Sorrento Coast Highlights Boat Tour: 1-Hour or 2-Hours Experience

Small group just trip Sorrento coast with swim

We booked through GetyourGuide on the day we wanted to go and we were lucky they still had availability that afternoon. This was a bit of a last minute decision and I just wanted a couple of hours with a swim in the sea so this was perfect. There were only 10 of us in total on a small boat which was also perfect. The skipper/guide met us somewhere central at the port which was super easy to find. The trip cost us 120 Euro for 2 people which was much cheaper than what TUI or the hotel were going to charge us for a similar trip. The swim off the boat for me was the best part - my son loved it and they provided snorkel masks and floats. On the way back to port we had limoncello and soft drinks. It was one of the highlights of our trip to Sorrento!

via Tripadvisor

Unsafe and unprofessional

I have used Viator many times over the years and have always had outstanding experiences. In fact, I have never left a negative review for any tour or travel experience in my life. That is what makes this situation so upsetting. My family and I are still shaken by what happened, and my children continue to talk about watching me being thrown across the boat. It turned what should have been a wonderful family excursion into one of the worst travel experiences we have ever had. Physically, I suffered bruising across my left leg, wrist, back, left shoulder, and elbow. Even more frustrating, the impact soaked my bag and completely destroyed my phone after the boat operator carelessly drove through a large wake, throwing both my daughter and me from the front of the boat. I am incredibly grateful that my daughter was not injured as seriously as I was. Because my phone was destroyed, after my bag was soaked, I was left in a foreign country with no way to access my travel information or communicate with anyone. Once I returned to our ship, I had to seek assistance simply to access my email so I could retrieve our airline tickets, contact family members, and coordinate transportation waiting for us in both Rome and New York. No traveler should ever be placed in that situation because of a tour operator's negligence. Beyond the accident itself, the treatment we received before and after the tour was uncomfortable, unprofessional, and completely lacking in compassion. We paid for a two-hour tour, yet we did not depart until 10:34 a.m., despite our scheduled 10:00 a.m. reservation. We lost 34 minutes of the experience we paid for. During that time, the guide and his very young, clearly inexperienced daughter left us sitting on a bench while group after group arrived, met their guides, were introduced to their boat operators, and departed. I asked the daughter three separate times what was happening, and each time she simply rolled her eyes and replied, "They're waiting for clearance." There was no explanation, no apology, and no effort to keep us informed. When the boat operator finally arrived, neither the guide, his daughter, nor the operator introduced themselves. To this day, I do not even know the boat operator's name. Communication throughout the experience was extremely poor, with little effective communication in either English or Italian. From the moment we arrived, there was confusion, disorganization, and a complete lack of professionalism. What is even more disturbing is what happened after I was thrown across the boat. There was virtually no concern shown for my condition, no meaningful apology, no acknowledgment of how serious the incident was, and no indication that anyone recognized the danger of what had occurred. Being violently thrown into the side of a moving boat is not a minor inconvenience, it is a serious safety incident. The lack of empathy and basic human concern shown afterward was honestly shocking. This experience was unsafe, uncomfortable, unprofessional, and, at times, inhumane. No customer should ever be treated this way. I have now returned to the United States and have had to purchase a replacement phone because mine was destroyed during your excursion. While that expense is frustrating, what concerns me far more is that someone could easily be seriously injured or worse if these safety practices and this level of negligence continue. I cannot recommend this tour, this guide, his inexperienced daughter, or this boat operator. I sincerely hope Viator looks into this incident thoroughly. Your company has built a reputation for offering quality experiences, which is why I booked through Viator without hesitation. Unfortunately, this excursion fell far below even the most basic standards of safety, professionalism, customer care, and communication. Viator has yet to reach out too, which is very disappointing. Please do better before another family experiences something far more tragic.

via Viator

Great Boat Tour

Had a lovely experience, guide was very helpful and pointed out landmarks for us. Drink and limoncello were delicious.

via Tripadvisor

A very disappointing and unsafe experience.

I have used Viator many times over the years and have always had outstanding experiences. In fact, I have never left a negative review for any tour or travel experience in my life. That is what makes this situation so upsetting. My family and I are still shaken by what happened, and my children continue to talk about watching me being thrown across the boat and my body becoming wedged between the side and center of the boat. It turned what should have been a wonderful family excursion into one of the worst travel experiences we have ever had. Physically, I suffered bruising across my left leg, wrist, back, left shoulder, and elbow. Even more frustrating, the impact soaked my bag and completely destroyed my phone after the boat operator carelessly drove through a large wake, throwing both my daughter and me from the bow of the boat. I am incredibly grateful that my daughter was not injured as seriously as I was. Because my phone was destroyed, I was left in a foreign country with no way to access my travel information or communicate with anyone. Once I returned our Royal Caribbean ship, I had to seek assistance simply to access my email and family at home so I could retrieve our airline tickets, contact family members, and coordinate transportation waiting for us in both Rome and New York. No traveler should ever be placed in that situation because of a tour operator's negligence. Beyond the accident itself, the treatment we received before and after the tour was uncomfortable, unprofessional, and completely lacking in compassion. We paid for a two-hour tour, yet we did not depart until 10:34 a.m., despite our scheduled 10:00 a.m. reservation. We lost 34 minutes of the experience we paid for. We had a lunch reservation in Sorrento that was timed perfectly to our boat tour and traveling time to and from the port area. We had to miss that reservation because we were not back in time. Just another layer of disappointment that my family endured due to this experience. During the wait time for the boat to arrive, the guide and his very young, clearly inexperienced daughter left us sitting on a bench while group after group arrived, met their guides, were introduced to their boat operators, and departed. I asked the daughter three separate times what was happening, and each time she simply rolled her eyes and replied, "They're waiting for clearance." and she would walk away from us. There was no explanation, no apology, and no effort to keep us informed. When the boat operator finally arrived, neither the guide, his daughter, nor the operator introduced him to us, we were asked to remove our shoes and were rushed onto the boat. To this day, I do not even know the boat operator's name. Communication throughout the experience was extremely poor, with little effective communication in either English or Italian. From the moment we arrived, there was confusion, disorganization, and a complete lack of professionalism. What is even more disturbing is what happened after I was thrown across the boat. There was virtually no concern shown for my condition, no meaningful apology, no acknowledgment of how serious the incident was, and no indication that anyone recognized the danger of what had occurred. Being violently thrown into the side of a moving boat is not a minor inconvenience, it is a serious safety incident. The lack of empathy and basic human concern shown afterward was honestly shocking. This experience was unsafe, uncomfortable, unprofessional, and, at times, inhumane. No customer should ever be treated this way. I have now returned to the United States and have had to purchase a replacement phone because mine was destroyed during your excursion. While that expense is frustrating, what concerns me far more is that someone could easily be seriously injured, or worse if these safety practices and this level of negligence continue. I cannot recommend this tour, this guide, his inexperienced daughter, or this boat operator. I sincerely hope Viator investigates this incident thoroughly. Your company has built a reputation for offering quality experiences, which is why I booked through Viator without hesitation. Unfortunately, this excursion fell far below even the most basic standards of safety, professionalism, customer care, and communication. Please do better before another family experiences something far more tragic.

via Tripadvisor

The boat was nice but not...

The boat was nice but not amazing. The staff were really friendly but didn't know much about the history of the places we were seeing. But good value for money.

Response from the operator: Dear Giovanni_E Thank you for your wonderful review. We will share your nice words with our staff! We are constantly committed to providing the best customer service and we are glad to hear that we succeeded. Thank you again! Rosa Savarese Reservations Dept & Customer Care

via Viator