Viator vs Green Line Tours

I’m considering a one-day tour in Rome offered byViator. This particular tour has over1,00 5-star reviews on the Viator website so it sounds like people have beenhappy with the tour. The tour includespickup/dropoff at your hotel in central Rome. Since my hotel wasn’t listed as one of the pickup hotels I called Viatorto ask questions about pickup and other schedule items during the day-longtour. The Viator representative was verypleasant and asked if she could put me on hold while she contacted the “touroperator” to confirm about my hotel pickup. She came back and said that I could be picked up at my hotel. I thenasked about who the actual “tour operator” was. She told me it was Green Line Tours (GLT).

There was some pressure to book right then on the phonebecause “you could always cancel if you change your mind.” I said I would think about it and call back ifI decided to use Viator.

Then I went on the web to check out Green Line Tours inRome. I found a very similar tour theywere offering like the Viator (not exact though) and the reviews were a miserableone or two stars! So how can Viator beusing a subcontract tour company (GLT) that has miserable reviews yet getsglowing reviews for its own tour using that same GLT to run it??

Now I know that TripAdivsor (headquartered in Needham, MA)owns Viator. Not wanting to looking for aconspiracy but... could TripAdvisor be “cherry picking” the best reviews and ignoringthe less favorable reviews??

Sorry for the long post but does anyone have experience touringin Rome with Viator or Green Line Tours and would care to comment?

I would not trust Viator reviews. They post the most favorable reviews first and you have to keep scrolling to get to the less positive ones. I'm also of the opinion that some negative reviews do not get posted.

Viator, as you already know, is a middleman. I have had some not-so-great experiences on their tours over the years and would not book through them again. I look for direct bookings to local companies.

I think your instincts are right on. I'm sure there are a number of companies that provide tours in Rome (and not just the ones frequently posted here, which mainly trade on their transportation to/from the cruise port.)

I would also be very cautious about Viator reviews. I generally prefer direct booking and in major tourist areas rarely have difficulty finding the same or equivalent tours. Why pay a middleman, you avoided using the ships tour for just that reason.

I've booked a couple of Viator tours in Europe and been pleased. We even got a partial refund when a portion of our tour was cancelled due to weather. Refund was prompt and we didn't have to ask for it.

Just my 2 cents.

I have booked multiple Viator tours in multiple countries, and none have been anything other than excellent. Check the reviews, but I have never seen poor reviews "hidden" away or anything. Viator is part of a major company, so if something were to go wrong, you have someone who can fix it, not that anything would.

My problem with Viator is what has been said by others. Viator is not a tour provider...but a high tech company that simply contracts with local tour providers. If we want to book a tour we prefer to deal directly with the local tour providers and do not see the need to have a middleman who take their cut of the action.

Hank

Viator is part of a major company, so if something were to go wrong, you have someone who can fix it, not that anything would.

Not that anything would?

I took one Viator tour where one of the main parts of the tour was skipped by the guide with no explanation given. Yes, I later got a partial refund, but that was not a substitute for missing what I signed up for...

Another Viator tour was cancelled due to not getting a minimum number of participants, but no one bothered to get in touch with me to let me know until I arrived at the meeting point (which luckily was the tour office). Once there, the local agency did not want to give me a refund; they kept insisting I had to book another tour -- there was no other tour I wanted to take. I finally got them to let Viator know that they needed to refund me.

These were two different trips in two different countries. Altogether I tried Viator in 5 different countries. None of the tours I've taken with them have been outstanding. One was decent; two others were barely satisfactory.

Another Viator tour was cancelled due to not getting a minimum number of participants, but no one bothered to get in touch with me to let me know until I arrived at the meeting point (which luckily was the tour office).

Well...the tour would have been cancelled regardless if you booked through the tour agency or Viator. You may have gotten a call if you booked through the agency....or maybe not.

I agree the best way is to book through an agency (and look at the reviews before you book). However, when I google for a tour, Viator seems to come up first....makes me wonder if Viator somehow pays Google to do that.

We've used Viator 3 times, 2 of them were great, especially the small group tour at Versailles...it was actually outstanding. BUT the "night tour of Rome" we booked was awful.... I posted a review and it is there, though I don't know how buried it might be.

I try to book direct but haven't always been able to do so....just would advise you do your homework before going with anyone....the "night tour of Rome" was a last minute booking and we would have been far better off just spending the evening strolling around Rome on our own...

Viator is simply a booking agent. If you read the reviews they sometimes mention the actual name of the tour company

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These big tour corporations are killing the small tour companies in Italy, and I am sure this is true in other countries as well. They out-advertise the smaller companies and are hurting the local economies. Book directly with the provider, never with a middleman, and never have to pay in advance nor worry about a refund.

Terrible experience with Viator in Paris.

I learned my lesson. Never again.

If you do a little research you can usually find an independent company giving the tour you want.

These big tour corporations are killing the small tour companies in Italy, and I am sure this is true in other countries as well. They out-advertise the smaller companies and are hurting the local economies. Book directly with the provider, never with a middleman, and never have to pay in advance nor worry about a refund.

Viator is just like Hotels.com or Booking.com. They do the advertising for many small companies and let a client browse through a huge number of offerings. If you want to look at the bad reviews, just click the poor or terrible ratings and they come right up. They bring more customers to small tour operators and encourage them. They are helping these people not hurting them.

Vic