I have never been more dissapointed in a tour, and we have been on many Viator tours in the past. Where can I start? at the beginning I would suspect.
1. The tour guide named Michael hardly made any relevant nor interseting comments on the drive to Washington DC
2. He was dressed inappropriately in a dirty jacket and did not fit the image of a well groomed tour guide.
3. His understanding of Washington DC history was abysmal. He had no understanding of the Vietnam conflict or memorial which we only saw from afar. Similarly the Korean memorial. He kept referencing the Capitol Building as "the thing over there" He did not point out any smaller lanmarks such as the Ford Theatre. His grasp of the English language left a lot to be desired and his communications skills were poor, especially for a supposed "English Speaking Guide" who had been doing this job for 15 years. He panded to the lowest common denominator in that his descriptions were inept and condecending. Frighteningly, he actually thought he knew a lot about history....NOT! After all this, Michael suggested we tip them $10 each for their efforts, which we didn't do considering the lousy tour guide.
4. We didn't appreciate stopping at a cheap suvenir shop as we saw it as a huge waste of time. Time better spent at another city attraction. Lunch at a McDonalds cafe was very ordinary and didn't cater for Vegans and Vegetarians in our group.
5. On a postive note the drivers we had were good at their job and were freindly and supportive. Buses were clean.
I would not recommend this tour company for prospective travellers. We feel that we have been ripped off by this tour company.....very dissapointed and will think twice in making another booking with Viator if this sort of standard prevails.
Overall the trip was good value for money, you get to see a lot in the day but it really is a whistle stop tour with only a short time at each destination. This worked well for us as we were restricted on time. If you have a spare day and want to see the hot spots of Washington I'd recommend it.
A great day! Very long but that was to be expected. A bit chaotic boarding the bus, need more organisation checking tickets etc. Our guide was very bright, good and knowledgeable. We had a rest stop in a large well serviced centre about 2 hours into the journey both ways. Toilet on bus. Saw the main Washington sights. Would have liked to go to Arlington Cemetery. Souvenir shop was a poor choice, not much there and being renovated so was a mess. Would recommend to others.