Viator for Iceland tour?

[judytata11]

Has anyone used Viator to get to the Blue Lagoon or for any other tour in Iceland? We want to go to the BL but definitely don’t want to rent a car.

[DogLover]

FYI, Viator is simply a third party booking agent for tours and is owned by the umbrella company, TripAdvisor (same ones that own this here Cruise Critic website.)

 

It's rather easy to book the Blue Lagoon with transport and other tours directly. Have a looked at Reykjavik Excursions, the primary tour provider for the area. A few years ago, I used them for a tour and it included pick up/drop off at the port (small mini-bus which takes you to the main terminal for the Blue Lagoon bus.) The other provider is GrayLine.

 

When ordering your tickets on the BL website, it will give you the option to add transportation which is provided by Reykavik Ex. Personally, I cannot rationalize paying extra to a third party booking site when one can easily do so directly.

[Nitemare]

I agree with DL. Book direct whenever possible. In case something goes wrong it's much easier to get a refund when no 3rd party is involved.

[ljandgb]

Another vote for booking directly. The website is easy to use. If I remember correctly, the transport options show up a screen or so after you pick your entry time.

 

I've had nothing but good experiences with booking tours, transportation, etc, directly thru the vendors in Iceland. There is no need to go thru a third party like Viator.

[VacationCharlene]

I recently paid in full using a Viator website (TripAdvisor) and VERY happy. At the time, I was NOT aware of who the actual company was and I did NOT pay anymore and was easy to see the shore excursions and what they offered. I WILL continue to use them and I consider myself a very savey traveler. Do not hesitate to use them. I ended up seeing who the actual company was and there was no price difference EXCEPT for the 10% I saved as a first time user with Viator "-)

[Nitemare]

I just priced an 8AM visit with transportation on May 15 and Viator came in at about $2 more expensive than booking direct.

[DogLover]

I recently paid in full using a Viator website (TripAdvisor) and VERY happy. At the time, I was NOT aware of who the actual company was and I did NOT pay anymore and was easy to see the shore excursions and what they offered. I WILL continue to use them and I consider myself a very savey traveler. Do not hesitate to use them. I ended up seeing who the actual company was and there was no price difference EXCEPT for the 10% I saved as a first time user with Viator "-)

Awesome that Viator worked out for you. If one wishes to use Viator, Expedia, or any other third party booking agent, go for it! I simply shared my experience regarding the ease of booking a reservation directly with the Blue Lagoon. Tomato, tomahto, as they say.

 

I just priced an 8AM visit with transportation on May 15 and Viator came in at about $2 more expensive than booking direct.

An 8am visit to the Blue Lagoon is super early - it's about an hour from Reykjavik (not including the pick up and transfer from the port to the Bus Station.) When I did the Blue Lagoon in September 2014, we splurged on the Luxury Package (which wasn't nearly as expensive as it is now.) However, due to weather the day of our port visit changed. Blue Lagoon was wonderful working with us to make a change and accommodate our reservation. Many folks that booked with third party agents had difficulty in this case. On our upcoming Celebrity Eclipse cruise to Ireland & Iceland, I've made darn sure of the cancellation/rebooking policies for any and all tours. Just food for thought.

[dronnygirl]

We have done much research for our cruise in July and have decided to book with FAB tours. The do many tours from Reykyavik and Akurayri, they do a slight reduction for combo tours. Mini buses, much better than the large coaches from the ship.

[judytata11]

FYI, Viator is simply a third party booking agent for tours and is owned by the umbrella company, TripAdvisor (same ones that own this here Cruise Critic website.)

 

It's rather easy to book the Blue Lagoon with transport and other tours directly. Have a looked at Reykjavik Excursions, the primary tour provider for the area. A few years ago, I used them for a tour and it included pick up/drop off at the port (small mini-bus which takes you to the main terminal for the Blue Lagoon bus.) The other provider is GrayLine.

 

When ordering your tickets on the BL website, it will give you the option to add transportation which is provided by Reykavik Ex. Personally, I cannot rationalize paying extra to a third party booking site when one can easily do so directly.

 

Great info, thanks!

[BPCruiser]

We have done much research for our cruise in July and have decided to book with FAB tours. The do many tours from Reykyavik and Akurayri, they do a slight reduction for combo tours. Mini buses, much better than the large coaches from the ship.

 

Hi Dronnygirl, We are cruising Iceland in July too and I am desperately searching for "reasonably priced" shore excursions to book in Isafjordur, Akureyri and Seydisfjordur. We try to never book the cruise ship excursions, preferring small independent group tours with providers that will pick us up and return to cruise port. I have spent hours going through the TA top recommended excursions in these Ports and have had great difficulty zoning in on a company that has tours to meet our hours in Port, good reviews and excursion variety.

Have you had good luck with your FAB Tour bookings,.... which Port are they based out of? Any help or recommendations you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!

[LondonTowner]

When we went to Iceland we booked tours direct from companies on Tripadvisor. We did the tours with two other couples we met on our Roll Call.

 

I'd never book with Viatour as they are a third party agent and receive too many bad reviews.

 

 

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[dronnygirl]

Hi BPCruiser, If you Google FAB Tours or Iceland Guided Tours (they are sister companies and do tours in Rekyavik, Akureyri and Isafjordur) there is loads of information on their websites. Much cheaper than the ship but the only difference is that they do not include lunch. They make lots of stops where you can get lunch if you choose. They are 16 seater mini buses and they pick up and drop off at the port. Easy to book on their website although I did have a couple of questions so I emailed them and got a quick response.

[judytata11]

Another vote for booking directly. The website is easy to use. If I remember correctly, the transport options show up a screen or so after you pick your entry time.

 

I've had nothing but good experiences with booking tours, transportation, etc, directly thru the vendors in Iceland. There is no need to go thru a third party like Viator.

 

I did go to their website and it is as easy as you said. Since the kids are free the price isn’t too bad. I sent all the info to my dtr. so we’ll probably book it with them. Thank you for your help!