Hoover Dam Tour

Hoover Dam Tours / Las Vegas Tours Here's why we won't use Sightseeing Tours Unlimited again.

This is an ad for Sightseeing Tours Unlimited. It was found in a Las Vegas Visitor's Guide.

My husband, some friends and I were in Las Vegas and wanted to see Hoover Dam. Naturally, we looked over some visitor guides for information about tours to the Dam. We found an ad for Sightseeing Tours Unlimited and called about prices. While speaking with the salesperson over the phone we were told about the cost, departure times and the length of the trip. We made reservations for the noon tour because the 9 am tour was booked. Our noon tour would be over in time for us have a nice dinner and attend the show we had non-refundable tickets for.

The 1st bus that took us to the terminal was 30 minutes late. We were concerned about returning late from the tour so we asked one of the employees at the tour center when we would be back from our trip. She guaranteed we would be back between 5:00 and 5:15. The driver of the bus told us he doubted we'd be back by that time but his goal was to have his bus parked at the terminal at 6:00. No later. This to us meant we would be back in plenty of time to catch a cab (if needed) back to our hotel and get ready for our show.

We left the terminal on the second bus at 2:30 and got to the Dam at approx. 3:20. We had one hour to tour the inside of the Dam and do any other siteseeing around the Dam. We finished our guided tour at 4:15 and didn't have any time to walk over the dam or buy any souvenirs because we had to get back to the bus. We left for Vegas at 4:30 but didn't get off the bus until 6:15. The only reason we were off the bus then was because we got off one stop early.

At 5:25 the driver said he would have us at our stop within the next 10 minutes. Yah right.

     We ran through a casino to get to the hotel. The girls had to run to their rooms while the guys went to MacDonalds to buy us the "nice supper" we wanted to have before the show.

     At 6:30 I reached the room. In fifteen minutes I dressed, did my hair and makeup and even choked down a burger, fries and a Pepsi. (I do mean choked)

At 6:45 we left for the show and got there at 7:00. Thank goodness the show was great. The night wasn't a total loss.

This is a coupon for Tour No.8. This was found in the same visitor's guide.

We didn't use this coupon, but we did take the No.8 tour. Let me describe in more detail what this coupon says:

1)The Super Express Hoover Dam Tour ... let's see....Nothing was "super".

2) The only thing express was the amount of time we had at the dam.
Only time enough to see the inside of the dam. No souvenirs.

3)It was indeed a Hoover Dam Tour.

4)The Fastest Dam Tour in Town... if that means not enough time to do
   anything after seeing the interior of the dam then this quote is right on
   the mark. Never mind the fact the drivers were thirty minutes behind for departure
   and couldn't get us back to our stop at the right time.

4)Hotel to Hotel Transfer is a nice thing. They need to include this in the total
    time of the trip and not lie about when arrival will be. The drivers go the same
    route daily.   I would think they would know how long it takes them to get back
    to their point of origin. Apparently not. If we had been told how long it would
   actually have taken we would not have gone.
   (I guess that's why we were given the run around.)

5)When you see the phrase "See Stars Homes" you might think you will really see
    some stars homes. Well, we saw where Charro might live. We did see the
    fence that surrounded Wayne Newton's house. Oh yah, we were shown the
    street where Mike Tyson lives.

6)We would have had Ample Time to Tour the Dam if we had not left 30 minutes
late from the terminal.

7)I'm not sure where they get "Approx. 90 min".
Could mean:

a) You will be on a bus for 90 minutes on the first bus

b) You will be on the bus for 90 minutes on the way back from the dam

c) You will be 90 minutes late getting to your hotel from the trip.

d)On a good day you may actually have 90 minutes to tour the interior portion
of the Dam, see the outside and buy souvenirs.

8) Several Departures Daily to this company means "two".

9)Government guided tour tickets available without waiting was probably the
best thing this tour company had to offer.

     This page was designed for tourists looking for information on companies offering tours to the Hoover Dam. This page is an opinion I share with my friends.
      I'm sure there are other good companies to use for this tour in and around Las Vegas. The company we used may have just had a bad day. We felt we were lied to and given the run around so the company could get our money.   Looking at the coupon on this page the public can be easily mislead about the content of the trip.
     By the way, the bus driver worked for a separate company called Superior Tours. We received a separate sheet with the itinerary for the trip. This sheet mentions a customary tip that should be given to the bus driver. Most of the people on the bus were as irritated as we were. As far as I know our driver received no tips.
     If you plan on touring the Hoover Dam or any other site I recommend you rent a car and do it on your own. If you do plan on using a tour company I would suggest you don't use Sightseeing Tours Unlimited.

As a whole our trip to Las Vegas was fantastic. We will definitely go back! The actual tour of Hoover Dam was great. The Hoover Dam is a government operated facility. The tour guides aren't part of any tour companies. Thank goodness. If you're interested in the show we saw it was La Cage. (Female Impersonators) EMAIL

Here is a link for Sightseeing Tours Unlimited. What they offer looks great on the pages of the Internet and visitor's guide. Looks can be deceiving. As of 4/29/98 you are visitor no.