I deleted my original review after the tour company responded with a blatant lie to make it seem like the issue was my fault. I’m posting this updated review with proof.
First, here’s what my actual experience was:
The sites themselves were interesting, and the guide was great. He was friendly, knowledgeable, and spoke perfect English.
My problem is twofold: first, this tour is wildly overpriced for what it actually is, and second, the way it’s marketed feels like false advertising.
When I paid $85 for this, I expected something more than a basic walking tour. But there was no special access, no exclusive stops, and absolutely nothing that justified that price. You walk to a few well-known and crowded tourist spots in Antigua while the guide gives some pretty basic history.
What was especially disappointing is that the tour description leans heavily into the paranormal and spooky angle, but that part never showed up. This was the entire reason I signed up for this tour.
Unfortunately, despite what the tour description says, there were no memorable local legends, ghost stories, myths, or eerie folklore that made the experience feel unique. Most of what was shared was basic historical information about the sites and earthquake damage. It's the kind of information you could easily look up on your phone and read while visiting these places on your own.
The tour also included a stop at the jade museum. You have to sit through a presentation about jade and then get funneled into the gift shop to look at overpriced souvenirs.
There is nothing spooky, paranormal, or even remotely relevant about jade in the context of a tour being sold around catacombs and crypts. It just felt like one of those side stops designed to get tourists to spend more money on something completely unrelated to what they signed up for.
So, even before the response from the tour company, my opinion was simple: interesting locations, good guide, terrible value.
Now, here’s the bigger issue:
After I posted my original review, the company responded publicly by claiming that I had been informed in advance that the crypts would not be accessible on Sunday and that I chose to go ahead with the tour anyway.
That is absolutely false.
I was never told that. Not once. And I have the message history to prove it. Check out the attached pictures.
Instead of addressing my actual criticism, they made something up to shift the blame onto me.
What makes that even worse is that the Sunday tour costs more than the standard one. I paid $85 instead of $80.
Let me get this straight:
According to the tour company, Sunday is supposedly not a good day for this tour and parts of the experience are not available. If that's true, why are customers being charged more for it? Why is that not clearly disclosed in advance? And why is that only being mentioned after someone leaves a negative review?
The biggest question: If Sundays aren't an ideal day to do the tour... why are you even offering it?
All that said, here’s my updated review summary:
The guide was great and the sites were interesting. But the tour was overpriced, the marketing was incredibly misleading, and the company responded by lying and trying to pin its own failure on the customer.
That tells you everything you need to know about them.
Unmöglich zu finden. Wir gingen um die Kathedrale und den Platz herum, während die Verkäufer versuchten, sich zu bemühen - all ihre überteuerten Schmuckstücke zu verkaufen. Ich habe nie ein Viator-Schild gesehen und niemand in der Kathedrale wusste, wovon wir sprachen, wenn wir gefragt wurden. Überspringen Sie das und machen Sie stattdessen die ATV-Fahrten.
I am a crypts/catacombs buff and my friend went along to please me. We both loved it. Giovanni speaks excellent English and paced the trip perfectly. We learned a lot and saw such beautiful sites. The combination of ruins (from earthquakes) and what has been done to excavate and make the spaces accessible was fantastic.