close to the same and with the chance of mechanical breakdown I liked the peace of mind booking through Celebrity.

 

We are greeted at Wild Tours by a different guide, but she's in the same cheer leading mode as the last one. She explains to us that we need closed toed shoes (we had them but nobody told us this before hand) and that if we don't have them we can rent them. They also rent lockers, goggles, gloves, and sell bandanas. The lockers are $2 (necessary) but I didn't check the other prices as we didn't need them. We had brought our own bandanas which were helpful this trip but not necessary, in a drier time of year I would think you HAVE to have them. Eyewear should be a requirement, but sunglasses suffice you don't new goggles. Gloves I leave up to you; I didn't need them but at least one of the drivers came away with some blisters. The locker is necessary; anything in your buggy is going to get soaked and muddy so stash some extra clothes and towels in the locker. The locker is a good size and fits our tote easily, could probably fit two, if you're with friends just get one locker. You will need extra clothes, whatever you're wearing will get ruined and probably just thrown away. Put everything in the locker you won't need anything on the ride.

 

After basic instruction on the buggy we are led through a little animal encounter where we are not allowed to take pictures since they want us to buy them later to support their "rescue" efforts. It's kind of a neat encounter, you can hold a macaw, eagle and snake, but I don't buy the "we're saving the animals" line. Time wise it's not really an inconvenience as people are still using the rest room and putting things away. We are led to our buggies where we get helmets and strap ourselves in. We will have two guides that are on ATVs, one leading the group, the other riding chase. During the ride we are allowed to take pictures and video and here's where my GoPro comes in really handy.

 

We head out slowly to get everyone in line but right off the bat one of the buggies has a problem coming out of the water and they can't get it restarted. Before the ride I read several reviews disappointed in the reliability of the buggies and the knowledge of the guides. Watching them in action I will say they do a good job. I've ridden motorcycles and have desert riding experience and with the abuse we put on those buggies I think they performed remarkably well and the guides worked quickly to either fix or replace any problems. Lucky for us the guides have to switch this buggy out and that means me and the two buggies with us are left free to catch up to the rest of the group that had gone ahead. For me, and the other two, this means a balls out, hit every puddle you can, run for the next five minutes or so. Now THIS is what I paid for! We catch up the rest of the group soaking wet and covered in mud and we still probably have a half hour ride ahead of us. The rest of the ride there are no breakdowns and we hit a variety of terrain on the way to the cenote.

 

At the cenote we are given water bottles to drink and life vests to put on if we wish to go in the water. Some of us climb to the top of the cenote's overhang about 15 over the water and take the plunge, others use the steps from the little dock into the water. I leave all my clothes on and use the plunge to give myself a quick rinse cycle,some others do the same and some take of the outer clothes just wearing the bathing suits into the water. We're the only ones there and the water is cool and refreshing. Fruit bats live on one side of the cenote and we see them flying around as we swim around for a few minutes. Refreshed it's time to get back in the buggies and head back.

My wife and I had planned to switch so she could drive back but after watching the work it takes to control the buggy she decides she likes just being a passenger and let's me have all the fun (I hate being a passenger unless its on a ship with a drink in my hand). We start out at a pretty good pace but are soon brought to a stop by one of the guides. He tells us to wait as he heads to the back of the pack. He soon returns and leads the group off again. What we didn't know was that the buggy at the back had run themselves up against a tree and been turned on their side(minor scratches were bandaged and the buggy replaced). As we're heading back the girls in front of us decide to switch drivers back the setup they had on the way out. This delay works out great as it creates a great amount of space between us and the lead group and the two of us are able to drive like bats out of hell again until we return to what passes for civilization.

 

Back at camp the guides take a picture of our group and lead us to the "Mexican" showers (basic spigots strung up on PVC about six feet high). We're able to get some of the mud off and luckily one of the ladies in the group brought wet wipes to help the mud off. They sit us at a table and offer some stale chips and canned nacho cheese while we wait to see our group's pictures and video. Sodas are available for $1 and I buy a pretty nice T-shirt for only $12. The wait for our photos becomes way to long as the group ahead of us decides to watch their video again. I ask the ladies how much are the pictures anyway and am told $80 for everything, I don't bother to ask individual prices which is to bad since we might have bought a picture of us with the animals. Tiring of the wait or group starts to walk toward the taxis to leave. The woman in charge gets a little rude and tells us she is in charge of the taxis and loading us in. We tell her were leaving, she doesn't argue with us, and most of us pile in for the ride back to the pier.

 

It's a pretty easy walk back to the boat from the taxi and we do it covered in mud. Back on the boat it is time for a necessary shower as mud comes out of every imaginable nook and cranny and my clothes go in the trash. Refreshed and semi-clean it's time to head topside and watch people running down the pier trying not to miss the boat.

 

This tour has its problems with the little extras they try to insert into the experience, but I still highly recommend it. The driving guides were professional and very friendly and the driving experience itself was incredible. We're already thinking of doing it again next year and one of the guys on our tour this time had done it before.

 

 

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