Viator

Viator is not a tour company. It's a company that sells tours run by other companies.

2nd vote for Frank's information and will add you can book tickets directly from each of those venues.

If you look deeper into the Viator pages they will also give you the name of the tour company that is providing the service you want to book. If you want tours to those venues you can also book directly with the company.

Viator is owned by Trip Advisor.

I recently booked a tour via Viator in Alsace and was also concerned. I looked and looked and could not find the name of the tour operator (I've used viator for that in the past). Then I asked my daughter who does a LOT more traveling than I if she ever used them and she said she had used the many times abroad and in the US and has never had a problem. I'm going to trust it:)

I have heard negative stories about Viator, mostly along the lines of last minute cancellations. I, personally have never used them. When you use Viator, the tour company that actual does the tour gets less money, and the consumer likely pays more.

Used it once in Milan. Was the only person on the bus. Was a bit odd but didn’t care because the only other person in the room with the Last Supper was the female security card who was on her phone
( talking in hushed tones) . Stood in front of the painting for a good 20 minutes admiring Leonardo’s work. A bit surreal but definitely an “oh my” travel memory. Blessed ( no pun intended) to have had the privilege.

Since tickets to those venues are not yet available for October they are selling you a tour that they hope to get tickets for
That’s where the frequent cancellations come in, they cancel if they fail to get the tickets for their tours.
That is usually past the time you could try to get your own tickets

So, unless you are OK with these tours possibly falling thru I’d wait and try to get tickets myself
Or book directly with a company like Walks of Italy

Generally the place to find the tour provider when looking at the Viator page is to go to Additional Information, click on "See More" under that heading, and then scroll down and the company should be revealed.

The negatives I've heard have been on Trip Advisor where people are sometimes not as savvy with travel as posters here. The most grievous offense was when Viator was advertising a tour as being a Yellowstone Park tour when it was a 5 hour drive to the tour area and not located in Yellowstone at all. When Viator was contacted they admitted it was incorrectly located and removed it from that location but in a subsequent email said the booking was non-refundable and refused to reimburse the person. After the person then contacted them which a link to his thread on TA regarding the wildly incorrect location, Viator did refund the person.

So, it's a situation of Caveat Emptor. You are starting your research by posting here. ChristineH has a very valid point about them selling you a tour that they do not even have tickets for and are betting on the come.

Here is a positive about Viator. I had booked a tour in Rome as had a few other people. We went to the meeting point, but the actual tour guide never showed. The tour guide was nonresponsive to inquiries. Viator immediately credited my money back. I am not particularly confident the tour guide would have. I was glad I had not booked direct that time.

Thanks Pam. Found it - Alsace Original Experiences. It's a 9 hour tour from Colmar to 4 small villages nearby including Requerwihr and Eguisheim. It's during the Chistmas market and the Colmar shuttle runs only on weekends so I'll be very surprised if it doesn't sell out. Interestingly - I don't believe Alsace Original Experiences has a website. They have very good recent reviews on TripAdvisor, but I suspect the only way to book is through Viator or another 3rd party site.

I have used Viator maybe 5 times and was never disappointed….in fact we were delighted with all the tours.
Had tours in Rome, Venice x2, Naples and Palermo.
I was just looking today at one for this Fall in Italy.

Interestingly - I don't believe Alsace Original Experiences has a
website

They apparently do but it lacks comprehensive descriptions of their (very few) products, doesn't include any reviews, and frankly looks like an incomplete, abandoned project. This is what appears 3 times under "Comments":

"This is your Testimonial quote. Use this space to share reviews from satisfied clients about their experiences with your team and services. Make your site visitors confident about your expertise and professionalism, and inspire them to choose you as their Tourist Circuits Agency."

That's website development placeholder copy not meant for customers to see, and that it hasn't been replaced with actual client feedback doesn't reflect professionalism or inspire confidence? As well, in the "About Us" text, it sounds like they do not conduct their own tours but create customized plans the operations of which are outsourced to a stable of vendors.

https://www.alsace-original-experiences.com

Just sayin'.

In terms of quality of reviews, I'd be careful of Tripadvisor reviews. There is nothing in place to prevent people that haven't taken the tour, including the guides themselves, from placing bogus reviews. Tripadvisor and Viator are one and the same. If I wanted to make sure that I got a tour of a site, I'd do some research in guidebooks, forums and friends to find a good tour or book directly on the venue website.

There are many, many posts regarding Viator on this forum, pretty much all saying the same thing. Some people don't mind booking 3rd party. Some people have had good experiences and some have had bad experiences. Quite a few comments that the tour booked thru Viator was cancelled last minute.

I have used them with success! They are my go to!