Galveston Segway

Very fun! We got the hang of it very quickly and loved riding. It is a great way to see the town. Our tour guide was Katie and she was fantastic!
Definitely recommend, but with two warnings:
1. The quoted price apparently does not include the cost of the tour guide. There are signs posted in the store saying the tour guide works for tips only and does not get paid a wage. So, be sure to budget extra money for a tip.
2. Making a reservation doesn’t mean you have a reservation. We made two reservations: one for Monday and one for Thursday. The Monday reservation went fine, but the Thursday reservation was «lost». The company provided absolutely no apology, no accomodation, nothing. We left Thursday without a tour and were very disappointed. I suggest you get some type of written confirmation of your reservation and that you call a few times to confirm you actually have a reservation. Other Unilocal reviews mention this same problem.

One of the best things to do in Galveston. All ages can go together 18 to 65. Our guide Andy was great, safety conscious and very helpful with instruction. Highly recommend.

We had a pre-​booked tour scheduled to start at 10:30am. The shop was closed when we arrived and nobody had shown up by 10:50. Thankfully, our group coordinator had the managers phone number who acknowledged the tour person was supposed to be there… they were able to get in contact with her and let us know she’d be there in 10 minutes. She showed up 20 minutes later.
The segways themselves are not my cup of tea (I don’t really like standing on things or feeling off balance and that’s how I felt… but this review isn’t based on my preferences) but others in the group enjoyed them. The Galveston area is beautiful and the tour itself showed me some things I hadn’t seen before (thereby avoiding the 1-​star review).
Honestly, when you show up 40 minutes late to your own business for paying customers and offer no real apologies or compensation for the time lost in our day spent sitting outside the closed store… even if I had loved the segway I still wouldn’t utilize this service again. Poor customer service will usually outweigh even the best of experiences for me.

Had a lot of fun on this tour. It was our first time riding Segways and they did a good job of showing you how to do it and help you get comfortable on them. The tour was rather informative but not great either. The guide was able to cover the high points of the city and talked of some of the past. She said she had only lived in Galveston for a few years and you could tell. The only downfall of the whole experience was the up-​selling of insurance. They encourage you to buy insurance that is $ 20 extra per rider. But the insurance only covers you if your doing exactly what they tell you to do. (so no jumping curbs, going fast, etc etc etc). Well if I’m going to do exactly what you tell me to do, and something breaks, that should be included in the rental fee. Seemed rather shady and just a way to get another $ 40 from us.

Second time we have done the Segway when in a historic town. Only way to get to see everything without having to spend days with either lots of driving or walking. We did this in San Antonio, just my daughter and I — twice, and now took the whole group for their 2 ½ hour historic tour of Galveston. Yes, do this. It is fun, interesting and entertaining.

Of all activities, this is most in sync with Nike’s logo
of «Just Do It.» Fear and hesitation get in the way of
the simplest things: going downhill, over a bump,
jumping a curb in a segway.
My crash course in segway riding consisted of
two steps…
Step 1:
Learn to Balance in Segway While Standing
(A) Alec’s relative held the segway while I stepped onto it.
It rocked gently forward and backward and I struggled
to understand why there was so much movement.
(B) It was there that I learned the segway tenets of balance.
Segways are self-​balancing because the rider does
most of the balancing while standing or in motion.
© Instead of way up high, heal to toe, foot to foot
on a wire like tight rope walker, self-​balancing on
a segway takes place on a flat horizontal platform,
where forward movement is toes and backward
movement is heel.
The «handle bars» themselves only serve
to maintain proper posture, just like a tightrope
walker holds a long thin rod for balance.
Step 2:
Ride downhill at a 20 – 30 incline and go over a 5″ bump.
(A) It is simple yet I’m scared. «I barely understand how this balancing works and I’m being asked to go downhill and over a bump?» I thought to myself. My heart was racing, I knew I needed to calm down.
(B) Going over the bump I would hesitate or steer to the side, slowing my momentum and causing me not to go over the bump. He patiently worked with me, guiding me through the incline over the bump three or four times til I did it on my own twice.
© I was still very much nervous as heck, but I had past the crash course. And I took away from it, that hesitation inhibited segway riding.
After the disclaimer was signed and the helmets were on,
I stuffed my tiny handbag and flat shoes into the handle bags
riding barefoot (by choice) on the horizontal platform.
I cringed to myself as I thought in the event of a fall, I’d have
very little protection for my feet, but I thought it’d be more comfy
than wearing my shoes while riding the segway. It was essential
that I stayed on the segway, dismissed the fear factor, and braced
for minor segway movements.
Our tour guide, Alec, a local high school senior, was extremely
knowledgeable in all things segways. He dazzled us with tricks.
For the next hour, my friends and I went down backroads
of Galveston, TX from 15^th street all the way to downtown.
Along the way we saw beautiful houses, including one that
Alfred Hitchcock used to own and many that survived hurricane
Ike. Along the way we learned interesting bits and pieces from
Galveston’s rich 100+ year history. Where ever we went stares
were followed by smiles and waves.
My friend Christi had like a «toyota-​accelerating-​moment»
she sped up quickly while going downhill. She swerved
left and right wildly trying to regain control and avoiding
other segway riders. She pulled it off safely, albeit blushing.
Riding barefoot on the segway definitely bothered my feet
at times. I welcomed the break we took. We ventured over
to a charming confectionery store, where I had a tasty scoop
of almond ice cream.
An hour past, an hour to go. Time flew by so quickly!
It was obvious that the longer we rode the more comfortable
we felt with riding the segway. It was not even over and I found
myself saying I am already wishing I could go on another ride.
The weather outside was that perfect balance of warm and
windy. The sun was setting over the seawall, and I couldn’t
have been happier that moment.
Thanks to GetGrouby, we saved 54% off the normal price.
SegCity is one of the oldest segway companies in America.
Their segway tours are pretty fun. I would so do this again.
It was unfortunate to learn today that the company that
created Segway, lost its current owner, Jimi Heselden,
due to a segway accident. Poor fellow.
Yahoo story link: