City Wonders Reviews 

We went on the Tuscany day tour that included visiting 2 world heritage medieval towns and a 3 course lunch and wine tasting at a 16th century farm/vineyard.It was spectacular and a very special day -the views are magnificent just like a painting and the countryside is just gorgeous. I recommend this trip very much. Our guide Eduardo was very engaging,intelligent, shared a lot of historical information, teaching us pronunciation of certain words, Italian food and even sang Italian songs to us as well as the driver too.

We booked two tours in Rome for a family of four , the first was , the colosseum and palatine hill guided tour) and secondly the Vatican City tour , we arrived for the first colosseum tour and were told the guide was sick which seems to be a running theme with many poor reviews here , in truth they don’t have enough guides I was told this by one of their members of staff that they take bookings knowing that, secondly I received an email saying they would refund the difference within 2 weeks , so the four tickets at 18 euros each we used on our own and let me tell you it’s not great just wandering around on your own without all the vital information , so I expected a refund of over £350 , so after 5 weeks they have now paid me back just under £300 , so not the full amount but I will have to accept they are poor at maths , I still argue about the incompetence, lack of organisation , lack of staff , but keeping money from customers , in my case not as much as others have lost , I have emailed them to query their maths but they are not budging , I will persist because money is hard earned and this shower of crap are not getting my money , please do not book with them , the second tour did go ahead but the guide was tired and unenthusiastic, they are doing at least three tours a day in beating sun , they are tired and bored and it shows .
I would have considered legal action to recover my money and others should because this type of conduct should not be allowed to continue .
Please do not book any tours with City Wonders , they should change their name to sh##ty blunders.
A costly trip to Rome ruined by this third rate company.

We had an awesome day today from Rome to Tuscany. Fabrizio you are a fantastic guide!! Also a big thank you to the driver (I hope we spelt it right :) xxxxx 🇦🇺

I booked three events with City Wonders through Expedia, expecting a great experience for our time in Rome.

On the first trip (A colosseum and palatine hill guided tour) we arrived on time, only to be told that our guide wasn't coming in that day. We were instead provided with the two tickets and told we should go by ourselves, with a partial refund.

Our day had been planned around this event so we were left without much option.

The tickets had a face value of 18.50 euros each, and our tour had cost 169 pounds (GBP), (or effectively 200 euros,) meaning that the majority cost was for the guide with the tour.

When we returned home, we found our partial refund was 50% of the overall cost i e. 84.50 GBP.

With the tickets costing around 31 GBP converted, this meant that we were charged in excess of 50 GBP for the privilege of doing things ourselves. (More than 1 and a half times more than the cost of the tickets themselves.)

We challenged this refund with Expedia, but they said they could not help, and City Wonders backed up their insult by saying that the tour was non-refundable (in other words, suck it up).

If this had been reversed and we had not shown for the tour, the failing would have been ours, but the liberties from a company that has already tied your hands behind your back are unacceptable.

On top of this, the organisation for the other trips was incredibly poor, bordering on manic. The administration gets you to the venue on time, but the meeting point itself involved half a dozen people in blue shirts, trying to shout above the hustle and bustle of a busy tourist square, looking to coordinate around 10 tours at once.

At least half those present were struggling to find where they should be, (questioning and complaining with each other) and when the question was raised to the individual who appeared to be the lead blue shirt, he was rude to the customers, arrogant, and clearly more concerned with how he looked in front of the female guests, than how he supported the customers.

City Wonders? The real Wonder is how this company has managed to monopolise the area for so long.

That said, the guides on the tours were contractors to, not employees of City Wonders, and the ones that supported our other tours were very good. Laura and Barbara were their names, and it was they that effectively saved our days, in what was otherwise a maelstrom of ineptitude.

City Wonders are merely coordinators, and not very good ones. Our experience suggests that it is better to buy tours on the ground in Rome, where you can at least control your own approach.

We read reviews on City Wonders before we went with them, but our mistake was starting at the top and working down until we had seen enough. I would recommend reading more reviews but start from the bottom.

There are so many bad reviews that you will soon realise, the common denominator is not the customer here.

We booked the Tour pompei at Scavi for 7 People 246,-!!

your organization has a policy that scams people!!!! It's sad that you treat tourists this way. guide or no guide, children are free, and if entrance is paid you have to give people access. Earn 246 euros from 7 people if they are 15 minutes late due to a train failure😡
A very bad Company!
Book at the local Company 👌they told us that the polici off citywonders are very Bad!!!!
We lost the 246,- and booked again by a italian Company near by the station again for less and kids are free!!!!!!!
City Wonders: You are very very corrupt!!!!!!

Inflexible and not supportive. Never ever must someone book with them. We booked for Change of Guard and Buckingham palace tour. We were 5 min late in joining the defined point. So we called the call centre to get 1. The contact number of the guide so that we can connect with them in the Buckingham palace during change of guards 2. In case the guide’s number was not possible to provide at least the tickets so that we can at least go into the palace even though it may not be a guided tour. Obtaining the entry tickets was legitimate as we had paid for it. City Wonder rejected all requests and said none of them was possible. I felt it was a very very unfair treatment as our tickets at least should have been provided. So my recommendation - stay away from these guys. They are not there to help you.
There are several others out there who are lot more flexible.

Paula our tour guide was brilliant, and very amusing, clearly has a passion for the job, even helping other guests after the tour with transport needs, going truly above and beyond.
The process was simple, the entry was very fast. Very little else you could ask for.

I went on 6/30/24 and it was an absolute disaster. To begin we get on the bus and they let us get 2 hours down the road before they tell us that the boat to Amalfi is not working. They said that the previous day there had been a strike with the boat workers. So they couldn’t convince me that they didn’t know we were going to run into issues the next day. They had this planned and were just hoping that we would accept their lackluster plan B of going to Sorrento. So the people on the bus complained and the guide Sonja said that she was going to try to get us at least on a boat to Postiano from Sorrento. So we get to Sorrento and we have a rushed lunch at a super expensive place (at least is was good). Then we meet back up only for Sonja to tell us that she could not even secure to boat to Postiano. Then she says we only have less than 2 hours in Sorrento. Sorrento doesn’t even have a free beach you have to wait in a long line and then pay 15-20 euros to even get to be able to go in the water. Which I did because I was not going to let my day be completely ruined. I only got to spend about 45 minutes in the water before rushing back up the hill to meet back up to go back to Rome. We spent 6-7 hours on the bus in heavy traffic (which I do recognize was not the tour companies fault). Then Sonja had no ability to read the room and was trying to get us to dance the YMCA on the way back with a bus full of angry people (not even lying… so bizarre) which just made me even more mad.

The other thing that was simply not ok was Sonja’s treatment of a Japanese lady on the bus who had trouble understanding. She maybe thought she was helping but she was downright aggressive with that poor woman. She kept offensively calling her Japonese and complaining to other people the woman couldn’t understand her. She then started yelling at her in Italian because she couldn’t understand. The lady was visibly upset to the point of crying. When we got to Sorrento Sonja grabbed the Japanese lady by the arm and led her and I can tell she was uncomfortable. The lady got off in Sorrento and I hope she was able to at least get on the boat like we were not able to. The treatment of that lady made me sick to my stomach honestly. I hope she is ok.

On the ride home along with the terrible YMCA incident Sonja kept telling us to not leave her a bad review because it wasn’t her fault about the boat. True. But your attitude toward everyone is your fault and it was awful. She was extremely rude to me when I asked her a question about a meetup spot. She obviously didn’t understand English very well which was a lie on City Wonders part that they had “expert guides who spoke English”.

The other thing was that I overheard some other passengers talking who had a brother who went to the coast because the boats were in fact working. So I think this was a huge scam to see if they could get away with it. I just thank the people who made a big fuss on the bus because I think that is the only reason we are getting our refunds processed (and thank you to the person who I saw recording every time they spoke on the bus). They should have told us in the morning it was not happening (because it was clear from the get go it wasn’t) and gave us our refunds so we could have had our day in Rome.

In all it was a long bus ride with a stop to a limoncello factory that no one even cared about and we got a small lemon soap as a consolation prize. Do not book this experience and if you do proceed with caution. You are better off catching the train and booking your own ferry ticket. And Sonja needs some training on how to deal with people if she is working in hospitality.

Also there is a place they let you get off for a “pit stop” that is literally highway robbery. 16 euros for a cheese and tomato sandwich, small bottle of water, and can of sprite. This is obviously just a huge cash grab so if you risk this experience then bring your own food unless you don’t care about overspending.

The only positive I will say is the bus driver did his best to get us back to Rome despite the traffic. But when we got back the subway lines were down and I had to pay for an expensive taxi back to my hotel.

This was a gut wrenching experience and the only reason I came to Italy was for Amalfi. I don’t know if and when I can come back but when I do I am going to just book my own stuff and not rely on any tour companies anymore. Citywonders should be ashamed. I hope anyone on that bus reading this was able to capitalize on their time in Rome and I am sorry for all of us about the major let down.

I just came back from Paris and we booked a tour June 12 Voucher 4222329. Party of 6.
with city wonders to see two castles but unfortunately we left all of our shopping in the bus. As soon as we got to our apartment we call the company and they said there was no bags in the bus.
I was the last one to leave the bus.
There were only three people on there. All employees. Saaid, Emma the tour guides and the driver. One of they stole all our shopping we forgot in the back of the bus.
Costumer service was rude and didn’t care about our lost.
Saaid joked at the end of the tour saying: don’t forget your belongings or we will keep it. Know I now it was a joke.

My family and I recently travelled to Rome, Italy and took a tour of the Vatican, Saint Peter's Basilica, and Saint Peter's Square. All nine people in our family had the immense pleasure of having Elisa Venuti as our tour guide, and she truly made the experience unforgettable! From the moment we met her, Elisa's warm and gregarious personality shone through, instantly making us feel at ease and excited for the day ahead.

Elisa's depth of knowledge about the Vatican's history, art, and culture is amazing. She shared fascinating stories and insights that brought the entire place to life in a way that was both incredibly informative and very personal. Her passion for the subject matter was evident in every word she spoke, and it was contagious.

What set Elisa apart was her ability to connect with each member of our group. She was attentive to our questions, tailored the tour to our interests, and made sure everyone was engaged and having a great time. Her enthusiasm was boundless, and her excitement about the Vatican's treasures made the experience feel truly special.

Thank you, Elisa!

Based solely on my own experience of City Wonders I would advise anyone not to use this company.
In January 2024 I booked a tour of the Colosseum, Forum and Palatine in June for four people at 09.30. Turning up at the booked time we were told our booking had been altered to 11.30. I was not informed of this change of time although they had my phone and email details. Apparently changes had been made to the numbers on tours by the authorities but as I explained to City Wonders any reduction should be on a first in/last out basis and can’t believe we were the last to book six months earlier. What City Wonders thought we would do for 2 hours was a mystery.
Unfortunately we had another tour booked with City Wonders for the Vatican & St Peter’s in the afternoon by the couple we were travelling with which we would not be able to make with the change of timing. City Wonders had managed to email the other couple back in March when they cancelled our Vatican tour booked for Friday afternoon, also booked in January, and rearranged for Saturday afternoon. So prior warning is possible.
As far as City Wonders were concerned it was our fault as it wasn’t a combined tour. Despite two emails they couldn’t explain why they bumped us off the 09.30 tour without any prior warning despite the fact it was irrelevant we had another tour booked in a different name. As an individual booking we were entitled to be treated with the respect of being informed the booking was altered. They also didn’t address any of the questions asked in my subsequent emails in a proper or appropriate manner.
The employees at point of contact did try all options but as we were leaving on Monday and Sunday was Independence Day all they could offer was a refund. However they did put us on to an alternative tour operator with availability which led to a very unfortunate experience that didn’t result in a tour.
I can’t give a zero star rating so the 1 star I willingly give for the prompt refund.

Terrible experience with even worse follow-up, did not deliver the actual wervice/product we booked and paid for and did not resolve the issue afterwards even though they promised that explicitely.

My advice: if you want to book with getyourguide, hope for the best and nothing goes wrong as they cannot do anything for you if their subcontractor does not deliver.
If you want to book with City Wonders DON'T, if you've booked alread and received confirmation that City Wonders is the provider: CANCEL! save yourself a lot of time money and frustration.

Explanation for thos who love frustrating stories about malpracticEen transactie waarbij de instelling aanleiding heeft om te veronderstellen dat deze verband kan houden met witwassen of financieren van terrorisme.e
In short: we've booked an "skip the line ticket" for the Vatican (Museums) at Getyourguide and were attributed to a subcontractor City Wonders. We had an 08.30 reservation and we were well in time present (08.10 ) at the meeting spot. At 08.25 we went with a City Wonder tourguide to the entrance and came at security at 08.35/08.40. Surprisingly we were rejected at security because we arrived "too late" and our timeslot (08.00-08.30) had passed. Apparantly we received tickets from City Wonders for an earlier timeslot (08.00) (later explained by tourguide and supervisor at the spot as other people did not show and they wanted to save the tickets giving them to us who where in time). Needless to say if we would have received our own tickets at the booked timeslot of 08.30 we would have been well in time.

All in all we had to wait next to the line for 1.5 hours before the supervisor of City Wonders present at the spot managed to get us in after all. This person (presented by the tourguide and himself as the supervisor) excused himself and the organisation for the fact we had to wait almost 2 hours in total and he promised at the spot we would be fully refunded for this experience (in my case 6X€45=€270) and he wrote down my email-address to be able to arrange the refund that monday. Probably no one is surprised to hear we did not receive a mail from them. After multiple messages to City Wonders and Get your Guide them simply state: Sorry for you disapointing experience, our internal rules only allow a 20% refund nevertheless anyone promised. Maybe you can check your travel insurance.

Ridiculous way of working (move tickets along the groups for people who are late), ridiculous promises at the spot (you will get full refund) and ridiculous customer service (you will get 20% tops, good luck with that).

Amazing experience with Christina! Fantastic guide with extensive knowledge about her city (Venice) Made the trip to the islands great fun and friendly. Thank you so much Christina!

We booked the Colosseum tour 5 months in advance for our family of 4. When we met City Wonder staff at our morning meeting site, we were notified that our tour was pushed 2hours forward. No prior notice was given and no options to refund. Our extended family of 2 booked the same time as us and were notified 1 week prior the tour that their morning tour was rescheduled to the afternoon unless they wanted to cancel. The fact that City Wonder doesn’t let you directly review is strange!

Booked a guided tour but then the guide did not have a valid ticket and could not get in. Unbelievable!!

When a tour specifically includes ‘the basilica’ on the ticket you issued but you know that is not possible on any Wednesday it is fraudulent to sell those tickets on a Wednesday. Rather than wasting time trying to hide behind your terms, why don’t you just fix your website. Additionally; the tour started 25 minutes late. Both unreliable and untrustworthy, well done!

We recently undertook the Amalfi Coast/Pompei and the Vatican Breakfast/Museum and St Peter’s tour hosted by City Wonders Tours Rome. Both were excellently led by tour guides Marisa and Stephania. Informative and very accommodating. The tour guide at Pompei, Enrico, was first also class - knowledgeable with a sense of humour. Our coach driver Francesco ensured a safe and pleasant drive in very trying traffic conditions. Our only critique was the rest stop at Casino. Food and beverages average and overpriced. The toilet facilities were deplorable - only one toilet seat in the six stalls. Very sub standard compared to many others we have stopped at. Had a sense that captive customers with no other option will settle for sub standard service. Perhaps the company should consider other options. However, we do look forward to using City Wonders again…hopefully with higher standard pit stops. 1956Travellers. May 2024

They informed us about historical sights, outside the window of the bus, on the way to Pompeii. They were very engaging, passionate and knowledgeable about history. We even got to have breaks for meals, along the way. City Wonders is truly wonderful!

I had the great pleasure of visiting the Eiffel Tower and Ana was my guide. I think that visiting alone would not be so interesting and I also met a fascinating person. it was my third day in Paris and I had a lot of questions. Ana answered all of them and told us more. Thank you Ana.

TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE. It was a rainy day in Milan. We left our hotel and the taxi service was having problems therefore we couldn’t call one. The first Uber canceled on us but a second arrived. We called the company the let them know that we would be 15 min late. The customer Service representative told us that all we had to miss 2/3 of the tour and that there was no way we could catch up with them at the exit of the Duomo. To make matters worse the representative told us to pay and book a separate tour of the Duomo directly with the Duomo website. As counseled by the City Wonders rep we went ahead and bought a separate Duomo tour with another company. Once we were finally able to join the tour for the viewing of the Last Supper (last part of the tour because they wouldn’t let us join in sooner), the tour guide approached us and handed us a ticket for the Duomo (after their representative had told us that we wouldn’t get one therefore after we had already purchased another ticket directly with the Duomo website. Terrible customer service!