Tour Radar Review | Is It Worth Using Them?

Tour Radar bills itself as an “Adventure Booking Platform” with 2,500 tour operators offering 50,000 adventures in over 160 countries around the world. They are not a tour company they are essentially an aggregator/resellers for tour companies like Intrepid, G Adventures, Gecko, Contiki, Expat Explore etc. Tour Radar is a legitimate online platform for booking tours.

How does Tour Radar Work?

Booking a tour with this platform comes with numerous advantages. You’re able to get a list of vacation ideas from over 2,500 operators and you’re presented with many more travel options than if you went to just one operator’s website. The search feature Tour Radar allows you to search for trips in over 160 countries falling under group adventures, private adventures, or independent adventures.

The search function is probably the strongest feature of Tour Radar, here is what you get:

• Length of time – you can filter the minimum / maximum number of days you want to travel.
• Departure date – can decide which month you want to travel in.
• Adventure type – you can choose from a group, private, independent, or private tour.
• Guide type – allows you to select a fully, partially, self-guided tour.
• Age range – you choose the age range you feel most comfortable with.
• Maximum group size – you can choose from small to larger group sizes.
• Adventure style – you have MANY options to choose from; Explorer, Cultural, River Cruise, Sailing, Active, Festivals, Northern Lights even Safari.

Tour Radar really does make it easy for anyone to book a tour catering to their specific liking and interests.

Tour Radar Review | Is It Worth Using Them?

I have booked three trips via Tour Radar and two went perfectly as planned. Only one trip (Taste of Brazil) caused a headache and they had to prove to me that I can trust them after this near disaster.

I won’t talk about my Intrepid Travel or Expat Explore trips here since I already reviewed them, If you haven’t then read my full in-depth review on both.

I wanted to celebrate the 2020 New Year in Brazil so I booked the tour using Tour Radar early with “Brazil Guru DMC Operadora de Turismo LTDA” as the operator. It was November and I still didn’t receive the itinerary so I contacted customer service only to learn that the tour was canceled!

What in the actual F**K! I received no heads-up, no email update letting me know of the cancellation.

Make no mistake that is piss poor customer service and I was heated. I picked up the phone and lit them on fire for the lack of communication. Understand that I already purchased my flight tickets and I was set on going somewhere. After laying into the customer service rep my group tour then became a custom solo tour and I basically had a private tour guide named Fred. In short I force them to make up for this debacle and they set the whole thing up at the last minute. I can’t speak highly enough about Fred, he really did save my trip from being totally ruined to a pretty good trip.

For those 9 days, I absolutely made the best of it. Fred is a local from Rio de Janeiro so he knew the city better than any expat living there. He took me around places that a tour normally would not. That for me meant everything, I really did get a unique trip so that was great. He knew how to get better access to all the touristy spots in Rio. On the days I was by myself I booked several day trips using Get Your Guide which was a great add-on and dirt cheap. That also made the trip easier because I was with several groups.

My only two complaints are that I didn’t get to on Ilha Grande island (that was the original plan for a day trip) and on New Year’s Eve I was solo. That sucked because it would have been so much better with a group. I don’t speak the language so it was difficult for me to randomly strike up a conversation but I still had a lot of fun. To put it very bluntly I didn’t care, I was there I was soaking in the fun and feeding off the positive energy from the locals. I made it fun by taking action and not being scared that I was alone. Life is too damn short!

Again, I must reiterate the worst operator is Brazil Guru DMC Operadora de Turismo LTDA in Brazil.

I must admit I made the mistake of not researching them beforehand. I do remember they had no reviews or anything remotely resembling feedback. That’s a major red flag. Too few reviews or if they’re a new tour operator just pass on the tour.

So why choose Tour Radar?

For me, it’s all about special deals and the value I get for my money. I want to experience the best with a fully guided tour wherever it is with a reputable tour operator. Tour Radar pools all these tours into one site and you can filter the trips you want.

If I’m in my 20’s and I don’t want to party but rather go on a trip that focuses on food and cuisine, I can easily find those trips on Tour Radar.

I constantly get emails on special deals Tour Radar has for certain trips, many of which are 50% off, now that’s what I’m talking about.

5 Tips To Considering With Tour Radar:

1. Pay attention to the actual tour operator and READ THE REVIEWS! This will give you insight of how well the company runs and what the travelers have to say.
2. Read all of the details of a trip and trust your instincts. If you aren’t feeling a bit excited about the idea of that trip, it’s probably not for you.
3. Traveling during off-peak season can be very beneficial for two reasons; (a) the tour can be cheaper and (b) the tour will probably NOT be maxed out with capacity. Instead of 25+ other travelers, you may only see 15 making it much easier. I found that Tour Radar will run promotions for the ‘off-peak’ season with 15% to 70% sales.
4. Contact them with questions! Call and email them about the tour. This will give you better insight into the tour itself.
5. Look at the pictures provided on the site by the travelers! It’s a great look into the type of traveler you can expect to see there.

Hot Tip: Stick to the Platinum or Gold-rated operators.

Final Thoughts On Tour Radar:

Despite my lackluster experience with the Brazil booking, I would absolutely BOOK AGAIN with Tour Radar. Learn from my mistakes and look at the tips above so your experience will be great! I only go with operators I trust or ones that are highly rated.

Click here for some adventures in Europe!

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If you want to experience one of my favorite trips in years then check out the Prague to Budapest rail tour I took. I can’t say how much I love this trip and it’s currently on sale with a Gold rated tour operator! I told myself that Budapest is a place I will be visiting again.

If you’re a little more on the spontaneous side and want to book a last minute tour but don’t know where to go. Then check out these last minute deals and save up to 50% off!

Thank you for making it this far! Hope you enjoyed this post and remember plan ahead and more importantly have FUN!