Booking for spring break? Our Spring Savecation event runs March 4-10 and has loads of limited-time deals on tours, accommodations and everything you need to pack.
Spring break is just around the corner — but if you haven’t made a full schedule yet, fear not. Travel site Viator, which is owned by TripAdvisor, is here to help you plan the perfect time off, with travel agents who can help you book all of your activities for the week. (Think actually fun stuff to do, not tourist traps.)
Prior to shopping Viator tours, be sure to activate our cash back offer, so that you earn cash back on your Viator booking automatically.
Before we get into the specifics of what Viator can do for you, it’s important to note that the site can’t book your entire trip for you. This isn’t a site for booking hotels/lodging or flights; it’s for helping plan what you’ll do once you get to your destination. Tours, excursions, fun things that are off the beaten path — those are Viator’s specialties.
No matter what your budget is or how physically demanding (or physically relaxing) you want your trip to be, Viator has options. Here’s how to use the site to both save money and book the ultimate vacation.
What Are Viator Tours?
Viator offers guided tours across the globe, from walking tours of European cities to ATV tours of South America. And if there’s a specific landmark you want to see — say, for example, the Eiffel Tower in Paris — you can book a tour of that location, too.
Essentially, Viator’s tours can be as inclusive (and expensive) as you want them to be. Don’t want to deal with finding a top-rated restaurant to grab dinner? Choose one of the site’s “dining experiences,” such as a dinner cruise or a walking food tour.
And if you’re not sure what, exactly, you want to do on your trip, Viator makes it easy to figure it out. The site’s “top activities” and “top landmarks” tabs will steer you to tried-and-true excursions in your destination city; you can leave the travel guidebooks behind.
Additional filters, including museum tickets, historical tours, bus tours and “unique experiences” will help you narrow down exactly the right activities for the best spring break ever. The site even has a “likely to sell out banner” so you have a better sense of which activities you might want to book earlier in the planning process.
Your vacation is your vacation, and Viator wants to make sure you book the exact activities you want. From time-tested landmarks to interactive scavenger hunts, the site has countless excursions available, so you can make your spring break uniquely yours.
How Much Do Viator Tours Cost?
Thanks to the site’s price filter, you can choose how much you want to spend on each day’s excursions. From free all the way to upwards of $500, Viator offers activities for every budget. If you’re set on booking, say, a helicopter skyline tour, expect your budget to be on the higher end of the scale. A simpler walking tour, meanwhile, or tickets to a low-key event, such as a baseball game, will be significantly cheaper.
Are There Viator Discounts?
Thanks to Viator’s Lowest Price Guarantee, you can rest assured that you’re getting the best deal for any excursion you book on the site. Forget booking each day’s trips on each place’s website directly — you can book them on Viator for a guaranteed low price. If you see the same day trip listed somewhere else at a better price, you can email your reservation info and the competitor pricing to priceguarantee@viator.com. If everything checks out, Viator will refund you the difference in cost.
And, of course, don’t forget to use RetailMeNot’s Viator discount codes at checkout. With codes offering up to 40% off on the site, your vacation just got way more affordable.
Do Viator Tours Have Cancellation Fees?
One major plus of Viator’s tour bookings is the company’s free cancellation policy. If something else comes up on your trip (or your friends decide they want a more low-key day in, rather than an active tour), you’ll have peace of mind knowing you can get your money back on some bookings. Just note that you’ll have to cancel at least 24 hours before the tour’s scheduled start time. Some bookings are labeled as nonrefundable, so be sure to check before you book if you want the ability to cancel.
Another bonus? For some bookings, you don’t have to pay when you book a Viator reservation. If the total travel costs for your spring break trip are adding up, you can rest easy with Viator’s “reserve now, pay later” policy.
Does Viator Offer Airport and Hotel Transfers?
Looking for a way (besides ride-sharing apps) to get from the airport to your vacation lodging? Viator has you covered there, too. Whether or not it’s more cost-efficient than a traditional cab or ride-share service might depend on how many people you have splitting the cost with you. But if you choose to book with Viator, at least you know you won’t have to wait in a long line at the airport. You’ll also know the price up front (no surprises). As with the site’s other services, the Viator airport transfer offers a free cancellation policy up to 24 hours ahead of your booking.
The post Viator Tours: How They Work and How to Book appeared first on The Real Deal by RetailMeNot.