My wife and I booked a honeymoon and used Viator for tickets to the Uffizi gallery. The listing clearly states that we purchased tickets, and not a tour or group. Upon arriving at the designated site at the designated time, we were "greeted" by a very rude, very unhelpful representative who looked at our receipt and said that our "tour" had left. "We didn't purchase a tour." I explained, "But rather tickets to skip the line." She quickly stated that we purchased a tour and turned away from me and ignored me questions. I contacted Viator's customer care, and although the representative on the phone admitted the mistake by Viator, the online representative DID NOT stand by their product, or the representative and refused our refund. Viator did not provide us with services or merchandise as paid for, and was very unhelpful. DO NOT PURCHASE ANYTHING FROM THIS COMPANY.
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
17924 posts
When I have seen a Viator tour that looked interesting I have always found it to be someone else's tour packaged by Viator so what I do is go to the Viator website to see what is available in a town then I hunt down the actual provider, check their references and if all looks good book it direct with the provider. Sorry about your experience.
Posted by
Peterborough, ON, Canada
1549 posts
We have also had bad experiences with Viator. I once spent two afternoon of a trip on the phone with them trying to get the service we paid for. I now do as James does - use it to see what might be on offer at a destination, then find and book from the actual service provider.
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
Viatour is not a Tour Company. It is simply a middle man agency that sells other companies Tours!
Why bother going through a middle man.. since it invariably will happen if a problem arises both tour company and Viatour will point fingers at each other and you will end up in the cold.
Purchase tours directly from the companies. Thats what I do. I have googled Viatour for a location.. looked at some of the tours.. then googled for the tours and found the companies doing them. I then buy direct.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10192 posts
Matt, You're preaching to the choir on this one but it's good to bring up the warning again. As Pat pointed out, many of us go directly to the company offering the service, whether airline, hotel, or tour, to avoid problems that arise if a middleman doesn't do the job you paid for.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
Thanks for the warning. I don't believe this company is in Rick's Italy book, but if you did find it there, let us know.
Posted by
2081 posts
Matt,
have you contacted your credit card company?
happy trails.
Posted by
OP
Oregon
4 posts
I have contacted my credit card company, and have been refunded my money through them. I also filed a complaint through the BBB, and have sent word out to other travel sites. I shouldn't have used them!!
Posted by
Portland, OR
30 posts
Has anyone found a good tour of the Vatican? Viator was the only recommendation I've received, and now Im a bit nervous to use them!
Posted by
OP
Oregon
4 posts
I booked a semi-private Vatican tour through Dark Rome Tours and it was AMAZING. 10 people, skip the line, super informative. It included the museum, Saint Peter's, and the Sistine Chapel.
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
Laura .. you do understand what we are saying.. Viatour is not the tour.. the tour is with another company.. so just go direct. Now.. how to do that.. simply read the tour description Viatour provides.. and then google "Vatican Tours" read a few of the top listed tours and bet you will find the exact same tour description .
I would also post on the Italy board here.. its a busy board with many lovers of all things Italian and many posters who have visited Rome numerous times. I am sure they will provide you some good ideas of tours to look at..