I rarely wrote bad reviews. But this time, if there is an opinion of choosing zero star, I will use it without hesitation. So here is the experience of my family of 3 people when doing the Wailua River Paddle. We were first-time kayakers. Before the kayaking started, the coach named Etsy was already very grumpy and frustrated on us. Why? Because she treated us as a burden to her, which means we might need additional attention or help from her. Note that the company never said that all kayakers in the group must be experienced. Plus, the ticket was already as expensive as 100 bucks per person. So we don’t think there is any problem from us and we believe that we deserve to be treated with respect. Once the kayaking started, our nightmare stated soon. She put my wife and I into one boat, put my daughter in another boat, and then tied two boats together. My initial thoughts were: will that make both boats hard to maneuver? Unfortunately, my worry became true. Our kayaking skills are at the entry level, plus the boats were tied together, all these factors made us hard to control the direction. While we were struggling, we did not get any useful help from Etsy at all. Instead, she kept on yelling at us and complaining that we did not follow here instructions. Eventually, she just dumped us in the middle of the river and fled away. Luckily, we got help from the coach who was responsible for the other group. He pulled us to the river bank. Then I went to the shop for refunding. The old lady on duty was very rude and refused for any refunds. What a bad experience! Stay away from this company and this coach!
Odpowiedź od gospodarza
Jan 2025
Aloha Qiming Bao and Family,
Thanks for the one star, even it reluctantly given. and sorry that you were not able to be a functional member of the tour.
Taking time to share your experience with a review such as yours, helps us match clients to the right tour and dissuade others and avoids disspointments.
There is a learning curve to paddling that is grasped by most and consequently you all were holding back the group. (Aren’t you glad we did not honor your request for one of your members to be in a single; it would have much harder.)
I see you booked directly and we do try to be as candid as can be in all our literature.
Here is a cut and paste from our WWW page and our refund policy when folks don’t quite manage the intricacies of paddling.
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"Refunds…before you sign up, please be aware…
Know that there is a learning curve to kayaking which is short and grasped by most. If for any reason one is holding back a tour and is sent back and does not finish the tour, be aware that there is no refund!"
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The old lady you referred to is generally not rude, but on the contrary a firm ambasadress of aloha; what you may have interpreted as rude, was her confirmation of no refund.
The above said, we are working on your guide Izzy, to be more charitalble when we have clients that can’t quite keep up.
Scroll for reviews before and since your tour, and you will find Izzy to be well regarded and sorry that you weren’t with her.
A hui hou and here’s to a good new year.
Micco