Cartagena Private City Tour

Great tour! Need to update instructions

Jose was lovely and so knowledgeable. He’s proud of his hometown and it shows. He and our driver, Elias, were great. Elias was amazing navigating heavy traffic and narrow streets with skill and ease. Once we got started on the tour, it was wonderful. We had a handicapped friend with us and both Jose and Elias were very concerned and helpful with him. The information shared was very interesting and the places selected for the tour were excellent. I’d have given it a 5 star rating, but there were a couple of problems. First, there were no instructions about where to meet the guides. Although the very nice lady I talked to told me she’d emailed and called me and had sent me What’s App, I didn’t get any calls, emails, nor What’s App messages despite having had calls, emails, and What's App messages daily from others. When we got off the ship, we waited where all the excursions were leaving as the instructions said the pickup was on pier 3. When no one appeared, we asked a person driving a shuttle bus, and he said we should go to a little hut we could see at the end of the ship. We went there and I tried to call the number in the Viator app. There was a young girl there who told us to go to a building we could see in the distance. We pushed our friend’s wheelchair to the building. The nice lady on the phone said we should go to exit 3. The only option we saw was to go through a big building with a gift shop. We went out the other side and followed exit signs—there was no indication of a numbering system for exits. We followed through a trail with animals all along the way, being attacked at intervals by taxi drivers trying to convince us they were the people we were looking for. We finally came out the other side and walked a block or two more and finally found our people. It took several phone calls. This is ridiculous. Nobody would know to go on that journey to meet our driver. The Viator app needs to be updated to give an indication of how to get to the drivers. The only other issue was that there were 3 of us-one in a wheelchair. I selected this company as they said wheelchair accessible. They picked us up in a small Toyota sedan which was very clean and well maintained. It was also very small. We thought it would be a guide who was also the driver, but they were different people. That meant that my 6’4” husband and I (5’8”) were crammed in the back seat with the guide. I felt so bad for him. He maintained his positivity, but being crammed in there with huge sweaty Americans can’t have been pleasant. Knowing that there were separate guide and driver might have caused us to ask if it would be comfortable with our 3 people.

Response from the operator: Thank you for taking the time to leave such a detailed review of your Cartagena Private City Tour. We're delighted to hear that you had a wonderful experience once the tour began and that Jose and Elias made such a positive impression. It's truly rewarding to know that Jose's passion for his hometown shone through and that Elias's navigating skills were so appreciated, especially with the city's challenging traffic. We're also very glad that Jose and Elias were attentive and helpful to your friend in the wheelchair; ensuring the comfort and accessibility for all our guests is a top priority. Your kind words about the interesting information and excellent places selected for the tour mean a lot to us. However, we are sorry to hear about the difficulties you encountered with the meeting instructions. Arriving by cruise ship in the Cartagena port is challenging since the port don't allow us to go inside and we understand that it can be chaotic to navigate an unfamiliar port, we try our best to provide instructions. We truly value your honest feedback, as it helps us to identify areas for improvement and uphold our commitment to providing exceptional experiences. We hope that despite these initial challenges, you were still able to enjoy the beauty and history of Cartagena. Thank you again for choosing us for your tour. Sincerely, Lina from Way Cool Tours a brand of Medellintravels.com

via Viator