Viator Tours

We are going to traveling to Zurich and there are several one day tours offered by Viator from Zurich. I was wondering if anyone has used them and if the tours were good.

Viator are a third party booking agency so don't run the tours themselves

check out if you can identify the actual tour operator and if will be cheaper booking directly

I have used Viator in the past where price was similar and in fact Viator sometimes have offers on such as book 3 tours through them and get a discount on the third

We are going to traveling to Zurich and there are several one day tours offered by Viator from Zurich. I was wondering if anyone has used them and if the tours were good.

There is a thread on another board. As I wrote, Viator is a very reliable company. I would use Trip Advisor first to find tours. Btw Trip Advisor, Cruise Critic, Viator, all owned by same corporation. On Trip Advisor look under "things to do". Usually there is a link to the tour operator. Also read the reviews with a grain of salt to see which are legit. Most are and will give you a good idea what to expect

I bought Viator tours for my parents in Barcelona they were there for a week. The tour itself was done by the National Tourist Board or something like that, but it was easier for me to book them online through Viator and have it all paid for.

The tour itself was great, they and another couple went on a full day tour. The guide was very good, spoke English, and gave them the Catalan perspective of Spain. It was supposed to be a small group tour, and they were lucky it meant only 4 people total.

I wouldn't hesitate, but find out who does the tour yu are interested in, it might work out cheaper.

I would book with the actual tour guide/operator.

Also visit Trip Advisor which is a terrific source.

Keith

My experiences with Viator have been mixed. (Have used them as middleman to book various tours in Japan, Italy, Spain, Singapore and US).

One tour skipped one of the major sites we were supposed to visit with no explanation. Tour guide said it was "not on the itinerary" -- when I showed her the itinerary I had printed from Viator, she said I'd have to talk to them. They refunded about 25% of the cost after several weeks of communications but the point is that I would rather have seen the site!!

Another time, I was not told that the tour was cancelled (due to not enough people signing up) until I actually arrived at the starting point. They had my email and cell number -- would have been nice not to have to go to the time/expense of traveling through the city to meet them for a tour and to use that time to do something else. :mad:

Other tours have been "okay" a couple were "good" and none have been "outstanding".

Haven't used them often but just like Cruisemom, my experiences with Viator have been mixed. Some were quite good but nothing outstanding on any occasion and I, too, was left without a tour with no advance warning when there were not enough participants booked.

I have used Viator many times, in Europe and Asia.

As others have stated, they don't run the tours, they use local tour companies. Still, in researching for local tour companies, we were unable to find the tours we wanted on the internet. Viator requires full payment in advance, but you can cancel if you cancel your trip, as long as you don't cancel at the last minute.

One thing, some Viator tours will pick you up at your hotel, others are designed as shore excursions from a cruise ship, and others require meeting at a specific meeting point. Make sure prior to booking which one you are booking.

I wouldn't even consider a company like Viator They are only a booking agency doing exactly what you can do your self, but for a charge. Like Keith I would book directly with the operator.

I wouldn't even consider a company like Viator They are only a booking agency doing exactly what you can do your self, but for a charge. Like Keith I would book directly with the operator.

I generally agree that it is better to book direct with a tour company.

In some cases, I have found that the Viator tours offered are not always found doing a google search for the port. This is particularly true in Asia.

Also, some tour want payment in advance, as does Viator, but if you cancel, the certainty of a refund is better.

Further, some companies, particularly in South America make it hard to pay by credit card or paypal. They require emailing your credit card info. Not a good idea.

Finally, we have found that Viator's tours are priced very close to the what the local tours charge.

Sometimes a tour company will only book a tour if you arrange for the tour and recruit the others. Example, Romeinlimo. Then you have to take cash with you for these tours instead of paying by credit card.

The OP is going to Zurich, so somewhat different and easier to book a local tour than Asia or South America.

I have used Viator about 10 times and happy with them. One benefit, is that one pays in your own currency.

Garf1108

You should always pay any bills like meals, hotels, tours etc in the local currency otherwise you are getting a very bad exchange rate. It's common knowledge. Plus, companies like Viatour are only booking you a tour with a local operator, which you can easily do yourself.

If you are happy paying those fees, fine, but I'm not.

I have always checked the prices of the local operators and even when paying in your own currency, the prices are the almost the same.

To each their own.

You should always pay any bills like meals, hotels, tours etc in the local currency otherwise you are getting a very bad exchange rate. It's common knowledge. Plus, companies like Viatour are only booking you a tour with a local operator, which you can easily do yourself.

 

If you are happy paying those fees, fine, but I'm not.

LondonTowner,

I have compared the Viator prices with comparable local tours. Generally, there is very little difference in the price. I have used Viator more in Asia than in Europe and saved even more, when Viator gave me a 10% discount because I booked several tours with them.

While, I generally agree with your statement that paying in local currency is wise. I have not found this to be the case most of the time when paying for Viator tours.

It is true that when I organize my own tours through the roll calls, usually with 8 to 16 persons, I am able to find lower tour prices.

Regarding paying in local currency, the worst case that I encountered was on a cruise that stopped in Norway, where the tour guide insisted on payment in Norwegian Krone. I had to pay for the tour before we stepped on the bus. It was expensive having to buy the Norwegian money prior to arriving in the country.

Of course, there was no Viator tour for that tour available.

Another advantage of paying Viator prior to leaving the USA is that you don't have to take cash to pay for your tour.

Has anyone had issues with the information on Viator site not matching the actual tour?

4774papa

I think you misunderstood about the payment. Whenever we go abroad we try to pay with one of our CCs that have no charges for foreign transactions. Therefore, when we receive the bill it will always have been to our advantage to pay in local currency. For example, if we are in a shop in Spain or a hotel in France they will ask us if we want to pay in GBP or Euros. It is more advantageous to pay in Euros.

If we chose to pay in GBP then the rate of exchange will be in the favour of the establishment charging us. This has become very common in Europe in the past couple of years.

Has anyone had issues with the information on Viator site not matching the actual tour?

Yes. See my post #6 above.

4774papa

 

I think you misunderstood about the payment. Whenever we go abroad we try to pay with one of our CCs that have no charges for foreign transactions. Therefore, when we receive the bill it will always have been to our advantage to pay in local currency. For example, if we are in a shop in Spain or a hotel in France they will ask us if we want to pay in GBP or Euros. It is more advantageous to pay in Euros.

 

If we chose to pay in GBP then the rate of exchange will be in the favour of the establishment charging us. This has become very common in Europe in the past couple of years.

We also try to use our no foreign fee credit cards for purchases in Europe. If you are able to use a credit card rather than pay in cash, I would agree with you.

After researching many options, I booked a full day tour of Istanbul on Viator. The price was already good and I had a 20% of deal with Viator. Checked the vendors site, exact same price Viator quoted, and I did not need to roam roll call trying to form a group. Vendor is highly rated on multiple travel sites.

Now this may turn out to be one of those cancelled if not enough people show up, (also currently wondering if our cruise will port at Istanbul at all) but based on the reviews the tour company will tour with as little as 4 people for the same price. And I don't have to worry about carrying the right currency or deal with exchange or worry about cancellation.

So I say do your homework; download Viator app, try to identify the vendor check the reviews. You may find a great deal and stress free transaction.

Victor is a tour aggregator, just like the cruise line. From my experience, the seem to only select reliable tour companies. In Europe, the guides are licensed and work for more than 1 company.