I signed up and paid for a Borghese tour through Viator. At that time I received info from Viator saying my tour
operator would be Rome with Silvia. If you ever see this cancel immediately as they (Silva) run a scam! There was no such tour! 2 hours later and several calls to Viator plus a written complaint offered by the Borghese museum, I was assured by email that my money would be refunded which it was eventually.
Posted by
Bend, OR
2182 posts
Thank you for that info. I think the advice most give on here is do not book anything thru a third party.
Posted by
Atlanta
207 posts
This is why for your piece of mind, let a travel advisor make all your reservations. Well worth the money.
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
9023 posts
Glad you didn’t get scammed in the end, and thank you for posting this. We always book directly thru the Borghese (Website is sometimes a bit frustrating to use), and have also prebooked their official tours, which give a lot of context to the exhibits inside.
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
8534 posts
I'm sorry this happened to you. I'm bothered that Viator has such a presence that so many end up booking with them instead of the actual provider of the service. In the future, a friendly suggestion is to make sure you are booking directly with the venue or tour guide and not a 3rd party like Viator or Get your Guide. The Rick Steves guidebooks most often have the official venue websites. IMHO, you don't need a travel adviser. Poke around some and people on the forum will help, too.
Posted by
Indiana
1251 posts
IMO it is not necessary to use a travel advisor, as was previously suggested. Book things yourself, but only on the official website of the attraction. Exceptions to this have been when a hotel/inn does not have their own site. Then, I use a third party, such as Booking.com
Posted by
Republic of Texas / U.S.A. / Magyarország / Budapest
26997 posts
If Viator and GetYourGuide went away tomorrow, then in short order a significant percentage of the mom & pop vendors would dry up and go away. The result would be less competition, higher prices, less selection, lower quality.
Why use a travel advisor when anyone can gain the same knowledge of a life long local by surfing the net for a few hours /s. I am a budget tourist and I acknowledge that I cant possibly be an expert on everything and I make the investment in professional help when it makes sense.
So you got a runaround with Viator, but got a refund. You could have booked direct and never seen your money again, or you could have hired a local travel advisor with personal knowledge to make a recommendation. I dont have a hard rule. My life and my tourism isn't that simple so which ever course I think will work best for the particular challenge.
Glad it worked out for you. Everything you did was practical and reasonable, but sometimes stuff happens.
Posted by
Houston, Texas
1187 posts
I did a little research on these guys and this seem to be be the best synopsis about them:
"If you are referring to the tour company "Rome with Silvia" (or Rome with Silvia SRLS), they are notorious for last-minute, uncommunicative tour cancellations—especially for highly sought-after tickets like the Colosseum Underground. Many frustrated travelers classify this as a scam because it leaves tourists stranded without backup tickets. While a few customers report successful outings, the overwhelming consensus on travel forums (like Tripadvisor and Facebook travel groups) details serious mismanagement. Many users suspect the agency resells tickets they do not actually hold confirmed reservations for."
Their website shows nothing but five star ratings, that in itself makes me question them. To top it off here is their cancellation policy:
"All bookings are non-refundable. Once a reservation has been confirmed, no refunds, credits, or transfers will be issued in the event of cancellation, no-show, or change of plans by the customer."
Time to run from these guys!