By: Faith Partain
This is a subject that I feel strongly about, and I will get straight to the point.
Please, please, please never book your whitewater rafting trip through Groupon!
Don’t get me wrong – I love to save money
I am as big of a fan of saving money as the next guy, but there are certain things that you just don’t book through a discount site like Groupon. I could tell you horror stories about the seemingly reputable esthetician who advertised “too good to be true” prices on Groupon, or the sky diving adventure that must have offered the discount because they didn’t spend any money on their harnesses.
While I agree that Groupon can be a great tool for vacationers to reduce their trip costs in some aspects, there are certain industries (like those which can be physically risky) that it just seems like a better idea to deal directly with the prospective company. This way you will get a better idea of what you are getting yourself into than to trust the pretty picture and low price you see on a convenient web-page.
Groupon and adventure trips do not mix
Groupon is great for getting cheap concert tickets, or a discounted restaurant bill, but friends, Groupon is not the place to book an adventure trip!
- Booking through Groupon won’t give you all the information and can get you booked a the wrong level trip for your group.
- The discounts need to come from somewhere and you do not want to book a discounted trip with cheaper whitewater rafting gear – there is a reason this gear is expensive … it can save lives.
- Gear may not be included at all and if you have to buy gear you will end up spending more than you saved
- The discounted trip may be due to the length of the trip or the raft guide you are receiving. Neither of these are things you want to skim on.
- Groupon will not be able to give you all of the information regarding your trip that you will need.
- It may not be coming from a licensed and profession rafting outfitter.
It put it more broadly, when you book an adventure trip like whitewater rafting through Groupon you are booking it based only on the information that you see listed on that particular coupon. This means that you are most likely going to miss out on a ton of information, and you are honestly most likely going to book the wrong trip.
Talk to the professionals before you book your trip
As someone who has booked many a whitewater rafting trip for a wide variety of clientele, I can tell you with certainty that most people do not know which rafting trip is going to be the best choice for them right off the bat…..and that’s okay! That’s why people like me have jobs booking these trips, so that we may answer any questions that you may have, and get you booked on the trip that is going to be the best option for you!
Let me paint a picture for you.
If you are a family of four with two young children, none of you have been in a white water raft before in your life, and one of your children is under 50 pounds then I am going to recommend a drastically different trip for your family than I am going to recommend to the couple in their 20’s who goes white water rafting every summer and is looking for the thrill of their lifetime!
That makes sense, right? Well when the mom of those two young children and the girlfriend of that thrill-seeking adrenaline junkie both get on Groupon to try and find a way to reduce the cost of their upcoming Colorado vacation, do you know what they see? The same exact sponsored ad for a whitewater rafting trip that probably really isn’t going to be the ideal option for either group…..but it’s the only option, or maybe even the only whitewater rafting company, that they see right in front of them. This is one of the reasons why doing a bit of research, and calling the best companies directly is really an essential choice when booking your own adventure trip!
The people at Groupon will not be able to answer your trip specific questions.
We are the experts……use us! You may be an expert on unicycling or bedazzling, but we are the adventure expert and we want to give you the best experience you can have. Someone actually pays us to be knowledgeable on our sport, and to relay that knowledge to our guests looking to try the sports that we love. I promise that we can answer any questions that you may have about your whitewater rafting trip, and if we can’t then we can probably figure it out pretty easily.
Whitewater rafting is risky and it is best not to try to save a couple bucks to enhance those risks
With something like whitewater rafting there is always inherent risk involved, and it is an activity that should be taken seriously. Rafting is a blast, but it can of course have an element of danger that needs to be evaluated. There are several factors that go into deciding which whitewater rafting trip is going to be better for a certain group, and we are the people that can help you navigate all of those decisions the most effectively! Whitewater rafting is such a fun activity, and I absolutely think that everyone should experience it, but I also advise everyone to take this sport and your personal safety seriously.
