I have been recommending GetYourGuide for booking tours and activities for years now, but it occurred to me that some of you may not have heard of the company or know much about how GetYourGuide works. So, in this article, I’ll go into detail about why I use GetYourGuide to book activities and tours in the places I visit, and why I think you should book with them too! I’ll share my tips for what to look for in the GetYourGuide reviews and my personal experiences using the platform in this detailed GetYourGuide review!
What is GetYourGuide & How Does it Work?
If you’ve never heard of GetYourGuide before, let’s start with the basics. GetYourGuide is a platform for booking tours, activities, and experiences around the world. Tour operators and tourism businesses submit their activities to be displayed on GetYourGuide so we (the users) can have a choice of activities and pick whichever one we want to book.
When you search for a destination or activity, you will see all of the relevant activities available on GetYourGuide for you to choose from. You can see the prices, ratings from previous guest reviews and all the details of what’s included in each activity quickly and easily so you can make the best choice for your trip.
Booking is easy, just fill in your personal details and payment information (payment is by credit card, Google Pay or PayPal) and voila!
Once you have booked your activity you get an instant confirmation sent to your email and you can see the booking in your account on GetYourGuide with all the details for where to meet, what to bring and everything else you need to know.
On the day of your booking, you’ll need to have the GetYourGuide app downloaded to your phone so you can show the voucher confirmation in the app.
In most cases, this is your ticket as well as confirmation but occasionally you may need to exchange it for a paper ticket before you access your activity – that will be clearly explained during the booking process and on your confirmation.
GetYourGuide works in a similar way to Viator or Klook but I personally prefer using GetYourGuide to book all the activities for my travels. You may sometimes see people call it Get Your Guide but it should be written without the spaces.
Get a 10% GetYourGuide Discount Code!
Get a special 10% off GetYourGuide coupon when you sign up on their page here. It’s unusual to find a GetYourGuide discount code so make the most of it – although it is only valid for new users so if you already have an account I’m afraid it won’t work.
Is GetYourGuide Legit?
Absolutely yes, GetYourGuide is legit! GetYourGuide was founded in 2009 and has sold over 120 million tickets to travellers all around the world.
According to their website, you can choose from over 118,000 experiences in 150 countries, and I personally use GetYourGuide to book almost all of my tours, activities and attraction tickets when I travel.
Why I Use GetYourGuide
The first time I used GetYourGuide was in Portugal back in 2019 when I was looking for a tour of the Benagil Sea Caves in the Algarve. I’d left it till the last minute as I wanted to wait to see what the weather forecast was before I booked the tour, and only wanted to book it the night before.
By that time of night, the tour company had closed for the evening so there wasn’t a way to guarantee I’d have a place on the early morning tour. Or so I thought!
When I found the tour on GetYourGuide I realised that they offered instant confirmation so I could go to bed and sleep easy knowing my tour was confirmed for the next morning.
I was still a bit worried in case the tour company didn’t see the confirmation, or that perhaps the information on GetYourGuide’s website wasn’t correct, but when I arrived at the meeting point the tour guide had my name on the list and I had a fabulous time.
I love how easy it is to book and rearrange activities on GetYourGuide, and having every confirmation together in your account online and in the GetYourGuide app as well as by email makes it so much easier than scrolling through hundreds of emails to find my tickets!
Is GetYourGuide Reliable?
Since first using GetYourGuide in 2019 I have booked GetYourGuide tours, tickets and experiences in countries all over the world, from a visit to Hobbiton in New Zealand to a food tour in Barcelona, and lots of places in between!
I have never had any problems using GetYourGuide so I am more than happy to recommend it to you and anyone who wants an easy and convenient way to compare different tours, tickets and attractions, and book them easily.
If you do have any issues with your booking then you can contact the activity provider with the details provided in your booking confirmation, or reach out to GetYourGuide customer service which is available 24/7. I’ve never had to contact them about a tour but it is reassuring that they are on hand if you need them!
What Can You Book on GetYourGuide?
GetYourGuide is a huge platform and you can choose from over 118,000 experiences in 150 countries. You can book things like:
- Entry tickets for attractions
- Guided tours of attractions
- Guided City Tours on foot, by bike, bus or private transport
- Self-guided audio tours
- Food Tours and Cooking Classes
- Wine tours and Tastings
- Boat Trips, cruises and kayaking
- Day trips and tours
- Shore excursions and activities
- Surfing and sports lessons
- Cultural activities
And many more. This is by no means an exhaustive list of activities to book with GetYourGuide, there are far too many things to mention, but this should give you an idea!
Some of the activities I have personally booked on GetYourGuide include:
- A Flamenco Show in Barcelona Spain
- A Cooking Class in Tbilisi Georgia
- A Street Food Tour in Istanbul Turkey
- A Food Tour in Singapore
- A Sunrise Tour at Uluru Australia
- A Glacier Helicopter Tour in Franz Josef New Zealand
- Entry Tickets to Prague Castle in Czechia
- A Guided Tour of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna
- A Jewellery Making Class in Venice Italy
- A Harry Potter Walking Tour in London England
- A Boat Tour in the Algarve Portugal
FIND YOUR PERFECT TOUR
Special GetYourGuide Tours
GetYourGuide also have some specially designed tours called Originals by GetYourGuide, like this tour for example, which you won’t find anywhere else.
Why Choose GetYourGuide?
Of course, there are other companies that offer similar services to GetYourGuide, but these are some of the reasons I love using GetYourGuide:
✓ Flexible Booking Policy
Every tour and activity I have booked on GetYourGuide allows you to cancel up to 24 hours in advance, with expanding premium cancellation options for some tours to allow you to book now, pay later or have even more flexibility. This is so useful for me, and any traveller whose plans might change at the last minute!
I love being organised and booking in advance but also being able to change the date or cancel up to 24 hours before the start of the tour or activity in case of any issues.
For example, I changed the date of my whale-watching tour in New Zealand after checking the weather forecast shortly before the cut-off time, so I booked a different date when the weather was better. (unfortunately, the forecast was also wrong then, but sometimes travel plans don’t work out quite how you hoped!)
✓ Skip the Line Tickets
As you already have the ticket on your phone you can skip the line at the ticket office and head straight into your activity. In some cases, you may need to exchange your GetYourGuide voucher for an actual ticket at the attraction but that will be clearly stated during the booking process and on your confirmation.
✓ Wide Range of Experiences in Destinations All Over the World
I find myself using GetYourGuide more and more as there are a variety of activities almost everywhere I travel. I love choosing from basics like entry tickets to food tours and unique experiences like horseback riding or helicopter tours with various tour companies all over the world!
If you can’t find any activities in your chosen destination then let me know and I will pass the information on to the GetYourGuide team.
✓ Instant Confirmation
Planning a trip takes a lot of effort, and I hate when I have to wait for an email response from a tour company (or worse, a phone call!) before I can be sure my booking is made. GetYourGuide gives me peace of mind with instant confirmation for most activities, meaning I can check availability and confirm my preferred date in just a few clicks.
✓ Real Reviews and Ratings
Would you book a tour without reading any reviews from previous customers? I ALWAYS read reviews for restaurants, hotels, tours and activities so I can be confident I’m making a good choice for where to spend my money.
And it’s not like Tripadvisor where anyone can leave a review – these are genuine reviews and ratings from fellow travellers who booked that activity through GetYourGuide so you can make an informed decision after reading their opinions.
✓ 24/7 Customer Support
In the unlikely event that you have any issues with your booking, you can contact the activity provider or GetYourGuide customer service which is available 24 hours a day to address any queries or concerns. I’ve never had to contact them about a tour but it is reassuring that they are on hand if you need them.
✓ Easy Booking Process
Using the GetYourGuide platform is so easy it’s ridiculous. You can search a destination and then filter the results to the kind of activity you’re looking for, for example, food and drink, and find all the available options with prices and review ratings right there.
Once you’ve chosen what to book, it’s just a few clicks to make the booking, especially once you have an account with GetYourGuide, and you’ll get the email confirmation moments later. You can also access all of your bookings (past and upcoming) in your account so you have all of the details at your fingertips.
Top Tips for Getting the Best Out of GetYourGuide
It is super easy to use GetYourGuide to book tours and activities, but these tips will help make your travel planning process even smoother!
Get a 10% GetYourGuide Discount Code!
Get a special 10% off GetYourGuide coupon when you sign up on their page here. It’s unusual to find a GetYourGuide discount code so make the most of it – although it is only valid for new users so if you already have an account I’m afraid it won’t work.
Search for Your Travel Dates
The first time you use GetYourGuide it is useful to see what kind of activities are available for your destination, but to make sure you get an accurate idea, make sure you add your travel dates to see what is available during the actual dates of your stay.
Some tours and activities may be seasonal or not running every day so you’ll need to plan your travel itinerary carefully to make sure you don’t miss out! Try to be as flexible as you can if you know there is an amazing activity available on a different day!
Book As Far in Advance as You Can
As soon as you know your travel dates, try to book popular activities and attractions as soon as possible so you don’t miss out. Some tickets and tours can sell out days or weeks in advance (for example the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona) so as long as you double-check the cancellation and change policy it’s often easier to book early and then cancel or change the date later if you need to.
The vast majority of activities on GetYourGuide have flexible cancellation policies where you can cancel or rearrange up to 24 hours before the start of the activity meaning you can change your plans as easily as you booked!
Read Reviews
One of the best things about GetYourGuide is the ability to see reviews from past clients for every booking. If a booking doesn’t have any recent reviews it doesn’t mean it’s bad, but I do like to see some reviews before I book.
Reviews are usually displayed in “recommended” order, but you can also choose to see the most recent reviews, as well as the highest and lowest-rated reviews so you can get a clear idea of what other people thought about their experience.
As well as reading reviews on GetYourGuide, I also like to take advice from my fellow travel bloggers, who often recommend specific activities and attractions that get high reviews – so a good review from a blogger or influencer and great reviews from guests is usually a sign that the tour is good!
Cheapest Isn’t Always Best
Even though I love a bargain, if you see a great deal for a tour that is much cheaper than similar options, look into the detailed itinerary to see why that might be. Sometimes tours don’t include the same things like lunch or entry tickets on a day trip for example, and some tours are designed for budget travellers and backpackers while others are aimed at luxury travellers, so try to find one that suits your travel style.
Browse and Be Adventurous!
One thing I really like about the GetYourGuide platform is the variety of tours and activities available. I usually look for foodie activities, but browsing the most popular or suggested activities is a great way to get new ideas and inspiration for things you might not have thought of before! Paragliding anyone?
Create a Wishlist
If you’re not quite ready to book an activity yet but want to see what is available, you can hop onto the GetYourGuide website and create a wishlist to come back to later. On every activity page in the top right-hand side there is a little heart icon and a button saying “add to wishlist” so click that and create a wishlist.
You choose the name for your wishlist, and the dates you are visiting if you like, so it is easy to find different trips.
Remember that some popular activities or attraction tickets can sell out so don’t leave it too late to book!
I hope this GetYourGuide review has been useful for you, and you feel confident booking activities on GetYourGuide! If you have any more questions or help using GetYourGuide then let me know in the comments below or reach out to their customer service team who can probably help you quicker than I can!
Happy travels!