trip advisor rating

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How to Write a Review on TripAdvisor

Last Updated: May 6, 2021

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Jack Lloyd . Jack Lloyd is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. He has over two years of experience writing and editing technology-related articles. He is technology enthusiast and an English teacher. This article has been viewed 256,815 times. Learn more...

This wikiHow teaches you how to review a location on TripAdvisor. You can do this on both the TripAdvisor website and the TripAdvisor mobile app.

• If you aren't logged into your TripAdvisor account, you'll need to log in before you can leave a review: click the person-shaped icon at the top of the screen, select a sign-in option, and enter your login information when prompted.

• For example, clicking the right-most circle here will apply a 5/5 rating, while clicking the left-most circle will apply a 1/5 rating.

• It's best to place a few keywords which describe your interview in the title. For example, if you had a great visit but found the weather unenjoyable, you might write "Good Food Poor Weather" in the title box.

• Keep your review relatively short by focusing on the parts of the trip which stood out to you.
• If necessary, provide context to inform your review position. For example, if you found that the food at a restaurant was bland, noting that you don't usually mind bland food (if true) helps justify your complaint.

• For example, if you visited the location with a partner, you might click the Couples option here.

• For example, if you visited the location on the 22nd of January in 2018, you would click January 2018 here.

• Click Add a photo .
• Click Select photos from your computer .
• Select a photo, then click Open .
• Add a description to the photo.
• Check the "I am the owner..." box at the bottom of the window.
• Click Upload , or click Add more photos to select another photo.

• If you aren't logged in, tap a Sign in option (e.g., Sign in with email ) and enter your login information when prompted before continuing.

• For example, to review a Studio 6 motel in Portland, Oregon, you would type in studio 6 before tapping the "in" text box and typing in portland oregon .

• You may have to tap Reviews twice to force the Reviews section to open.

• For example, tapping the right-most circle here will apply a 5/5 rating, while tapping the left-most circle will apply a 1/5 rating.

• For example, if you visited the location on the 27th of December in 2017, you would tap Dec 2017 here.

• For example, if you went to the location while on a business trip, you would tap Business in this menu.

• Tap the camera icon below the "Review" text box.
• Select a photo from your phone.

• You can skip this section by tapping Skip in the top-right corner of the screen.

Community Q&A

• Remember to be polite and concise when leaving reviews. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• If you can't find the name of the location you want to review, TripAdvisor may not have it listed yet. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.tripadvisorsupport.com/hc/en-us/articles/200614877-How-do-I-write-a-review-

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The Ultimate Guide to Using Tripadvisor for Booking Flights, Hotels, Rentals, and More

Katie Seemann

Senior Content Contributor and News Editor

343 Published Articles 46 Edited Articles

Countries Visited: 28 U.S. States Visited: 29

Keri Stooksbury

Editor-in-Chief

29 Published Articles 3088 Edited Articles

Countries Visited: 45 U.S. States Visited: 28

Tripadvisor Hotels

Tripadvisor things to do, tripadvisor restaurants, tripadvisor flights, tripadvisor vacation rentals, tripadvisor rental cars, tripadvisor road trips, tripadvisor cruises, tips for making the most out of tripadvisor reviews, tips for making the most out of tripadvisor forums, how and why to create a tripadvisor account, tripadvisor mobile app, final thoughts.

We may be compensated when you click on product links, such as credit cards, from one or more of our advertising partners. Terms apply to the offers below. See our Advertising Policy for more about our partners, how we make money, and our rating methodology. Opinions and recommendations are ours alone.

While you might just think of Tripadvisor as the place to get honest reviews about hotels, restaurants, or things to do, it’s actually so much more than that.

First, Tripadvisor acts as a metasearch  engine , showing you prices for hotels, flights, and rental cars on lots of other websites. You can click through Tripadvisor to the other site to complete a booking.

Second, in recent years, they’ve added a social aspect to the site. You can follow other accounts, and you have a home page feed that’s similar to what you see on Facebook.

Finally, Tripadvisor has its own travel forum for you to ask and answer questions about all things travel.

Let’s take a look at everything Tripadvisor offers and how it can help you plan and book your next vacation.

What Tripadvisor Offers

You can search for almost anything that you’ll need for your next vacation on Tripadvisor.

• Things to do
• Restaurants
• Vacation rentals
• Vacation packages
• Rental cars

Tripadvisor offers lots of reviews plus it acts as a metasearch engine, like Google Flights , Kayak , or Skyscanner .

It gathers tons of data to show you the prices for your flight, hotel, rental car, and more on lots of other websites. Once you find a price you like, it transfers you to another website (usually a hotel or airline’s website or an online travel agency) to complete your booking.

Hot Tip: Check out our guide to the best credit cards to book vacations so you can maximize your rewards.

Tripadvisor is a great tool to find activities for your next trip. To start, click on Things To Do in the main menu and then enter your destination.

Inputting your travel dates will show more accurate pricing information, but it’s not required. You can search for events and activities in several ways:

• Search by category
• Search popular cities
• Search only tours and tickets or day trips

When you’re viewing a list of available activities, you’ll see lots of options to filter and sort the results . Click Book Now to see specifics about the activity.

From here you’ll be able to see all of the details about the activity including things like transportation specifics, what’s included and not included, dates and times, plus reviews.

You can check availability for your desired date and see what times the tour or activity is offered. The main price you see is per person, so this is where you can see the final price if you’re booking for more than 1 person. Click Add to Cart to complete your booking via Viator, a Tripadvisor company .

Anytime you book an activity on Tripadvisor, the transaction will be completed by Viator.

Viator offers a Best Price Guarantee on your purchase. That means that if you find the same tour from the same operator priced in the same currency within 72 hours of booking, it will refund the difference in price. Plus if you arrive for your tour or activity and find a lower price being offered by the operator, contact Viator and it will refund the difference in price.

Bottom Line: Tripadvisor offers activities and tours for your next vacation. You can read reviews, check prices, and book your activity all in one spot. When you book an activity through Tripadvisor, the transaction will happen via Viator, a Tripadvisor company.

Did you know that you can also use Tripadvisor to find great restaurants? Just click on Restaurants in the main search menu, and then enter your destination.

You’ll see lots of different ways to search for a great restaurant for your specific needs. There are lots of options to filter and sort the results list. You can browse restaurants based on lots of criteria:

• Type of food
• Type of dining establishment
• Dietary restrictions
• Location (using the map feature in the upper left corner)

Click on any restaurant selection to see details, photos, and reviews.

If you have a specific question about a restaurant, scroll down to the Q&A section. You can see previously asked questions or ask one of your own.

Some restaurants will allow you to make a reservation online . You can find these in the Reserve a Table Online section, or just look for the Open Table reservation box in any listing.

Hot Tip: Do you eat out often? If so, use a credit card that earns lots of points at restaurants to maximize your returns! 

Tripadvisor might not be the first website that comes to mind when you need to search for a flight. But, it acts as a metasearch engine , comparing prices from lots of other sites in one place.

Hot Tip: Not sure which online travel agency is best for you? Check out our guide to the best websites to book cheap flights for some guidance.

If you’re curious about the airline you’re booking, check out the Tripadvisor airline reviews. From the home page, click on the 3 dots in the main search box to open the drop-down menu. Then click on Airlines .

Here you’ll see the airlines listed in alphabetical order or you can sort them by rating or alliance. Click on See Reviews to read reviews about the airline from other Tripadvisor users.

If a hotel isn’t quite your style, you’ll be happy to know that you can also search for vacation rentals on Tripadvisor.

• Finally, all you need to do is enter your information and credit card number to complete your reservation. Your booking is completed through FlipKey Inc. (a Tripadvisor company).

Searching for a rental car on Tripadvisor works much like other sites you might be used to.

• Once you’ve found the car you want to rent, click View Deal . Unlike with flights or hotels, where you’ll be automatically taken to another website to book, your rental car booking will be processed through Tripadvisor/RentalCars.com , regardless of what supplier is listed.

Right before you complete your rental, you’ll be asked to add an Auto Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) and Theft Waiver. Before you decide to purchase this extra coverage, take a look in your wallet. Your credit card might already come with a CDW.

Here are just a few popular credit cards that come with extra car rental insurance :

• Chase Sapphire Reserve ® card
• The Platinum Card ® from American Express
• Ink Business Preferred ® Credit Card

Hot Tip: For more information about your options check out our guide to the best credit cards for car rental insurance .

The Road Trip section of Tripadvisor is a fun way to check out popular road trip routes in the U.S . To find it, click on More •••  on the home page, then select Road Trips .

You can search by region: Northwest, Southwest, Midwest, Northeast, or Southeast. Each road trip selection will offer tips for that route including how long it should take and the best time of year. Plus, there will be a map of the route.

Scroll down a bit to see hotels, restaurants, and things to do along the way. To see all of these things mapped out, just click on the map of the route. You can then search by location. Toggle between hotels, restaurants, and things to do by using the icons in the top left corner.

To begin your search for a cruise on Tripadvisor, select Cruises in the main search bar. Enter your destination and month of travel then click Search.

Hot Tip: If you aren’t sure about where or when you want to cruise, scroll down on the main cruise page to search by destination, duration, and popularity.

Your results page will have all of the filtering options to the left — there are lots of options to help narrow down your list:

• Departure port
• Cruise length
• Cruise line
• Ports of call

Each result will display a price, but this isn’t necessarily the lowest price available. Click on the drop-down menu for more information or click on the cruise name to see more detailed information. Clicking on View Deal will take you to another website to continue booking.

Once you click on a specific cruise for more information you’ll be able to access traveler photos and reviews. Plus you’ll be able to see all of the deals available by clicking on View all X deals.

Hot Tip: The cruise deals shown do not necessarily include all deals available. You might notice that the price to book directly is often left out.

If you decide to book a cruise via Tripadvisor, don’t forget to print our ultimate cruise packing list so you’re prepared for your adventure!

Tripadvisor Reviews

Tripadvisor reviews are the backbone of the website. If you’ve ever booked a hotel, you’ve likely checked out a Tripadvisor review.

The beauty of its reviews is that they are from real people who have stayed at the hotel you’re researching. Glossy, professional photos can make anyplace look fantastic, but with Tripadvisor, you get to see authentic, unedited photos from real travelers. It’s true, you’ll have to sort through some terrible, blurry pictures, but you’ll get a good sense of what the hotel is really like.

In addition to hotel reviews, you can find reviews for activities, restaurants, vacation rentals, and even cruises.

Many reviews will give you a sense of the customer service a hotel offers. Although this is a great thing, it also gives a platform to disgruntled customers who want to bash a location. These are pretty easy to spot, so take them with a grain of salt.

If you’re searching for a specific question about a hotel, you can use the search function. Tripadvisor will offer suggestions of keywords to search for or you can input the specific piece of information you’re looking for. You’ll then see any reviews that mention that keyword. Next time you’re searching for a hotel, check the reviews for keywords like “heated pool,” “room service,” or “restaurants.”

If you’d like to search for reviews that are more specific to your circumstances, you can easily filter the reviews by traveler type (families, couples, solo, business, or friends), time of year, and language.

In addition to reading written reviews, you can scroll through pictures that people have posted. You can tell a lot about a property just by doing this versus looking at the beautiful photos posted by the hotel. Those are beautiful to look at, but if you want to see what the hotel is really like, scroll through the traveler photos. To find these, just click on Traveler Photos in the upper right-hand corner of the hotel’s review page.

Hot Tip: You can get a wealth of information about a hotel, restaurant, activity, cruise, or vacation rental from Tripadvisor reviews. You can search the written reviews for specifics like, “Is there a heated pool?” or check out the traveler photos for an unedited look at the property.

Tripadvisor Forum

The Tripadvisor travel forums are a great resource for anyone planning a trip.

From the Tripadvisor home page, click on Travel Forums in the top toolbar.

If you’ve already selected your destination, you’ll click on the 3 dots in the search bar at the top of the screen, then click on Travel Forum .

If you access the travel forum through the home page, you’ll need to select a destination to search for. If you searched for a destination first and then accessed the travel forum, you’ll be automatically be taken to the forum for that destination.

There are general forums for states or countries and more specific city-oriented forums. You can easily move back and forth between all of these forums by clicking on the links within the forum.

One of the great things about Tripadvisor forums is that you can get really specific. This is a great place to search for answers that would be otherwise hard to find. The forums are filled with local experts (other Tripadvisor users who answer lots of forum questions and leave lots of reviews) to help you out. Try asking questions like: “What bar in Miami Beach shows the NBA Playoffs?” “What restaurants in Charlotte are dog-friendly?” or “What’s the best way to get to the zoo in San Diego?” If you have a specific question, the Tripadvisor forum is the place to ask it.

If you have a question that you think might be common, check out the list of top questions to the right side of the forums. Click on a link to take you to a previous thread about your question. Pay attention to the dates, though. Some of the threads may be outdated — so you may want to ask a new question for updated information.

Get Social With Tripadvisor

You may have noticed that the Tripadvisor home page has some social aspects to it now. You’ll see a main feed with the ability to like, repost, and share a post. You’ll see a list of suggested people to follow to the right.

To take part in the social aspect of Tripadvisor , you’ll need to create a free account. You’ll be able to create an account via Facebook, Google, or an email address. Click on Sign in in the upper right-hand corner to get started.

Once you create an account, you can follow other accounts and like, repost, and share other posts. Plus you can make your own posts by clicking on Post photos or Write review in the bottom left-hand corner of your account.

Tripadvisor offers a free mobile app that is available for iOS  and Android.

It feels more like a social site than a travel booking and review site because the main feed is prominently placed on the home page. You can follow experts and other travelers for helpful tips and travel inspiration.

To access traveler photos and reviews, plus pricing and booking information click on the icons at the top of your screen. Here you’ll also find a direct link to Tripadvisor forums.

Tripadvisor is more than just reviews! The site acts as a metasearch engine and helps you search for hotels, flights, rental cars, cruises, things to do, vacation rentals, and restaurants.

You can also get social on Tripadvisor. Create an account to share your photos and reviews, and follow other accounts to see their posts in your home feed.

Through traveler photos and reviews, Tripadvisor excels in giving you a glimpse into the true nature of every aspect of your vacation.

For rates and fees of The Platinum Card ® from American Express, click here .

Frequently Asked Questions

How do i write a review on tripadvisor.

To write a review on Tripadvisor, go to the listing page of what you want to review and scroll down to the Reviews section. You will see a green button labeled Write a review . Click this to write and submit a review.

Or, if you’re already logged into your account, click on Write review on the lower left side of your screen under your profile information.

How do I claim a Tripadvisor page?

To claim your business’ page on Tripadvisor, locate your page and scroll down and click on Manage This Business? in the Details section. Then fill out the required information to contact Tripadvisor about your business.

Is Tripadvisor owned by Expedia?

At 1 point in its history, Tripadvisor was owned by Expedia . However, in 2011 these companies split to form 2 separate entities.

Tripadvisor now owns its own group of subsidiary companies including airfarewatchdog.com, cruisecritic.com, flipkey.com, seatguru.com, and viator.com, among others.

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About Katie Seemann

Katie has been in the points and miles game since 2015 and started her own blog in 2016. She’s been freelance writing since then and her work has been featured in publications like Travel + Leisure, Forbes Advisor, and Fortune Recommends.

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Write a review

Reviews 2.4.

3,281 total

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Disappointed

When trip advisor first came out I found it useful. Unfortunately now they are obviously making no effort to keep bots off their site. Some bots leave bad reviews then suddenly your business gets alot of email scams saying we want to fix your rating on trip advisor. Do not fall for these scams! Do not trust trip advisor reviews unless you personally confirm it is legit, because no one else will!

Date of experience : March 07, 2024

TripAdvisor is terrible

TripAdvisor is terrible. Most people only use TripAdvisor to write a bad experience. That's the truth. When's the last time you experienced something good and reviewed it. I'm not talking amazing so much so you'll go out your way to review. Just good!? Probably never. But when something or someone annoys you. How many times have you thought. I'm going to leave you a 1 star review?

Date of experience : April 01, 2024

Always use this app while traveling

Always use this app while traveling. Love the usefulness and help I can always get through it. A big variety of places (everything mostly with photos which is good), travel tips, etc. Love the experience, much easier to explore the world with Tripadvisor, thanks so much for the developers!

Date of experience : March 12, 2024

it has become apparent that Trip…

it has become apparent that Trip Advisor and it subsidiary Viator are nothing more than mindless algorithms that care nothing for user experiences. That was originally their goal but now it is a distant memory. If you do a minor random search of their reviews you will find that they are either one star or five. That alone will tell you a great deal about how this is being promoted or dissed. Unfortunately, in life most things are either mediocre or average. As such you would expect plenty of three or four star reviews. Since these reviews are either one star or five you can easily deduce that the five star reviews are posted from themselves and the one star reviews are legit from users. That said, I used to use TripAdvisor a few years ago but now I stay clear at all cost. It is now a scam of self promotional material paid for by the highest bidders. It is sad to see what it has become, but very predictable in todays business environment.

Date of experience : February 17, 2024

Viator Supplier Service

This review is relative to the Tripadvisor Viator services for suppliers. I have tried signing up to the service as a supplier and the experience it was horrible. The software is very buggy and it was impossible to signup. I had to contact customer service but the personnel was incompetent. I have finally resolved the issue by myself, thank god I am a web developer. After struggling to sign up I finally managed to create a listing. I was charged 30 euros for it upfront. When a few hours later I decided to remove the listing I was told that those 30 euros are not refundable. Making present to the customer service that in the EU we have the right of withdrawal, which give customers a 14-day cooling-off period to cancel their order and return their purchase for any reason or no reason at all, even when the product or service works as advertised didn't make the company change their mind on their policy. What to say, the ratings on this service were already low and now they gonna go even lower, simply don't trust this company, that's all I can say after my brief experience with them.

Date of experience : April 05, 2024

Poor sell through experience

Update : this booking was made via the tripadvisor website- I had no idea Viator were involved until the tickets arrived. Tripadvisor can't just hide behind 3rd party responsibility... Booked a trip... nearly 300usd. Get an email from the tour provider an hour later apologising - stating they are fully booked and have no availability. Request refund via site.. informed via Viator (secondary party who issued 'tickets') that the tickets were non refundable! Despite the tickets being for a non existent service as the tour operator refused to provide it. What a complete and utter joke - how can these clowns claim to be running a business? Eventually got a refund after complaining lots via social and direct customer service chsnnels It's an absolute joke that this company holds itself out as a credible source of travel information if they're going to subsequently offer such shoddy service on a sell through basis

Date of experience : March 30, 2024

Reply from Tripadvisor

Hello David, Thank you for bringing your concerns to Tripadvisor's page on Trustpilot. Whilst Viator is a Tripadvisor company, they do operate independently and, as such, have a dedicated Customer Support team to handle inquiries such as the one flagged in your review. With this in mind, could we kindly ask that the said review be moved to their business page for further assistance? Kind regards, Tripadvisor Customer Relations Team.

Do Not Trust Their Reviews

We continue to have issues with our business profile on Tripadvisor. Our business keeps being attacked by duplicated profiles from 'people' or bots that have never used our services. Tripadvisor's reply? - They keep repeating the same automatic response that actually does nothing to help us. Waste of time.

Date of experience : March 10, 2024

Hello Avenir, Thank you for taking the time to bring your review concerns to Tripadvisor. We wanted you to know that we have technology and a live team in place to moderate reviews to ensure that they are family-friendly, posted to the correct business, and in compliance with all our review submission guidelines. Therefore, if a review is suspicious or violates guidelines, our moderation team will investigate the latter accordingly and determine if a review meets our submission guidelines or not. If the review does not then it will be removed. Reviews are left for free, therefore Tripadvisor does not profit from these submissions. Our goal is to be a comprehensive resource for travelers to research and to allow them to share their experiences with the global community. We hope this provides further clarification for you with regards to our review policy and process. Kind regards, Tripadvisor Customer Relations Team.

Avoid scammers

I saw at tripadvisor site one good tour for Dubai and I booked via 3rd part Viator.Agency in Dubai never showed up for tour,when I called them after waiting for more than 40 min,they said tour is cancelled.I was shocked,because nobody send any mail or sms,nothing.When I wanted to submit review Tripadvisor reject it.I m reviewing many years ago at Tripadvisor,but offcourse this is 1 star review and that s why they didn t want to publish.It s a shame how they protect lyiers and unproffesionals.So don t trust when you read reviews on Tripadvisor any more,I wouldn t.Beacause thry don t want true review.

Date of experience : February 18, 2024

Hello Ana, Thank you for bringing your concerns to Tripadvisor's page on Trustpilot. Whilst Viator is a Tripadvisor company, they do operate independently and, as such, have a dedicated Customer Support team to handle inquiries such as the one flagged in your review. With this in mind, could we kindly ask that the said review be moved to their business page for further assistance? Kind regards, Tripadvisor Customer Relations Team.

We purchased on TripAdvisor/viator a…

We purchased on TripAdvisor/viator a two entrance attraction to gardens on the bay, Singapore. You can purchase choosing a date (4 March 2024) flower dome and cloud forest. They then book with a third party. When visiting the attraction today the staff confirmed every Monday the cloud forest is closed. Having paid we didn’t expect that. We have been messaging the local operators GLOBALTIX, TripAdvisor as the initial company and Viator. Thus far we are informed it’s non refundable. We have asked for a refund on cloud forest only but they refuse. I have asked them NOT TO SELL two entrance tickets on a Monday to guests but they don’t care. VERY UNHAPPY

Date of experience : March 04, 2024

Hello, Thank you for bringing your concerns to Tripadvisor's page on Trustpilot. Whilst Viator is a Tripadvisor company, they do operate independently and, as such, have a dedicated Customer Support team to handle inquiries such as the one flagged in your review. With this in mind, could we kindly ask that the said review be moved to their business page for further assistance? Kind regards, Tripadvisor Customer Relations Team.

Booking with the TA

It’s probably my favorite and my most used app when I am traveling. You not only got to know everything about the city or country you are visiting, but also Traipasvasor added the function to book the restaurant beforehand. I have no idea since when they were allowed to do so, but it eased my life radically. Because in some tourist spots you can’t just come to the palace hoping that you get the table right away.

Date of experience : January 06, 2024

Hello Shivard, We would like to thank you for taking the time to review Tripadvisor via Trustpilot. It is always nice to receive positive feedback from our community! Kind regards, Tripadvisor Customer Relations Team.

Hyatt regency Jaipur hotel is not just…

Hyatt regency Jaipur hotel is not just a hotel but a complete holiday resort. You get out from car & enjoy luxury by your mind & eyes. Sushil kumar front office manager is one ot the asset for organisation. Parking & service etc, etc are the beauty of the hotel. It’s location & ambiance is amazing. Shall visit again soon. Later, during my journey I started opening my lunch box which was packed at the restaurant of hotel. It was rubbish. Food was not eatable as stuff paranthas were half cooked & veggies were without salt. So we had to throw. Bad experience.

Date of experience : November 13, 2023

trip advisor indeed

Travelling to new and unknown places is always a challenge and requires good preparation. While it used to be a really challenging task, today it is easier than ever thanks to Tripadvisor. All you need to know for your destination is available in one place. From sightseeing to places to eat. From places to stay to things to do. Better than a local guide. And all this for free!

Date of experience : December 13, 2023

Hello Mukul, We would like to thank you for taking the time to review Tripadvisor via Trustpilot. It is always nice to receive positive feedback from our community! Kind regards, Tripadvisor Customer Relations Team.

Reviews on TripAdvisor are unreliable.

What a surprise, pointless standard answer from the bot. No, it doesn’t clarify the issue of the tech you use not being able to filter out nuisance reviews, even when they are specifically pointed out to you. Extremely disappointing.

Date of experience : February 26, 2024

Pretty accurate.

The description of the places are pretty accurate and I would say that rtings also leave no serious complaints. It was only a couple of times when the rating didn’t match the vibe of the venue completely. Probably it happens with the places where there are not so many reviews and scores.

Date of experience : December 29, 2023

No refunds given.

I booked an excursion to Chichen Itza through TripAdvisor and the tour guide never showed up at my resort to pick me up at the specified 610am pickup time. I requested a refund for the excursion over a month ago and TripAdvisor never responded. The excursion was for 4 people and cost $800 so it's not a small amount of money. I have been robbed by this company.

Date of experience : January 10, 2024

Hello Alicia, Thank you for bringing your concerns to Tripadvisor's page on Trustpilot. Whilst Viator is a Tripadvisor company, they do operate independently and, as such, have a dedicated Customer Support team to handle inquiries such as the one flagged in your review. With this in mind, could we kindly ask that the said review be moved to their business page for further assistance? Kind regards, Tripadvisor Customer Relations Team.

Their forums are littered with self…

Their forums are littered with self interest businesses purporting to be volunteers that nark at tourists or belittle real contribution from locals. Their forums are dangerous eg in light of recent riots in dublin concerned tourists asked real questions about safer areas etc so people genuinely commented that they should move to another street etc..all those comments were deleted and the usual 5 or 6 business owners said dublins safe everywhere,no problems...BS. those same few report the other posters and TA will just remove those.

Date of experience : December 18, 2023

Hello, Thank you for taking the time to bring your concerns to Tripadvisor's page on Trustpilot. We are committed to hearing about customer feedback to drive improvements on our end and to resolve any issues that you may have. We hope you understand that the Tripadvisor Forums is an open bulletin-board forum for our users to share their travel-related experiences and opinions, and that the opinions posted on that forum are not that of Tripadvisor. Tripadvisor does not defend, vouch for or verify any of the information posted by our users, as we receive thousands of posts each day. We only occasionally remove posts when they are in direct violation of our forums posting guidelines which you can refer to by click on the following link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/help/what_are_the_guidelines_for_posting_in_the_forums Kind regards, Tripadvisor Customer Relations Team.

But what truly made this site gruesome…

But what truly made this site gruesome was the lack of accountability for fake reviews. It was evident that some businesses were paying for positive reviews, while others were being unfairly targeted with negative reviews. This made it impossible to trust any of the ratings on the site.

Date of experience : February 11, 2024

Hello Shelly, Thank you for taking the time to bring your review concerns to Tripadvisor. We wanted you to know that we have technology and a live team in place to moderate reviews to ensure that they are family-friendly, posted to the correct business, and in compliance with all our review submission guidelines. Therefore, if a review is suspicious or violates guidelines, our moderation team will investigate the latter accordingly and determine if a review meets our submission guidelines or not. If the review does not then it will be removed. Reviews are left for free, therefore Tripadvisor does not profit from these submissions. Our goal is to be a comprehensive resource for travelers to research and to allow them to share their experiences with the global community. We hope this provides further clarification for you with regards to our review policy and process. Kind regards, Tripadvisor Customer Relations Team.

We found the best activities for our…

We found the best activities for our Oahu trip over Christmas last year. We snorkeled with the manta rays and did a plantation tour. I left reviews for the tour operators on TA but wanted to say how much I appreciate the authenticity of the TA website.

Date of experience : November 03, 2023

Hello Suzanne, We would like to thank you for taking the time to review Tripadvisor via Trustpilot. It is always nice to receive positive feedback from our community! Kind regards, Tripadvisor Customer Relations Team.

Mansion house

Hi Just came back from Scarborough staying at mansion house on esplanade and had a excellent stay in one of their see view rooms and tasting their award winning breakfast It was excellent Definitely booking for next year It was a brilliant stay!

Date of experience : September 15, 2023

Bes hotel line treeThe place is super…

Bes hotel line treeThe place is super clean loaded with all the basic amenities you’ll need during your stay. The staff is very cooperative and polite. You can book this without any second thoughts. Location is also easily reachable.

Date of experience : August 10, 2023

Hello Brajkshor, Thank you for sharing your sterling experience about your stay at 'Bes Hotel Line Tree' on Tripadvisor's page on Trustpilot. In reading through the review multiple times, I believe this review is meant for the accommodation; not Tripadvisor. With this in mind, could I kindly ask that this review be moved to their Trustpilot business page? Kind regards, Tripadvisor Customer Relations Team.

Planet Hollywood Cancun, An Autograph Collection All-Inclusive Resort

• Excellent 3,772
• Very Good 764
• Average 413
• Terrible 460
• All languages ( 5,679 )
• English ( 4,060 )
• Spanish ( 1,424 )
• French ( 168 )

" Amazing flowrider is cool. Joaquin and Xavier are amazing "

" The pool gets crowded get a spot early "

" Take a humidifier "

" Snag a spot at the pool at sunrise. It would be hard to find one around 10am. "

" I would recommend getting familiar with the app when you arrive to book dining "

Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.

Planet Hollywood Cancun, An Autograph Collection All-Inclusive Resort - Punta Sam, Mexico (UPDATED 2024 Prices, Reviews)

Tripadvisor: Plan & Book Trips 4+

Hotels, restaurants, tours, tripadvisor.

• #63 in Travel
• 4.8 • 338.6K Ratings

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Description.

** Be one of the first to try the beta version of our newly-launched AI itinerary builder, offering personalized recs powered by traveler tips and reviews. ** As a travel guidance company, Tripadvisor brings people, passions and places together. We aim to help make you a better traveler, from travel planning, to booking, to taking a trip. The app lets you get the most out of your trip—whether you’re planning or on-the-go. Discover where to stay, what to do and where to eat based on guidance from millions of travelers who have been there before. Find deals on hotels, book experiences, reserve tables at great restaurants and discover great places nearby. No matter what type of trip you’re looking to take, the Tripadvisor app makes planning it easy and also lets you guide others on their way. GET TRAVEL GUIDANCE • Find millions of reviews about hotels, restaurants, tours, attractions and other experiences from travelers like you • Read articles and guides to discover new ways to experience a destination with tips from travel experts • Discover great deals on top-rated hotels, tours, activities, experiences and other things to do • Find great places to eat nearby and make restaurant reservations ORGANIZE YOUR TRIP IN ONE PLACE • Use the updated Trips planning tool to save hotels, restaurants, and things to do • Get personalized recs with AI itineraries powered by reviews (beta) • See your saves on your custom map • Share and collab with your travel buds • Access mobile tickets for booked tours, attractions, experiences and other things to do GUIDE OTHER TRAVELERS • Submit your own reviews and photos of places you’ve visited to guide fellow travelers • Post and answer questions from like-minded travelers in the Tripadvisor forums

Version 57.2

Improvements to the Trip planning product which allow travelers to: - Receive a custom AI itinerary backed by traveler reviews - View saves in an organized list within the saves tab - Build an itinerary by adding saves and organizing them by day - View saves plotted on a map

Ratings and Reviews

338.6K Ratings

Editors’ Choice

We wouldn’t dream of planning a vacation without consulting TripAdvisor’s appraisals of hotels, restaurants, and attractions. But this robust app does much more than that, letting you book your entire trip—from flights to museum tickets—in one place. For those who embrace spontaneity, TripAdvisor is great for quickly finding spots nearby to stay, eat, or play, and the honest user reviews frequently save us from travel troubles.

Delicious food & vibe at Cerveceria Puerta de la Carne!!!

Our first night in Seville we arrived late on a Friday night and stumbled onto this vibrant, extremely busy delicious smelling bar restaurant around the corner from where we were staying! Little did we know how absolutely DELICIOUS this neighborhood FIND really was!!!!! We ordered tapas dishes that blew us away in taste!!!! This is a bar that will blow your socks off as you indulge the culinary senses with delicious meats and incredible sauces too!! The various potatoes they offered were some of the best potatoes we’ve ever eaten! They melted in our mouths! So did the various styles of whiskey cooked beef & chicken! The sweet cheek pork was mouth watering too! Loved our waiters and owner! Down to earth hard working fun people!!! Ton’s of regulars as we noticed when we went back a second time ! Yes we ate here twice during our 4 night stay in Seville’s Santa Cruz area because we were craving the food from this restaurant!!!! Thank you for two delicious late night tapas dinners! We hate to leave your beautiful Seville but we will be back hopefully next year to eat more at Cerveceria Puerta De La Carne!! Muchas gracious!!! Hope, Tom & Sam!

WHY keep changing things????

I knew it was a mistake to click on “update” without waiting a few days to read the reviews - which I was sure would be terrible - because they just keep on changing things and making it worse for NO REASON!! I can’t understand why they think ANY of the recent changes are improvements - they moved things around AGAIN so it’s unfamiliar! Nothing on the home page is relevant. Can’t even FIND MY OWN reviews now! Why is everything so HUGE? They’re wasting space & making me scroll way too much… This is the FIFTH time I’ve updated this review in 30 minutes - every time I try to do something I keep finding more horrendous changes. Are they honestly going to make me click on “read more” for EVERY single review? OMG!!! Now instead of just having 2 search lines so I can type in the name of what I want to see and the location directly below it, it I have to click on something else to get the location box to show up so I can type it - an UNNECESSARY EXTRA step! Then, there are multiple restaurants with the same name in this city, and you don’t show me the address anymore, they all just say the city, so I have NO IDEA which one is correct!! They have absolutely destroyed what used to be a helpful trip planning app & it’s just awful now. I’ve never used yelp but it’s time to consider it... Did the people who created this ridiculous redesign ever try to actually use the app before they released this crap to the general public?

App Privacy

The developer, Tripadvisor , indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

Data Used to Track You

The following data may be used to track you across apps and websites owned by other companies:

• Identifiers
• Diagnostics

Data Linked to You

The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:

• Financial Info
• Contact Info
• User Content
• Search History
• Browsing History

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Information

English, Arabic, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian Bokmål, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Simplified Chinese, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Turkish, Vietnamese

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10 Insider tips for evaluating TripAdvisor reviews

Evaluating TripAdvisor reviews is often more art than science.  

To plan a vacation, people around the globe are increasingly seeking out insider tips and recommendations from online review sites.  With travel sites in 21 languages and a collection of more than 500 million user-generated traveler reviews, it’s not surprising that TripAdvisor leads the pack.

In fact, TripAdvisor reviews have changed the travel landscape dramatically by giving travelers a public platform on which they can gripe about a lumpy mattress, an overcooked entree, an unexpected fee, or lackluster service. But even the most savvy traveler needs to do due diligence to get the most out of TripAdvisor—or any other online review site.

Earlier this year, New York Times’ frugal traveler, Seth Kugel, penned a column about TripAdvisor that provoked hundreds of reader comments. I’ve culled advice from those comments (and added some of my own) to help you evaluate the reviews you read. Here are 10 insider tips for using Trip Advisor reviews:

1) Look for trends

Don’t be swayed by one or two reviews that are either exceptionally good or exceptionally bad. Take the time to read multiple reviews and look for consistent trends.

2) Check dates and timing

Things change. If you are looking at old TripAdvisor reviews, the problems may have been experienced under different management or before a more recent renovation.

Sequence is an important indicator, too.  Bad reviews followed by good ones are more reassuring than good ones followed by bad.

Also, see whether the visits took place during the same season when you plan to travel. Perceptions of a seaside resort in winter may be totally different than in the height of the season.

3) Pay attention to specifics rather than global judgments

Look for useful details. If someone hated (and poorly rated) a hotel because the walls are paper thin, that is more informative than an individual simply saying he/she wasn’t able to sleep.

4) Look for outliers and negative reviews

Pay specific attention to major shortcomings that may compromise your stay. However, recognize that an especially harsh review may simply reflect the mood of a grumpy reviewer or a competitor. You can vet the negative reviewer’s comments by looking at other reviews by the same individual.

5) Evaluate the experience of the reviewer

Give more weight to experienced reviewers. The comments of a seasoned traveler are generally more helpful than someone who rarely travels. Additionally, in the case of restaurants, you may want to give more credence to the experiences of reviewers who are local and know the gastronomic terrain.  

6) Know thyself

Not everyone is looking for the same type of experience. For example, if you are a backpacker, you may be more interested in hostels reviewed by backpackers than hostels dissed by luxury travelers.

Additionally, don’t forget that people of different backgrounds, ages, socioeconomic status, etc. may have different travel expectations, perceptions, and preferences.

7) Evaluate the responsiveness of management

When a negative review appears, does management make a credible attempt to apologize or explain what happened? Or, do they spill out a boilerplate apology or even worse, make believe Trip Advisor doesn’t exist?

8) Check the forums

If you have unanswered questions, check out the forums on Trip Advisor where members may have raised the same concerns and where you can pose new questions.

Don’t hesitate to contact reviewers and commenters to ask them questions as well.

9) Don’t forget to look at the photos

Publicity shots on property websites can be deceiving. On the other hand, photographs taken by real people offer a better glimpse at what a room really looks like. For example, a picture with two suitcases on the floor and toiletries in the bathroom will allow you to better gauge space (or lack thereof) than a room that is staged and photographed with a wide angle lens.  

10) Don’t rely solely on one review site.

While TripAdvisor, the largest and most popular review site, is a wonderful source of crowd-sourced information, check out other edited review sites (e.g. Frommer’s, Fodor’s, Lonely Planet and Zagat) where experts weigh in. Also scour books and websites to be a better-informed and more satisfied traveler. I hope you’ll drop in here, too:-)

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11 Comments

Great tips. I like to narrow things down using Frommers and Fodors then I go to Tripadvisor to read the reviews. I also find that it is helpful to come see what restaurants, attractions are hotel in the top 10 on Tripadvisor. Sometimes these are never mentioned in other guidebooks.

Great idea to look at the Top 10 list, Brette! Thanks~

Thanks, Irene, very informative.

When planning a trip, i research destinations first, go to their website and do some snooping and, then, my very last process is to check out my short list on TripAdvisor to see if I’ve missed anything. One thing that concerns me about Tripadvisor is that one bad review can move a company to the next page of listings thus hurting the company’s visibility. That’s why so many bed and breakfasts, small inns and smaller hotels have become almost aggressive in requesting good views from clients.

Destination websites can be very informative but my experience has been that when it comes to comparing properties or restaurants, for example, everyone gets equal weight. There is no substitute for doing your homework before a trip~

One can also email the reviewers directly for further information and comments. I have been emailed several times by folks who read my reviews and then want further information or to ask specific questions as they relate to their trip.

Thanks for your helpful comment, Florence! It’s a great suggestion.

As the owner of a B&B – I’d like to offer my two cents about the outlier comments… take them with a grain of salt. When you find a property that has 100+ excellent reviews and 2 poor and/or 3 average – read those reviews but take them with a grain of salt. If 50, 60, 80, 100 people found a property to be excellent, then there is a very good chance that the poor or average review was written by someone who simple decided they’re going to set everyone straight, Ha! And when you read those reviews pay close attention to what the critique is focused on – when I read them I quite often can detect between the lines what was really the issue and 9 times out of 10 there was absolutely nothing the lodging facility could have done about it. Again, just my two cents.

Agree totally! I try not to pay too much attention to outliers unless they make very specific complaints that are important to me~

I love reading reviews and usually I average them out, if there are more positives than negatives then it usually is a worth try for me. Thanks for the tips.

Your suggestion to know something about the reviewer is a good one. One person’s luxury splurge is another’s moderately priced accommodation. Some hotel rooms my husband and I were perfectly happy with on our first trip together in 1981, we would find cringeworthy now.

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• How your TripAdvisor ranking is calculated (and how to improve it)

23 January, 2024

With 490 million monthly users reading 1 billion Tripadvisor reviews and traveller opinions, Tripadvisor has more than earned its place in the hospitality industry. You can’t afford to not show up on your guest’s next search, but how do the Tripadvisor rankings and review scores work, and what can you do to leverage your listing to your advantage? 

Tripadvisor has adapted over the years, introducing new ways of ranking and sorting properties. All aim to improve the guest's experience when searching for hotels. With various algorithm updates, Tripadvisor has finetuned the weighting of various factors such as location, booking popularity, pricing, availability, bubble ratings, and the Popularity Index (more on this later) when determining properties’ scoring and ranking. 

Tripadvisor's Popularity Index 

The ranking of each property is heavily influenced by the Tripadvisor Popularity Index , a carefully crafted algorithm that aims to predict, based on scores and consistency of past reviews, what level of experience a property is likely to provide to a guest.   

Want to learn more about managing your listing? Check out our Guide to Tripadvisor

The purpose of the Popularity Index is to present travellers with the best options first, ensuring that their experience of the Tripadvisor website is useful and positive. It is important to note that the bubble rating is only one of the factors which influences the Popularity Index. Your popularity index is calculated from three factors:

Quality of reviews: The bubble rating given by travellers in reviews and is reflected in a single score of 1-5 based on a summary of both the written reviews and the overall score given by your guests. 

Quantity of reviews: The number of reviews your property has

Recency of reviews: How recently your reviews were submitted

As it stands, the Popularity Index values consistency in score, recency and volume of reviews, it is, therefore, possible for hotels with a lower bubble rating to sometimes rank above hotels with a better bubble rating. Exactly how each of these factors is weighted, only Tripadvisor knows, but as an astute hotelier, you should focus on improving all of them.

The Popularity Ranking algorithm is designed to provide a statistical measure of confidence about the current experience at a business. As we accumulate more reviews on a business over time, we have more insight into the potential experience consumers can expect. Once we've reached a critical mass of reviews, we're able to more accurately predict that business's ranking. – Tripadvisor

It is also important to note that Tripadvisor’s Popularity Index takes into account other related businesses when determining a property's ranking, so your property will be ranked in comparison to the other similar properties in your geographical area. Therefore, this ranking is always in flux, as one property moves up or down in ranking it will affect all of the other properties in the area, similarly as businesses receive reviews it can change the ranking of not just their property but yours as well.

Additionally, depending on which sorting option is selected, rankings can vary considerably. There are currently three main ways of sorting properties:

Ranking and sorting variations

1. best value.

The default sorting option is what Tripadvisor calls “Best Value”. This ranking algorithm collates a multitude of data points available to Tripadvisor including review ratings, pricing, availability, and the specific user’s preferences and recent activity on the site. This sorting option is very detailed and personalised and can deliver different ranking orders to different users. Sorting results by “Best Value” will bring up all properties that match the user's search criteria, regardless of type (i.e. Hotels, Lodges, B&Bs & Inns etc.). 

Only Tripadvisor knows the exact nuances of this algorithm, but what we do know is that the ranking here is influenced by the hotel's bubble rating and the Popularity Index, and can therefore be improved to an extent by working on the Popularity Index factors. Tripadvisor also offers paid promotional options for listing your property first, before the actual ranking list starts. 

2. Traveller Ranked

Tripadvisor users can also choose to sort results by “Traveller Ranked”, which will rank properties according to the Tripadvisor Popularity Index. This ranking is based on the ratings given to properties by travellers in individual reviews, as well as the volume, recency, and consistency of reviews. This score is the best indicator of how your guest experience compares to your competitors in the eyes of guests. 

It is important to note here that the default setting on Tripadvisor’s “Traveller Ranked” sorting will only include hotels. However, users can filter by property type to discover “Traveller Ranked” properties in each category – Hotels, Lodges, B&Bs & Inns, and so on. There are occasionally discrepancies between the total number of properties in a category on the Tripadvisor website and on their app. This appears to be because the browser version excludes properties with no reviews, while the app includes these in the total count. 

3. Distance to city centre

Sorting by “Distance to city centre” will sort the listings by proximity to the centre, taking into account availability data Tripadvisor gets from booking partners. 

Improving your Tripadvisor ranking

In a nutshell, and according to Tripadvisor itself, “Popularity Ranking is based on user feedback, consistently collecting new, high-quality reviews — that reflect levels of service and value that meet expectations — is the best way for businesses to improve their position over time.”

In other words, to improve your overall rating and ranking you need to look at improving all three of the popularity index factors: quality of reviews, the quantity of your reviews, their recency and their consistency. 

QUALITY 

Unfortunately, there are no easy digital tips and tricks for this one, the quality of reviews is determined by good old-fashioned hospitality – how happy your guests are with the experience they are receiving. While there is no surefire way to guarantee top reviews, you can use your historical guest feedback to ensure that your future guests have the best possible experience. This can be in the form of fixing small hiccups in individual rooms or making significant upgrades based on consolidated guest feedback. 

In addition to improving your service offering based on insights from guests, hoteliers should also be mindful of setting the correct expectations. Often, less-than-satisfactory reviews stem from a discrepancy between what the guest expects and what they experience. These gaps can be minimised by looking at guest feedback, adjusting marketing efforts to accurately depict what guests can expect, and targeting your hotel marketing to the customer groups which best suit your property’s offerings. 

QUANTITY 

One of the challenges hoteliers face is getting these satisfied, but not overwhelmed, customers to leave reviews. People post reviews about experiences that they find exceptional, whether that be exceptionally good or exceptionally bad, while acceptably pleasant experiences go unreported.

The number of reviews you get can be bolstered by implementing some simple tools and tricks (but make sure you don't fall on the wrong side of the rules of online review sites ). You need to ensure that you’re asking every guest to leave a review after their stay, and giving them as many opportunities to do so as easily as possible. 

This can be in the form of a QR code positioned around the hotel, or an email reminder designed to prompt the guest to leave you a review. According to a BrightLocal study , “65% of consumers left reviews in response to requests from a business”, so we can see that just asking helps generate reviews. Ideally, you should make it as simple as possible for guests to voice their feedback and to automatically load this onto Tripadvisor. For instance, thanks to our Platinum Partner status , GuestRevu surveys can include an embedded Tripadvisor review section, which allows guests to post a review to Tripadvisor without logging in or even being a member of the site. This has led to many of our clients seeing a significant increase in the volume of thier Tripadvisor reviews. 

The older a review is on Tripadvisor the less weight it carries in your overall scoring, so hoteliers need to have a strategy to actively garner feedback from their guests. Having a Tripadvisor account but not having an online reputation management strategy can often lead to more frustration than joy from the online platform. Whereas those properties who actively request feedback often find that their online reputation can significantly boost their bookings and ultimately their bottom line.

Consistency

These three elements; quality, quantity and recency, work together over time to shape a business's Popularity Ranking. To put it simply, if you consistently receive positive reviews, your ranking will be higher than a property with a mix of glowing and less favourable feedback. Moreover, recent reviews, especially when there's a high volume of them, hold more significance than those from years prior. So, maintaining a positive and current reputation is key to climbing up the ranking ladder. 

Your ranking isn't all that matters

You might be ranked first in your area or you might be ranked hundredth, but remember that people, not numbers, stay at your hotel. You have to be a person as well, someone who is part of the conversation, you have to respond to your reviews.

This does not mean only responding to those reviews which sing your praises, although a ‘Thank-you’ and ‘Hope to see you again’ obviously go a long way in showing appreciation. The real test will come in managing your negative reviews – and manage you must because should you hide or ignore them, you’re going to miss out on the 85% of TripAdvisor users who say that a properly managed response to a negative review actually improves their impression of the establishment.

Make sure you engage, frequently and thoughtfully. As mentioned, management responses are invaluable, but so too is current content. Make sure your listing content is up-to-date and consider seasonal adjustments to ensure you are really appealing to travellers who are thinking about booking right now. Photos are extremely important, especially of the inside of your property so it’s worthwhile investing in some great shots. — Sally Davey, former Head of Industry Relations at TripAdvisor

With a sound reputation management strategy you should be able to put your best foot forward on Tripadvisor and benefit from the increased exposure, boosted popularity and ultimately improve your bottom line. 

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Here's what it's like to to book an adventure abroad through Viator, Trip Advisor's tour and excursion booking platform

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• While in Croatia with my family this year, I used Trip Advisor 's activity-booking platform Viator to book boat charters abroad. All operators are pre-vetted by Trip Advisor to guarantee credibility and safety. Excursions range from $15 for a walking tour to thousands for luxury experiences.
• Booking independently through Viator saved me significant costs compared to using a travel agency, and helped me plan my vacation in advance, with clear pricing and reviews from past guests.
• I had a great experience with Viator and would use it again — but with a few changes. Next time, I'll make sure to ask more questions first, so I don't face any surprises. Here's what you should know to do the same.
• Read all Insider Picks travel reviews here.

I'm a lifestyle journalist with a focus on travel and trot the globe frequently with my husband and five-year-old twins. So I think of myself as pretty savvy when it comes to calling upon Internet resources (not to mention intuition earned through experience) to make bookings, even in places I've never before been.

This summer, I went on a two-week vacation with my family in Europe, hitting Greece and Croatia, plus bordering countries along the Dalmatian Coast. We spent a fair amount of time off the beaten path and there were a lot of moving parts. But I felt confident, and competent, that I could independently plan our trip, without the help of a travel agency. I know my way around search engines for flights, hotels, and deals.

But there was a blind spot. How would I book tours and excursions such as chartering a speedboat for our family to Croatia's famous islands?

I was relieved when I stumbled upon the activity-booking search engine Viator , which is owned by Trip Advisor. After reviewing various offerings and reading reviews, I booked two separate boat charters through the company. Both boats were clean, comfortable, beautiful, more or less as advertised, and operated by companies I would not have known how to access without Viator. 

I'd recommend the platform, especially to anyone staying at an Airbnb without a concierge like I did, or looking for cheaper options than what a hotel or travel agency might suggest. But I'd offer a caveat from my own experience: savvy travelers must make sure to cover their bases to avoid potential pitfalls such as the one we experienced. 

What is Viator?

Viator is Trip Advisor's platform for booking all kinds of activities during travel. Consider you might find 4x4 and camel tours in Dubai, a skip-the-line tour of the Colosseum in Rome, or a tour of the Grand Canyon by helicopter from Las Vegas.

Really, you'll find just about anything. The search engine includes options for a truly whopping 200,000 bookable activities in places all around the world making it unlikely that you won't find what you need. All operators listed are pre-vetted for credibility and safety backed by Trip Advisor .

Importantly, the site also aggregates millions of reviews, like what you'll find on Viator's sister site, Trip Advisor, so you have a pretty good sense of what you're getting. 

How is Viator priced?

Naturally, price points on Viator range dramatically based on the location and the excursions' complexity. A basic walking tour might cost under $20 while a day-long excursion or charter could cost hundreds more. The more expensive of the two trips I booked came in under $1,000, and the rates on the site can soar depending on what you're booking.

The site is optimized for mobile booking, offers around-the-clock customer service in multiple languages, a lowest-price guarantee, and a 24-hour cancellation policy, which makes the financial risk in booking feel low. 

In fact, I made use of that cancellation policy a few times to cancel and rebook similar activities when I changed my mind on the specifics, and also to flatly cancel a sightseeing tour I'd booked for our first day in Greece when I realized we'd all be too jet-lagged to bother.

I made both Viator bookings using my Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card  — both in U.S. dollars — and faced no trouble making these changes.

What did I book through Viator?

I'd never been to Croatia, but knew I wanted to see its beautiful islands. We were staying in an Airbnb apartment (a rare choice for me) instead of a full-service hotel with concierge, so I was on my own for finding out how to do this. 

Poking around on the Internet for tours, I discovered Viator , which was previously unknown to me. I appreciated that like its parent company Trip Advisor, Viator heavily incorporates a review system, and the Trip Advisor backing gave me confidence. I booked two tours, each about three weeks ahead of our arrival.

For our stay in Dubrovnik, I booked a half-day private speedboat tour to the Elafiti islands , which earned an impressive five stars overall, with over 100 reviews on Viator. The trip for four people for four hours came in just under $400 after I used a 10 percent discount code. 

Then, for the portion of our trip in the northern area of the country, Split, I booked an all-day private sightseeing tour with five proposed stops , including the famous Blue Cave and Hvar island. This trip also had an overall five-star rating on Viator, but with far fewer reviews, just 27 as of the time of this writing. The eight-hour trip for four people on the private speedboat charter cost $873 after the discount code.

These prices might seem steep, but consider that it's priced for four people, as well as the alternative. When I briefly felt overwhelmed with planning, I reached out to a Croatia-based travel agency. The land-only quote for a week in the county for our party of four was 12,000 euros. Booking on my own — including these two-day trips through Viator — cut our expenses to less than half.

My booking experience with Viator

After so much planning, our trip was at last underway. We spent a morning at a Dubrovnik beach club before our scheduled boat tour for the afternoon. That same day, the highly responsive tour company reached out through WhatsApp and email to coordinate transportation for us to the marina, where we'd be meeting our skipper and the boat.

They called a rideshare at their expense to meet us at the beach club and we arrived at the marina to find an impeccably clean boat and friendly skipper.

As promised, the boat was just for our family with amenities like shade cover and a USB port to charge up phones and stay ready for photo taking. 

We set out for the afternoon on the Adriatic and were able to customize our itinerary, checking out bays, beaches, and caves at our own pace. The skipper snapped family photos and offered snorkel masks and drinks.

At the end of the afternoon, our skipper called us an Uber to take us back to the hotel. Overall it was a successful, fun day. And at under $400 for four people, felt like a great value for all we were able to do.

Unfortunately, it didn't foreshadow the more challenging experience we had on our next excursion, which was the full-day boat charter from Split.

For that trip, I had more difficulty communicating in advance with the operator, who was less responsive. I didn't get all my questions answered before booking, and miscalculated by making some critical assumptions that turned out to be false.

We arrived at the marina to find a boat that exceeded our expectations. It was a rather luxurious looking speedboat with room for 12 and was larger and fancier than our previous boat in Dubrovnik.

It was also more powerful, at 250 horsepower. While some people might appreciate that, the speed of the vessel scared our young children right away.

Our skipper was a devoted and experienced older brother, so he was well equipped with strategies to help calm our kids and took pains to make them comfortable. He even let my son "drive" the boat and honk the horn, which was a huge hit. 

But my daughter was still uncomfortable as the boat sped through the open ocean. Off the bat, I wondered if this was something any ambitious American traveler would attempt with such young children had they known how rough it would be.

The skipper warned us that the Blue Cave would be backed up and crowded, and the timing might correspond to a bumpy afternoon sail. So we opted against it and chose a custom plan to mitigate the intensity. I appreciated that we were able to change the day's itinerary to better suit our needs.

Our skipper took us to a gorgeous, remote beach on the island of Vis, which was a true highlight with crystal clear water and a sense of true isolation. We swam from the boat to the beach, snorkeled, and took lots of pictures.

Afterward, we sailed to glamorous Hvar island, where we passed an hour or so with lunch in Hvar Town.

But it was after that, on the way back to the harbor in Split, when our challenges started in earnest.

It was squarely afternoon by then, and the winds had picked up; the open ocean was very choppy. That is to say, our boat caught full air and slammed back down — over and over again. There was nothing the skipper could do as this was the nature of the boat and typical conditions.

Although my kids (mercifully) don't suffer motion sickness, they were terrified. Anyone with young children and those who do suffer from motion sickness should inquire about conditions before booking any similar boat ride as I wished I had.

My son could be placated by heading back to his post as the boat's "driver," but my daughter was miserable for the full 75 minutes it took to get back to the marina and the waves soaked our family. Making matters more concerning, there was only one kid-sized life jacket on board.  

I was regretful that I'd gotten us in this position. I hadn't adequately confirmed that this was the right trip for our family.

And although I generally feel like a diligent and capable planner, I'd continued with the booking despite not waiting for the answers I needed: Would there be child-sized snorkel masks? Would there be two child-sized life jackets? Was the water likely to be rough? Will we get wet or seasick?  

The bottom line on Viator  

Overall, I wouldn't trade either of the stunning boat excursions I booked through Viator . They made for essential sightseeing experiences for any visitor to Croatia.

The operators on both experiences were professional, and the services were provided as advertised. I also found the prices to be reasonable, much more so than if I'd booked through a travel agency.

I'll book through Viator again, but next time, I'll make sure I'm asking more questions and getting the specific answers I need first.

If a particular operator is vague or reluctant to respond to the specifics of an important matter, like child-sized life vests, or typical water conditions, I will move on to another operator.  

As a now-seasoned Viator user, I'd say: book with confidence. Just make sure you ask a lot of questions specific to your needs and make sure you get them all answered explicitly before you show up on the day of your booking.

With the sheer number of bookings available on Viator, you should have plenty of options to keep moving onto another suitable tour operator until you find one that gives you all the answers — and confidence — you need.  

Book a Viator excursion, large or small, anywhere on earth .

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