I wanted to take a few of the Viator tours for Italy. They were highly recommended by friends who had taken them before... especially when you have limited time and wanted to get a nice taste of the area.
So my question is... do you think it is safe to book these kinds of things online or should I do it with a live person on the phone?
Viatour is not a tour company,, it is a middleman agency that just sells other companies tours. It is however considered reputable, you just may be paying some mark up.
I book everything myself online. I like the paper trail ( no he said she said from phone calls) and since I do not speak any foriegn language that well I would not feel too confident speaking to someone,,but, mostly, I like the paper trail , having an email confirmation in hand etc. Most websites are easy to use and almost all will have a button to click for english version( often a UK or American flag).
I have to say avoid VIATOR at all costs. There is nothing you can get from them that you cannot get elsewhere, including having your hotel front desk book for you when you get to your destination. I have had multiple problems with Viator which essentially were that they didn't actually book me any services, despite having charged me in advance the whole cost. This happened in more than one country on more than one trip. I ended up in Spain on the phone for two afternoons trying to get the tour arranged that was already paid (almost $600). Then in Rome we showed up at two tours who had no knowledge at all of our bookings (despite the vouchers they email you and you have as proof). One took us on anyway but the other spent about 20 minutes making multiple calls trying to verify we were paid (again despite our vouchers).
If you decide to book them I suggest that you phone the contact number once you get to destination and then again multiple times before the tour.
I had just booked myself on 3 tours for my upcoming trip with vaitour online. It is nice cause you get an email confirmation right away. They also send you an email to do a survey and when you compelete it you get 5% off your next purchase. We used our 5% to book my dad and older brother on their Normandy tour from Bayuex.
Plus if you need help you can call them and give itinerary number and they can pull up your reservation. Plus if you have a question they like I did about the closest pickup point they connect you to the company who the tour is through.
