This is one of them most difficult reviews I've written because while the tour guides themselves were personally wonderful, and the locations incredible, and the Owner of the company friendly (David McLaughlin), it was also our one experience on the vacation where we felt disappointed and perhaps scammed. I'll clearly say again that we felt that way, regardless of whether we intentionally were.
I initially wrote the company in May and we received a quick and friendly reply that yes, they could accommodate us for a July tour. In that very first email, we were told by that owner that "I can suggest a nice half way stop at the pretty nearby seaside village of acroepidaurus which would work well before Mycenae." So while we were just writing for a tour of sites, it was his initial emailed response that had me thinking how cool it would be for a nearby seaside village in between our two sites.
I replied that same day asking for suggestions that would include the sites of Myceanae and Epidavros. David replied with detailed and helpful information and wrote, "Tours (& we have one of those) will package that into food, wine, olive oil & coffee stops combined with off the beaten path places away from the tourists."
I replied a few weeks later that "I do like the idea of the wine, food, olive oil excursions. But our priority would be getting informative tours of Mycinae and Epidaurus first and then build the food/wine/extras onto those two components." I then asked for the price, and asked if it was for just a driver or a driver and a guide in the sites.
He replied saying yes he could do the tour (still no price on that), but that we'd need the driver (no price given), and we should have a guide on the site (no exact price given, but a range of what they'd cost if we went anywhere else). And this is the crux of my mediocre review: there seems to be an intentional or unintentional desire not to be specific about how much we are paying for what, exactly.
So I wrote back with the direct questions: "So what is the estimate for the total our costs that day? And what does it include?"
David's response was "The total cost for two persons is 318 euro (payment details below) & includes door to door return transfer & taxes along with a local educated English speaking tour driver knowledgeable about all the places you will visit. The tour is completely exclusive to your group. As the tour is flexible & you will arrive in July (when the sea & weather are warm) you will have the option of lunch & swimming at a small fishing village near Epidaurus (you can decide on the day if you wish & for swimming will only need to bring swim costume & towels with you). If you need additional guiding for inside the site of Epidaurus and/or Mycenae please just let us know if possible up to 5 days before the date of your tour." He also included how to pay via the internet/paypal.
Due to the first sentence including the subject "the total cost" and $318, I sent him that much. I took his use of "two persons" to mean the driver (person one) and the onsite guide (person two) because that's the issue we were just discussing.
He has since said that by "two persons" he was meaning us two people, me and my partner.
In hindsight, I can see that he is saying we can add an in the site tour guide (a bit confusing because we're getting a "tour driver"). And he writes that we'll have "the option" once we are there for swimming and lunch. And he writes that he'll need to know if we'll want a site guide.
Yet due to me having already said I liked the idea of them and wanting a total cost, I was under the impression we were getting the driver, the on site guides, lunch, and a trip to swim for 318 Euros, which is about 375 US Dollars.
Weeks before our trip, David wrote and said he'd need more money for the site guide. I was confused and said, I thought it was 318 for everything. He showed me how that wasn't the case. He replied that "The average additional cost per site for arranging an archeological guide on a private basis is 100 euros...."
Having already paid, and thinking that paying close to 400 dollars for a day was a bit much, I said we'd wait to continue. David quickly and politely offered to refund our money. He also referred us to his Trip Advisory ratings as proof of his legitimacy.
Because I too rely on Trip Advisor, I'm taking the time to thoughtfully be clear in this review.
So we decided to go with him obviously. I wrote back with my tail between my legs and said, Ok, but please give me the actual costs for this trip. He wrote back that the price per site would be 80 dollars for the site guide (on top of the driver's fee of 375. We then confirmed pick address and time.
On the day of the trip we packed for the swimming and were excited to meet our driver. She was so great, amazing really. We loved her. She took us to the first site about twenty minutes away from our Air BnB. She then handed us over to the site guide. That person was also really fantastic. We couldn't have been happier. We then got back in the car and drove to the second site. So great. You must visit Epidavros. Our site guide was the smartest and friendliest and funniest. Then she takes us back to the driver and are excited to see where she is taking us to lunch and swimming.
That's when we learn that the tour did not include either of those. She looked so surprised. We felt horrible. And we all four just sat there kind of stunned. We told them that we had paid close to 375 for a driver which is more than people in the US make working for a couple days. The site guide then needed her money too. And we were then forced to call the owner who told me that I never chose the option for swimming and lunch. We were all embarrassed.
And this is really the key issue: all of this could have been prevented by simply supplying us, the customers, with a detail itinerary/invoice/list of what we're getting and what we're paying for those items.
Jane Doe, Driver
Driving guide: 375.
Lunch: 50.
Swimming: 50.
Mary Smith, Site Guide
Tour of Myceana: 80.
Tour of Epidavros: 80.
Writing that out took 15 seconds. And it would have saved both confusing and discomfort.
Worse, we were practically laughed at when we returned to our Air BnB and told our local contact about how much we paid. He did a spit take, "You paid how much for a person to drive you to two places less than an hour away?!" He said we paid three or four times the amount any local guide would charge us for the sites themselves.
But did we have a great time at the sites? Yes.
Was the driver nice and awesome? Yes.
Was the site guide incredible? Yes.
Was David, the company owner responsive? Yes.
So it's a hard review to write for several reasons, one being that we had a great day. But we believe we overpaid. And we didn't plan out our expenses well enough because the manner of communication during the planning was odd, at times perhaps confusing more than it had to be.
If you asked me what my gut feeling is, I'd say that the owner is not out to rip people off. But the lack of a list/invoice leads to confusion that could easily avoidable were there to be a clear indication of what costs what, up front. I partially take blame for not asking for that weeks before we booked. Now I know.