This tour turned out to be nothing like described. Half day? No, we were gone from 8:00 AM until 7:00 PM. Snorkeling? No. Don't speak Chinese? Forget about it.
This link (apparently) goes to a tour arranger, not the tour provider. Despite the confirmation back from Trip Advisor, the tour arranger contacted us almost two weeks after we made the reservations to say that the tour was full (or no snorkeling that day, or some excuse -- we heard many excuses along the way). We settled for the next morning... But see the rest of the story below.
Pros:
- We ended up after lunch at a fairly nice beach area with lots of activities (archery, hammocks, boogie board surfing, etc.). But I hesitate to list this as a "pro" because that's not what I booked. Still, I try to roll with the punches, and we made the best of a tragic situation.
Cons:
- It took at least 8 emails and three phone calls to finally get this set up. First, we couldn't be accommodated on the desired day. Then the island isn't good. Then the afternoon isn't good. Then we had to speak Chinese, so they cancelled the tour. (I retorted that one of us does speak Chinese - and we were back on.) We had to call several times to finally confirm the pickup time.
- Two hour transfer from the hotel to the first stop. Inefficiency in routing the pickups was the primary reason. It should have taken 30 minutes direct, an hour with a few stops to get other people.
- When we arrived at the dock, the driver told us to mill around and we would be rounded up. No indication of where or what time to meet. So we ended up with our fellow passengers kind of hanging out as a group until someone found us and took us to the dock. (How they found us is a mystery. "Look for the 12 people who are totally clueless.")
- Went to the area where it appeared we'd depart via boat to go snorkeling. But two hours later (one hour of it spent listening to miscellaneous and all but useless information), we still had no idea when or where we were to go and snorkel. And the staff kept saying, in essence, "Soon!" (We noticed one group going off to snorkel, and inquired. "You're next. The boat can't hold everyone, so we make two trips." There never was a second trip. Come to think of it, I don't recall ever seeing the people on the first snorkeling trip come back...)
- After waiting, and waiting (and playing in the water a bit while waiting), we were told to get on the bus to go to lunch. We were assured we'd snorkel after lunch. ("Uh, this is supposed to be a half-day tour, and we expected to be back at the hotel around noon." Response: "After lunch.")
- Lunch. Afterward we were told to follow one of the guides (it was implied) to go snorkeling. Nope. Ended up at a boogie board surfing area. "Sorry, no snorkeling." (This despite the fact we could see several boats out around the not-so-distant islands where diving and snorkeling were occurring.)
- Early evening returned to the dock and had no instructions on where to go or where to meet the ride back. We ended up calling the tour arranger, and 10 minutes later the van arrived. His facilitator was pissed that we called. ("We just simply asked where to meet the van." Response: "You make me look bad!" Well, if you had done your job...)
- Late return. Dark descended, and we finally got back to the hotel at 7:00 PM. So much for our late afternoon reservations we had!
- Excuses, excuses. I contacted Viator, and they passed me off to the tour arranger. The tour arranger used the excuse that it was too rough in the afternoon to go snorkeling. Uh, this was supposed to be a half-day tour? And it was supposed to be snorkeling in the morning. And why did others go snorkeling in the morning, and why could we see others snorkeling in the afternoon?
- And a special shout-out to the Viator folks. They passed the buck and didn't take responsibility for the tour they fronted. I think I'll find another way to book things in the future.
In short, this tour description is false. It's an arranger, not a tour. Wrong length, not delivered as described. Obfuscation from the tour people, and no desire to make right.