Nice 1 1/2 hour cruse up and down the Mississippi River. This was a lunch cruse that started at…read more11:00. You could either do the cruse with food, or without. We shared the boat with about 25 people and all of us had the meal. It was early spring, so I'm sure the boat fills up as the weather improves and travelers are out and about. Our lunch was sliced turkey, Swedish meatballs with potatoes and carrots. The turkey was hand carved and the rest was buffet style. Food was decent and there was plenty available. Coffee and tea were included, but other beverages, including a full bar, was available for a charge. The trip itself was nice. The highlight was going through a railroad bridge. (Twice - going up and down) A large section of the bridge has to turn to open a space for the boat to go through. Otherwise the views were a bit pedestrian, some nice homes along the river and a few uninhabited islands. There were some bird watchers on our trip who got really excited when they spotted a couple of Eagles nesting in a tree along the river. The captain does a nice job as a narrator/guide to bring the area to life with interesting stories and historical facts. Overall this is a nice relaxing trip. Sit back and learnt some history of the area and Mississippi River, and enjoy the ride. It's always fun to be on the water! Glad I did the trip, probably wouldn't need to do it again.

Me and my wife were not thrilled with our experience. It was way too crowded at dinner tables. We…read morewere smooshed and older man kept bumping my wife's arm while eating and waitress forgot my drink. We should have been more spread out at tables - not at full capacity. Also , the prime rib was over done and chicken was pinkish. People were a tad snooty also.

We contacted Alex seeking information on doing some bass fishing on the Mississippi River near La…read moreCrosse. Alex was very informative and answered all our questions. You could tell Alex was very knowledgeable and customer service oriented. After talking to Alex, and watching his YouTube videos, we booked a half day on the water in the middle of May. Quick breakdown: Alex communicated great leading up to the day of the trip and told us exactly where to go on the day of the trip. We arrived a few minutes early and Alex was waiting the dock for us. After a quick safety briefing. We pushed out and had a great fishing day. We caught largemouth and smallmouth and even a bonus fish (pike). We fished a variety of baits but we caught them on crank baits, chatter baits, and senkos. The fish were mostly post spawn and were kinda in that funk between spawning and guarding fry. Alex never stopped working to get us on fish, he moved spots frequently with the changing conditions. Alex's boat fishes very well and he has all the modern tools to help get on fish. He has quality equipment and it was all ready for our success. Alex prices were fair considering the cost of fuel, equipment and his time. Alex does not provide lunch or snacks but that is ok because he tells you up front and that allows you to bring whatever you like. All said, Alex is great and we look forward to booking another trip with him. 5/5

I took my son and grandson on a guided catfish trip with Alex from River Bent outfitters and we had…read morean absolute great time. We drove down from Tomahawk and were able to land 10 fish highlighted by a 20-12 lb and 13-3 lb Flathead and a monster 14-14 lb Channel. It was a trip none of us will ever forget. Alex was very knowledgeable and extremely friendly and kept the boys entertained the entire night, I would defiantly recommend River Bent Outfitters and we plan on going again in the near future.

So glad I tried this! I was skeptical at first as I am from La Crosse and thought I might be bored…read morein my normal stomping grounds. I'm so glad I gave it a shot! Erik was awesome with making sure everyone in our group felt comfortable on the segways before we left. it was super cool to see so many areas of La Crosse that I never knew existed. I would highly recommend a tour with these guys. From LAX or not, you will enjoy your time!

Hands down fun for the whole family good, good instructing on how to ride for beginnersread more

We rented kayaks to relax and enjoy the lake close to the water. However, it was not relaxing at…read moreall. We spent almost $100 for kayaks covered in mushy algae, moths and spiders and their webs. No one prepared the kayaks for our use. They could have just hosed them off, instead we had to try to clean them ourselves and endure the stressful ride with spiders on ours backs. It was as if no one was working there. I give the service a solid C-

Outstanding service, highly recommend these guys! Very efficient at what they do. A variety of…read moreboat rentals to choose from and all well maintained. Very reasonable prices, well worth it if you're in the area!

Knowmad gets my highest recommendation from our initial phone conversation to having a Knowmad…read morespecialist see us off at the airport for our return trip home. We spent an unforgettable 10 days hiking the (express!) Inca trail to Machu Picchu and visiting Lima, The Sacred Valley, Aguas Calientes and Cusco. I could write 10 pages about how much we loved traveling with Knowmad so I'll try to stick to the highlights. My husband and I usually handle all of our own travel planning, but when we came across Knowmad while researching how to visit Machu Picchu we realized we would probably get a lot more out of a trip to Peru traveling with specialists from the country. This was 1000% true and working with Knowmad made planning our trip so easy and fun. Our travel specialists Renee and Shannon found a way for us to do everything we wanted to do (and so much more!) while staying within our budget. They were remarkably thorough with answering my countless questions and we could not have been more prepared for our visit, with very minimal effort on our end. Once we met up with our Knowmad guide, Fernando, in Cusco every day of our trip was amazing and we learned so much about the Inca culture and the Andes while having a ton of fun and going at our own pace. By the time we made it to Machu Picchu it was so much more meaningful because we had an understanding of what makes it such a special and mystical site. The Inca trail was absolutely breathtaking (and I'm not talking about the altitude ) and we couldn't have done it without Fernando as our fearless guide. He looked out for us every step of the way and made us feel like family throughout our time with him. Our trip wouldn't have been nearly so memorable without him. Another highlight was our e-bike ride through the Sacred Valley with our awesome guide Kirvi, who was so kind and on top of making sure we were safe and even getting some awesome photos and videos along the way. Our driver Abraham made us feel so welcome and kept us moving along and safe throughout our trip. The restaurants and hotels Knowmad arranged for us were excellent, and our picnic in the Sacred Valley and Pachamanca experience were unbelievable. Thank you Knowmad for making our trip such an incredible experience we will never forget!

Knowmad planned our trip to Argentina in March. They listened to what we wanted and then arranged…read morea flawless trip. They were also very responsive whenever I had questions. I highly recommend them if you wish to have a special excursion to a South American country.

Apparently, they have so much business they can treat business customers with contempt.read more

We have tried several shuttle services in Rochester MN and Star is BY FAR the best. Other shuttles…read morehave left us stranded, or overpacked their vehicles - we did not want to take a risk with international VIPs coming in to visit Mayo. Booking with Star, I got regular updates on where the shuttle was, when the passengers were picked up, and when they were dropped off at their hotel - a great comfort as I live out of state. It was easy to book and arrange for a direct bill (instead of booking on a personal credit card); Hank worked with us to organize our reservations and was helpful and courteous. From now on, we will ONLY book with Star!

We used the shuttle for a 40th Birthday Bus. Price was very reasonable, and everyone had a…read morewonderful time!! Cal ensured we had everything we needed and was timely and willing to go the extra mile! I highly suggest using Raise Your Spirits Shuttle for your travel needs. It was extremely safe and professional :-)

We had a wonderful, safe trip with friends on the shuttle. He made us feel safe and welcome. We…read morewould use the shuttle again.

Very friendly and good food. Stopped by with family before boarding house boat. Great startread more

Fun in the Sun Houseboats - not worth the risk…read more We are a couple with extensive ocean and coastal experience - crossings, blue water trips and lake trips. Our experience included charters in interesting places far from home. Each of these charters, including this one, gave us the opportunity to experience a water location far from what we would see on our own boat. The Mississippi is a beautiful area to charter. Lovely small towns, nice people, some upscale dining, some down home meals, and scenery that met our every expectation. The boat, however, was a disappointment. We don't mind small, but the add promised a 13 cubic foot fridge and the 3.5 cubic foot box just wouldn't hold a week's food. The boat smelled from gasoline. USCG rules require: " VENTILATION: Boats with gasoline engines in closed compartments, built after 1 August 1980 must have a powered ventilation system. Those built prior to that date must have natural or powered ventilation. Boats with closed fuel tank compartments built after 1 August 1978 must meet requirements by displaying a "certificate of compliance." Boats built before that date must have either natural or powered ventilation in the fuel tank compartment." Our boat had been converted from inboard to outboard power, but the fuel tanks and lines were still inboard. Since the boat originally had powered ventilation, the quoted paragraph says that the closed fuel tank still requires powered ventilation. The switch was on the dash, but the vent was missing. We opened the hatches, allowed the gasoline shene to evaporate and hoped for the best. The same regulations require, " SOUND PRODUCING DEVICES: To comply with Navigation Rules and for distress signaling purposes all boats must carry a sound producing device (whistle, horn, siren, etc.) capable of a 4-second blast audible for 1/2 mile." Our kind of wimp horn didn't meet the regulations. Buried in out of the way places were the required 2B1 fire extinguishers. "FIRE EXTINGUISHERS: . NOTE: Fire extinguishers must be readily accessible and verified as serviceable." Since the unvented bilges presented a fire risk, we pulled our extinguishers out of hiding and left them in sight. "NAVIGATION LIGHTS: All boats must be able to display navigation lights between sunset and sunrise and in conditions of reduced visibility. Boats 16 feet or more in length must have properly installed, working navigation lights and an all- around anchor light capable of being lit independently from the red/green/white "running" lights." We were not permitted to operate at night, but would have liked the lights during a short period of reduced visibility. The defect that concerned us most was the propane routing, installation, lack of safety cutoff and lack of sniffer or leak detector. We found on our pre-departure check that the fire and carbon monoxide (CO) detector was expired and had four year expired batteries which they changed immediately. The first time we lit the small propane heater, the CO detector alarmed - still don't know if it was a real danger or if the alarm failed. Propane rules are set by the American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC). The rule is quite complex: There were to many violations to state, however there MUST be a propane locker (our boat had none), "Controls - In order from the tank - first the pressure gauge, then regulator, then the solenoid shut-off. All such equipment must be inside the locker. Pressure gauges are often omitted by the DIY'r to save $12 but are a critical leak detection safety feature." Our boat also did not have a pressure gauge, a solenoid shut-off, or a flexible line between the clamped delivery line and the tank. The lack of a sensor is a major concern. Since the propane line is not of an approved type, small leaks will develop in time. Propane is heavier than air and will accumulate in the un-vented bilge. To their credit, they offered to refund out money. We decided to accept the risk having traveled a day to get there and not having any place to go. Hopefully, they will fix the problems, make the boats safer, or at least properly tell people, as they told me, "we do not really bother with lots of regulations, people have fun on these boats.