Panama City: ATV Jungle Adventure Ontdek vulkaan en waterval

After reading mixed reviews we didn’t know whether to book, but decided it would be a memorable adventure, either way. We were with 6 others and booked separately so we would have 3 ATV’s. As previous reviews warned, we had mechanical problems with one of them pretty early on. Smoking and sputtering, dying. Finally had to leave it in the trail and the guides let the driver of the broken one have theirs and the guides each got into our ATVs. Alfredo was the English speaking guide and he was quite fluent and we did have a great trip. We climbed about 2500 feet up the mountain and enjoyed seeing the way people lived and the villages along the way. Beautiful views of the ocean from the mountain. There had been rain so the waterfall was flowing nicely, although we weren’t allowed to get up close or in the water. Enjoyed a wood oven pizza in El Valle. The trip back was great because we had multiple ocean views which had been behind us on the way up. Overall, the guides made the best of the situation by letting our group drive their ATV, so no refund was requested, although as many others have said the company really needs to do a better job maintaining their buggies. They also had slick tires and I really thought for sure we would have a blowout, but they lasted for our trip. The next riders may not be so lucky. And ironically the meeting place is a tire shop.

Overall a disappointing tour. I feel I am being fair and reflecting my disappointment with the company rather than the individual guides that were working that day. First, you don't get your own side-by-side, but share with your group. I sort of understood this, but at almost $800/usd for a group of four, it is pretty expensive to essentially rent one for such a short tour. I mentioned this upon arrival and was at least granted a split of 2/2 so my daughter can have the experience with her friend. So at the start of the tour there were three buggies (2 for my group and a 3rd for a group of 3). About ten minutes into the tour the other group's buggy broke down when a part fell off from behind the tire while driving. This stopped the whole tour for about 45min while the guides worked to fix it. Our group sat off the side of the trail in the heat waiting for theirs to be repaired in order to continue the tour. Fast forward about another 15 minutes when the buggy I was driving broke down on a hill climb. Same thing, we waited about a half hour while they tried to fix it on the trail. Finally, they decided they couldn't fix it so we loaded up into the backseat of the other buggy and left the broken one with the other guide. We are now down to two side by sides, one field repaired, and the other we doubled up in. Another 20 minutes goes by, and you guessed it, our group's buggy breaks down. At this point, we again were stuck on the side of the road waiting for it to be repaired but it was stuck in "limp mode." Overall, we didn't make it to any waterfall and had to cut the tour short from all the breakdowns. With only about 30 minutes of actual driving, it was more annoying than fun by that point. Now the guides were trying to do their best, and I recognized that, however, the company is to blame here. The equipment was no where near up to a standard of safety in regards to maintenance or general operation. About every light on the dashboard was on when we initially got into them, power steering was in and out while driving, and they shook and shuttered like an airplane in heavy turbulence. Sad, because this could be a great tour if the company would provide the proper equipment and provide a backup plan if/when breakdowns happen instead of just being stranded watching guides trying to repair them on the side of the trail. Now my experience might be a fluke, but reading other reviews it seems to happen at least some of the time, and judging by the condition of the equipment it will happen again unless maintenance is addressed. I am requesting at least a partial refund in the act of fairness due to the undelivered experience and chalk it up as just one of those kind of days. I'm not holding my breath. I'll keep you posted.

We stayed at the Panama Canal entrance on the Pacific Side. We had almost a 2 hour ride to get to the tour. The vehicle we were picked up in was clean, the air conditioner worked and he spoke English. We pulled up to tire shop and they brought the atv around. We were a party of 4 and all rode in 1 atv but we did have to option to ride 2 and 2. The guides did not speak English but they used their phone and a translator app to communicate. We went to the waterfall which was beautiful and we stopped a little farmers market and was able to purchase some delicious cut up fruit. They did offer us the option to eat lunch there but we decided to head back. The ride back to the hotel took almost 3 hours with the traffic.

Very good activity we laughed the waterfall natural pool great we bathed topiss and the guide top

The “guide” we had barely spoke at all! The overview of the tour indicated information on local flora and fauna from knowledgeable guide—-he never said anything! Sunken volcano? Never knew we were on one. We walked down to what was supposed to be a waterfall but it was just a bunch of rocks with a very small waterfall trickling. We could hear a larger waterfall but when we asked him about it, he just shrugged his shoulders. He literally just had us follow him. Then on top of it all, the “state of the art” side by side broke down FOUR times along the tour. It wasn’t running properly from the start, which we told Martin, but he just had us restart and keep going. I had my foot to the floor and the brakes just squeeled. When we returned, there was no thank you, etc. He got out of his Can Am and went to talk to his friends working on equipment. A complete disappointment. Would not recommend.

You will get dirty and wet. The drive from Panama City to the start of this adventure is at 2 hours or more depending on traffic.

Do not book any tours with Bandits Adventure Tours. I want my money back. I submitted a refund request and the supplier rejected it. If I can’t get my money back than I hope this review deters even just one person from booking this tour. For background info, the tour consisted of 6 people (3 couples essentially, therefore 3 ATVs). Each person does NOT get their own ATV, you’d think the cost of the tour would be a bit more affordable. The tour is also reported to be “approx 4 hours”. We were picked up from our hotel at 9:10AM and returned at 5PM. We were the first pick up and drop off so the other couples had a later drop off. Why so long of a tour?! Because of how many times our ATVs broke down. All 3 ATVs were barely functional and not maintained. We had issues with all 3 vehicles on the way to the waterfall and on the way back. 1 of the ATVs completely stopped working. The tour guide had to drive it back forcing the two tourists to join another ATV (mine and my partners ATV). This meant that we had to sit in the back for the entire half of the excursion to allow the other couple a chance to experience driving the ATV since their ATV was malfunctioning and not really drivable the first half of the tour. We did not pay to sit in the back seat of an ATV for half the tour and this was unfair as we were supposed to take turns driving it (me driving there and my husband driving back) but that was no longer an option. The second couple had their ATV get stuck in a body of water we were supposed to cross. The water is around knee level and required the tour driver to take his shoes and socks off to help get the ATV out of the water. The third ATV (ours) would occasionally flash lights and emit a strong gas scent and every time it did you were forced to park the ATV and turn it off immediately (yes, even if you were stuck up or downhill). One of the drivers flipped the ATV. Yes, flipped it. We turned a corner and saw their helmet and shoes on the floor, along with the ATV upside down. Thankfully he was okay but this isn’t something anyone should have to witness especially when you’re still a drive out from your finishing point. The actual driver to and from our hotel was far from accommodating. The tour was supposed to be only 4 hours as mentioned earlier but it took 8 hours. Guess what?! No access to food or restaurants and no bathroom stops. When we got in the van to head back to the hotel we asked the driver if we can make a stop and he look PISSED; long story short, we didn’t make a stop. Mind you the drive from Panama City is about 2 hours one way. Also, none of the drivers or tour guides spoke English. Now for the waterfall. When we arrived at the waterfall, there was a bit of a steep hike downwards which honestly wasn’t the most safe route. It was rocky, muddy, slippery, and the tree branch railing that existing was far from supportive. One of the girls slipped on her way down. Once again, due to all the malfunctioning ATVs, we didn’t spend any more than 10 mins at the waterfall. There was NO swimming opportunity. Additionally, the driver told us to bring a change of clothes but I’m not sure how they expected anyone to change when there is no nearby bathroom. We were expected to wrap ourselves with a towel for privacy. Such. A. Joke. Oh AND the waterfall we saw wasn’t the “majestic el chorro macho waterfall”. It was called La Tortuga and if you google the distance between these two falls it’s 40 mins so I’m not sure where the hell we were taken. But there was a random Panamanian man there with his dog who knew the tour guides who was oh so comfortable asking us for money.

Bandits ATV in Panama was absolutely incredible—friendly, professional, and truly dedicated to making the experience unforgettable. The trip was exciting and well-organized, and the staff went above and beyond in every way. I accidentally left something in the car after the tour, and Alfredo didn’t hesitate to drive all the way back to return it. The whole experience was amazing. Highly recommend Bandits ATV for anyone looking for an unforgettable adventure in Panama!

Overall decent experience. Very beautiful views. But make sure you carve out an entire day for this excursion. 1.5-2 hours one way there and back just from your hotel, and 3-4 hours for the actual excursion. Vehicles were a little sketchy as in bad brakes and the alignment of the steering wheel was off. Also, there was no volcano, if there was, you wouldn’t know because the guides didn’t really talk. Waterfall was really pretty though.

Overall a decent experience with Bandits ATV/Waterfall excursions. There are some things to make note of though if considering doing this excursion. We did this as a group of 7 people and also we have previous experience of doing these type of excursions in other countries, it is actually our thing to do. One-we were told the day before that we would only have 2 Side by Sides for our group of 7 people. I wanted 4 side by side for our group, but was told would only have 2. Now, we did have an opportunity to change drivers a couple different times throughout the trek. But for how much it cost, per person, more side by side should be offered for larger groups. Two- one of our side by side had mechanical problems. We pulled off at this spot that had a little store there and we bought snacks while the staff hoisted the Side by side and worked on it to fix it. This particular side by side already did not brake well, did not accelerate well going up, and then had issues with the axel in the middle of the trek. We did communicate to them about the braking and acceleration issues, so hoping that particular side by side received a full service after because we were definitely uncomfortable driving and riding in it at times. Three- the whole excursion is like 4-5hrs long and food was not provided. Typically, I’ve been a part of these excursions for this long of a duration when lunch and/ or hot hand held food was provided at some point. Would recommend bringing your own snacks or cash for the little store that was up there. Bottle water was provided. Four- the traffic on the way back into the city (Panamá) was very time consuming. We stayed downtown Panamá so our 1.5hr drive turned into a 3 hour trip from the Bandits excursion back to the hotel. Locals say that is typical going back into the city on a Friday afternoon. We had to change our evening reservation for a later time because we got back much later than anticipated. Transportation to and from your hotel is provided/included in the excursion. Five- The price point is little high. This was the most expensive Side by Side/ATV excursion I’ve done with less offered. I would say, this would have to be truly an excursion/activity you enjoy if wanting to pay that much. Also, something else to note, there is about a quarter of a mile hike through some terrain once you park the side by side to get to the waterfall. It poured down raining during our hike and waterfall visit, so just something to consider. Overall the staff did indeed keep us safe, provided a decent service and were friendly and helpful. Bilingual staff was available too. The communication prior to our excursion reservation was good and helpful. I received emails and WhatsApp notifications. Overall not bad, just too expensive (per person) for what is provided.