Pismo Beach Dune Buggy Adventure

I had a seriously dangerous and unacceptable experience with SunBuggy Rentals in April 2026. I took my wife there for her birthday thinking it would be a fun ATV ride. It turned into one of the worst and most painful experiences of my life. We booked online, showed up, and were immediately told our ATVs weren’t available. Instead of fixing it, they “upgraded” us. Then we stood in line for about an hour, signed a stack of “we’re not responsible for anything” waivers, and were told to watch a basic youtube video. That was their idea of a safety briefing. About 10 minutes into the ride, both ATVs shut off and wouldn’t start. We lost around 30 minutes of paid time trying to get help. When we finally got through, we were told to do some weird “rocking back-and-forth” trick to restart them - something no one explained and something you’re just expected to figure out on your own in the middle of the dunes. Completely ridiculous. Then came the worst part. We were riding slowly in what was clearly marked as “safe zone 1” on their map - an area that looked flat and safe, when out of nowhere the ground just dropped. A completely unmarked 10–15 ft drop. No signs. No tape. No warning. Nothing. My wife went over first, and before I could react, I went straight over it too. The ATV nose-dived. I dropped for a few seconds and then slammed into the ground on the front wheels, which launched me forward. I was thrown over the handlebars, flipped, and hit the sand hard. Then the ATV kept rolling and came down on top of me, pinning my head and neck into the ground. It felt like a truck ran over me. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t breathe, and I genuinely thought I might die right there. I ended up with serious injuries - deep cuts, bruises all over my body and face, and a major tissue injury with a massive hematoma confirmed at the ER. It’s been over a month, and I’m still recovering and only now starting to walk normally again. This has affected my health, my ability to work, and my entire daily life. And their response? Absolutely disgraceful. I came back covered in blood, clothes ripped, clearly injured - and instead of concern, I got attitude. One employee brushed it off as “part of the adventure” and casually talked about other people getting injured there like it’s normal. The manager’s main concern was whether they should charge me for the ATV and if I was going to sue. That tells you everything you need to know about how much they care. This is not like renting a car where you assume normal road risks. This is a controlled environment that they choose, map out, and send you into. They know exactly where these hazards are, and they do nothing to mark or prevent them. Hiding behind waivers while people get seriously hurt is not “adventure” — it’s negligence. I would not recommend this company to anyone. They do not care about your safety. Take your money somewhere else before you end up injured like I did.

DO NOT work with this shady and unprofessional company. They cancelled on me and suggested I fill out forms and follow up to get a refund. they couldn't give me a name of a supervisor or contact information. I finally disputed the charge with my bank, who provided me with a full refund. When I told the customer service person that was my plan of action, she said "Go ahead and do it."

We were a group of seven who paid for four ATVs. One broke down three times in a single hour. Each fix took 15-20 minutes. We wasted two hours waiting, unable to leave the rider. They promised us a kids-only coupon. We came back, asked them to accommodate us (even offering to pay extra so adults could safely accompany the kids). They refused—no flexibility, no honoring their own promise. In the end, we spent nearly $1,000, lost precious spring break time, and had to rework our plans. This company felt money-driven, with no regard for customer experience. I can’t recommend them after such an inflexible, frustrating ordeal.

This would have been a five star review, but the staff took the opportunity to wring every last dollar they could out of us before we left. We rented four ATVs and paid for the full damage and belt coverage. My friends and I enjoyed the two hours on four ATVs and were fairly conservative during our ride, but we did tip an ATV over in the sand. Despite there being no damage to the ATV, my friend admitted that the ATV rolled while doing a cookie (he was really just turning). We were told we would be charged for it, but when we turned in our gear, the staffer demanded 300$ cash, the entire damage deposit for a single ATV. There was no assessment of damage to the ATVs, only the sand on the handlebars was used as evidence. The ATVs were in poor shape when we rented them: every bit of plastic was ziptied onto the ATVs, and one was missing the instrument cluster already. When I asked why my four 60$ damage and belt waivers didn't cover it, he said that cookies were "reckless driving", which was not explicitly stated in the videos or documentation. Since he had four sets of 300$ damage deposits for the four ATVs, he said that if we didn't pay cash directly, he would have to take 500$ from our deposit for tipping the ATV to make up for the State Park fees and taxes. But this was all based off the unstated policy that anything that happens is worth the entire damage deposit (or more). There was not 300$ worth of damage on the ATV, and there was no statement or agreement that the entire damage deposit would be waived at the drop of a hat. That's not how damage deposits work. I can understand charging a fee for some incident to help offset cumulative damage that occurs over time, but our waiver should have offset the cost, and the shady strong arm tactics holding our entire deposit hostage over an imaginary damage cost was outright scummy. If you rent from them, they will be friendly, and then look for every last bit of money they can wring out of you without causing a fight.

The absolute funnest time I've ever had! Rob is such a character and definitely gets you hyped to have the experience of a lifetime. Shout out to Joselyne, Rob, Mitchel, and the rest of the staff, they're kicking butt with the charisma and entertainment in the blazing sun! Sun buggy Pismo beach staff you're doing fantastic!! I'd say give em a raise! 15/10