Jeff G
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Mar012012
Versailles Small Group Day Trip from Paris
Tour / Activity
My Rating: 
Location: Paris, France
My Review: I guess I should have read the description a little more carefully. All the half-day tour includes is transportation to/from Versailles and entrance tickets. No guide, just the audio handsets in the palace. Skip this one and presumably opt for the full day trip if you can. Not worth it for the half-day trip.
Feb272012
Madrid Small-Group Walking Tour including Royal Palace
Tour / Activity
My Rating:
Location: Madrid, Spain
My Review: We ended up being the only 2 on the tour so it essentially was a private tour, not bad right? Well, it seems our guide came in at the last second and was eager to get the trip over with. There was no narrative from the guide. If my wife and I did not keep asking questions the guide was content to be silent and just keep walking. On these walking tours the most important component is the guide. They can make or break the tour... this one was broken.
Jan032012
Corcovado Mountain, Christ Redeemer and Sugar Loaf Mountain Day Tour
Tour / Activity
My Rating: 
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
My Review: These are the tours that I personally just dislike. Large groups on a bus; some very basic information from sub-standard guides; mixed in with some disorganization and chaos. I would rather not rehash the entire fiasco but suffice it to say we were not picked up in the morning (even though they lied about coming to pick us up... other people on the tour confirmed they did not), had to take a taxi to meet the group, had to essentially haggle with the tour guide to drop us back off... and that was the good part :) The tour was half in English and half in Spanish (i wouldn't have booked it if I knew that in advance) so we essentially lost half the explanation time. Although with the guides that we had I am not sure we really needed more info from them. The trip to Corcovado was a mess. It seemed completely disorganized. - We had to pack 20+ people into a van that probably is supposed to seat 16, this after waiting 30 minutes to transfer to a new van. -Had to walk up most of the way because the guide said the train was broken (we saw with our own eyes the train going up and down carrying passengers). -Had to wait in about 6 different long lines (most of these tours get you to bypass the lines). Overall just a very disappointing experience and one that I could not recommend to anyone. There was a very nice gentleman (forgot his name) from the company who picked us up at the end of the tour and dropped us off at a restaurant and he graciously apologized for everything. Maybe if he was our guide the day would have gone smoother :) Avoid this one.
Dec272011
Best of Buenos Aires Walking Tour
Tour / Activity
My Rating: 
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
My Review: Short Version: Get Martin as your tour guide. Period, end of story. Long Version: My wife and I have taken a number of the Walking Tours throughout a number of different cities across the globe. We feel it's the best way to really get to know a city. Now of course the biggest variable on any of these tours is the guide. The guide literally makes or breaks the experience. For the most part with Viator we have been lucky and had some very good guides take us around and show us their city but this city tour was on a whole different level. Martin was the best tour guide we have had and we have had a number of great tour guides. At the end of the day we really felt we knew the culture, the history, the districts... i mean just everything. Martin's has a unique perspective as he lived in Canada before coming back to Argentina and can really do an amazing job of comparing/contrasting all the details and nuances of what make BA such an interesting place. Without getting too long winded, if there is someway you can ensure Martin is your guide I can confidently guarantee you that you will come back to your friends and family gushing about the awesome trip you had. We had nearly a 3 week trip through South America and this was one of the absolute highlights of the trip (New Years Eve in Rio wasn't bad either). We had to change our date the morning of the tour and Martin was extremely accommodating. We liked the morning tour so much that we asked to come along for the afternoon tour as well and he fit us in. What a remarkable experience. Thanks Martin!
Dec242011
Machu Picchu Day Trip from Cusco
Tour / Activity
My Rating:
Location: Cusco, Peru
My Review: Our tour guide Hector was excellent. If there is anyway to request him you should definitely do so. It's a shame we only really got about 2 hours or so to go with him around the Machu Picchu site but because of the train schedules there is not much you can do. Hector was filled with all sorts of stories and details that really made this an extremely enjoyable trip. The included lunch is always something I would recommend avoiding if you can on any of these trips if you are any sort of "foodie". The lunch at Todos in Aguas Calientes was pretty poor in my opinion. Viator, if you could arrange more of your tours with an optional lunch (where we could go to other places on our own) I think that would really make the entire experience better. There were only 4 people with us on our tour inside Machu Picchu which gave us a lot of face time with our guide Hector. This trip is essentially what I have come to expect of Viator day tours (we are getting spoiled). Well organized, very informative, small groups, and just overall worth it. Other than the food there is nothing that I wouldn't rate as excellent. Thanks!
Apr132011
Skip the Line: Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica Half-Day Walking Tour
Tour / Activity
My Rating: 
Location: Rome, Italy
My Review: Great tour. The only suggestion I would make would be to include the tickets to the Vatican in the price rather than having to pay the tour guide when arriving at the location.
