Booked a one-way shuttle from Santa Ana (El Salvador) to Copán (Honduras) two weeks in advance. Booked with them since it looked like the only option except other tour companies and locals. It is my impression that no one very reliable, even according to locals. Paid a 10-dollar deposit online and the rest in cash. 92 dollars in total for two. The others paid only 35. That’s not good enough. We had a brief WhatsApp dialogue about being picked up in San Salvador instead of Santa Ana, and Gekko started mixing up our travel date. Same thing happened when we asked questions about immigration and vehicle details that they require you to fill out beforehand. All the way through we were uncertain if they’d actually pick us up. They did - one hour late - but it was a different company called Bershka. Tried to call Gekko on WhatsApp about the delay, and they didn’t answer the phone. They did reply to my texts when I started calling. The driver called our hotel although I left my phone number and the address several times l when I made the reservation. I’m amazed that they weren’t able to locate us without our hotel’s assistance. Seems like there is very little communication between Gekko and whoever they hire to do their job. The driver was couching a lot and not wearing a mask. He was helpful and we arrived two hours late. All in all not very recommendable and many things to improve. Ask at your hotel, and they might know someone who can do it for 40 dollars.

One big scam!!!!!! The promise shuttles that are not available. Also they say a different price than they wil charge you. When confronting them the pretend the did know what was going on. I have been traveling now for over 6 months and have never had such a bad experience with a shuttle company. Recording to the answer they gave my review: they told us it was 85 dollers, that is not the price we asked ourselfs. That is wat they told us and we have been planning are whole trip around it. Just to days before they said the price was 130 dollers. It is youre own choice to book with this company, im just trying to warn you guys that i dont recommend!

Do not go with this travel company! We were travelling from Santa Ana to El Paradon. The first mini bus refused to put the A/C on so were were all sweating in the bus for 4h, he dropped us in Antuiga and did not tell us where our transfer for the next section of the trip was. We had to message Geckko to make sure they didn't leave without us. The second bus drove 1.5h in the correct direction to get a phone call and turn around to pick someone else up! Adding 3h to the journey! Best to avoid this company!

Do not book with them!!! Me And my friend book a trip and pay diposite, and book all hotels ...last minute at night on the same day we where suppse to leave, they cancel the ride ...

DO NOT BOOK!! First read the screenshots I posted of my conversation with them, and tell them you would book with them! We booked 2 hotels and a water taxi because they told us we can go from Puerto barrios to Leon. Well 2 days in advance, after asking for 5 times!!! They told us well you can’t, and offered us no compensation. Then even accused us for cheap tourist, when their alternative is 60 dollars more expensive and from a whole different town. Obviously the people who work their don’t care at all… Luckily this whole conversation was on WhatsApp so they can’t say I’m lying !

TERRIBLE STRESSFUL EXPERIENCE!! RUDE STAFF, AVOID THIS COMPANY!!! We booked our shuttle from San Ignacio to Flores via the Gekko Trails website and paid upfront. We were waiting at Hodes place 1 hour before the 2pm pick up. After 30mins the shuttle hadnt arrived so I contacted the office via WhatsApp to find out what was happening. My calls kept being declined so I could only text them. Eventually I recieved a message saying 'just wait there the driver will find You' I asked how long the delay would be and they said they could not tell me anything. After waiting for 1 hour and 30mins in the scorching heat I got frustrated and worried that the driver would not come. There was no courtesy message to inform me of what was happening, or to let me know how long the delay would be, instead I just got an abrupt text to say they cannot recieve or make calls and they could not contact the driver. No apology, nothing, just a bad attitude!! There is a reason why so many customers have left bad reviews and its because the communication is so rude and lacking!! they take no responsibility and won't even apologise for keeping you waiting so long. After waiting nearly 2hours I asked for a refund so we could make our own way but was told they would not refund me. We decided to get a taxi to the boarder in the end because we had no idea if the driver was coming or not, the company could not tell me anything. I wish we had got our own taxi from the start, its cheaper and far less stressful. Luckily when we crossed the border into Guatemala there was a shuttle van waiting, the driver waited for us because he had 2 names missing from his list, we are so grateful to the driver for this, because Gekko Trails would not have contacted him, apparently they were unable to do so unless they blatently lied to my face. I later fedback how unhappy i was with the overall service and the staff proceed to argue with me on watsapp saying ' so you were picked up then'. They had no clue!! Who runs a business like that?!! It's an appalling way to treat customers!!. I can see from all the other reviews and the staff replies that the staff seem to have an answer for everything and blame their customers for their own incapabilities and and lack of communication... If only they had just sent a courstesy message to say 'we apologise for the delay, be assured your driver is on the way, this may take up to 2 hours!!!' then i would have felt informed at least and I would not be writing this negative review.. . Please make up your own mind but I have to be honest and advise that you avoid this company completely. Its not worth the stress and definitely not worth the money. SPREAD THE WORD, ITS A TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE!!!

Trip report León to San Salvador with shuttles and boat across Gulf of Fonseca. TRIP LENGTH WAS 16.5 HOURS!!! Their website claims arrival time between 2:00-9:00 pm, but we arrived at midnight. We didn’t even get to stop at a proper place to eat dinner, our only option was a gas station at 10:00 pm(yes we had small snacks as their website says to bring and yes multiple people did ask the driver to stop so we could eat dinner). Also, the driver was constantly on his phone, driving with one hand as oncoming traffic dangerously speeds by! There was no AC as advertised on the website either. Only giving two stars because they did pick us up on time and in the end we didn’t crash.

SCAM COMPANY DO NOT USE! I booked a shuttle with this company 3 days before it was due to go and never received a confirmation email. The day before I contacted them 3 times throughout the day to ask for a confirmation and no one got back to me. Their WhatsApp bot told me that my booking ID wasn’t found so I assumed it wasn’t confirmed and booked a different shuttle and told them this. Suddenly they came back to me (at 10pm!! The shuttle was due for 6am the next day) saying that it was confirmed and they’d sent me an email (which they 100% hadn’t) and that I had to take it and they wouldn’t refund it. I asked them for proof of the confirmation email to which they kept ignoring. I keep asking for a refund and they keep blaming me even though it’s their fault for not sending me a confirmation and not responding to any of my messages asking for confirmation throughout the day. Customer service does not reply and if it does it’s extremely rude and unhelpful. Do not use if you are relying on them!!!! Best to book through a hostel which is normally cheaper anyway! And they reply with lies to every review, I have screenshots of every conversation that I had and have sent these back and somehow they dispute it even though I have a literal screenshot 😂😂

Llegó bastante a tiempo y nos llevó al destino señalado. Al principio cuando pagué me preocupé porque no aparecía en el sistema pero atención al cliente me dijo que tomaba 3 horas. Ya después me confirmaron el pago. Antonio fue muy profesional y amable. Fuimos detenidos por tránsito pero al parecer es algo común y nada de qué preocuparse.

Reservé un shuttle de Antigua a San Pedro Atitlán. Estaba asustada después de leer tan malas reseñas del servicio. Afortunadamente todo salió bien. La van nos pasó a recoger en el sitio elegido dentro del tiempo acordado, nos trajeron a nuestro destino sin contratiempos. En el sitio donde haces la reserva aparece el whats app en caso de que el shuttle no aparezca en los primeros 15 min. Para quienes les sea útil: +502 4770 7990

Beware they run a cunning scam. I travelled from El Salvador to Leon via the boat shuttle. The bus journey was ok but when we got to the boat operater demanded everyone's passports even though they were not border officials. We had to give our passports to him to get on the boat and we didn't see our passports until the bundle was handed to the Nicaragua border officials in their office. Our group thought this was normal procedure but then they held us for over 3 hours for no reason. The border office is disgusting, no shops for water, no fans and no toilets, no seats and full of bugs. The reason they kept us there for so long was too make us miserable and then make us pay more than double the official entry fee. We saw other groups coming and going without issues. We asked our Gekko guide multiple times why it was taking so long and he didn't care. Absolute corruption. He splits the profits with the border guards. I contacted Gekko after this happened and heard no response. I spoke with a lot of other people and this is a common occurrence with this border crossing. My advice is don't use the boat and fly if you can.

A very dangerous trip as the driver was driving at a very high speed, often using the opposite direction lane and braking very last minute. I've got extensive travel experience and I'm never nauseous but I guess there is a first time for everything. The van also was the dirtiest of this trip.

Took the boat with them from El Salvador to Nicaragua as it was the only option I could find. I was provided with incorrect information upon booking which meant I had to pay $18 at the border instead of $13 and they refused to help me or admit it was their mistake. You are supposed to fill in the Nicaragua immigration form 7 days in advance to avoid the $5 surcharge but the email from Gekko themselves say only to do it the day before. I followed this advice and was told at the border I wasn’t in their system as I hadn’t completed the form enough in advance. Had the advice from Gekko been accurate, I would have done it 7 days prior! But I was told the wrong thing by them. Same for most of the people I was with - none of us had the right change at the border as a result. Added time and stress to the journey entirely because Gekko provided us with inaccurate information - I trust a provider like this to get it right when I’m paying a lot for their service! Gekko’s stock response will be they’re not responsible for additional fees at borders. This is true and very fair. But they absolutely should provide correct guidance if they are going to give instructions! I want my $5 back.

Don't book here! They use AI as an excuse to not deliver ANY human customer support whatsoever. I booked a shuttle with them, but wanted to move the date and destination when I found out I didn't have my passport. I tried to contact them 3 days before the shuttle left, which proved a lot harder than they advertised. Their so-called "24/7 customer support" is just some dumb useless AI that doesn't connect you to a human at any point. For this they tell you to write an email to which you would supposedly get a response within 12-24 hours. This took them over 2 days, however, and it looked like it was once again a bot, because they said exactly the same and were just as unhelpful. After a one-sentence email they didn't respond anymore. In the end, as I wasn't able to move my shuttle, and they didn't respond anymore, so I ended up being forced to book another company. In the end I traveled with Monte Verde tours, with which everything went smoothly and I can certainly recommend everyone going with them instead of Gekko Trails. They ended up keeping my €135 and never responded anymore, despite numerous follow-up emails from my side. Please do NOT trust this company as they will run away with your money if you have any problems instead of helping you. Instead you can look up Monte Verde Tours.

I feel like you only ever see negative reviews and often times those of us that have OK or good experiences forget to boost businesses that do good work! So I wanted to put this out there for anyone else who was SUPER anxious after reading the negative reviews. I booked without reading them first after having the service recommended by a friend. And hello and behold I had a great experience! They came early which meant our other stops were also earlier and we hit the road with quickness. We had pit stops to use the bathroom. I made the journey from Leon to San Juan Del Sur in the same amount of time a taxi would have taken me and I was in comfortable air conditioning, with a kind driver to boot! I would recommend this service to anyone. And don’t be dissuaded, this is actually a really affordable option especially when you’re traveling heavily.

I've been reading the recent bad reviews and have to say that my experience today travelling from Flores to Belize City was extremely satisfied with the service. Met the driver at the arranged pick up spot 6am at the Flores Island bus stop. Showed my confirmation email to the driver who gave me a wristband and I sat on the bus. Driving was safe. The bus a little cramped but it is what it is. The bus dropped us off at the border where we were given clear instructions by the driver of what to do etc. We were told to walk across the border where we will meet another driver to let us on another bus. This driver was equally as helpful. Dropped other passengers off at seperate locations. Although I wouldn't always expect this, it would depend on timing of the journey. Once we arrived at the water taxi we were shown where to drop our bags and buy a ticket etc

Very bad experience. On our ride from El Salvador to Nicaragua our driver was on the road for more than 20h. You could see that he was very tired and several times almost fell asleep. Very irresponsible behavior of the company. We also waited for two hours at the meeting point. According to the other passenger the delay was not due to traffic but due to everyone filling in the entry form for Nicaragua and thus, the shuttle stopped for some time. That could have been communicated to us instead of letting us wait and blaming it solely on the traffic!

DO NOT USE THIS ORGANISATION! We booked a shuttle form Lanquin to Flores but when we arrived at the meeting point they told us we were not on the list of the bus. So some friendly local helped us out and figured out that the company had planned us in on another day than we booked (which was NOT our fault). The reason why the local helped us was because we couldn't reach anyone from the travel agency. We tried to call the office and texted them on whatsapp which eventually ,by an automatic answering machine on whatsapp, gave us another emergency phone number from the office. When i called the emergency number a girl answered the phone and while i was trying to explain in Spanish that we had a problem with the bus she just hung up on me!!! Clue of this all was that the exact same girl that i was calling was standing 100 meters further than the bus, so when the local told us it was her i was calling to we went over to her and explained her the situation. But all she literaly did was ignore us!!! She kept on looking to the floor, looking and walking away from us! We had to keep on asking to speak to her boss, we asked this BOTH in Spanish and in English but al she answered was 'no hablo ingles' and after about 45 minutes we finally could speak to someone of the office who told us he had no solution (only a bus ride the next day but that was not an option for us). So after 15 more minutes on the phone he promised to pay back our money, which he did. All this lead to the fact that we we're forced to book a private taxi as there were no busses arround anymore so we had to pay the double (!) of the amount that we would have payed for the bus. All this because off the bad management of this organisation!!!! Please give some education to the girl that is supposed to be the contact number and person to help you out because her attitude was below all levels.

I booked this shuttle from Antigua to el paredon Guatemala and I’ve never been so scared in a shuttle ever!!! I have had some scary rides traveling abroad but this one takes the cake. This driver treated this ride like it was Mario kart. Playing chicken with trucks and buses to the point of oncoming traffic honking at us on multiple occasions. Everyone in the shuttle was terrified. Honestly I’m in the shuttle now and I’m wondering if I’ll even make it to my destination. Would give zero stars if I could.

Used this company twice with problems both times. First time, Flores-Lanquin, the driver didn’t recognize our ticket, he said no when we asked for Gekko Trails. We ended up paying another shuttle bus which later on was contacted by the driver who refused us in the first place. Apparently he was working for Gekko Trails and they did an exchange. Despite this chaotic experience we booked Antigua-Santa Ana with Gekko as no other company had space for us. Naively we were thinking things would be different this time. They were not. After waiting half an hour without the driver showing up we contacted costumer service. We got told that the driver would be there in a few minutes. Of course he didn’t, so we called again several times. Each time they are stalling us, holding us up, telling us the driver will be there in a few minutes. We have now been waiting two hours for nothing, so I advice you not to use this company even though it is your last option. You will be better off taking the public transport as even the chicken busses are more accurate than these shuttles.

*Do not use this service.* On the shuttle from Nicaragua to El Salvador at least two passengers including me had cash stolen from our bags while the driver alone waited for us in the van at a border crossing. When we got to the border crossing he rushed everyone as he couldn't stop in traffic saying to just take passports, then drove away "to find parking". When we came back to the van the money was gone. Gecko trails have claimed to want to help but will just ask for proof and claim they can not be responsible for the actions of the local operator, and that the terms and conditions state that they're not responsible for anything lost on the transport. And also because we only contacted them an hour later when we had internet again and not while we were with the driver there's nothing they can do. *There are many other operators that provide the same service, use a different one.*

This Service is awesome. We used it to go from El Salvador to Nicaragua and also 1 time in Nicaragua, very comfortable cars with a/c and also almost in time, depending on how many boarders you have to cross, sometimes this can take a while but it’s not the drivers fault then. We had a Boardbag with us and they have not charged us extra. For a 11hour drive it’s 25$ per Person, this is totally worth every single Dollar. Definitely would go with them again.

DO NOT USE THESE SCAMMERS! Arranged to pick us up at 2pm, an hour later after standing in the hottest part of the day we tried to call to find out where they were? They kept declining calls and then sent message saying they didn't know when we would be picked up, they wouldn't give us a refund and told us to keep waiting. We waited another hour and still nothing so we had to get a taxi incase we missed the border opening hours. Worst shuttle experience ever still no refund. Total RIP OFF

When the website talked about buses and vans, I didn’t think the buses would be extremely small, oversold shuttles. It’s definitely a cost effective way to travel but if you are over 5’8” be prepared to be extremely cramped. Our shuttle’s normal seats were 100% full, someone was in the passenger seat, and several of the extremely small fold down aisle seats were occupied. Can you imagine sitting on a super tiny seat between three other people for 5-6 hours with only one break (for the border crossing)? Also, in Flores, when they say to meet at the Yo Amo sign, they actually mean like 100 meters away. We might have missed our shuttle if we hadn’t heard someone say “Belize.” It’s not bad by any means, but it’s not great or comfortable. It’s very affordable though. Just know what you’re getting into.

Arrangement of the travel was quite easy using WhatsApp which responded fast and in English. It was also possible to arrange pick up location in our hotel as well as drop off. However, the shuttle was suppose to arrive between 1:30-2 pm and arrive to destination at 4:30 instead it arrived 2:40,later then expected. We were considering of using this service also on our next travel but we changed our mind as driver was driving really crazy as with two full lines we were overcoming like 5 cars at the time I was scared and asked driver to slow down. He replied that he is doing this all the time everyday. Also driver was almost non-stop using his phone while driving like he would work double job of driving and working as call centre. This practice is very unsafe! Driver is on the road from Guatemala to Leon which is more than 12 hours straight. This makes this drive more dangerous.

Despite seeing the poor reviews I actually had no problems with the company at all, and I used their services 4 times. Leon to La Union (via boat), Santa Ana to Antigua, and Antigua to Panajachel & back. I never had to wait very long for my shuttle. Pickup in Santa Ana said 4 am and they came exactly at 4 am. All the drivers were very friendly as well.

Ich bin von Mexiko nach Guatemala, innerhalb Guatemalas und von Guatemala nach Belize mit Gekko Explorer gefahren und alle Fahrten waren durchweg positiv. Die Fahrer kamen pünktlich an - einmal musste ich etwas länger warten, über die angegebene Whatsapp Nummer habe ich dann aber eine Info erhalten. Habe mich immer sicher gefühlt und bei den Grenzübergängen wird einem gut geholfen. Alles easy 😀

Don't book with this agency! I booked a shuttle and paid 60$ but did nor receive any confirmation mail. So I contacted the customer service but the lady was not able to send me the confirmation, even though she said they received the money and I booked it. Ended up not going anywhere but paying 60$. This is just scam!

色々と批判的なコメントもありますが自分が利用したときは特に問題なかったです。 ネットで予約ができ、相場より安く移動できました。

Bardzo złe doświadczenie, busy w złym stanie,klimatyzacja ustawiona na full że w czapce i kurtce każdy kaszlał ustawione na maxa,siedzenia mają z 30 lat...z daleka od tej firmy :/

Good website and ability to make changes to your booking before you travel. Transport was comfortable but not luxurious. Third time we have travelled with this company. Pick up time was 4am, actually arrived at 4:35am, better updates on pick up date would be helpful else you fear they won’t show!

Took 9 hours from Antigua to Santa Ana while they said it wouldn’t take more than 5 hours on their website. There wasn’t even any traffic, the driver just took an extremely long route for some reason

Scam. Do not book. They showed up extremely late and forced to pay more in cash with no warning.

Very high cost for wath you get. I got stuffed into a small bus with 10 other travelers with no legspace and no AC. And that for 37$ for a 3,5h drive. On top their AI customer service via WhatsApp is the worst! Not again!

I was a little worried about not getting an e-ticket through email or chat but the shuttle was there and had me booked. Good ride from Flores to Antigua with the right number of stops. Can't beat the price

We took a 5am shuttle from Panajachel to Guatemala City today and had a good experience. The driver was punctual, forthcoming and friendly, the driving felt safe. After the initial booking of the transfer, I did not receive the email with the booking confirmation however . Luckily, the WhatsApp chatbot was able to help here and sent out the booking details to the email I had put down during the booking process.

All the trip was in schedule. Perfect driving. Smooth, quick but not too much. The shuttle van was in really good condition. I really recommend it :)

Muy buen shuttle. Alexander fue un conductor 5 estrellas.

Fine but slow and I would rather they didn’t blast music out the entire journey, maybe people just want to relax?

We booked a shuttle from Puerto Barrios/Guatemala to La Ceiba/Honduras. The booking process was quite well. But I would wish to communicate with a real person when I have beside questions and not with AI. In case of a real problem the AI cannot help... But we had luck. Nothing went wrong. We got picked up 25 min late but it was not bad coz we were accepting it already ;-). The shuttle which came was not from Gekko Trail it was Roneey-Shuttle. It seems they work together. Now the reason of the 5 stars... The driver Jay was incredible. He was sooo great!!! He was fighting with time that we will all get the last ferry in La Ceiba. He was fast but very save. He is a very good driver with a lot experience. He was amazing. And he made it in time. We got the boat. Thank you sooo sooo much Jay!!! And we loved the music what was playing ... METALLICA... So cool!!! We would always hop in your van again Jay!

Got ripped off. Paid $60 to go from el salvador to Nicaragua with the boat. They never picked me up and pretended that they did. Didn't want to refund me or offer a discount on my next trip. I had to travel for 2 days and go through Honduras instead. Lost the accommodation I had booked in Nicaragua and had to pay for another transport and the custom fees to travel through Honduras. Because this company has the monopoly over some transfers they disrespect and rob their customers. Please, use other shuttle companies as much as possible.

Nonostante le brutte recensioni lette noi ci siamo trovati molto bene! Abbiamo preso il bus a Belize City per Flores, partenza puntuale e arrivo nei tempi previsti. L’autista ci ha spiegato dove stavamo andando, cosa fare alla frontiera e ci ha dato varie info. Alla frontiera abbiamo cambiato bus, il bus ci aspettava e anche qui ottima esperienza! L’unica pecca é che pensavamo di stare su un bus grande da (50 posti), invece stavamo su un piccolo shuttle di 25 posti circa, non comodissimo. Detto ciò, noi la consigliamo!

The shuttle was totally on time, I was the first to get picked at 4 am like it stated. The driver was really nice too and didn't spend too long at breaks which got us to the destination an hour early! I took the shuttle from Antigua to Flores

Everything is well organized and everything actually goes smoothly. Very pleasant. Tip for the future: The driver who ultimately took everyone to the hostels decided to drive to the furthest one first and that meant that I (and the others in the group) spent an extra hour on the bus while I literally already passed my hostel drove . Everything else is fine!

The driver stopped just before we arrived at the hostel. They stayed there for about 20 minutes to change stuff on another shuttle. Even though we were almost there and really needed to use the bathroom they let us wait for no reason. Wouldn't recommend

Comfortable, picked me up on time and arrived early. I have been travelling a long time in South and Central America and this is the most unsafe I have ever felt. The driver was exceeding a speed of 110 km and taking over trucks on winding roads. It was the most stressful experience.

We make reservation with them and they make as cancell reservation - they told by us but it not true its by them! They never back the money we lose like 60 usd and 80 usd we have prove and we do lawyers cases..dont use this company please!

Worked well for me from SJDS to Granada and back.

We took the shuttle from Lanquin to Flores on Saturday the 17th of February. It was okay, but we do have a few comments. The shuttle should have left at 08:00 AM, but it was late, as usual. It was also overbooked, so the driver tried to convince us to get into another van, without actually giving a lot of information, which was really weird. After one hour of driving, we already took a long break, slowing the shuttle down even more. When we arrived in Flores, we also took a break at a supermarket, 10 minutes away of Flores Island, also really weird. No wonder we arrived late, which seems to happen every time...

Very comfortable bus and a nice driver!

Booked San Cristobal to Panajachel with them before reading the reviews. BUT…. Our driver turned up at exactly 6am - clean A/C mini van. Took us to the boarder with one stop for toilet and food. Helped us with customs and getting through the cartel / unofficial boarder stops. Was a little delay at Guatemalan boarder waiting for the second bus to arrive. This bus was also smart with ac and phone charging. Took over 14 hours door to door but was a great service. Our second driver was a little hectic with the driving but sang and made jokes which made the journey fun. Overall would highly recommended at least the route we did. All went smoothly and was a good price too. Thanks

Turned up on time in the right place

Really happy with this service. Our hotel in San Salvador wasn’t listed on the drop down menu, so we picked the closest one to it (30min walk away). When we got on the shuttle in Antigua, the drivers asked us for our hotel address in San Salvador and dropped us door to door! Border control was smooth and efficient. Would highly recommend.

Did the boat + shuttle from el tunco to Leon. A very long day! Smooth shuttles and boat, the only problem was that it was overbooked and we were the last to be picked up so were crammed in the back with all the luggage on the first shuttle. The second shuttle from the boat to Leon - same situation except 4 boys had to squeeze into 3 seats. I will say also - be prepared for 2 hour + wait at the border in Nicaragua. The slowest immigration officers I’ve ever experienced. No fun in 38 degree heat - but obviously no fault of Gekko who were there ready to pick us up. Not a fun journey but was fine in the end and got to Leon around 4pm

NEVER BUY ANYTHING HERE, THEY ARE THIEVES. We ordered tickets online and did not receive the tickets. We haven't received our $100 refund for a month and the company doesn't respond to our emails!!!

Unhelpful. Unprofessional. Unorganised. A total shambles. Not only were we on a dangerously overcrowded bus but we were also made get off the shuttle in El Salvador (already 2 hours late from the original arrival time) with roughly over an hour left on the journey only to get into a random car which didn’t have a seatbelt for my girlfriend. I am disgusted in the service and shocked at the disregard for for safety/life. Money hungry and unprofessional.

First of all if you have read previous negative reviews remember that people generally only leave negative reviews. We used Gekko to travel around Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Hondorus and Guatemala and found them perfectly satisfactory. The majority of transportation around Central America is via collectivo shuttle bus. Gekko act simply as a middle man in most instances meaning you won't hop onto a Gekko branded bus for each journey. Instead you will be put on a shuttle with drivers that may be working for other companies, and this is normal and to be expected. There are going to be delays, it's Central America and things get delayed due to circumstances out of drivers controls such as long immigration queues, flat tires etc. If there are issues just use WhatsApp to contact Gekko directly. They responded to me at 2:30am when our bus was delayed coming from Honduras. No issues, they got us there in the end. You can also book shuttles via any hostel in virtually any country in Central America so don't worry about having things planned in advance, but if you prefer to book online then use Gekko.

Had an incredible experience with Dennis & Daniel driving from San Salvador to Antigua. They arrived early, were super friendly and the ride was very smooth! They helped with the border crossing, let myself and others stop for the bathroom when we needed and to get snacks. Highly recommend booking this route with this company!

UNSAFE!!! OUR DRIVER WAS FALLING ASLEEP AND ALMOST KILLED 10 of us. We booked our shuttle from San Salvador to Leon. We got pick up on time and everything was going well until it was time to start the drive from el tunco to la unión. It was still dark out and our driver kept swerving, we were all a little tense but didn’t say anything. I asked the lady with the driver if he was okay and she said he was fine. He FELL ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL AND DROVE ONTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC thank God the swerve woke him up and he corrected in time or we would’ve ended up in a head on collision with a semi truck. After that we asked him to switch with one of us (I am fluent in Spanish) and he responded saying he was fine and then ignored me. I made a Olán with the other to say we had to use the bathroom and then we would find a way to get someone else to drive. We didn’t make it to the stop when another passenger saw him falling asleep again through the rear view mirror and started yelling for him to stop. He pulled over and I told him we were not comfortable with him driving anymore because we felt unsafe. He was still gaslighting us saying he was fine and not sleeping but if we wanted someone else would drive and he would give directions. One of the other travelers stepped up and drive the remaining 1.5 hrs (thank you Filipe). Approaching La Union Felip literally had to wake up the driver to ask for directions. If we wouldn’t have taken action there’s no question in my mind we would have been in some sort of collision. The company did reach out to me to ask me what happen and said they would take action but even so we will not be booking with them for the remainder of our trip. To be clear we paid $180 UDS for this trip, at these prices you would think they would vet their drivers more to ensure the safety of their passengers. We paid thinking we’d be paying to travel in comfort, we would’ve been better off on the chicken bus. Needless to say I wouldn’t recommend this company.

I booked the shuttle to Antigua Guatemala, leaving at 4 am. I had been sitting outside since 3.50 (as I was told), in front of the hostel door. Nobody came to pick me up. As indicated on the booking confirmation, I contacted Gekko (you) at 4.20 in order to notify that nobody picked me up. You told me that everything will be fine and that I have to wait more. I also got the number of the driver and I texted and called him several times over the next hour. Nobody replied, I just kept getting messages from your chat bot that everything is OK. This all while I was sitting outside in San Salvador. At 4.56 am (so iver one hour of me waiting), Carlos wrote to me that the driver had been already here. According to the driver, the gates of the hostel were open and he came knocking on the hostel door. However, this can only be wrong. I had been sitting outside since 3.50 and the gates were locked. And i called the driver multiple times with no answer. I did not see a single person or car stopping at the place. I requested Carlo to call me but he refused to do so. He told me that there is nothing he can do and that they will try to find a solution "later". However, it is now too late for me to get to Guatemala. I would have had a flight that I needed to catch. Carlos told me to take a Tica bus instead. However, that takes 9 hours to Guatemala City, so like 10-11 hours to Antigua. The whole reason I took the shuttle in the first place was that I wanted to save time and I could spend the entire day in Antigua. So essentially, i sat outside in San Salvador for almost 2 hours in the middle of the night( i couldn't get inside my hostel anymore), it was cold and dark. I am missing my flight and booked a new one now from San Salvador. Carlos promised me a refund which I have not received yet. Avoid this company if you can.

I went from Leon to el Salvador with this company. I booked the trip first and then read the reviews, so I got a bit scared, but I have to say everything worked great, the drivers were friendly and I have no complaints. The 1st driver was a bit late (normal) so I contacted the company and within a few minutes I was able to contact the driver directly.

I took shuttles with this company a few times when staying in Antigua. The drive was comfortable, and drivers friendly. I felt safe, and that the company was reliable

Couldn't be happier!!! Booked with less than 24 hours notice. Shuttle from San Salvador to Antigua. I was confirmed and sent my passport/c19 cert within the hour and had my pick up time. Driver picked up me ON TIME from my hostel and took me across the border right to the door of my next hostel in Antigua. It was a private car the whole way, I thought it would be a van/bus. Maybe it was the off-season but I couldn't have been happier with the price, service, professionalism and convenience. I would highly recommend this company. They were also available on WhatsApp to answer all my millions of questions in English! Thank you!!!!!

A really good experience with Gekko Trails, we had to change the date of our trip from La Ceiba, Honduras to Leon, Nica due to Covid and they were flexible and responded quickly throughout. On the day of the trip we were picked up on time and travelled in a comfy mini-van, we had two drivers that were both friendly and spoke English they helped with all documentation for the border crossing and it was the smoothest journey of my 3 month CA trip so far arriving in Leon at the time they advised. Highly recommend! As a suggestion you should consider a ‘loyalty card’ for customers who do multiple trips through Central America offering a discount!

Use geco 3 times privet transporte in guatemala, it was exelent,! In time great drivers! Evry thing was perfect

*IF you are travelling with a camera read this* We used Gekko Trails twice. Once from Antigua to El Salvador which was great and went smoothly. However, our second bus journey from El Salvador to Leon Nicaragua was awful. The bus drivers stopped us in Honduras and told us if w had a camera to come off the bus to chat with them. They said because our cameras are professional we would pay a fine at the border and cameras might get taken. They were asking for 100$ from us to hide our cameras and even offered to take us to a cash point. Luckily I speak Spanish so i was questioning them a lot and it just didn’t make sense. In the end we said we preferred to deal with it at the border instead and there was no issue. Bags went through scanner without a problem. However bus driver was still lying to us and told is we would have to go back to Honduras. We think the bus driver may have mentioned we had cameras to the border control so we all had to scan our bags again. They took photos of our cameras but everything was fine. Just be aware and don’t hand any money over for a bribe.

We have booked a shuttle from Granada, Nicaragua to Antigua Guatemala, the service was comfortable and safe, Carlos gave me all the details of the trip and was always available by WhatsApp to answer my questions. I recommend to book with them.

I used a few times Gekko to do my transport and I have to say that the service is not always good. They basically use others private companies for the transport, and some of them are not professional. Some drivers ask you money for exiting or entering countries, but they don't want to give a receipt for proof of purchase. So we don't really know what is behind this. I guess they are taking a percentage of our money in their pocket because prices don't match with the official websites and they won't let you having a receipt from the border. I did a omplainc to Gekko and they basically don't want to be responsible for it. But we pay Gekko to have the service and you send us to them, so yes Gekko, it is your work to take of this and it is your responsibility.

I wouldn’t try to book a shuttle with this company again. They cancelled an hour before the scheduled departure and told me it was due to covid. It’s January 2021. Figure it out.

Gekko Trails Explorer were great! I travelled from Leon in Nicaragua to Antigua in Guatemala and basically slept the whole way, except for a nice lunch stop in El Tunco, El Salvador. The entry through all the various visa crossings was seamless with the driver taking care of everything. I can not recommend this company enough.

No idea why company sent email asking me to give review. The van wasn't at the pier at 10:30 as per reservation. When I contacted gekko the rep couldn't answer call due to not having headphones making for a long exchange of texts. The feedback was that driver waited until 10:30 and I wasn't there, if so the van must have been well hidden as neither myself, other people in the area could see it. Ended up having to get a taxi instead. Company did refund my deposit. - Below response is nonsense. Please don't tell me I wasn't there. I was there with other travelers waiting for their shuttles. Like you said it is a small place and there no vans there after 10:20. It seems like the whole way through this process the company has tried to cover things up. To me the mistake was bad but this is worse.

The shuttle arrived on time and we got to our destination fine. The driver went through our bags and stole money during the border crossing. Do not leave any valuables in the minivan and keep them with you at all times (I.e. remove your backpacks at every stop, and assume that the shuttle is not a safe place, despite the drivers urging you to “just take your passport with you”). The company will not compensate you. I really hope this review helps stop this happening to others in the future. I am looking forward to seeing Geckos response to this review and how they will spin it to being our fault.

Better off using a chicken bus if you're doing the transfer from SJDS to Leon. It's not a huge difference in time since with this transfer you're stopping in Granada (for like an hour) and Managua anyway. The AC also didn't work for the Granada to Leon leg which was like the main reason for getting a shuttle. A chicken bus would've been more comfortable with the wind at least. I complained to them about it and they basically implied I was lying about the AC lol. Save your money.

Avoid this company! They rescheduled my shuttle last minute and only informed me about it after the shuttle had already left. They reserved a seat for the shuttle at the following day, but still I had to pay for an additional night at El Tunco and could not cancel my Hostel in León. They refused to give me a discount to cover the additional expenses. They didn‘t reply to my emails an texts and refused to give me a phone number to call them. I recommend taking other shuttle services, they put us on the shuttle of another company anyway (Roneey Shuttle). Edit: After almost 3 weeks they have not replied to a single one of my messages (E-Mail, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Form on Homepage) Edit 2: In my opinion, they should make up for a mistake they made. I missed the shuttle because they did not inform me about the earlier departure. Therefore, I had to pay for an additional night and lost one traveling day. It's about making up for mistakes, not about saving money for beer. You told me via WhatsApp that I should send an email to ask for the discount. However, I never received an answer after that. I know you try to frame it like it's my fault, but it's really not. I am not the only person who has posted a bad review. Also, when you"quote" me please use something I actually wrote, not your version of it.

Great service upfront, pick-up on time, arrival on time, support crossing the border, enough breaks/stops to make it a comfortable ride, great and safe driver - what else you can ask for. Would do it again in the blink of an eye

Drivers were really friendly. Plenty of toilet & snack stops when needed! Fine value for money, comfortable enough. Only issue was a long hold up with other passengers who were left and caught up with the bus later, meaning we waited in a car park for 1-2 hours extra. A ‘7 hour’ journey took 10 and this wasn’t really communicated with us as it happened. Would use company again though as these things happen!

Went from Guatemala City to Copan Ruinas, everything went smoothly and we even arrived 2 hrs before what it says on the website, which was a pleasant surprise. Worth noting that it’s possible to make the same journey with public transport for about a quarter of the price (and roughly the same duration), I did it for my return journey because they didn’t have shuttle service for the day I wanted, but the shuttle definitely saved me quite a lot of trouble for my journey to CR.

Surprisingly terrible. Spent 2 hours hours driving around Antigua collecting passengers, because the driver had no idea where the hotels are. Kept trying to find it on the internet and failing to do so... In addition to that why do you ask where are we staying at the destination if the driver simply drops everyone in one place?

Seems to be well run business. May be difficult to do any kind of last-minute booking, since they seem a little slow to respond. Price is great, and vans are newer and clean

After having booked a shuttle from La Ceiba, Honduras, to Leon, Nicaragua and having received the tickets and confirmation email, suddenly our shuttle was canceled the day before by this company. First, the company had provided us the wrong date on the tickets, which we could change. A day later, after already having booked the ferry from Utila and our hostel in Leon, suddenly the shuttle got canceled, effectively costing us a lot of money and our christmas day. The only means of communication is a chatAI on WhatsApp, which does not help anything and only prompts general messages. Absolutely zero trust in this company, and if able to I would recommend everyone to travel by a different company (Roneey shuttle for example). They will probably reply with some nonsense to this review, however if unable to provide a shuttle, they should not have sent the tickets + confirmation email. Very bad on their behalf.

Complete joke, waited for 2hours, no driver, no shuttle, no refund. An on-site request was not responded to until much later. At the agreed location I asked every taxi driver and airport staff at the agreed meeting point, none of them knew Gekko Trails. Photos of the alleged presence were then taken an hour after the agreed time. Since there is no refund, no matter how late the driver is without notice, do not transfer any money in advance, but instead look for one of the many shuttles on site and pay when you get on.

Just OK. Looks a bit disorganized, our shuttle had to return to Antigua to pick up some forgotten passengers. Also the driver stopped a couple of times when we were already over 1 hour late, once to buy some fried chicken and another over 15 minutes to deal with other customers. Also they try to pick me up one day before. Not very good. On the other hand the van was good and their webchat is very efficient

Having booked a shuttle to travel from Antigua to Flores, I received the booking confirmation in good time and was able to select the pickup location from the hostel I was staying at. On the day of travel there was a procession in Antigua which meant the original pickup point was unavailable. Approximately 1 hour before the departure time I was made aware of this via WhatsApp. Having arrived at the new pickup point 45 minutes before departure we thought everything was going smoothly. This was until 50 minutes had passed and I had tried multiple times to get in touch with the company we were told the driver wasn’t able to pick us up and we’d have to get a taxi to get to our connecting bus from Guatemala City. The company hasn’t taken any responsibility for this or compensated me for the money spent on a taxi, the customer service has been appalling. I would recommend if you’re planning to travel to Flores to book directly with the overnight bus service located in Guatemala City Zona 1 to save you time money dealing with this company.

You can book the shuttle from Leon to Potosi to La Union at big foot hostel in Leon. Same price as this company. I didn’t get the pleasure of going with this company because they cancelled me for attempting to make a change to my trip because I was having diarrhea. They say to not make last minute changes- people are traveling and sometimes stuff changes??? Don’t book with this company. The fact that the only way I could get in touch with a person was because I left a review on Google. Otherwise I’d still be talking to AI.

My experience was very positive despite all the comments I’ve read. The shuttle was supposed to arrive at my hostel (selected pick-up place) at 2pm (plus 30min). The shuttle arrived at 2:40pm, which was not a problem to me. We followed the trip from Antígua towards San Pedro la Laguna (Atitlán) very safely even stopping for supplies, restroom or ATM withdraw. We arrived at our destination on time. What else can I say? The driver was very kind and helpful and their prices were incomparable when you get information from other transportation agencies. I booked everything online and it worked as expected. The only downside was that the AC was not working, which was also not a big problem due to the nice temperature of the day (end February).

Good experience overall. I took 2 journeys on shuttle buses with Gekko Trails and both were without issue, and great value for the price. Both times the bus arrived about 15 minutes later than the scheduled time, but the providers were on hand to respond to my WhatsApp messages, so good communication put me at ease and made it a smooth process overall.

Je ne recomande pas de prendre ce transport dutout! Ils sont très imprévisible, tant ils semble avoir de bonne expériences, il y a aussi beaucoup de mauvaise expérience. C'est une agence Web qui dispatch des navettes. Ils offrent aucun support sur où sont rendu les chauffeurs et ne savent rien pour assurer notre sécurité. Mon amie et moi avons réservé pour un déplacement entre Antigua et San marcos, notre transport devait arriver à 14h. À 14h45, quand aucune navette n'était arrivée encore et que nous étions incapable de rejoindre la compagnie via whatsapp ou téléphone, nous somme partie pour trouver un autre transport. À 14H55, nous avons eu un email de No show à notre point de rencontre. Si la navette est en retard, ils devraient pouvoir être capable de nous dire si au moins elle est en route. Nous avons finalement réservé avec Atitrans. Cette compagnie a été parfaite et nous à aider pour la suite.

Got robbed and scammed. Booked a shuttle and boat to go from El Salvador to Nicaragua. They never picked me up and pretended like they couldn't find me. That forced me traveling for 2 days via local transports and had to go through Honduras. I've lost the money for the accommodation I had booked, I had to pay for other transports and custom fees to go through Honduras. Gekko Trails Explorer refused to refund or offer me a discount. I've lost $100 because of you and 2 days of my holidays. Just because you have the monopoly over some transfers doesn't mean you can rob people. I hope this post helps and convince people to use other shuttle companies. Plus, with previous transfers I had done with Gekko, there were always issues (changing shuttles, stopping for no reasons, trip taking twice the time announced previously, etc...) Don't use their service please!

We booked 5 different shuttle trips during our 5 week trip around Central America and had no problems at all. Going from El Salvador to Copan Ruinas in Honduras and then from there to Antigua Guatemala, all went smoothly and punctually. The drivers helped us with border crossings and the rides were very comfortable. The other trips from Granada to San Jorge for the ferry, and on to Costa Rica via San Juan del Sur were also on time and without problems. I would recommend booking through Gekko. The website is very easy to use. The follow up emails give peace of mind and contacting them through What's app for enquiries and confirmations is great. All in all Gekko Trails helped us get