Viator
Reviews and Complaints

Hello! I took many tours with Viator around the world during the last 10 years. For my surprise, for the first time this tour on Moscow on Jun 10th, the tour guide never showed up and the telephone for emergecies did not work. I was looking for the complain option in Viator's web page and I did not find it. I hope to have an answear about this, because Viator charged me this.

My wife and I booked a great wall tour on July 18 in Beijing. When I clicked the "Book Tour" I found out it did a duplicate booking. We were shown as having 2 identical tours for the same 2 people. I immediately cancelled 1 of the duplicate tours, but, was still charged. This is an absolute rip off. This apparently happens more than once with Viator Tours.

I submitted payment of a tour $412.00 and immediately upon submission I realized the time of the tour was selected in error and at a time my family could not accommodate. I immediately called Viator and explained the error. At the time, the transaction was still pending and had not been applied to my credit card. They asked me to hold so they could speak to the supplier of tour (Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours-Niagara Falls), they had me on hold for several minutes, and when they came back on the line they stated that the supplier was unwilling to adjust the time of my tour reservation. They stated that this was due to the supplier having held this time slot for our reservation. Mind you, that I immediately called after I submitted the reservation and while the payment had not been posted to my card. For a future day and time. I then realized they had processed the payment while they had me on hold instead of contacting the supplier as they communicated. I then asked for them to cancel it altogether as we could not do the time that had been selected in error. They refused to do that and said all sales were final. Having been in sales for 20+ years, I can understand sticking to a no cancellation policy especially if a hold had been made on a time slot that caused other potential business to be lost. I cannot understand the lack of accommodation to correct an error or accommodate a cancellation after an immediate request was made. No business had been lost as this was a future reservation and not day of. I then contacted my credit card company, Capital One, and explained the situation. They called Viator on my behalf and conferenced me in. We went through the whole conversation once again and I forcefully asked for a cancellation with the back-up of my credit card company. The rep refused. I then asked for a Supervisor. He placed me on hold and when he came back he told me that he had escalated my cancellation request to the proper department and that I should receive an email confirmation within 48-hours. He said a supervisor was unavailable to speak with me. Needless to say, I never received an email confirmation of a cancellation or any email from Viator. When I arrived for the tour, that I had to pay again for this time directly to the supplier, Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours, for the correct tour time, this one was $50+ cheaper then the one I reserved through Viator although the exact tour but at an earlier time. Whirlpool Jet Tours, showed great concern and frustration with my experience. They said that Viator had never contacted them. They were able to adjust the later reservation by removing our party so that they could offer to another group. They also mentioned having repeated problems working with Viator. I followed back up with my credit card company after we returned home and no follow-up email from Viator was received with the specified time and they immediately refunded my money to my card that had been processed through Viator. They are following through with a dispute and will deal directly with Viator so that I do not have to. I am truly disgusted with a company that is completely inflexible and approaches each sale as a "we gotcha" instead of thinking more long term to accommodate their customers who make reasonable requests especially when they have had no loss of business, no service or product had been received. You would think they would be looking to provide a better buying experience for their customers so they could obtain repeat business. In addition, they were dishonest with their communication. They did not contact the supplier, although they lied and blamed their refusal to cancel or adjust the reservation on the supplier, and they never followed through with the email within 48 hours. All of their communication truly was BS. This is a company that anyone should be very leery of working with. Very unethical and I can assure you I will never make a reservation through them again.

I booked 3 excursions through Viator online prior to my holiday in Turkey.
I emailed Viator several times prior to my holiday to make sure the excursions I had booked picked up from my hotel. They confirmed 2 of the trips but not the £122 horse riding one due on 5th July. On the 28th June I emailed Viator again asking the same question and advising to cancel my booking if not which was well within the 24 hr notice period. which was 7 days before I was due to take my 3 hr hire riding trip from Alanya. I still have this email, I asked yet again for Viator to confirm that this excursion picked up from my hotel, I also advised if Not then to please cancel my booking( well within the time frame).
I rang the company direct to be told they do pick up from my hotel so went on holiday as planned on the 29th June . My excursion was due on the 5th July. On the 4th I still hadn't had confirmation of my trip so I emailed Viator yet again and was advised to ring the tour operator. I rang Tourmania to be told they don't pick up from my hotel and never have done, they were quite rude and unhelpful on the phone and obviously only interested In freudelently taking my money!
I then complained to viator for them to investigate as they no longer would pick me up. I never once agreed to make my own way there as I would never travel alone in a foreign country hence I always book through Viator.
Viator investigated my complaint and advised me that the tour operator has refused to refund me.
My money has in effect been stolen £122 as this excursion has been mis sold to me.
If this is not sorted amicably then please advise as to who I can take this higher to? Is Viator registered with a governing body? As I will take legal action if needed as this type of service is not acceptable.

This is my several complaint to Viator around a confirmed Washington DC twilight tour booking under David Bruce for April. Despite Viator confirming on booking hotel pick up this did not occur

1 hr wait, rang dc tours and worker said they would contact tour. On hold 15 minutes, rang back and got another worker. Person had gone home and no plan or action on our situation, night shift staff member new nothing about our call

Dc tours have advised this is aviators mistake and we should pursue refund with your service

10 weeks later, How do we move ahead to secure our refund against which has been appolying service investigation

David Bruce

Please advise how

Booking Reference 656489489. Tour Monday, June 11.
Very disappointed. Definitely not as advertised. Supposedly guide was to give us background info - he passed around a book and told us to read it while driving to site. Tour said explore ruins and go inside palace. Palace is closed. Tour was supposed to be 5 hours beginning at 9.30am. Driver arrived at 9.45. Arrived at site at 10.30 to be told site doesn't open until noon on Mondays. Why book a tour when palace is closed and tombs do not open until noon? We were told to have a coffee. Had 1 hour, 15 minutes in one of the museums and had to leave. Clearly this is not what Viator advertises on site. There were 3 of us and paid a total of 144Euro. I feel we should be entitled to half our money back. Would appreciate your feedback. What we got was a taxi ride to site - definitely not a tour. We have a full day tour booked for Wed. and very uneasy.

Gloria Rowe
[protected]@gmail.com

I booked a tour for May 31st for Murano Glass and Burano Lace Tour from Venice at 2:30pm. Booking Reference number BR - 653927874. I cancelled the tour on May 29th. I received email that I won't be refunded because it is within 1 day, but the tour is on May 31st so I have more than 24 hours to cancel. I called their customer service but it saya it is no longer a working number. I kept trying and looking online on how to contact them but there is nothing to be found.

Hello,
Booking Ref BR-[protected]
I booked 3 tickets for 1 May 2018 which included fast track.
We waited 25 minutes in a que therefore no fast track. The tour was rushed & minimal information given. The towers were closed due to the weather which I fully understand however I was informed by the guide, Sarah, the cost of the towers would be refunded within 48 hours. I'm still waiting. This was a birthday present which to be honest has left me very disappointed.
Given I've waited so long for a refund or any communication & the tour was a let down I feel a full refund should be granted.
I await your reply
Thanks
Zoey Tomlins

I have a major problem with Viator. I had been booked on 4 of their tours in Naples, Italy for 15-18 May 2018. I unfortunately had to cancel these tours as I developed bronchitis and middle ear infection in both ears and my Doctor had declared me unfit to travel as it is dangerous to my health. I went to my doctor on Wednesday 9th May, shortly after becoming ill, and emailed Viator on Wednesday night and Thursday morning to cancel my trips. 3 of the 4 trips/suppliers responded immediately. However one of the trips, Tour the Sea Grottoes of the Amalfi Coast (Viator Booking reference: BR-[protected]) which I payed GBP 570.73 for, did not respond. I sent them as well as Viator customer support as well as the actual tour supplier numerous emails yesterday (Thursday 10 May) but only received a reply from Viator this morning at 5:58am. They now state that because it is 6 calendar days before my trip, I am entitled to only a 50% refund. 7 calendar days or more would have entitled me to a 100% refund.
However, when I access Viator and request to cancel the trip under the "Manage Bookings" section of my account, the website's Terms and Conditions for this trip states:
" The standard cancellation policy for suppliers is:

1. a 100% refund for cancellations made at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.
2. Cancellations made within 24 hours of the start date of the experience will receive no refund."
In addition, if Viator had responded to any of my numerous emails yesterday, I would have qualified for 100% refund as it was day 7 before my trip yesterday. But as discussed, this information is not provided when you attempt to cancel the booking on Viator's website.
I will not be held responsible for any charges or refund issues as a result of Viator's inefficiency and late response. I emailed Viator this morning again informing them of all of this and stating my complaint, but they have gone silent again and are not responding. I would like to take this further and lodge a complaint, and I need my refund, it is not a small amount. Would someone please advise me whom to contact.
Thank you very much.
Photos and proof of emails can be provided if necessary.

March 30, 2018 - I have booked several tours through Viator and am generally very pleased. This tour was a huge disappointment (Booking Reference BR-[protected]). The tour company was 24 7 Day Tours and Safaris (AE+[protected]). First, the driver picked us up at our hotel and didn't tell us what was on the agenda for our tour. He also spoke very poor English. All that we knew was that we would be going to the Grand Mosque. About an hour into our drive to Abu Dhabi, we asked him what was on the agenda and he said that we were going to Ferrari World. We asked him what that was and he said it is an amusement park. We said we didn't want to do that and he assured us that we did and that everyone loves Ferrari World. As we suspected, we did not enjoy it and wanted to leave shortly after arriving. We wanted to experience the national culture and do things we can't do in the United States. After leaving Ferrari World he took us to the Louvre, but only because we asked to go there. He was not planning on taking us there. We enjoyed the Louvre very much. He then said he was taking us to a local market which sounded interesting. However, he took us to a market with only dates and there was no one else there. We thought we were going to a general market where we could buy different things. He then said we were going to an art gallery. That sounded interesting. However, this was the worst part of the trip. He took us to a shady art gallery where he must have been getting a kickback if we bought anything. After entering the gallery, they closed the doors behind us and didn't want us to leave. I immediately charged through the doors through their resistance and found that our driver wasn't with the vehicle. We waited for him to return while the owners of the gallery harassed us about leaving. He eventually returned and took us to the Grand Mosque. We did enjoy the Mosque however we were disappointed that the driver knew nothing about the Mosque or anything else we asked about. For the price we paid for this tour we expected the tour guide to possess knowledge that he could share about the destinations. However, this driver was just that, a driver. He was not a tour guide. We could have rented a car and gone to Abu Dhabi or just paid for a driver and had been better off as we could have researched and chosen the destinations we wanted to go to (and saved $200+). I am very disappointed with this experience especially for the price we paid ($285 USD). I am requesting a refund for this tour.

we joined a small group day tour on April 7 in Beijing. It was meant for a cultural tour in Hutong of tai chi, Chinese calligraphy, paper cutting, clay making, opera mask painting and a lunch at a local family. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and amazing but this was the only good part of this tour. we had a hour of tai chi and was great. But the part concerning the calligraphy to opera mask painting was a joke! No one was there to teach us. our tour guide was practicing with us when we were only given the paper and ink to write. Paper cutting was just a pre-drawn cutout, no explanation. Clay making was worst as the woman at the house was trying to make a tiny tiny black panda we had no idea of! Then there was no mask painting, we were just given mask already painted as a gift and the guy could not even tell some color meant! We did not feel it was a cultural lesson at all but rather someone just put us in a tiny room to do some trivial activities quickly. lunch was ok but we thought we were there for a family lunch so expected to see more interactions. All in all, we paid a lot of money for this tour but we are very disappointed of what we got. Aviator, this is not a cultural tour of Hutong or china, you shame yourself by letting this kind of standard operate or continue! I don't believe what you advertise anymore as they are not true! I am so upset as I planned this tour for my husband he has never been to China, but today, it was a joke to him!

Hello.

I booked this tour for the 24th of February but it got cancelled as they didn't have a minimum of people for the group.
The said they'd processed a refund but I haven't received it yet.
I have sent at least 5 different emails to the tour organisers and to Viator. I got a reply to my first email saying a refund had been given to me and that it would take from 7 to 10 days to reach my account, but I sent this email 10 days after the tour date and I'd seen no money yet. My other emails have been completely ignored and right now I'm very annoyed as I want my money back!

I have been given wrongful information about this tour by one of your customer service representatives. I was told that I will have 4 hours to explore grand canyon south rim. I was told I will land in grand canyon at 11 am. I was holding on for ages to get this piece of information while the person I was buying the deal off was trying to find this information out and we arrived to grand canyon at 12. We were told have lunch in a restaurant and wait for people that went to imax experience until 13:30 and we couldn't leave the building until then and after that we only had two stops: one was 50 minutes long (mather point) and another was roughly the same. During this time we were rushing around to make sure to be back on time. Now this was a once in a life time opportunity for me travelling from europe... I will never get to see grand canyon again and I was willing to pay whatever it took to see it. If I knew I will barely have 2 hours to explore the canyon with this tour. I would never sign up for it! You have told me I will have 4 hours which would be more than double of what I really got. You stole this opportunity from me and I will never book another tour using viator because I do not trust you guys! This is not on! You should either take this up with grey line who facilitated the tour or stop missinforming your customers.

On the 9th February 2018 I booked a Japan bullet train tour.
Booking BR-[protected]. for £342.72.
I did not receive a confirmation email but thought no more of it until I checked prior to our leaving for Japan next week. I checked on my Viator account and noticed that the booking was for the 11th February 2018, this would not have been missed if I had been sent an email.
I print out all my emails and I would have printed out the tour tickets, as I have done with all my other bookings for this trip.
I rang the customer services and they said there was nothing they could do, can you please assist further with a view to refunding the £342.72.
I appreciate you must have heard people saying not my fault but in a dispute I can show many previous trips that I have made complete with the relevant emails etc. I keep all of them. Hope you can assist'
I have sent a screen capture of my emails to show that I am careful about my travel
Kind regards
David Evans

I have an airport pick tomorrow as my flight is 2:55 pm and I sent them on what'sapp to confirm the pick up, they told me that the driver is on his way which was 10:11 pm a night before
They had the flight as 2:55 am and the driver is on his way and if I am not ready this will count no show up I sent them an email with all the details, they claimed that they didn't receive it and they can't reschedule. They gave a number to make a complaint, then they said it has to be on the website and they deleted the message from the conversation
I have attached the email was sent and also the conversation screen shots
This is totally unacceptable and I need to be picked up tomorrow!

I had booked a private tour with colleagues in Nicosia, Cyprus weeks ago. Soon after I was contacted by the tour company saying that it would not be private after all. We agreed. Then found a two others to join us and the tour guide agreed for an additional fee. The two couldn't join us so now abruptly, the day before our tour, Gemma Cemaliye tells us that it's not worth his time and that we should cancel the tour in order to be reimbursed. I will do so now but wish we hadn't booked with Viator because now we have no tour! Very disappointing.

We have been trying both Viator and the luau company Germaines websites to resolve this matter and have been unable to make contact.
So have been forced to try this avenue to get a resolution to our problem.

Itinerary number: [protected]
Booking reference:BR64140607
Company:Germanise Luau
Date:5/02/2018
Refund owing:CAN$254.84
Due to rain this luau was cancelled in Waikiki. We have been trying unsuccessfully to obtain a refund.
Your assistance in this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Robert and Peta March

Good afternoon
I have been looking to book some tours for two trips I'm planning in August and October, one to Venice and one to Barcelona .
On finding you via a search engine I was pleased to see that if I registered online I would receive a 10% discount code, as I have a few trips planned this would prove to be most beneficial.
I registered but no discount code, I rang your customer services but the chap there said I could only get a discount if I did it there and then with him and he could not guarantee that I get it on my next call (I have not finalised my choices yet )
I found the whole thing very misleading and slightly unfair .
I welcome your comments and would appreciate if you could honour the 10% as promised in your advertisement.

My E mail us [protected]@googlemail.com .

Kind regards

Tracey Leonard-Murphy

we had pre booked the above guided tour for 2 adults on our recent trip to Seville. This tour was booked and paid for in December 2017 and the actual date of the tour was for Tuesday 20 February 2018 at 11.15 am.
on the morning of the tour, the 20 February at 9.30am someone from Pancho Tours telephoned us at the hotel to say that the tour we had booked for 11.15 had now been changed to being in Spanish. As neither of us speak Spanish this was of no use to us and we were told the next English tour would be later that day. we were unable to take the afternoon alternative tour as we had other plans. We were then told to contact you and you would refund our £30.50.
We have tried twice to contact you by email and to date no reply from you.
We were very disappointed in the whole experience and by booking with you we hoped to avoid queues. We did not as in the end we had to take the long queues to get into the cathedral and pay extra fees to get in.
we look forward to receiving a full refund by return and without any further delays. not impressed by your service so far.
supplier product code. 109
supplier confirmation. [protected]
booking reference no. BR [protected]

many thanks

R Plumb

Mount Etna and Alcantara Gorges day trip with Circumetnea railway ride

I booked this trip last night 19/02/2018 and within minutes realised that in the small writing it says that the train ride i.e. 50 percent of the trip doesn't run in winter. I think the trip title should therefore be changed in winter!
I also think I should get 100 percent of my money back and not 50 percent as you are offering as it is your description that led to me wrongly booking
Barry Knaggs
[protected]@gmail.com