For the first time since I was a little girl, I had the chance to vacation with my extended family! SO excited!! We all decided Moab would be the place to go for the history, great temps (early April spring temps) and lots of fun things to do.
Now, you must know that we're all pretty frugal and felt that $400+ for a 4 person tour was a bit expensive. My uncle was, perhaps, the most skeptical of all, having been in many military vehicles and not finding them all that enjoyable when going off-road. My husband, however, grew up off-roading and was eager to get back in the proverbial saddle.
Today, we booked the Hell's Revenge Tour and shelled out the $200 per couple. (I'm pretty sure my uncle stamped his feet a few times and had a pouty lip over this.) This was very last-minute. It was noon when I booked the 530pm tour. The company made it very simple: I got an email with great instructions telling us to bring a jacket, sunscreen, sunglasses, etc. They also shared information on where to meet and when.
When we arrived, our amazing guide (David) was ready to go with two UTVs. One for him, one for my family. David informed us that Jeep Week would be starting in a few days, and Jeep owners were hitting the trails early. As such, there were long lines waiting for Hell's Revenge. He said he'd be happy to take us there, or, we could do Fins and Things without any lines at all. We opted for the latter. We then completed a brief intro and safety discussion, signed some paperwork and off we went!
David drove ahead of us through town and then up onto the trail. We completed a few medium difficulty obstacles to warm up, then a slow introduction into the more difficult stuff. (Remember, my husband grew up doing this and he was our driver, which made it even more fun!)
We went through the entire trail which included lots of riveting straight-up and straight-down obstacles with water in some places, lots of "stairs" and, our favorite, sandy roads that you could zip down slalom-style at top speed. There were a few stops on the way for pictures, history and David was plenty educated on the science behind everything. So, if you're a bit nerdy like my family, you'll love picking his brain.
I think David had heard a comment or two from my uncle and, on the second half of the trail, asked my uncle to join him in the front vehicle. If my uncle had any reservations left or doubt about value of the tour, it was gone by the time we arrived back in Moab. David gave him the ride of his life with those slalom-style sandy roads!
Our tour ended returning to the same parking lot where we had started the tour. David was very kind and gave us the company's card and a few cards (with discounts) to his favorite restaurants in the area. He also shared some ideas on where we might want to visit on our next trip. All-in-all, we absolutely LOVED our tour. My skeptical uncle was researching the prices for UTVs before we left the parking lot, certain that he'd found his newest hobby.
We cannot thank David enough for his hospitality, shared education and patience. The tour was worth EVERY penny, plus a generous tip. We would ABSOLUTELY take another tour with this company and would be thrilled to have David as our tour guide. He absolutely rocks!
I do have some suggestions on where improvements could be made and where customers might want to exercise caution:
1) It would be cool to get some commentary from the guide even if you're not in the same vehicle. I do wish that they had a speaker system connected to the vehicles. It would be amazing to hear real-time history, names of arches, etc.
2) We passed a few bathrooms on the trail. While we did okay, I could certainly see those in HOT weather needing to pee before the end of the 2.5 hour tour. If you're someone with a tiny bladder, you might ask the guide to keep an eye out for a restroom. These trails are popular and you really don't have the choice to find a bush out there. And there's absolutely no privacy when the trails are so popular.
3) If you're riding in the front seat, plan to have sunglasses, eyeglasses or protective eyewear. You are likely to get pelted with a few small rocks and possibly mud. It's also quite dusty.
4) A jacket and hat are both wise. If you're taking the sunset tour, consider them necessary.
5) TIP YOUR GUIDE. They deserve it!