Born to be Wild
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Ecotourism with Born to be Wild is a fun way for the family to explore the Andalusian country side off-roading in a jeep with competent guides. You were there? Please send us your review and grade. We would love to hear from your family!
With open roof jeeps, discover the marvels of Sierra de las Nieves Nature Park (Declared Biosphere Reserve by the UNESCO), with 80% of the time spent off road. They also offer dolphin tours from Estepona and tours into Morocco. Dolphin tours start at the Blue Dolphin Beach Club in Estepona. This two-hour tour lets you drive your own speed boat (4 pax/boat), while a guide follows in another boat directing you to the dolphins that swim so close to the boat you can almost touch them.
Hours: Dolphin Safari everyday except Mondays, at 12:00pm or 16:00pm
Location: C/ Igualada, 3San Pedro de Alcántara
Price: Half-day and full-day tours available. Contact Born to be Wild for prices.
Tel: +34 952 781 006 or +34 606 454 431
Email: info@borntobewild.es
Website: www.borntobewild.es
Son's evaluation: Overall the Born to Be Wild trip was fun. The
guides were polite and nice, although, they usually speak French and
Spanish but they also spoke English well. The jeeps were amusing because
there was no roof so you could stick your head out when you were in the
mountains.
Everybody that went with us was old so it's better to be in a jeep with just your family.
We went to Ojen and some parts were interesting like the plants
and caves but there were some boring parts. After that we went to Monda
for lunch and they served us salad, tortilla, paella and ice cream; the
food was good.
When we finished eating, we went to the mountains and nature,
this was my favourite part. We got to stand up on the chairs while the
guide was driving and he would occasionally stop and pick up some herbs
so that he could talk about them later.
And finally, we went to the lake and it was beautiful. It was
huge and we had it all to ourselves. Plus, the water was warm. The only
bad thing about the Born to Be Wild tour was that the roads on the
mountains were bumpy.
Grade: 9.0
Daughter's evaluation: Grade:
Mom's evaluation: Born to Be Wild is an interesting and
alternative way to visit Marbella, which is more popular known for its
beaches, nightlife, and coastal attractions. We finally decided to book
this ecotour after observing the Born to Be Wild jeeps roaring up and
down the roads and picking up tourists from the hotel next to our home.
The tourists always look like they had a great time when they step off
the off-road jeeps with their "Crocodile Dundee" looking guides. It
always looked very tempting, so we finally decided to give it a go.
The jeeps usually pick up tourists from the local hotel nearby
which caters to the French speaking community, so we joined a group of
nine other jeeps that carried eight passengers each. As we requested an
English speaking guide we were entitled to a bit of a VIP tour. Each
time we made a stop we were given explanations by our own guide off to
the side as opposed to joining the other people crammming to hear what
the guide was saying. We also were fortunate (or unfortunate, depending
on how you look at it) to have the jeep all to ourselves. We were
originally supposed to go with another family, who weren´t able to make
it. It would´ve still been great and the kids would´ve had an even
better time sharing in the fun with their friends.
The Born to Be Wild tour lasts all day. We started at 10:00am
and followed the rest of the jeeps up to the white village of Ojén,
which is about a 20-25 minute drive from where we met. It is only about
5-10 minutes from the La Cañada shopping mall if you know where that is.
We spent an hour or so discovering this charming village which
boasted caves, an olive oil museum, a wine museum (which we skipped) and
charming little cobblestone streets filled with enchanting corners of
geranium clad entrances and beautifullyl restored wood doors. Even
though we have lived here for years, we were still taking tons of photos
and acted like tourists. There were so many beautiful streets and
interesting shots to take of the city´s elderly playing chess or
children running through the street. We were lucky to hit the village on
a market day where there was a small selection of fresh local fruit and
vegetables. Figs are in season now and they were delicious.
After a tour of the village and a quick stop at the olive oil museum, we
got back into our jeeps and headed out to the village of Monda, which
is about another 10 minutes up the mountain. We didn´t have time to
visit the village, which is a pity as it has a nice square and the
restored castle-hotel Castillo de Monda is a beautiful place to have a
coffee and get a glimpse of the view. Regardless, the lunch was simple,
but tasty and gave tourists an idea of what a typical Andalusian lunch
is like with tortilla (egg and potato omlette), Manchego goat cheese,
olive oil, paella, and a fresh salad. Ice cream, coffee, wine, water and
a Fanta type drink were also included. Although we are familiar with
Marbella and Spanish cuisine, I am sure the guides, who sit at the table
with us, are happy to explain the tradition of Spanish food.
After lunch, we got back in the jeeps and started off on the
bumpy trails of the Sierra de las Nieves biopark national reserve. Our
Born to Be Wild guide, Barney, is originally from Germany, but spoke
English well and was very kind and funny. The kids were really
entertained by him and his accent. He was very knowledgeable about the
area and was chock full of information. He stopped the jeep to collect
various local herbs so that he could explain to us what each one was and
what kind of properties it had. It was a nice little educational moment
for the children.
It was a little disappointing that we didn´t see many animals as
we were expecting a lot more in this bioreserve, which is know for its
mountain goats and birds. We only saw a jackrabbit when we entered and
that was very exciting. One of the highlights of the trip for the kids
(and for me too!) was when we entered the park we were able to unfasten
our seatbelts, stand up and stick our heads out of the massive sunroof
of the jeeps. The roads were bumpy and the drive was fun. Although we
could do this tour on our own in our own car, there is something to be
said about sticking your head out of the window and taking in the
nature. We discovered new herbs, learned about cork trees (did you know
that they can survive forest fires? It takes 3,000 degrees to start to
burn!), and found out that marble is laying everywhere around us.
Another highlight of our Born to Be Wild tour was the
opportunity to jump in the lake - well, technically, it isn´t a lake,
but the local reservoire. It was huge and it seemed we could swim for
miles. We wore our bathing suits under our clothes, so we peeled off the
layers and jumped into the lake. The water was surprisingly warm and it
was very refreshing after all the heat and dirt. Unfortunately, the
road is seriously bumpy to get there, so I´m not sure I will go again on
my own. We had to walk down about 20 meters down a dirt path which
ended and we just sort of scrambled our way to the bottom. It was not a
challenge for us, however, if you are elderly or have difficulty walking
you would not enjoy this part of the tour. In fact, only our jeep and
another with a younger crowd took part in the lake jump. The other 6
jeeps were full of senior citizens who skipped this part to learn more
about cork trees.
Overall, the Born to Be Wild tour was great and the staff were very
attentive to us. It is a nice change to the typical sights you would see
while in Marbella. This is a tour for those who like to get close to
nature and yet want to have a little bit of culture. I would recommend
going on the Born to Be Wild tour with another couple so that you have
the jeep all to yourselves. As mentioned before, there were a lot of
senior citizens on this tour so you know that there is no major walking,
hiking or challenging moments where you need to be fit. And if you
happen to get stuck with the rest of the tourists, you need to be
patient as you always move slower when you are in a big group.
I am not sure what you would do if you had a baby as there is no
space for a stroller or car seats. Anyway, the roads are very bumpy, so
I would not recommend this tour for babies and small children (younger
than 5). I am sure the types of crowds you get depends on the season. As
all the kids are back in school now we had an older crowd. In summer
and holidays you probably see more children and younger families. There
were moments that my kids were a bit bored, but I still think the Born
to Be Wild tour had cultural value to them and they learned a lot. I
would not take a fussy toddler on the Born to Be Wild tour as there is
too much walking and not enough exciting moments to entertain a young
child.
You do not need to wear any special hiking shoes, just something
comfortable as walking through the village you will find some
cobblestone roads, steep inclines and lots of stairs. If you are touring
in the warmer months be sure to bring your bathing suit and a towel as
there is nothing written on the Born to Be Wild website about this. The
guides provide lots of water, so you don´t need to really bring your
own. Wear sunscreen and bring glasses. In July and August it gets pretty
hot here, so be sure to wear light comfortable clothing. In cooler
months I imagine it can get cold as you go up in the mountain, so bring a
sweater or jacket.
I found the price of the tour a bit pricey, however this is only
because we live here and we are able to do the same thing for free.
Otherwise, it is not bad considering you have a full day with a guide
for 73 euros. The tour ends at about 6:00pm so that is 8 hours in total.
One thing that would be nice for Born to Be Wild to offer are more adventurous tours for younger and more fit tourists. Grade: 9.0
Dad's evaluation: Born to Be Wild is a good tour for tourists
wanting to discover the nature around Marbella. The tour is well
organized and led by experienced guides from the area. It takes you to a
couple of villages, Ojen and Monda, and through a dirt track in the
Sierra de las Nieves. Transportation takes place in jeeps accommodating
eight people and a driver. Be ready to be squeezed if you have 8 adults
in your car, or else rush for the best seat, the one next to the
driver.
This is not a hiking tour, but it still felt you somehow spent a
day in the nature. A stop is scheduled about every 20 minutes to see
or talk about some point of interest. The stop in Ojen is longer so
that you can discover the village and the olive oil museum.The stop in
Monda coincides with lunch time, however you do not visit the castle.
Then you drive towards Istan through the mountains and the guides tell
you about the plants and nature on the way.
The Born to Be Wild tour lasts about 8 hours (from 10 to 6).
Obviously, as an organized group tour, the day lacks spontaneity and you
may travel with people of different interests. On the other hand, you
will learn and see things you would not discover on your own, and you
may meet some new friends for your stay in Marbella.
During our tour, we were lucky to only be four in the jeep. It
was very comfortable, and almost felt like we were on a private tour as
our driver was speaking English, while most other tourists (there were
10 jeeps on our tour) were spending their time with a French-speaking
driver. We had a very friendly guide / driver intent on providing us
with the best service. Although we already knew the area well, we
learned a few things about the plants and nature in our own ´backyard´.
We even went swimming in the Concepcion water reservoir, near Istan,
something we had never done before. The price of the Born to Be Wild
tour, including a typical Spanish lunch, was reasonable at 73 euros per
adult (55 for kids). Naturally, as a resident of Marbella or if you have
your own car, you could do the same tour a little cheaper, but you
would not get all the information provided by the guides.
I am not a big fan of organized tours, and usually prefer to move around
on my own with the family. However, I really had a good day and the
kids seemed to enjoy it too. I am happy we tried this tour. I learned
that the company also has a two-hour sea tour to see dolphins and I am
now interested in trying it. Grade: 8.5
Mike's family evaluating Dolphin/Whale watching (New York) grade: 7.3
Dad: We weren´t able to see dolphins on the trip we took, but maybe it just was not our day. Overall the trip was well run, but perhaps a bit pricey at 100 euro for 2.0 hours on the water, probably would of felt differently if we saw dolphins. Grade: 7.0
Boy (7 yrs): We didn´t see any dolphins, but I got to try the boat with my Dad. Grade: 8.0
Girl (9 yrs): It was fun being on the Mediterranean Sea for the first time,in a small boat. We did see a flock of pink flamingos out the water which was interesting. Grade: 7.0
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