viator tours???

[lily1234]

has anyone used viator thru out europe. we are first time canadians going to med this sept and need tour guidance. lily1234

[6rugrats]

Just be aware that your tour is not actually operated by Viator; they contract out with the tour providers.

 

You may do better by deciding what you are interested in seeing in each port, then coming back and reading through the forums here, to see what other people have booked. You can also go to the roll call thread for your sailing and see if anyone is looking for others to share tour costs.

[ITMan]

HI there,

 

We booked through Viator for a couple of excursions pre-cruise in Rome in 2009. As the previous poster pointed out, they only act as an agency, booking local operators to do the tours. However we were very satisfied, and I am actually looking at using them for tours in a number of places on an Easter Med cruise in October this year.

[4774Papa]

has anyone used viator thru out europe. we are first time canadians going to med this sept and need tour guidance. lily1234

We used viator in Venice and Florence and the tours were good.

[agabbymama]

I used Viator for Rome and Venice. While they are a 3rd party vendor, not the actual tour operator, I liked the fact that the tours were completely paid for in US $ before we ever left the US. You receive a voucher to be printed at the time you purchase. We did not have one problem with any of the tours/transfers we purchased. The vendor accepted the voucher without question.

 

I booked our transfer from FCO to our hotel in Rome (they have a listing on their website of hotels). After purchasing, I realized the name of the hotel was a little different, so I called them and explained my problem. She immediately contacted the vendor, came back to me and said my hotel was not a problem, they would transfer me.

 

We also shared some transfers and tours with others on our roll call. And we also booked a couple of ship tours.

 

I always go to viator dot com to see what is available anywhere I travel and compare prices with private, ship etc.

[pete_coach]

I have used Viator for tour in Europe as well as in the US. The other posters are correct that Viator is a re-seller of tours.

What is good about them is the feedback that people (myself included) give back to Viator, good and bad. I have gotten an email from them when they cancelled a tour we bought because of a recent rash of bad reviews. I think that was good on their behalf. They made several other suggestions and provided a discount for another tour. We used them a for a couple tours in the Florence area, in Rome and Milan but not Venice. Venice is a do it yourself city, no organized tours (Doges Palace excepted) needed.

The other thing is that you pay for the tour when you book it so there is no surprises when you get to the tour (no extra fees etc). I recommend them to friends and family and have not heard any bad things form them.

Having said that, while on cruises and for port visits, we normally chose a private car and driver. We wanted the flexibility that a private car allows. We could change the itinerary on a whim of if the weather got a bit bad, we could move on or even skip some things. So, Viator is very good but, it is a strict itinerary.

[cruisemom42]

My experience with Viator tours in Europe has been about 50-50.

 

As others have said, they are a third-party vendor, so (unless you are lucky in researching ahead of time) you often don't know who the local provider is.

 

In Rome, I booked a walking tour through Viator that was cancelled due to lack of other registrants -- but neither Viator nor the local provider tried to contact me to let me know (I had access to both my cell phone and email), so I showed up at the appointed time/place only to learn there was no tour. The local company was reluctant to give me info on obtaining a refund and tried very hard to pressure me into taking a different tour that I didn't want.

 

In Lisbon, a tour I booked through Viator had folks of 3 different languages aboard with our group, necessitating longer than planned stops in order for the guide to get through all the descriptive info in all 3 languages. Because of this we ended up skipping one of the scheduled stops -- one I'd really looked forward to. We were offered no explanation by the local company, but we did eventually get a partial refund for the tour through Viator.

 

A second tour in Lisbon (different provider) was fine; and a second Rome tour was just okay -- all stops were made but again the tour was conducted in both Spanish and English, which was not optimal.

 

After these experiences I've decided not to book through Viator again; I'd rather research the companies and know what I'm getting in advance.

[elaine5]

I have used them for:

Buckingham Palace tickets

Barcelon bike tour

All day in Tuscany tour

AirportTransfer for 83 yr old mother to London hotel

 

No issues with any of these. As others have said, they are just a US booking agent. But, it is easy to book and cancel tours, plus they have an 800 to call with questions.

[IndyDenise]

I have used them in the past and had no issues...

You can try Gray Line too..and compare the tours..often they are the same, and one site will be cheaper than the other.