Review of "Tour 6" by Extreme Tornado Tours

• Review by: Jennyt71
• Tour Operator: Extreme Tornado Tours
• Tour: Tour 6
• Year: 2020
• Validated: This review has been validated.

General review

I joined ETT for Tour 6 this year. Before the tour started, I had several communications back and forth with the company and I was always answered quickly and in a friendly manner. Since there were so many unknowns this year, I really appreciated ETT keeping me in the loop with all changes and updates to their schedules and conditions with tours. Our group was smaller because of Covid restrictions - but that made it better for us. We had 4 guests and 2 guides for the week. We all became close friends and I learned so much from Kevin's weather updates/briefings throughout the trip. We saw amazing structure and giant (gorilla) hail but mother nature wasnt with us for tornadoes. We were right under the tornado warned cell that was churning and lowering - but never produced. Kevin and Alec put us right ON the storms each time - they knew exactly where to go if it was going to happen. We did over 3500 miles across 6 states and had an absolute blast the entire time. We chased up until the absolute last minute - our guides never gave up or called in early to stay in a town or near a convenient spot. Our van was clean, comfortable and had usb and conventional plugs. Everyone was able to hear the plans, updates and why we were going one direction or another. The hotels we stayed at were nice (all Wyndham owned), clean and offered amenities such as wifi and hairdryers. (Most, if not all, would have had breakfast - but that was not available due to Covid restrictions). By the end of the tour, the hotels had their pools open. We ate at great local spots that the guides knew about from past experiences. They were always mindful of what we would like or if we had any restrictions. Our down days or day with little driving let us visit beautiful parks like Sioux Falls, the Badlands and Mount Rushmore. We were able to stop in Wakita for the Twister Museum too (that was more than just a museum, speaking to the owner and seeing her home movies and listening to her stories was great). All I can say is that I will definitely be back. The guides were incredibly friendly, I was lucky to get with 3 other guests that couldnt have been nicer, the driving was safe and we visited states I had never seen before.. and it was exciting. It went by way too fast. I love car trips - so having Alec and Kevin take care of the driving, navigation and hotel details made it even better. Experiencing the massive hail was amazing - never have seen anything like it. I would highly recommend ETT for their communication before/during/after the tour, the guides' knowledge and professionalism and how they treat their guests.

Vehicle review:

The van we were in was a large Ford - brand new tires.. looked new (course I have no idea of the actual year).. but was always clean (extra clean since Alec and Kevin were pretty OCD about Covid circumstances). It was comfortable and we were able to move around quite a bit. We only had 4 guests - but even with 6, you would not be cramped at all. luggage all fit behind the seats and everyone had a window. AC worked great and we didnt have any issues.

Tour guide review:

Kevin and Alec were fantastic guides. Alec was an incredibly safe driver that had impressive knowledge of weather/chasing. Kevin was our meteorologist that gave briefings throughout the day and explained all of the models, differences and what we were looking for when deciding on the best area to shoot for. Both Alec and Kevin got along great and were obviously close friends outside of work. They loved answering our billion questions on everything from weather to schedule.. to anything really. Extremely friendly and truly professional.

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