What's In A Viator Private Tour

David J. Danto

Travel thoughts in my own, personal opinion

eMail: ddanto@IMCCA.org Follow Industry News: @NJDavidD on

What’s In A “Private Tour”- June 2025

A Warning About Viator

In last week’s blog I promised you that my trilogy of posts about our recent European adventure had concluded. Unfortunately, I spoke too soon. One final, frustrating experience needs to be documented – not just to vent, but to help you avoid the same mistake I made. This one’s about Viator.

Why do people book tours when traveling? Simple. When you’re in an unfamiliar city, it helps to have a guide. Not just someone to point out landmarks, but someone to handle logistics, provide context, and keep you from getting lost. That’s worth paying for. I wouldn’t pay someone to show me around my own neighborhood – but I’ll happily pay for help in a place I don’t know.

Sometimes a tour guide is personally recommended to me by a friend, and those experiences are often wonderful. However, when I don’t have a personal recommendation, I do what you probably do: search online. That almost always brings you to one of the big tour aggregators like Viator. They list thousands of options, look trustworthy, and make it easy to book. But as I recently learned, Viator is just a middleman – and one that doesn’t take any responsibility for what happens after they’ve pocketed their cut.

In Copenhagen, I booked what was clearly labeled as a “Private Full Day Tour” (click the link and take a look for yourself.) The cost was about $600 for my wife and I. Based on past experiences of private tours in places like Rome and Monaco / Monte Carlo, I expected the same format: pickup at the hotel, being driven to sights, getting out for photos and commentary, and then moving on. A comfortable, curated day.

That is not what we got.

When we met our guide – who, to be clear, was wonderful – we were surprised to learn the day would be entirely on foot, with a few short rides on public transportation (which we were expected to pay for ourselves). This wasn’t a private tour as we’ve experienced them. This was a walking tour. For two people in their sixties who suffer from various aches, that was not just misleading – it was physically punishing.

We checked the tour description afterward. Nowhere did it say "walking tour." No car was promised, sure, but no car was excluded either. The itinerary listed multiple stops, which we assumed meant stops in a vehicle. Turns out, “stop” meant “walk until we reach it.” Viator’s customer service chat told us we should have deduced the nature of the tour from that language. Seriously. If I could deduce what each stop represented I wouldn’t have needed to book a tour.

Our request was simple: make the description more accurate for future travelers. Say it’s a “full-day walking tour.” Call out that public transportation is used and not included in the cost. But Viator refused to update the listing or accept any accountability. Their response? “Your suggestion about explicitly stating ‘walking tour’ with additional cost for transportation will be included in my report.” Translation: Thanks for your feedback, but we’re not going to change anything. They said our request for a partial refund will be sent to the operator. I have no relationship with their operator, I paid them.

We’re of course disputing the charge with our credit card company, but the bigger issue is how little Viator stands behind what they sell. They’re not a tour operator – they’re just a booking site that takes a cut and leaves the mess to others. This wasn’t our only negative experience either. Another tour we had booked through Viator on this trip – in Belgium – was canceled by the operator via an email just two days before because “not enough people signed up.” Apparently, the “guaranteed tour” wasn’t so guaranteed after all. And how many tourists are nuts like me and read their email constantly? Again, Viator takes no responsibility.

I feel especially bad for our guide in Copenhagen, who will apparently be left holding the bag. She didn’t know her services were being sold as an all-day private tour without mention of walking. She delivered what she was contracted to deliver – and she was fantastic. But we were sold something else entirely.

So, here’s the lesson: if you’re considering using Viator, think twice. You’re not paying for a guarantee – you’re paying for a listing, and hoping it works out. If it doesn’t, they’ll shrug and point to the fine print and their partners.

On this trip, we started switching to other tour providers with better transparency and direct communication. It takes more time, but it’s worth it.

And as for Viator – consider this a full-day warning, not just a full-day tour. When you book with them, you’re not buying an experience – you’re buying a mystery box that may or may not match the description. And if it doesn’t? Don’t expect help from the company that took your money. You’ll get more sympathy from your aching feet than you will from their customer service team.

This article was written by David Danto and contains solely his own, personal opinions.

All image and links provided above as reference under prevailing fair use statutes.

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