Santana AdventuresReviews of santanaadventures.com

So, to start off this section I will state that "Part II" would not even exist if it were not (as another reviewer mentioned) that Santana challenged my "Part I" review. As detailed and specific as it was, they questioned if I had actually been on the trip and required that I prove it. Trustpilot reached out stating that if I could not provide documentation showing that I had been on the cruise the review would be taken down. I provided our invoice from Santana and at this point the review remains up. I ran out of space to finish my review in Part I and would have been happy to leave it at that, but as Santana (Bill) tried to have it removed, I was motivated to post the remainder of my experience. I now understand why I didn't find negative reviews when I first looked into this trip. Bill confidently states during the cruise that some people don't like his cruises "In fact some of the people here will likely leave a negative review after this trip." He seems unconcerned and it comes across as quite cocky. It is no surprise once you realize how they lead you to leave a review in a place where few will see it AND they can remove the ones they don't like. After the cruise you get a friendly little email asking you to rate your experience. The link takes you to a legitimate looking place to leave your review, but what I am guessing few people realize is that it is the "WeTravel" site. The software service they use to handle all of your bookings . It's from here that you are invoiced, where you pay, where your "consent" forms are processed, etc. The catch here is that you can't freely access this site. It is only available by invite when you participate in one of their tours. This means that the only people who will see the reviews are people that have already signed up for a Santana Adventure. It also means that they have control over which reviews stay posted. I had to find my way to Trustpilot on my own to leave a "Public" review. And again, as another reviewer mentioned, they obviously watch for these and challenge them hoping the person can't provide the required documentation, or can't be bothered. This is all very shady and once again indicates that Bills primary concern is a continued audience and income from these trips. Now, to pick up where I left off in Part I, I was talking about the ship "La Belle D'Ladriatique". There are zero amenities other than a "lounge" with couches. WiFi is spotty at best, the more people trying to use it, the worse it gets. There were two "hot tubs" (in name only) on the upper deck. One was luke warm, the other freezing and no matter how many people fussed with it to try to raise the temperature.... no go. In conclusion, if you're a "Tourist" and you already love cruises and being surrounded by people at all times, this might be just the right trip for you. But, if you're a person that values your time and freedom and love to ride a bike.... this is a nightmare. My final complaint is what I shall call, McCready Madness. Bill’s style and need for attention shape the culture of these trips. It’s an acquired taste, and the many repeat riders are used to it. Most around me just laughed and rolled their eyes while he babbled away at the twice daily microphone sessions in the lounge. Even his own staff acknowledge during their part of the discussion that Bill is never happier than when he has a microphone in his hand. Rather than emailing critical information to participants, Bill posts a Google Doc and expects everyone to refresh and re-read it daily to see what has changed. Usually, it’s nothing, but sometimes an essential change appears in the middle of the document. This is easy to miss and puts the burden on you rather than the provider to make sure you have the essential information you need. Bill has a support team that does good work putting out fires, lurching from one problem to the next, but you rarely feel that Santana prioritizes your interests. AGAIN, MANY PEOPLE LOVE THESE TRIPS. These are selection effects, of course. You are not going to meet people like us, who tried it once and decided to never do it again. We’d vastly prefer to be with 15-20 cyclists in a conventional group tour than with 200 people on a cruise ship. Bill’s personal quirks and lack of transparency aside, the time taken for disembarkation, getting all the bikes and riders ashore and the need to embark each port by 4 PM or so each day limits how much time you can spend riding or learning much about the place you are visiting. Santana does not mention these limitations in their marketing of the tours. Bill obviously has a successful business and an arrogance and flippant attitude that go along with that - I know what I'm doing - my way or the highway - but his trips are definitely not for everyone. I have never been as disappointed by an amount of money I have spent in my life.

Not a good experience. - Price: very expensive. Had to put down a deposit almost 2 years in advance - no cancellations or refund. (To their credit, there are a lot of repeat riders. Our cruise appeared to have been sold out in a few days.) $1000+ p/per day, double occupancy + bike rental and admission to places that they subsequently cancelled without accounting or refund. - Biking: very chaotic. No advance planning. You have to attend morning or afternoon briefings to get the route for that day or next day if lucky. Maps are chicken scratches on a paper as Bill himself calls them. Routes are often on very busy highways. Sometimes no restrooms for a long stretch. - Frequent changes, removing ports and listed sites without advance notice; no apologies, much less compensation for the inconvenience. We were assigned to a wrong cabin, so had to repack and move. Bill said the ship got it wrong, so tough. They have nice pictures in the original description of the trip, but we went to probably 1/3 of those places if lucky. Granada was in the schedule, but on the evening before, we were told that the ship couldn't dock at the original port for us to go. They took a port out of the published schedule but did nothing to make up for it. - Bikes are problematic even when you pay for the "performance" bike. My clip broke because their pedal was defective. I requested repairs and was promised to get a spare next morning - I didn't; they were too busy to find it. In the afternoon they were again too busy, until I just demanded that they get it to me, which took them 5 minutes!? - They hired some guides that took us to snake oil salesmen while they stood by without giving any warning except to their favorite few passengers. Some positives: With the cruise, no need to pack unpack everyday. Laundry is included in the price. The crew on the ship is super friendly and efficient. The food and drinks are just ok. Other riders are all friendly and pleasant, a bit on the older and richer side, so the defects of Bill's cruises don't seem to bother them. "That's Bill"... Will not go again. If you are a person that likes organization, this is not for you either.

Im afraid the Greekl Islands cycling cruise didn't live up to the advertisement. 3 of the rides were very poor with busy and poor condition roads. One of the rides, advertised in the trip materials as outstanding was so poor that the organizers discouraged everyone from riding that day. Boat was clean but dated with mediocre rooms and some of the public spaces were given over to storage of bikes and equipment, it had slightly downmarket feel.Bathrooms smelled very bad and doors had to be kept closed. Island routing looked great in materials and had some super moments, but constant changes and often very busy with lots of herding on and off tenders and into ports. Boat and bike staff were lovely. Food was quite nice but wine terrible. Organization was quite erratic with lots of last minute changes (despite being repeat trip from previous 10 days), often sold as improvements, but usually not. I suspect many of the changes were for organizers to save money. Overall, just felt underwhelming, rushed. Organizer briefings were not my cup off tea, quite self-serving and at times bordering on rude - usually 1-2 hours of wasted time to which you are almost captive. Age demographics is old with lots of repeat customers - something of a cult like following, which just seems strange given the quality deficiencies.

We were lucky enough to be on the first Mekong river cruise and the trip exceeded all of our expectations. Bill and Jan always have wonderful surprises, such as exploring street food on the back of scooters, that no other travel company would attempt. It was the perfect blend of biking, cruising and cultural experiences. One of the many highlights of the trip was the warmth and friendliness of the people we encountered. We were able to see and have experiences that you could only have on a bike. Traveling with Santana is a unique experience that can’t be duplicated.

The trip is well planned, yet full of surprises. Full of unique experiences. Great immersion into local culture along with varied opportunities to get a lot of exercise. These guys know what they are doing!

The guides and the events made the trip special. Great rides and camaraderie.

We just finished our eleventh Santana Adventures bike and boat trip. Each trip takes us to new and exotic locations that we get to enjoy on our bikes. This trip to Cambodia and Vietnam was different from any trip we’ve been on before. Each day revealed new experiences. We highly recommend Santana Adventures!

Another unforgettable Santana Cycling trip is in the books! This time, we explored the Mekong River, cruising through Vietnam and Cambodia. Although the rides weren't very long, they were perfect for discovering the stunning countryside and immersing ourselves in the rich Vietnamese and Cambodian cultures on two wheels. Before the pre-tour, we added five extra days to visit Hanoi, Sapa, and Phong Nha in northern Vietnam. As always, Santana delivered the best experience on two wheels.