City Discovery
City Discovery Overview
The generated data is based on reviews and questionnaires provided by PissedConsumer.com users.
City Discovery has a 1.6 star rating based on 2 customer reviews. Consumers are mostly dissatisfied, citing low reliability, issues with exchange, refund and cancellation policy, and a high price level.
Key Takeaways for Future Customers
- City Discovery reviews show it operates as a broker/third-party reseller rather than a direct operator.
- Expect slow or limited customer service response and potential ticket or overbooking problems.
- Request refund policies and proof requirements before booking.
Negative Feedback / Risk Areas
- Frequent customer complaints about refunds, cancellations and slow replies.
- Reports of lost or delayed e-tickets, overbooked tours and poor on-day compensation.
- Concerns about payment verification requests and unclear refund procedures.
Positive Feedback
Some customers value the tours and trips offered and initially believed they were receiving genuine tickets.
The generated data is based on reviews and questionnaires provided by PissedConsumer.com users.
City Discovery has a 1.6 star rating based on 2 customer reviews. Consumers are mostly dissatisfied, citing low reliability, issues with exchange, refund and cancellation policy, and a high price level.
Key Takeaways for Future Customers
- City Discovery reviews show it operates as a broker/third-party reseller rather than a direct operator.
- Expect slow or limited customer service response and potential ticket or overbooking problems.
- Request refund policies and proof requirements before booking.
Negative Feedback / Risk Areas
- Frequent customer complaints about refunds, cancellations and slow replies.
- Reports of lost or delayed e-tickets, overbooked tours and poor on-day compensation.
- Concerns about payment verification requests and unclear refund procedures.
Positive Feedback
Some customers value the tours and trips offered and initially believed they were receiving genuine tickets.
Media from reviews
A terrible guide for "The Tokyo Panorama Tour"- a staff of JTB Sunrise Tours/Tokyo Japan
- The Tokyo Panorama Tour highlighted sights, but guide YUMI was inattentive.
- The group was abandoned at Hamamatsucho with chaos and poor guidance.
Please read an update -at the Comments section - to my original review "Tokyo Panorama Tour" by City Discovery !
A review would be helpful for you ! People Victor Balint Sep 25 at 6:56 PM To citydiscovery Message body A review would be helpful for you !
People Victor Balint Sep 23 at 9:05 PM To Dear Amy , Since regularly you have been writing to me , as an old customer , presenting me with new offers , I thought my review could be helpful to you and your management ! I write about a tour I booked from your company and took part on the 22nd of April 2017 , the product name : "The Tokyo Panorama Tour" ! The Tokyo Panorama Tour was overwhelming and enhanced the major highlights of the enormous metropolis, but the guide YUMI ( a young Japanese woman , otherwise with a good English command ) was a disaster ! Careless toward the customers , always running in front , neglecting those in the back of the group , minimal explanation ( eventually answering privately to some tourists'questions ) and sometimes hysterical , being all the time on an unexplained rush !
Our group was picked up at Keio Plaza Hotel and transferred to HAMAMATSUCHO bus station ( similar to a Greyhound bus terminal in USA ) and there , we were abandoned : a total chaos , long lines at the counters , we had to manage ourselves to pick up some travel documents , to find the right gate , etc. We started 1/2 hour later than scheduled . Concerning YUMI ' s attitude mentioned before, let me give you some examples : 1/ The visit to the Imperial Palace East Gardens a disappointing visit : she run all over the place , the majority of the group lost and scattered on various alleys , no explanation , not respected those minimum 40 minutes ' visit ! Like a bad sheep herd we got to the bus - very disappointing , as our dreams were shattered .
To come over 10000km , to buid illusions and ......! 2/ The last visit was supposed to be at Tokyo Tourist Information Center YARAKUCHO to attend a Japanese Dance show . Again the guide run out of the bus with the majority of the tourists and disappeared - by the time those in the back of the bus stepped down , the front of the group disappeared and we were left in the street ( the bus left instantly , the bus driver knew no English ) , pouring rain and lost in the city .Finally , as a miracle we found the respective place three blocks away , but the dance show was over ! She didn't apologize !
3/ At the end of the tour , we were left at Tokyo Station ( one of the most complex and crowded , after Shinjuku Station ) . The guide didn't have a good knowledge to explain the tourists how to reach their hotels by subway or train . She gave to some tourists even wrong directions . Three women and myself ( due to a good documentation ) we managed somehow to reach Shinjuku Station , the place where our hotels were .
Concerning your staff at your Customer's Service or Call Center : I am sorry to say but some are incompetent . To inquire about some other tours , I sent some emails and your staff answered me , but gave me misleading and funny answers . Luckily I booked two other tours , "Mt. Fuji" and "Two days Kyoto tour" from viator.com company and Japanican.com company and those tours were perfect and wonderful , with competent and charming guides !
In fact all tours advertised by you , viator , etc. are performed by JTB Sunrise Tours ( based in Tokyo ) . It seems that in order to be more reliable , you should revise your policy and negotiate higher expectations with JTB Sunrise Tours . Unfortunately , with your company I had another unpleasant experience two years ago in Hong Kong .
I don't want to enter details - so , no comment ! In a similar case , with a Chinese travel agency ( your local partner ) - I booked a day trip to Macao - , after a proper investigation they decided to refund me . They transferred me the money by Pay Pal ! In this case , the Tokyo Panorama Tour , would you perform an investigation ?
I doubt it ! I assure you I have all the evidence I have mentioned in this letter ! Why I say this ? Because , after my return from Japan , I wrote this review on your site ( The Tokyo Panorama Tour page ) and it was never published by you or at least you should have sent me apologizes for my complains ( and it would have been easy to investigate the case as the Japanese are very honest and ready to help you ) .
Nevertheless , this review would be shown on other important sites even if you tried to hide it "under the carpet" !!! My best regards , Viktor Balint / Hungary/Europe Nice and tidy.
- Tours and trips
Preferred solution: Full refund
Avoid city discovery Rome tours
- Missed the Vatican tour after a car accident; arrived at 10:00.
- Refunds for no-shows are not guaranteed; a medical certificate may be required.
I booked a tour with City Discovery company in Italy, for 3 people to Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, Raphael's Room, Saint Peter's VIP Access Ticket & Guided Tour (VA-MU-G-B) is confirmed for Mon, May 08, 2017 at 09:15. When I was going to the meeting place, I suffer a car accident and the taxi driver left me to a hospital.
I couldn"t arrive in the meeting place at 9:15, I arrived at 10 and lost the tour, I comunicate my car accident to City discovery and I recievied this answer: Charm (City Discovery) May 8, 17:56 EDT Dear Jackeline, We are sorry to hear that you were in an accident earlier. We hope that you are fine now. As for your request, normally, local operators wont issue a refund for no show. However, please allow us to check and verify with them.
We will get back to you as soon as we have the information. Thank you. Sincerely, Charm Travel Consultant I stayed in Rome until May 11th, and I just recieve City Dicovery anwser in May 13th, in this date I came back to my couwntry and I couldn"t go back to the hospital to get the medical certificate Nicole Nicole (City Discovery) May 13, 02:13 EDT Dear Jackeline, Thank you for waiting. However, our local operator is asking for a medicate certificate so they can check if it is still possible to authorize a refund.
Kindly note that this is not guaranteed. Looking forward to your response. Sincerely, Nicole I keep in touch with the hospital but they couldn"t find my records there, and requested me to go to the hospital, but I couldn't because I'm in Brazil right now So, after many e-mails (more than 30 e-mails) I recieved this answer Alex (City Discovery) Jun 17, 05:07 Dear Jackeline, I hope this email finds you well. We really do apologize for any inconveniences you had experienced.
We understand your part, however, please also understand that we are just following procedures and as mentioned, the tour provider can only consider giving a refund when a document (medical certificate, admission registration, etc.) from the hospital was given as a proof of the event. If in case you have travel insurance, we would suggest for you to contact your provider.
Sincerely, Alexza So, I waste more than 100 euros (because I booked for 3 people) What is my advice for you ? Don't booked a tour with city discovery , unless you can see the future, because they refound you just in case you comunicate your car accident 3 days before, or, if you travel back to the country you visit to go in the hospital and get the medical certificate I will publish my history in Portuguese and Spanish as well, I want everyone knowns about the refound procedures in this company
Preferred solution: Full refund
CityDiscovery ruined my holiday
- Prepaid 2 Sagrada Familia tickets.
- 10AM changed to noon; noon unavailable online.
- Julia Travel offered no help; no WiFi; calls not returned.
We paid for 2 tickets to Sagrada Familiia in Barcelona Sp five days in advance. They called the night before and said we could not go at the 10AM time reserved, and instead go at noon.
When we arrived at Sagrada Familia at 11AM and went online for tickets, they said 12 noon was no longer available. We had to walk over to Julia Travel, the ticket agent used by CityDiscovery-- absolutely no help from Julia Travel. They don't even have WiFi in their office! Julia travel tells you to look for a cafe with wifi and see what you can do .
Wastes all of your time, phones calls not returned, a complete scam.
I guess I can assume that City Discovery will not be trying to help us out after ruining our day in Barcelona. Has anyone else had similar trouble with CityDiscovery?
- That i thought they were giving me a real ticket
- Overbook tickets for their tours and then you cant go
Preferred solution: Full refund
Mt Fuji and Hakone day tour review
- All attractions canceled due to weather; only Mt Fuji's first station was reachable.
- Paid 207 AUD per person; it was the most expensive I saw.
My partner and I went to the Mt Fuji and Hakone day tour on the 23rd of February 2017. The tour included a drive up to station 5 of Mt Fuji, a cruise on Lake Ashi and a ropeway (Gondola).
To my dismay all 3 attractions were cancelled due to weather conditions. We were only allowed to go up to the first station of Mt Fuji due to high winds. A cruise on Lake Ashi and the Gondala was also cancelled due to fog and we were instead taken to museums and on a small cruise on Lake Kawaguchi. We were extremely disappointed in the tour as we both were looking forward to seeing these attractions.
I paid $207 AUD per person for this tour and it was the most expensive tour out of all the tours I saw as it included all the attractions I wanted to see. I requested for some sort of compensation due to the cancellation of all 3 main attractions. The tour did not tell us that weather could be a factor before the day, if we have known we would have decided not to go and use our 2nd last day in Japan doing something more worthwhile. I asked for some sort of compensation as we have been deprived of our money, time and expectations and the tour refuse to give any compensation.
I find this quite upsetting and rude. Not only did we spend so much money on this trip to have it cancelled and go to museums which I can go myself, no compensation was provided. The museum entry fee was around $6-8 AUD per person. We even paid for their lunch set which was not appetizing, me and my partner were still famished.
So if you are willing to spend that much on a place that has many excuses not to take you to the attractions it says it will. Then book the tour. But this whole experience has put me off any tour with City Discovery. Their service is disappointing, asking customers for feedback yet they don't listen or care about how you feel.
For a tour that costs that much, customers should be given compensation or provided a different alternative equivalent to what they paid. I feel City Discovery rip off their customers consistently and not live up to their customer expectation.
- Inflexibility
- Consideration for customer feeling
- Cost of the tour and how little was compensated on the day
Preferred solution: Price reduction
Huyton Quarry, England
City Discovery - City Sightseeing Dublin Hop On Hop Off Tour Booking Review from Huyton Quarry, England
- Booked and paid for two children's tickets (ages 5-16) for a 6-year-old and an 11-year-old.
- Children up to 14 go free; no reply from service yet.
My two children are ages six and eleven, and - according to City Discovery - fall into the above "children tickets" category for Dublin City Sightseeing Bus Tours (which operates as a separate company from City Discovery). Using City Discovery as online sales agents for above said bus tour, I purchased online two children's tickets, each ticket selling for €9.00.
Before boarding the bus, I went to the office of the bus tour operator and was there promptly informed that children up to the age of fourteen ride for free. As such City Discovery falsely advertises and fraudulently charges people for tickets for children under the age of fourteen.
Booked and paid for two children's tickets - age category five to sixteen - for my six-and-eleven-year-olds, on company's website, only to find out children up to the age of fourteen go free. Been emailing them since yesterday - I have yet to hear back.
City Discovery Tour Booking Review
- These guys are just a broker reselling services.
- Go direct with Paris City Visions.
- I faced several last-minute cancellations.
Dont use these guys they are only a broker, a middleman, with a website that resell services of sirect service providers. Use Paris City Visions and go direct. I learned this the hard way after receicing several cancelation notices at the last minute.
Honor Oak Park, England
Reykjavik City Tour No Buses
- Waited 70 minutes at a Reykjavik bus stop; no buses.
- Sign said 3 buses would arrive, but none did.
- Only reply was a stock email asking for a review.
I booked the City Bus Hop On Hop Off Tour of Reykjavik as I had limited time and wanted a quick tour of the city. Waited for 70 minutes at a bus stop.
According to the bus stop sign there should have been three buses within that time but nothing came. I complained to City Discovery three times and not a single response back. They promise to reply to all emails within 24-48 hours but nothing. I even took to putting different reasons for getting in touch with them in the contact box.
I will never book with them again. The only time I heard from them was when I got was a stock email asking me to review the tour I had booked!
Preferred solution: Full refund
Long Beach, California
Payment Authorization
- They asked me to email a scan of my credit card and my ID for verification.
- They later said only the last four digits plus signature are needed.
I tried to purchase a dinner cruise in Amsterdam. Apparently there was an issue with my card. They emailed me asking for verification. Instead of rejecting my card because there seems to be some sort of security issue, they requested I send a scan of my credit card along with my ID.
Most companies just flag the bank, if there is a problem and I get a telephone call or my card is frozen. I have never been asked to send all this information by email.
When I emailed stating this was an unreasonable request, they said it was only the last four digits, plus the signature needed.
Which is it? They don't seem to have a policy in place and would not have to go through all of this, if they just flagged my banking institution.
I have used this service for the past eight years. No more!
St. Thomas, England
Don't book with City Discovery. Ripp off
- Paid for a Burj Khalifa tour but never received tickets.
- Took long to reply and refunds were denied.
I booked a tour for the Burj Khalifa in Dubai for the 22nd February while I was in Singapore. I paid for it but never received the tickets. I tried to contact them through their website and by sending emails.
I never had a reply from them, only the first reply was 26th February when I was already home from my holiday.
They told me that they had send the e-tickets. I explained that I have tried to contact them without success and wanted a refund.
Again I had to wait for another week or so before I got a reply. Still don't want to give refund. Have emailed couple of times but they are very slow. Last email I did send was 15th March and today, 24th March I got a reply with that they still don't want to give a refund.
This is a money grabbing company with a bad organisation as it take to long to reply to customers and try to avoid repaying customers.
Will never book again with them and I advise everyone to book with other "reputable" companies
Hamden, Connecticut
City Discovery Tour Review
Worst customer service you will ever find. Avoid at all cost using this tour company.
South Burlington, Vermont
City Discovery Tour Booking Review
- Scotland tour date changed 8/20 to 8/13.
- We were not picked up; $114 refused; they send more emails.
I booked a tour in Scotland. Within 30 minutes of making reservation I notified them date was 8/13 not 8/20.
Received email my reservation had been modified and the location of pickup at 825AM in the morning. They never picked us up and refuse to refund the 114.00,but keep emailing to see if their is anything else I need.
DO NOT BOOK ON CITY DISCOVERY TOURS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. RIPOFF IS RIGHT.
South Burlington, Vermont
City Discovery Tour Booking Review
- Worst customer service I ever received.
- I work for a major airline and travel worldwide; the best way to sight see in a few days trip is yours.
Worst customer service I have ever received. I work for a major airline and take trips all over the world.
The best way to sight see in a few days trip is yours. I will never use city discovery again and will write a daily review to save others from their horrible lack of customer service.
INDIFFERENT ONLINE TOUR COMPANY!!!!!
- Missed flight caused us to miss a 2-day Rome tour booked via City Discovery; Gartour offered credit, but City Discovery wouldn't provide direction.
3 DAYS BEFORE OUR ARRIVAL IN ROME I BOOKED A 2 DAY TOUR TO SORRENTO PENNISULA FROM ROME WITH AN ONLINE AGENCY CALLED "CITY DISCOVERY". WE MISSED OUR FLIGHT TO ROME WHICH MEANS WE MISSED OUR DEPARTURE DATE/TIME FOR OUR TOUR.
I CALLED CITY DISCOVERY 24 HOURS AHEAD TO SEE ABOUT GETTING A CREDIT SO WE COULD USE IT ON SOME DAY TOURS SINCE NOW WE WOULD ONLY BE IN ROME FOR 1 DAY. CITY DISCOVERY IS AN ONLINE THIRD PARTY BOOKING AGENCY, WHICH BOOKS TOURS WITH LOCAL TOUR COMPANIES. THE ACTUAL TOUR COMPANY WAS GARTOUR WHICH SAID THEY WOULD GIVE US CREDIT TO BE USED ON ANOTHER TOUR, BUT THEY NEEDED DIRECTION FROM CITY DISCOVERY....
WHICH CITY DISCOVERY WOULD NOT GIVE THEM BECAUSE WE ALREADY PAID SO WHY WOULD THEY TRY TO ACCOMODATE US...... BOOK YOUR TOUR WITH A LOCAL COMPANY BECAUSE THEY ARE MORE FLEXIBLE WHEN UNFORSEEEN CIRCUMSTANCES HAPPEN.
- Their inflexibilty
Preferred solution: I would like some credit to use at a future date.
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in my review about Tokyo panorama Tour i missed to mention some really annoying things about our lunch ( was included in the tour schedule ) ! Pretty late we were taken , by YUKI the guide , to an underground restaurant (!) - running all over the galleries we couldn't realize whether it was part of a hotel or a basement shopping center !/ It was supposed to be a buffet lunch , but - either we got there too late or it was a hoax , but most of the plates were already empty ( mostly meat specialties and sweets ) so our choice was limited and eventually grab some morsels !
Even so , we had to *** and some groups in front of us were picking everything like locusts !!!
Yuki the guide didn't come with us , probably she had lunch separately and in the end we had to wait a lot till she showed up and take us back through a construction site area to our bus ! A disappointing experience !