Viator and Tripadvisor Tenerife reviews: prices, cancellation, is it legit?

Viator is the Tripadvisor group's activity-booking company, and the ratings it shows mix reviews from both websites. For a day on Teide with hotel pick-up, a trip to La Gomera or a stargazing night it has plenty on offer and good terms. For the theme parks, it doesn't.

We don't earn a commission from Viator and we don't link to its products. We judge it by the same criteria as the platforms we do work with.

Who's behind Viator

Viator, Inc. is a Delaware corporation based in Needham, Massachusetts, and describes itself as "a Tripadvisor company". Tripadvisor bought it in 2014 for about $200 million and in November 2025 announced that the Viator and Tripadvisor teams would merge into one, with redundancies. The app is published by Viator Systems Pty Limited. It says it offers more than 400,000 experiences worldwide.

Don't be surprised if the charge shows up on your card as "Viator/Tripadvisor/Owl Payments".

How it works

Viator doesn't sell the trips itself; it acts as the provider's agent, and the provider pays it a commission after the activity. Every listing names the company that runs it ("Supplied by…"), such as Pindoria Viajes SL for the Teide and Masca tour. Viator admits that its default order takes provider payments into account and that what counts most is relevance, its own revenue and booking volume.

There's an important catch with the reviews. On Viator only people who have booked can leave one, but the rating you see adds together Viator and Tripadvisor reviews, and anyone can write on Tripadvisor without having bought anything. A "4.8 from 3,000 reviews" doesn't mean 3,000 verified purchases.

What it sells in Tenerife

More than 600 results. The best of them are the coach trips with pick-up: Teide and Masca from €57, Teide with Icod, Garachico and Masca from €58, La Gomera from €110 and sunset with stargazing from €40 (€65 with hotel pick-up, with almost 3,000 reviews). At sea it has the whale-watching catamaran with transfer and lunch from €63, an eco-catamaran from €36, the "eco-friendly" whale encounter from €25, kayaking with turtles from €35 and the submarine at €61.

Prices compared with the official websites

On day trips Viator sits in the same price range as everyone else. The Volcano Teide tour with the cable car, which costs the same everywhere, doesn't appear on Viator with that provider: you'll only find similar tours from other companies.

If you want the cable car without a tour, no platform sells it: you buy it on volcanoteide.com at €43 return. The listings carry a "Lowest price guarantee" badge: read its terms before you count on it. All the comparisons are in compare prices.

Cancellation, payment and Viator Rewards

Most activities can be cancelled free of charge up to 24 h beforehand. If the activity has no start time, the deadline is usually 23:59 two days before. You have to cancel yourself on the website, from your booking.

You pay by card and many listings offer reserve now, pay later. Viator converts the currency at its own exchange rate, and your bank may charge a further fee. The final price includes taxes and fees; if there's anything to pay on the spot, the provider has to say so.

Viator Rewards gives you credit back after each activity, valid for 180 days. You don't earn it if you use a promo code or if you reach Viator from an affiliate website, even through a cookie from the last 30 days. If you collect that credit, go to Viator directly.

Customer service, languages and reviews

There's chat and a Spanish phone number, +34 911 776 743. Viator is available in Spanish, English, French, German, Italian, Dutch and Japanese: seven of the ten languages in this guide, without Hungarian, Lithuanian or Chinese.

On Trustpilot it scores 4.4 from more than 330,000 reviews, with 11% one-star, and it replies to 80% of negative ones within 24 h. On the UK App Store it's around 4.9. That's a snapshot of today. Customers praise the guides and the variety; they complain about late notices, last-minute cancellations, rigid refunds and support that's hard to reach.

Who it suits

People who already use Tripadvisor, anyone after an island tour with pick-up and anyone collecting Viator Rewards. Don't use it for Siam Park, Loro Parque or the cable car: go to the official website or a platform that sells them at the official price.

Alternatives

GetYourGuide covers the same ground on day trips and adds the parks at the official price with 24 h of leeway. Civitatis is stronger in the north and on Spanish-speaking guides. For museum tickets, Tiqets; Headout and Klook have little in Tenerife.