Published on Dec, 2024
This excursion was well worth the money! My fiancé and I booked through Viator for the first time and it couldn’t have been a better experience or more convenient. Very shortly after booking (we booked the day before our excursion) I got a non automated email from La Hacienda Park confirming my excursion with detailed pick up instructions (and a what’s app message) which was appreciated so there was no confusion.
We were picked up from our resort at the lobby on a small shuttle right on time then waited for the excursion bus (it was a little late but was fine with us as we connected with other couples on the shuttle). Once we got on the bus our tour guide (Daniel) for the day was also there, him and the bus driver were very kind and informative. The drive was 45 minutes roughly and the Bus was air conditioned.
The park was very appealing, very clean, staff were very nice and organized. You’re given a locker and with a lock and key for free to put your stuff in. We started with ziplining and geared up. (FYI You can’t bring your phone ziplining). There is a photographer with your group the entire day to capture pictures of you during each activity. You start off going up the chairlift which was cool, the scenery is nice and we saw horses below. The chair lift is roughly 15 minutes long. The nice thing is they start the people ziplining who get off the chairlift and continue so there isn’t a big line. When we got off our chairlift (we were way at the end of the chairlift) there was 3 couples ahead of us continuing the entire way so we never had to wait longer then 5 minutes each zipline. There are 5 zip lines and they are long distances. There was a different staff member at each post to help you and all were funny and nice. It started to rain part way through lightly but was still enjoyable. A couple times the staff let my spouse and I go together on the zip lines. After the final zipline there’s an option to do a free fall bungee jump or walk down a tower of stairs. We did the bungee which was awesome! (They also had water jugs numerous times stationed so if you were thirsty it was easily accessible)
Doom Buggies were next. We saw another group finishing with the doom buggies as we were waiting and they were covered in mud and knew we would be too. While we waited there was a massive tree with tons of different kinds of parrots hanging out. They were so beautiful and funny to watch. There’s options to buy bandanas and rain coats or a plastic rain sheet to cover your clothes (we didn’t do this). We didn’t know prior or didn’t read on other reviews but think it’s important to know you will NOT get your own doom buggie. My spouse and I thought we’d get our own and were quite disappointed to find out we had to share with another couples. They group couples in groups of 2 (so 4 people per buggie) and if your a family of 3 or 4 then you’ll get your own. In a group of 4 each person will get 15 minutes each to drive. The couple we were paired with were very kind and funny. The first buggie we got in wasn’t working so we had to switch (didn’t bother us as we hadn’t left yet). It was very fun going through buggies, I drove first. Our buggie would stall on the steeper hills or through a big mud pile but the staff that was behind us would immediately run to ours and restart it which took seconds. It was kinda nice because we could quickly wipe our sun glasses off lol. You drive to a river which had super clear water, there’s a mini bar with drinks, and you can wash off all the mud on you. The river was beautiful and very refreshing. On the way back the other couple with us switched and drove back. It started to pour rain on the way back (extra muddy lol) when we got back from doing the buggies there was outdoor showers and hoses to wash off. BRING EXTRA CLOTHES AND SHOES!!! We brought extra clothes after reading previous reviews and were so glad we did. We also brought water shoes that we wore for the entire time because you will get very muddy and wet.
After buggies was horse riding. We chose to not do this but to rather dry off and change, grab a snack and check the place out. It was 25 minutes and heard other people say it was lots of fun. They have a nice stable and it was clean.
After the horse riding was lunch. It was a buffet in a big eating area which was covered from rain. Lunch is included but drinks (FYI alcohol and pop are NOT). Lunch was delicious, we had roasted chicken and fries. The food area was very clean, and sanitary.
After lunch was the safari. You start on a big military bus and drive prob 10 minutes. The scenery was beautiful. Towards the end of the drive the tour guide pointed out trees with coffee beans on it! It was so cool to see. When we got there it was a little village looking spot with a bunch of animals. There were numerous donkeys, goats and baby goats, bunnies, turkeys, and ducks. There were also banana trees with sooo many bananas. There were description posters of how coffee beans are harvested, and turned to coffee. There was a live fire stove with fresh hot chocolate on it. We got shot glasses of hot chocolate (not the drink but ACTUAL fresh melted local chocolate) which was SO SO delicious. There was shot glasses of fresh coffee which was good too and mamajuana. It was very interesting to learn how the chocolate and coffee were made. I really enjoyed this part.
There is a man who does a mini show with his parrots (there are a lot of parrots, same ones from the beginning). He showed so much care for the parrots, they seemed to love him. They looked very healthy, and happy. After the show he put out a tipping jar. My husband and I were one of the few who actually tipped. After we tipped him he let us hold a parrot named Mario. He took a few pictures of my husband and I with the parrot. It was much appreciated. He is very kind. Please tip the staff, for the effort they put into the tourists I’d say it’s much deserved.
After the safari the excursion was finished. We waited for our pictures. For 1 person it is $45 US and 2 was $55 US. The pictures were of excellent quality. There are pictures taken of everyone during every activity and through the day. Every picture taken of you was included. We bought our pictures (there were A LOT of pics) so $55 US was a good deal for special moments. Considering you can’t have your phone for zipling the pictures alone for that were priceless. You get to look at the pictures first, then pay, then get a link and a code on your receipt. I was emailed the link to our pictures within an hour. They are available to download within 24 hours. They are in HD quality. After that you head back to your resort in the same bus you came. Remember your driver! It’s the same driver from the morning.
Would highly recommend this excursion! The only part I could change was the buggie part, I wish my spouse and I could have had our own and got to drive longer. Besides that it was an extraordinary day, so much fun. A huge shoutout to every single staff member that made it perfect for us.
