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The best websites to find, compare and book tours and attractions around the world. In other words, in this post you will find an in-depth analysis of search engine for excursions, tours and activities. The best platforms!
You can use these sites to buy tickets for museums, amusement and theme parks, excursions, guided tours or any type of activity that you can do during your travels.
They cover most of the countries, cities and popular destinations around the world.
Have you ever shown up to join a tour or enter an attraction that you really want to visit…. and find out that it is full or that you could have gotten a 50% discount if you had reserved a place in advance?
Whether you're a traveler who just goes with the flow or likes to cram as much as you can into your trip, there's a good chance that sometimes you'll need to book in advance.
The good news is that I have found 5 great websites that will help you get the best deals on booking tickets for tours, activities and attractions around the world.
Why do I need a tour/activity website to help plan my trip?
Have you ever planned a trip and been exhausted by the amount of research you have needed to find the best and most exciting activities….at a reasonable price?
Or maybe for trying to find out How can you enter an incredible attraction that you have heard so much about (like Machu Picchu or the Colosseum) without having to wait in those painful lines to get in?
Well, travel websites can help you. In our opinion, Civitatis is the best search engine for Spanish-speaking excursions and tours. But keep reading the article to discover all the options.
Not only can they show you what your options are at a particular destination, but they can help you do things like get the best price, make sure you get a seat before it fills up, or find skip-the-line tickets.
What can an excursion/tour website do for me?
Using the websites recommended below, you can buy tickets to events and attractions or schedule tours around your travel destination.
And they can save you money, time, and frustration by helping you make sense of it all.
These websites can also help you find the best prices for your budget., to visit off-the-beaten-track locations and to make sure you have VIP access to the most sought-after locations.
All of the travel and attraction websites I've reviewed offer you the flexibility to plan your trip to fit your travel style and budget.
So, whether you are traveling with your family, whether you fancy a romantic trip or want to have a great time with friends, one of these websites will work for you.
Promotional video Get Your Guide which we discuss below.
I have ranked the websites below in order of the number of features and services each offers.
So all you have to do is take a few minutes to browse all their activities, read verified customer reviews, and then book the tour What are you looking for
How do these top attraction booking websites compare for a celebrity tour?
Below is the price for a single ticket/visit for the Empire State Building in NY out of the 5 websites I have reviewed (including the bonus option).
Tour website/ticket | Cost per person of the visit/entrance to the Empire State Building | Other New York tour options on the website |
1) getyourguide | $$45.73 | + 500 activities (transfer options, boat trip, panoramic helicopter flight, etc.) |
2) Viator | $$45.73 | + 2,039 activities (excursions and tickets) |
3) Civitatis | $$45.73 | + 80 activities (transfer options, boat trip, museum tickets, etc.) |
4) tickets.com | $$45.73 | + 100 activities (cruise options, bike rental, museum visits, etc.) |
This comparison that I have made takes into account the covid-19 pandemic scenario, so the value of the tickets is standardized between the sites.
But as you can see, one site offers more tour options than the other, so I recommend doing a search on each one and seeing what activities are typically offered and then seeing which one interests you the most.
→ Barcelona Tourist Bus stops and exact route. Is it worth it?
Making another comparison, I have searched for the guided tour of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and as you can see, the pandemic factor continues to be a complication for those who want to do tourism. Dates vary by site or visit, so it's good to do a lot of research
Tour website/ticket | Cost per person of a guided tour of the Eiffel Tower | Other Paris guided tour options on the website |
1) GetYourGuide | Only available on weekends until March/2021
Standard value 40.22 DOLLARS |
+ 700 activities (guided tour options, boat tour, behind-the-scenes tour of the venues, etc.) |
2) Viator | You have more options of varied dates until Oct/2021
Standard value $42.50 |
+ 3,358 activities (excursions and tickets) |
3) Civitatis | You only have a ticket for after June/2021
Standard value 43.32 DOLLARS |
+ 80 activities (transfer options, free visit, boat trip, museum tickets, etc.) |
4) tickets.com | It does not show availability of schedules for this tour | + 100 activities (guided tour options, tickets, etc.) |
The 5 Best (and Cheapest) Websites to Book Tours, Activities, Attractions, and Tickets Worldwide
1. GetYourGuide, Excursions and tours search engine super complete.
If you are looking for a website that offers tons of options for attractions, tickets, tours, and ultimate experiences in your destination, then GetYourGuide is where you have to start your search.
In this post you will find all the luxury of details how to book and save money in Get Your Guide.
It is one of the largest travel sites in the world and they have more than 60,000 activities to choose from around the world (including tickets to the most popular attractions, the tastiest food and the best nightlife).
The website also facilitates find activities It does not matter how much time you have during your trip, whether it is an hour or several days.
One of the best features is its “front row” function that allows you to get ahead of the long queues.
You may still have to go through security depending on the attraction, but you'll still save yourself the time and frustration of being stuck in crowds.
With every booking, you get a "best price guarantee" on tours and tickets. This means that if you find a cheaper price, they will refund the difference. Not a bad deal!
You can also purchase combo packages to experience more than one excursion on the same day. And if you have any questions, customer service specialists are online 24 hours a day.
You can read the opinions and evaluations of the clients who have made the excursions in which you are thinking (which is always important to know what you are getting into)
What I like (the summary):
- A huge database of activities, attractions and tours (for both popular and lesser known destinations)
- You can read the opinions of customers about each activity
- 24/7 travel assistance
- Personalized packages that allow you to do several excursions in a single day
- Best price guarantee (the difference is refunded if you find the same excursion/activity cheaper elsewhere)
- Free travel guides "to know before you go"
- You can pay for tickets in 1 of 13 different currencies (avoid exchange fees!)
- front line function
- You can cancel most activities for free up to 24 hours before
What I did not like
While most of the customer feedback I saw raved about the experiences, there were a couple of complaints about poor organization and large crowds at some of the more popular attractions.
2. Viator
With its 17-year history of travel and excursions, Viator is also worth a look.
Besides, Viator belonging to tripadvisor, one of the most famous travel websites in the world. Viator is an excellent search engine for excursions and tours.
I like that you can buy tickets to multiple attractions, including Broadway shows, vacation activities, and kids' excursions.
I also like the fact that you can book shopping and spa tours as well as theme park tours and save money while staying at Disney World or Universal. On Viator, you can also buy airport transfers.
Like other websites, they offer global support and 24-hour customer service. They also offer VIP tours including behind-the-scenes access, private tours and the ability to "skip the line"
The website offers options in 13 languages and the ability to use 8 different currencies.
What I like:
- Many attractions around the world
- Customizable travel packages
- Offers airport transfers
- They have some of the best prices I've ever seen.
- Offers tourist packages for children
- You can pay for tickets in 1 of 8 different currencies (avoid exchange fees!)
What I did not like
To be honest, Viator is pretty impressive and I didn't find anything worth mentioning here.
3. Civitatis
Civitatis It has been on the market for more than ten years and was created by the Spanish Alberto Gutiérrez after a trip to Morocco.
At that time, he encountered the difficulty of contracting activities and services in Spanish and returned home with the brilliant idea of creating a website for online tourist reservations.
The thing worked out so well that the company became leader in the sale of trips and activities in Spanish in the world! It's a very interesting detail, isn't it? Civitatis is an incredible search engine for excursions, activities and tours around the world.
→ Best travel affiliate program TravelPayouts how it works 2022
Another interesting thing is that the site is very intuitive and easy to navigate. On the results page you can filter the options by availability, activity, price, duration and more.
All activities receive a lot of opinions and show the evaluation, the origin of the visitor and if he was in a group or alone. Then, you can analyze the route and make the best decision, based on the number of companions.
At each attraction, the site also offers a "Frequently Asked Questions" topic, with which you can quickly find out about reservations, cancellations, fees, important information, among others.
Like the other websites mentioned, it also offers customer service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And you also have the option to pay for tickets in 1 of the 8 different currencies available.
You can read our in-depth review of Civitatis HERE
What I liked about Civitatis:
- Interactive map with all the destinations in the world (+1,730)
- Many attractions around the world! It is possible to buy tickets for different attractions, such as plays, excursions or boat rentals, balloon rides, among others.
- It has some free activity options!
- Most of the activities have free cancellation (but the period varies according to the tour).
- You can download the tickets directly to your smartphone
- Indicates if the site you visit is accessible for people with reduced mobility.
- Personalized and scripted travel packages for more than one day.
- Offers airport transfers
What I did not like about Civitatis:
I really liked Civitas and I have only found two points that perhaps are not so good
The site has eight languages, three variants of Spanish and on some tours, the guided tour is exclusively in one language (or only in Spanish, or only in English…)
4. tickets
5% discount with the Tiqets code RBBV5OFF
As the name suggests, on this website you can buy tickets for popular attractions around the world.
If you're looking for a globe-trotting experience at some of the world's most popular museums, zoos, and attractions, you'll want to check out their site.
And if you're a history buff, you'll want to check out some of their history-focused tours.
I loved the convenience of downloading your tickets directly to your smartphone. So you don't have to bother losing paper tickets or trying to print them.
When you arrive at the venue, you just have to show the ticket on your phone and you're in.
Like most of the websites I've reviewed, this one also offers you 24/7 customer support from a multicultural and multilingual support team.
You can order tickets in 7 languages and you can use one of 10 currencies to pay for them.
The site also shows you the operating hours of each attraction, the best times to visit it, and also has a 'skip the line' feature for many visits.
Sometimes you can buy tickets for an attraction without a specific date. For example, if you buy a ticket to the Statue of Liberty in New York, it will be valid for 2 years.
There are also "insider tips" from verified customers that offer additional information on the attractions you're thinking of visiting.
tickets It has been in operation since 2013, and is based in Amsterdam.
What I like (the summary):
- They offer many in-depth history tours - great for history buffs!
- You can download the tickets directly to your smartphone
- You can pay for tickets in 1 of 10 different currencies (avoid exchange fees!)
- Option to upgrade VIP tickets
- You can read the opinions of the clients of each activity
- 24/7 customer service
- multilingual website
- Tickets with flexible dates
What I did not like
If you prefer a paper ticket or do not have a smartphone, you will have to wait until you arrive at your destination to be able to pick up a paper ticket from their "kiosk"
Their 24/7 support is only available to English-speaking customers. If you need help in another language, you will have to do it on a limited schedule.
I also found out that depending on the attraction, some tickets cannot be cancelled. So be sure to check the attraction's cancellation policy before purchasing your ticket.
Tiqets also does not offer tickets for attractions that are off the beaten track. So if you fancy exploring somewhere that's not so ordinary, you might have to look at one of the other websites I mention here.
How can I use these tour and attraction websites to help me plan my itinerary?
Even if I don't book an activity through these websites, I often like to check them for a destination I'm going to, just to see my options for activities to do there. At the very least, they'll give you a solid starting point for planning that trip.
But of course, I know that planning an itinerary is still one of the most time-consuming (and stressful) parts of organizing your trip.
So if you're in the itinerary planning part of your trip, I have two resources that can help you.
The first is our details page for planning an itinerary
The second is a step-by-step walkthrough of how I actually planned the itinerary for one of our trips (a super cheap 3-month trip to Asia and Micronesia).
Conclusion..
Whether you know exactly what you want to see and do, or are still undecided about your itinerary and the tour and attractions you'd like to do, these above websites can help.
They'll give you some great ideas on the places to visit and attractions to visit during your trip, help you get the best prices, and offer you some perks (like skipping the line at famous attractions or VIP access).
My final suggestion is that once you find the activity you want to do, check it out on all 4 websites to make sure you find the best deal.
The 15 minutes or so you spend comparing the prices and special features of each activity on each website can save you A LOT of money.
Have you tried any of the above websites to book visits, attractions, activities or tickets? What was your experience? Or do you have any other questions about itinerary planning?
Let me know in the comment area below (I promise to respond to every comment!)
¡Me encanta usar sitios web de excursiones! Siempre encuentro las mejores actividades para mis viajes.
¡Qué suerte tienes! Yo siempre termino decepcionado con las actividades que encuentro en estos sitios. Parece que nunca logro encontrar lo que realmente quiero. ¡Disfruta de tus viajes!
Wow, ¡qué artículo tan interesante! Me encantaría saber qué opinan los demás sobre estas webs de excursiones. ¿Alguien ha tenido alguna experiencia positiva o negativa con ellas?
¡Hola! Personalmente, he tenido excelentes experiencias con las webs de excursiones. Es una forma conveniente y confiable de descubrir nuevos lugares. Sin embargo, siempre es importante investigar y leer reseñas antes de reservar. ¡Buena suerte en tus aventuras!
¡Vaya! Estoy emocionado por todas las opciones de excursiones y actividades que puedo encontrar en estos sitios web. ¡A planificar mi próximo viaje!
¡Vaya, me encantaría probar esos sitios web de excursiones y actividades! ¿Alguien ha tenido alguna experiencia con ellos?
¡Sí, yo he tenido varias experiencias con esos sitios web! Algunos son geniales y ofrecen actividades emocionantes, pero otros son una completa estafa. Mi consejo sería investigar bien antes de reservar y leer los comentarios de otros usuarios. ¡Buena suerte en tus aventuras!
¡Wow! Me encantaría saber cuáles son esos 4 mejores sitios web, ¡es una información muy útil para mis próximas vacaciones!
No puedo estar más de acuerdo contigo. La elección de los mejores sitios web para planificar nuestras vacaciones es crucial. Sería genial si compartieras esos 4 sitios, así todos podemos disfrutar de tus recomendaciones. ¡Gracias de antemano!