Most of the travel that I do is independent travel – meaning I don’t usually use a travel agent or book package tours. I do however find a lot of value in booking day trips and experiences with local operators at many of the destinations that I visit. In the past I relied on guidebooks, recommendations from friends, or hours of searching the Internet for information that lead me to how to book those tours. While I still value those sources of information in the last few years I’ve been using Viator.
What is Viator?
Viator is an aggregator site that allows you to search for tours and activities by location, date, type of tour, length of tour and much more. They maintain relationships with local tour operators who list on their site and then Viator acts as a booking agency focused on providing experiences. Viator has tour operators in most locations across the globe and to date I have used Viator to book experiences in seven countries across four continents. So far every one of those has been a good experience!
Why I like Viator
There are a a number of reasons that Viator has become my go to platform for experiences:
- It saves me time. I can quickly go to the site, get an idea of available activities, and then book the tour.
- Viator has a rating system that is only open to those who have actually gone on the tours, greatly reducing the chance of fake reviews.
- Filtering let’s me focus in on the types of activities I’m interested in.
- Activity costs are listed in US dollars no matter where the tour is located.
- Payment is straightforward because all major credit cards are accepted and charges are in US dollars.
- Most listings on Viator have a good cancellation policy (usually until 24 hours before the tour begins.
- Confirmations of booking are instant.
- Viator provides a communication platform between you and the tour operator and my experience is that a number of tour operators do make good use of it to contact you.
What are the downsides?
As with any online travel agency Viator charges the tour operator to list on the service. As such, booking through Viator is sometimes more expensive than booking directly with the operator. Beyond that I haven’t encountered any downsides to the service.
What kind of tours have you actually booked via Viator?
So far I have booked ten tours through Viator and I have another five coming up in the next couple of months. Past tours have included:
A Food Tour In Denver, Colorado, USA
I did this tour with a friend before a conference and we both had a great time. Good food and drinks and a guided tour around downtown Denver too!
A Flamenco Show in Sevilla, Spain
A very intimate Flamenco show and I chose it because of the great ratings on Viator and wasn’t disappointed!
Snorkeling in Cozumel, Mexico
There are a ton of snorkeling excursions available in Cozumel and this one provided good value for my daughter and I.
A Food Tour in Casablanca, Morocco
I ended up being the only person on this tour but they still ran it! Not only good food but an excellent exposure to Moroccan culture at the same time.
