We booked this tour the night before as we were concerned about the weather, and Viator did not disappoint. We had a great time with Tim our tour driver who was very knowledgeable of the history of the places we visited. He explained the itinerary and made sure we got to spend ample time in each destination, while still getting us to Salzburg before sunset so we could enjoy the views. We especially liked Hallstatt and would stay longer or even stay at least 2 days if we had more vacation time. We highly recommend this itinerary.
rebeccamB7011CN
20 Sep 2022
The scenery was spectacular (even in the rain)... the "tour" itself left a lot to be desired! We paid a lot of money to have a private tour experience. What we got was a rather dingy vehicle with a broken seat and a driver who had nothing to offer to add to the "experience ". (Who also drove recklessly considering the weather conditions.)
What we expected was a driver who would at least know some history or interesting tidbits of the places we visited or drove by, who could make recommendations on a bite to eat, who would ask if a rest stop was needed, point out a key place to see or take a photo, offer a bottle of water, something extra that would reflect the additional cost to make this an exclusive trip as advertised! The only real information and tour we received was in Salzburg with Liza who was exceptional. It did not leave us, however, with any time to explore the city.
Needless to say we were disappointed.
The tour does NOT provide what it says. Find a different Tour if you are thinking of going to Salzburg.
• The tour car stinks of cigarette smoke. The driver smokes—near and in the car. This tour was private--just my wife and I. When we came back early from a quick break, the driver was sitting in the car smoking. He also several times smoked directly next to the car, with cigarette smoke wafting into the car. The car stank of cigarette smoke. If you like 12 hours of cigarette smell in a car, you will like the drive.
• The tour promises to take you to Melk, but it never does. The tour advertises "see Melk". That never happens. Our “tour” of Melk consisted of the following: as we were driving down the highway at 130 kph, the driver waved to his right and said “over there is a very old monastery.” Later in the trip, when I asked the driver when were we going to tour Melk, he said “you already did—that monastery is in Melk.” It is false advertising to promise a tour of an area, take money for that tour, then never take the client to that area.
• The tour promises three hours in Salzburg, but that doesn’t happen. Instead, you will get maybe two hours total in Salzburg, maybe less.
• The tour promises two hours of guided touring in Salzburg, but that doesn’t happen. You will be lucky if you get a full hour of the guide—they will say that you “arrived late in Salzburg” and “your guide unexpectedly has another commitment, so we cannot do a full two hour tour with you.”
• You won’t know how long you will be in Salzburg, nor if you will get a guided tour, until you actually arrive in Salzburg and they then inform you that your time in Salzburg has been shortened. They will lead you on to believe that you will have your full three hours in Salzburg, but when you get there, there will be “an unexpected development” and you will get maybe a one hour rushed tour of Salzburg.
When you bring all of this to the attention of the driver, he will say "I can't do anything about it." When, after your long and disappointing day, you bring this to the attention of Randon Travels and Viator, they will tell you "it was busy season and nothing we can do."
We did 10 Viator tours on our recent trip to Europe; 9 of them were excellent, and I have posted reviews so stating. This one was unacceptably poor. Instead of just admitting that they had a bad day and at least refunding the tour guide portion of this Tour for which they charged $500 (of the $1,200+ for the this trip), they said "nothing we can do."
Find a different Tour if you are going from Vienna to Salzburg.