Viki613
We would definitely recommend this excursion for active adults. We rode for around 20 minutes on a bus to where the vehicles were waiting. We were given a briefing on what to expect and an opportunity to purchase a bandana (much needed). We brought our own safety goggles and bandana. The helmets will ill-fitting but necessary to lessen the dust in my hair. The dune-buggy excursion itself lasted over two hours (perfect!). We rode through local neighborhoods and saw lots of people, kids, horses and a couple of dogs. The buggy in front of us gave candy to the children, so they chased our buggies throughout the streets. We rode through lots of sugar cane fields, saw workers and stopped for a brief lesson on the life of plantation workers. This was very informative. We did ride through many mud puddles, some of which smelled like septic. We were able to ride around the "smelly" waterholes.We stopped for melons and coconuts and a chance to see the works of local artists and a bathroom break. I felt that this excursion was well-planned and I felt like these people cared about our group. They were also very appreciative of our business. I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone who is active and over 14 years of age.
Anita45
Would definitely recommend this excursion! We had a great time and it was both fun and informative. If you are looking to get off the resort and see the area and not take all day to do it then this is your kind of activity.... Thanks guys : )
meganc389
It was very dusty so bring sunglasses! And We got very muddy so dont wear good clothes. But ifyou ride back home, You will want to experience this! Going through the villages and seeing the children, how people live. it was a true eye opener. They have nothing and are as happy as can be! I loved it!
I2027DZdavem
We rode atv's the whole time. Buggies looked fun too. Excellent service. Maybe the best ride ever. Entertaining and exciting. Yes you roll in a pack. Still awesome. Highly recommend.
astubis13
Loved this excursion. Vehicles and staff were perfect. No complaints. Driving on your own through the city and sugar cane fields.
JuliusC65
This was the best part of our family vacation. It is a great way to really see small villages and how the people in the area live. We did not go with a big hotel / resort group, where it can slow things down, we went on a private group just family, and it was awesome. We really got to rev-up and zig zag our way through the country side, sugar cane fields, hillsides and down by the great riverbed. Just some great terrain to really have some fun and kick dirt and mud all over the place. What a great time, my kids had a blast. Coming back next year, for sure ...
LordSmizz
I suppose perhaps my inner redneck just made this trip dull for me but I found Crazy Wheels to be a huge disappointment. We arrived along with about 50 other people, the group was split, half on atvs and half on buggys. The thought that we get to cruise around on both seemed awesome at the time. About 45 minutes later FINALLY we leave the grounds and head out. After a quick tour of the local town they lead us out to the nearby sugar cane fields. Keep a slow pace.... don't turn to hard... and stay in single file and drive around dusty trails for a full hour. Would have been far more enjoyable to hike the trail. Arrive at the sugar cane fields and the guide gave a good background story and explanation of the farming area.... felt pretty guilty at this point after hearing how rough they have it. Then back on the buggys for about ten minutes. Park on a dusty road and wait in the heat for 30 minutes. The atvs meet up and you swap. Hoping for chance to cruise around, and find some mud or some real trails through a jungle, but we ended up doing similar dusty roads for another hour. With the exception of a short stop at a pretty river and the usual gift shop where you are hastled we simply drove back to the shop.... Although I appreciate the local tour and sight seeing, We were under the impression that this was a " ADRENALINE PUMPING ATV CRAZY WHEELS ACTION ADVENTURE!!!" In Cuba , Costa RIca, Mexico and even Puerto Plate I came back agreeing with the advertised description. As I recall all my prior experiences atv'ing were down some crazy trails where you can really open up the trottle and include a lunch way off trail with some local people at an offgrid restaurant. and loved the small groups of 6-8 with a guide you get to know and enjoy the day with. With Crazy Wheels I felt it was a dusty ride where you drive offroad vehicles on maintained grid roads and play follow the leader in a group of 25 or so and everyone stays silent until they leave for the day. Very boring experience and would not recommend to anyone who loves to experience both local culture and having a wild ride!
EvadS_12
We went on this trip that was purchased through a cruise line. The bus picked us up at the dock and after about 20-30 minute ride arrived at our start point. The starting point was stuck off the road down a short dirt road with shacks around it. When we arrrived they had everybody split into the 2 groups ... 1 for ATV riders and the other for Dune buggy riders.After a short orientation with the vehicles we started the machines up and took a few laps around the dirt parking lot to get the feel of the vehicle. ( the ATV's were new only 1 month old) Then we started of following single file down a path and across roads to the sugar cane fields. We passed a variety of villages that were shacks to say the least by our standards, but were these peoples homes. As soon as the noise of the engines were heard children of all ages came out to wave hi and to slap you five as you drove by.In the sugar cane field we drove for quite a while before stopping for a drink that they provided and raw sugar cane that they just stripped down with a machette. There they explained about what the workers have to do to harvest the cane as well as getting it to the train for processing. when we started up again we had a short ride and stopped at a small store that provided fresh fruit, water to freshing up a bit and bathrooms.Some tips:bring wrap around glasses as dirt does fly even if you back off the person in front of you. bring a bandana or buy one of theirsplan on getting dirty either through mud puddles or just good old dusty dirt.Photos/Video;very hard to take any photos when you are taveling at 20-60 miles an hour, but they are taking them and will sell to you. The video for 1 person is pricy $45 but for a group of you it is not bad. they video everybody so you get a feeling of what the group was like( the downfal of the video is they take an order and you need to pick up at security gate by you ship 2-3 hours later) YES they were there, so nothing dodgie about it. Photos were offered at the end of the trip at 10 euros which is about $13 for 4 - 4x6 of you on the ATV's or dune buggy.If you have 4 people there that can be quite a price since they seemed not to want to see 1 for each of you.overall we had alot of fun, give it a try if you have time
PLKS
We booked this excursion through Scuba Doo representative Lou (along the beach) at Punta Cana. At first we were comfortable doing this as we have visited the Dominican Republic over 15 times. We asked many questions, just to make sure it was a good trip for us, was told we woulde be riding along the beach- NOT TRUE!!!!! It was the usual, along the streets, back roads, sugar can planations, etc.... Got to the Macao Crazy Wheels, all seemed fine, wanted to ride ATV's......one of them was not working properly, so two from our party had to take a dune buggy....Almost immediately after turning down a dirt road, my partner and I (on the same ATV) hit a pole head on. We were both hurt, when I told the guide to get my husband, who was ahead of us, he said OK.....The guide never told my husband we were in an accident, he was only concerned that the rest our the tour proceed as normal. The brakes on the ATV were not working properly, guide adamantly denied this.....Guide then took me to my husband in a dune buggy, where I was tended to by a really nice Dominican family....My husband requested a private taxi, as we wanted to get back to our resort ASAP because of my injuries...again he said OK, not OK, bus came and touok us back to Macao Crazy Wheels because we had to wait for the rest of the people who rode the bus with us to finish their tour. To me, this is insane and poor business practice. But being outside of the USA, we had no choice but to go along with what they said.....The next day I approached Lou and his partner on the beach about the accident. I was told that it was our fault, because the driver of my ATV was driving erratically and trying to pass the other ATV's and buggys....AGAIN, NOT TRUE as our ATV as the last one in the group- so there were NO vehicles for us to pass....It was a miracle we were not more seriously injured or killed. I have done extensive searches on social media sites and the web to find these two businesses- Macao Crazy Wheels and Scuba Doo tours with no success.....I suspect they do not put themselves out there to avoid negative feedback. When booking tours, I STRONGLY advise fellow travellers not to do it through vendors who walk the beaches of the resorts. These people are NOT associated with the hotels in any way, shape or form. They take the receipts once you pay in full, leaving you with no information on them. Their main concern is to make money, and NOT the safety or well being of tourists. Only book excursions through the representatives at your hotel or resort. Do not allow them to lure you into it, as I did..
airruiz
We booked this ride through the cruise. (If you are on a cruise i highly suggest you do it early cause it sells out quick.) The ride was fairly long but very scenic. I suggest you take goggle cause the dust is terrible. At the mid point you stop and a restaurant where you can wash yourself off eat fruits, drink at the bar or jump in their pool. The tour was very fun although the buggy broke down a couple of times. (battery problems). I still recommend it.
KellyHuffman
We booked our Crazy Wheels excursion at the Apple concierge desk at Dreams La Romana. We had several families tell us how much fun they had on this excursion. I didn't realize they had booked with another company!!We departed Dreams....got 2 minutes away from the resort and the van pulled over. We had to get into a car to take us to Crazy Wheels. I thought this was very shady. Our driver didn't speak much English, so I am not sure why we switched vehicles. Once at Crazy Wheels, we had to wait over 30 minutes before others arrived. The staff recommended that we purchase bandanas and sunglasses to protect our faces from the dirt and mud. (We had been told that we would have goggles. In hindsight, we realized that was with another company). After about 45 minutes, other guests arrived. We took off and went through the villages. This was a lot of fun! This is also where my dune buggy first broke down. No biggie...we were close by Crazy Wheels! We had the opportunity to see how families live in this country. We drove thru a Haitian village too. Haitians work the sugar cane fields and live nearby. They don't have much at all. The kids were begging for clean bottled water. Luckily, we had brought about 8 bottles to give out! Then we went to the sugar cane fields. We stopped for fresh sugar cane and pepsi. The staff used a machette to cut it up. I am pretty sure it was not sanitary. Oh well....it tasted pretty good. We then had to pull over and wait 30 minutes for the people on the 4 wheelers to come and switch out for the dune buggies. I was really not happy about that. It was steamy hot and we were sitting directly in the sun. The kids (and I) just wanted to get back to Dreams! Once we made the switch, it was just my family with a tour guide. This is when my dune buggy broke down a second time. I was with my 7 year old son. We sat, stranded, for over five minutes before anyone realized we weren't following behind. I was very upset about this. I didn't feel safe. We stopped by a little village store which served fresh fruit and shopped a little. By this time, I was ready to get a shower and get in the pool at our resort. If you choose to book Crazy Wheels....remember to bring sunglasses and a bandana. You may also want to bring some bottled water and candy for the kids you will see in the village. You will get dirty and wet. All in all it was an ok experience....my favorite part was seeing the villages and getting a better look at the country.
pinoy1974
we stayed in Bayahibe, Dominican Republic at the Viva Wyndham Palace resort (i am writing a separate review on the resort shortly) and booked the Crazy Wheels excursion through our excursion manager at the resort. WHAT A BLAST!!i can tell you that my wife and i are VERY SEASONED travelers. not only looking for the best deals, but the best experiences as well. we're very open minded and very appreciative of those entities and businesses that go out of their way for the customer, since we also work in separate customer focused/sales industries.that being said, the Crazy Wheels buggy and ATV tour in Bayahibe/La Romana Dominican Republic is likely THE FUNNEST excursion i've ever been on; and i've been on nearly 2 dozen in my lifetime (maybe more).starting with the purchase of the package from our resort excursion manager, i felt like we were getting the best deal because we were owners of Wyndham vacations (10% discount). for my wife and myself it was about $120 U.S. paid by credit card (for 2 people).the company picks you up at your resort promptly at 8am local time in the morning along with other participants from other resorts in the area (included). the bus ride is about 30 mins to where the ATVs and Buggy's are located. once there, a quick tutorial of the ATVs a buggys.TIP ALERT: you SHOULD bring goggles or at the very least wrap around sun glasses. the dust will definitely get to you. also, if you're staying at a resort with fancy cloth napkins that can double as bandannas, bring those too; else bring a legitimate bandanna of your own. bandannas are sold on site, but the prices are obviously elevated.the total group will be divided into two. first group will commence with the buggys and the second group will commence with the ATVs. it wont matter which group you start out with since the trails are timed and mapped out perfectly.TIP ALERT: depending on the weather that day or prior, be prepared to get DIRTY! it rained the heavily the day before so we had pockets of shear mud and puddles which made it very very fun!the tour will take you to the base of Rio Chavon which is cool, then up to a banana farm ranch where there is a little souvenir shop that has all the tourist stuff you can get at any tourist trap shop. you will also SWITCH in the middle of the tour to alternate with the other group and experience equal time with different scenery on either ATV and Buggy. i felt like this was done with great precision to timing.TIP ALERT: please be aware that the Dominican Republic is a THIRD WORLD COUNTRY. they served free mango and banana on this excursion which my wife sampled out in the "country", however the fruits were washed in local water which ultimately rendered many of our co-excursionists VERY SICK with amoebic Dysentery including my wife for at least 3 days. please be careful anywhere in this country with the water, ice, how things are washed, etc.the excursion also has a few stops along the way to a sugar cane field where they chopped up a sugar cane for all of us in the group to sample which was AWESOME (no washing necessary). i've NEVER tried a more succulent, sweet, and juicy piece of sugar cane right out of the ground before.at the end of it all, as with any excursion, you're expected to tip. we definitely tipped out tour guide Sandy and his crew because it seemed they went out of their way to make us feel comfortable and safe in an otherwise third world country 'scenario'. make no mistake, this is a VERY PROFESSIONAL excursion with your safety in mind (with the exception of the fruit washed in local water). we would definitely go again.after the entire half day (which seemed like longer because of the different stops and sight seeing you do), you get back on the big red Crazy Wheels bus, and the shuttle you all back to your individual resorts. well done, i say...well done!
crystalscan
Great ride around the sugar cane fields. Thanks to the staff for guiding us during our ride. We used the 4 wheelers and boogie cars in the mud
881MattJ
You will get dirty, but you will have a blast. What a great way to get beyond the resort/compound walls and see the country you're visiting. I went on the excursion with four friends, and we all agreed that this was the highlight of our week in the DR. Our guides were great - professional and friendly. The trip was longer than expected (which was a good thing) and definitely well worth the money. If I ever return to the DR, I'll make sure to hit up Crazy Wheels again.A few cautionary notes: if your resort food hasn't been treating you well, invest in some Imodium because I didn't see any bathroom facilities. Oh, and you will be dusty and dirty from head-to-toe, but you will probably be smiling.
RutuTravelServices
Well maintained Quad-bikes, excellent tour-guides, and an interesting route through the exquisite areas of bayahibe and altos de chavon.