With a number of ATV tour companies to choose from, I made contact with ATV and were given more details of what the price entailed. I referred to it as a 'buggy' and was advised the following "Our 4wd is ATV Ride or Quad Bike and not Buggy Ride". The web page advises that the actual ATV ride is 2 hours, that the bikes are well maintained and that the tour guides are professional.
It took well over an hour and 45 minutes to get to the site from Legian (I forgot to time it from start to finish, but from when I started it was 1 hr 45 mins), which was much further than what we anticipated. We were given a 1 minute (max) instruction on how to use the quad (the quad is all that is on offer) and then we were off. Our quad had dreadful steering and before long the foot rest had fallen off, the plastic 'cover' was skewiff and was rubbing on the tyre. The other couple we were with said the steering on their quad was not great but of more concern was the lack of brakes.
We had a leader on a quad and one behind us. They took us down some tracks, into a man made water/mud pool and around a man made muddy circuit. We stopped at a spot that had a stunning view across a valley and ride fields. We could buy cold drinks here (self serve from a little fridge) and sat for at least 20 minutes. When we arrived at this spot we informed the guide of the mechanical issues with the quad and were given one of the other ones to use, which was slightly better.
We then went on some slightly more challenging tracks - up hill and down. This bit was a little more fun.
But, within an hour and a half of setting off, we were back.
The ride does not last 2 hours. The quads are not well maintained. If you go tandem, the second person gets a most uncomfortable ride (both me and the other passenger made comment about the metal bars across the back of the seat - I had massive bruises across both sides of my bottom for days!) The track is not challenging. The tour guides may be professional, but they did not speak to us except to indicate with one finger that we were to use 1st gear, so it was impossible to tell if they were professional.
The lunch was basic - rice or noodles and it was the most plain nasi goreng I had ever had. We only had to rinse off our feet and lower legs, but I would not have wanted to be covered in mud as the showers are not private, they are open. The towels are not much bigger than a flannel.
All of this would be fine if we had not been told otherwise - and definitely NOT at a cost of US$110 per tandem. It was incredibly over priced and we all left feeling very flat and uninspired by the experience.
