All in all, a great evening.

Naive? Check. Narrow minded? Check.

Back at the hotel I Googled the restaurant to see what else I could learn about it, and was flabbergasted to read some of the nonsense that “reviewers” had posted after their own experiences there. Which got me to thinking: how often does a reviewer’s opinion have nothing to do with the establishment, and everything to do with the reviewer’s naivety, narrow-mindedness and lack of real-world experience?

Think before you complain (especially if you're American)

I started looking at reviews for some of the hotels and restaurants I’d enjoyed recently. And I got some pretty rude shocks. Hotels where I’d found everything to my liking were roundly derided as having poor service and lax standards, while my favoured restaurants were often seen as being second-rate.

Digging a little deeper, I found the problem was most evident in those cases where US-based reviewers had opined on international establishments. I found myself generally agreeing with the collective wisdom of Brits, Aussies and other domestic-market travellers, but was often sharply at odds with US reviews of my favourites in Europe and Asia.

Americans - stupid, ignorant and mean?

As I read more and more of these negative reviews I saw a pattern emerge. Now, you’d better brace yourself for some pretty outlandish statements coming up here; and none of them supported by any detailed research or opinion polling or any of that scientific stuff. But you decide. Here’s a summary of my thesis:

• Of all the major western, developed nations, America stands out as having a population that, in comparison to others, doesn’t really travel overseas that much
• Having said that, Americans love to share their travel experiences, filling sites like Viator, TripAdvisor, IgoUgo and others with literally millions of opinions about everything
• These two ingredients often combine into a potent mix that oozes stupidity, ignorance and, sad to say, mean-spiritedness

Here’s what I mean. A reviewer who says of a Moscow restaurant that “the servers were surly and unfriendly” clearly doesn’t realise that in Moscow the brusque manner of people in customer-facing roles is not seen as a negative by the locals; far from it, in fact. They would describe it as a “no nonsense, matter of fact” approach, and by comparison would have great disdain for the staff at your local TGIF, probably thinking them “transparently false.”

People, you hate too much

Sunday roast looks good to me, but not to everyone...

Examples like this abound. Suggesting that “activities are limited” on a Fijian island completely misses the point about Fiji — and many island destinations, where doing nothing is the whole idea!

Complaints about the size of bedrooms in London hotels fail completely to take into account the price of real estate in one of the world’s most crowded cities.

While negative statements about driving distances in Australia just demonstrate that a rudimentary knowledge of geography might be a good thing.

Read enough of these diatribes and you’ll suspect that many reviewers simply want domestic U.S. standards applied all over the world, so that no matter where they go they are greeted by a Gap-clad 20-something with a plastic smile and a menu… or a breakfast buffet that’s reminiscent of their favourite Sheraton. Sort of like the English tourists who stay in those little ‘British’ villages in Spain with ‘el Fish & Chips’ and ‘el Pub.’

Well, no. That’s not how it should be. Diversity is what makes the world an interesting place, and it’s the underlying reason why we travel. I want those Russian waiters to be off-hand; I want the French waiter to sneer at my wine order when he thinks it makes no sense; I want the Fijian check-in staff to hide out back when they see me coming; and I want the bell-hop in Las Vegas to treat me like the most important guest to check-in that day, even when I know I’m not.

The LAST thing I want is for the rest of the world to adopt false standards! Especially false American standards.

I think, therefore I complain

So please. Stop and think a little before posting that negative review. Was the service really bad, or just “different”? Was the food really too spicy, or is that just how it is in Northern India? If that beer was served warm, was there a reason why?

Travel’s an education. And from what I’ve been reading, there’s quite a few reviewers out there who could do with one of those.

-Rod Cuthbert

Editor’s note: Rod Cuthbert is the founder of Viator, Inc. You can read more of Rod’s musings here.

You could never hope to see it all in one trip, so the experience most travelers have is that they want to come back for more, and they do. Thailand enjoys great loyalty from its visitors, who know that each part of the country offers its own pleasures, a fact I discovered for myself when I visited Phuket recently.

Phuket, don’t leave with a bad taste in your mouth

Phuket - now there’s a place, as they say in the classics! From the sleazy bars to the fabulous restaurants, from the crowded beaches to the quiet ones, from $20 a night hostels to 5-star resorts, Phuket actually does have it all. But my guess is that some visitors check out the downtown scene on their first day and get the wrong impression altogether, and maybe leave with a bad taste in their mouth.

Cruising from Phuket to Phang Nga Bay

That would be sad, because that slice of the nightlife (bar girls, a la Patpong Road in Bangkok) really isn’t important to Phuket at all; it’s just something that follows the crowds in Thailand. It’s easy to get away from the downtown scene, or not visit it at all, as you’ll find plenty of markets, restaurants and everything else you need outside the downtown area.

The beach at Phang Nga Bay

I took one of Viator’s most popular activities in Thailand, the Phang Nga Bay Eco Tour, and understood right away why people keep coming back to this area. No sooner have you left the dock than you see the strange islands of the Andaman Sea in the distance, like nothing you’ve seen before. As you approach… well, rather than trying to describe it in words, take a look at the brief Youtube video we put together on the tour. And check out Phuket next time you are in Thailand; you won’t regret it!

-Rod Cuthbert

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s things to do in Phuket, from Phuket day trips to Phuket cruises & sailing tours.

Yes, you can take pictures like this too...

That’s how I feel most of the time when I look at my travel photos. Lately I’ve been feeling better though, and it’s because I took one of our photography walking tours in Rome; these photo walking tours combine a leisurely stroll around your destination (Venice, Istanbul, Berlin, Cairo, Florence, Washington DC, New York City and 26 others) with advice, guidance and some priceless insights from a professional photographer.

These photo tours are a pretty new category: it was the advent of 35mm SLRs like the Canon Rebel and the Nikon D series that really made the category possible. But you don’t even need a camera that expensive to make these tours worthwhile: pretty much any point and shoot camera can produce great results if you understand a few of the basics that you’ll learn in Viator’s photo tours.

You can see a complete listing of our photo tours in 30 destinations worldwide here. To see a little more about my own experience taking the Rome Photo Tour, check out my audio slide show.

-Rod Cuthbert

The Creation of Adam, from Michelangelo's ceiling fresco in the Sistine Chapel

It’s no secret that the Vatican is one of the world’s most famous - and most crowded - attractions. The art, the sculpture, the architecture, the history - a tour of the Vatican is basically a tour of western history (the good, the bad, and the sometimes ugly) over the past 1,000 years.

The downside, of course, are the long lines to get into the Vatican.

This is a story, though, with a happy ending. There are many ’skip-the-line’ tours to the Vatican, where for a small fee you can (literally) skip the hours-long lines. If you don’t believe us, just read some of the reviews from travelers about the joy of bypassing the Vatican’s long lines.

Rod’s created a video to help you choose the right skip-the-line or private tour to the Vatican. Have a look, then head on over to the Viator.com website to read reviews from other travelers, and browse some of the amazing photos they’ve taken. Either way, Viator has a Vatican tour to suit your budget and itinerary in Rome.

Links to tours mentioned in Rod’s video:

• Skip-the-line Vatican admission ticket - this is the best-value option, though it does not include a guided tour.
• Skip-the-line Vatican Tour & Sistine Chapel includes a guided tour (to really and truly beat the crowds, select the “8:10am Upgrade” option when booking and tour the Vatican before the doors open to the public)
• Private skip-the-line guided tour of the Vatican & Sistine Chapel. Just you, a private guide, and the Vatican to discover.
• Private after-hours guided tour of the Vatican & Sistine Chapel. This is a Viator exclusive, and there are dates available in May and June (with more coming soon).
• Complete list of Viator’s Vatican Tours and Viator’s private tours in Rome (many including the Vatican)

-The Viator Travel Team

That’s probably why people find it attractive; like standing on a beach with raging surf, the force of nature here is overwhelming, and all your concerns and worries are quickly put into context.

Muir Woods - not much sun gets through that opening

And the nature of the place is unexpected: there’s not much really happening at ground level, the canopy is so thick that sunlight has a tough time making its way through. There’s a quiet little stream — well, quiet whenever I’ve been there — and the occasional deer, but precious little wildlife to see besides.

But there’s definitely plenty to look at overhead. A 200 foot-plus tree is an awesome thing, and because they tend to grow in circles or families, they create these wonderful rings with a central opening; I was at the Pantheon in Rome recently: it’s the same effect.

There’s only a few places left to see these tall trees, and certainly none as accessible as Muir Woods. In other parts of California, way off the beaten track, there are specimens growing to 340 feet and more, but really once you get to 200 feet the awesomeness effect has already kicked in!

On the morning tour, lunch in Sausalito is a good option

And somehow the magic of the trees works on everyone: whether it’s schoolkids or businessmen or Italians or Japanese or punk rockers or… you’ll see them all here, captivated and heads craned, wondering what it would mean to be a 2,000 year-old tree.

Muir Woods tours Viator offers cover a variety of San Francisco’s highlights: Muir Woods & Alcatraz, Muir Woods & Napa / Sonoma Valley Wine Country, and one of my personal favourites, Muir Woods & Sausalito. If you don’t know Sausalito, it’s a picture postcard township en route between Muir Woods and San Francisco.

Personally I can’t imagine what it would be like to actually live in Sausalito — it’s so perfect I’d feel I was somehow messing things up — but it’s definitely a good place to visit. A pretty shoreline, a marina chock full of boats, a wide selection of restaurants and cafes, and dozens — well, it seems like dozens — of art galleries. What’s not to like?

I guess the easy answer to that is “too many tourists,” but that’s actually not the case. The town is big enough to absorb the coach-loads of visitors who descend on it each day without really noticing, yet small enough that you can see everything you need to see in a leisurely hour’s stroll.

The Muir Woods & Sausalito tour is a half-day tour, four hours max and you’ll be back at your pick-up point, so you can do this and still have time for work or an Alcatraz tour or whatever else takes your fancy. I’ve lived in San Francisco for years, and go to Muir Woods and Sausalito every six months or thereabouts. Check it out, you’ll soon understand why.

-Rod Cuthbert

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s San Francisco tours & things to do and what to do around San Francisco, including Rod’s favorite Muir Woods tours. Also browse photos & pictures of Muir Woods over on the Viator site.

In Barcelona you are surrounded by tapas bars, and it can be a little daunting knowing how the whole process works, what the different tapas are, where the best bars can be found, etc. etc. So our Barcleona tapas walking tour is just the trick. I took this tour with a couple of friends late last year and it was a real education.

Tapas walking tour in Barcelona - there's no better way to eat local

The guide is excellent, he really knows his stuff. He takes you down the backstreets of central Barcelona, along La Rambla with its bird cages and countless tapas bars, and into La Boqueria, the city’s famous food market (fresh fish to cheese, fresh fruit to oils, spices, you name it). The tour ends in Barcelona’s famous Gothic Quarter. Check out the slideshow, and don’t miss it if you’re in Barcelona any time soon.

And note, Viator offers similar tapas walking tours in Seville, Madrid, and Lisbon.

-Rod Cuthbert

Planning a trip? Browse all of Viator’s Barcelona tours and things to do in Spain. For our German travelers, check out Viator’s Barcelona Sehenswürdigkeiten, Barcelona Touren und Aktivitäten. For French travelers browse our Activités à Barcelona, visites à Barcelone, tours à Barcelona. For Spanish travelers: Barcelona tours, Barcelona actividades, que hacer y ver en Barcelona.

Yeah, sounded pretty good I thought.

Close-up of a shark on my Oahu shark diving tour

Frankly, it wasn’t the best time… there had been a storm the day before, waves were running at 25-35 feet on the North Shore beaches, and generally speaking the seas had been angry of late. But sharks live below the surface, I figured, so they would probably not be affected. And I was right, the sharks were out in force, and were happy to have me swim with them. Well, swim inside the cage, anyway. What am I, stupid?

Check out the slide show below, and have a look at some of my photos of the Oahu Shark Dive.If you’re feeling up for it, you can book the Oahu shark dive over on the Viator site.

-Rod Cuthbert

Sadly, the rain and fog we found meant there would be no lift-off on this particular morning, and I had to put my balloning hopes on hold for another day. But rain and mud and generally horrible weather conditions present no such problems for 4WD tours, and my plan to test-drive the Gold Coast 4WD Eco Tour was not going to be thwarted. Rain on!

Lamington National Park, on the Gold Coast 4WD Eco Tour

Having a grouse time

Now, the first thing to know is that this is a hotel pick-up tour, which means you get to experience the particularly cool effect that happens when the 4WD arrives to collect you; the hotel concierge and bell men all know the tour well and instantly greet you with shouts of “You guys are gonna have a grouse time today,” and other ocker-isms that I won’t bother explaining here; suffice to say that hotel staff quickly share their view you’ll be having a fun time in the bush.

Our driver / guide explained that while some of the activities might be a little dicey if it continued to rain, the overall tour experience wouldn’t suffer, it would be enhanced! Not everyone gets to see what the bush is like in the middle of a big storm, it seems. Most are too wimpy; they stay indoors and miss the beauty of the steam rising from the trees after a good rain, or the fun of driving full bore through the massive puddles that form within minutes of the downpour.

End of the bitumen

Aussie Bush Tucker - yum

We soon reached the end of the bitumen and headed off-road. The eucalyptus forests quickly give way to a denser, rainforest vegetation, and we made a couple of stops to walk along bush tracks and check out plants and trees in close-up detail. It rained off and on but that gave us a good chance to wear the classic ‘Drizabone‘ coats our guide offered us; you really do the look the part in the photos you bring home from this tour!

In between showers of rain and bolts of sunshine we still managed to have a crack at some of the fun diversions: stock-whip cracking (particularly fun if you have the S&M gene), tossing a boomerang, and looking for kangaroos, wallabies and the odd koala.

All pretty hungry work, so morning tea and lunch were also highlights: and I can personally vouch that the Australian version of Devonshire Tea, when eaten at altitude, tastes just the same as it does at sea level… real good.

Lunch was, well, check out the picture, you’ll get the idea. Not so good for vegetarians maybe, but there’s always the side serve of salad.

Great value, nevermind the weather

Our Gold Coast 4WD

Two other parts of the tour were very cool: the shop at our morning tea venue had a terrific array of jams and honeys and relishes and all that bush tucker that you can only find when you get off the beaten track a little. And, the tiny village of Mount Tamborine, perched on top of its own “mountain,” even if the Swiss would laugh at that, is a joy.

It’s the sort of place you can imagine would be fun to live. Well, maybe peaceful would be a better description. Anyway, rain or shine it’s a beautiful example of the “hinterland” and if you’re like me you’ll be thinking of driving back under your own steam if you have the chance.

I do lots of tours and know the difference between “great value” and “real boring.” Given the spectacular environment it would be hard to make this tour anything less than great; as it is this is an operator who knows and loves the area and makes sure both adults and kids have an unforgettable experience. One of my favourites, even if the weather was *really* lousy.

-Rod Cuthbert

Planning a trip? Book a 4WD Gold Coast Eco Tour or a browse Viator’s things to do on the Gold Coast.

One of the most visible clues on the Path of Illumination

Although the story starts in Geneva (at CERN), almost all the action is in Rome, which makes for a wonderful tour route across the city. From the previously unheralded church of Santa Maria del Popollo to the Pantheon, Piazza Verona and St. Peter’s Square, the tour combines great sights with a retelling of the story that makes it come alive in a way no movie ever could.

Of course the movie will be cool, too (it’s scheduled for release in May 2009). But there’s no substitute for actually being here. Guides on this tour know the story inside out and read key passages as you go along; they also know Rome like the back of their hand and will tackle your questions about the city, the book, the history of Rome or how Popes get elected… it’s all good!

This audio slideshow will give you an idea of the sights you’ll see on this tour, which operates four days a week and is often booked out well in advance (so book early).

-Rod Cuthbert

For more ideas see Viator’s complete list of things to do in Rome, tours in Venice, what to do in Florence, and tours & attractions in Italy. You can also browse more Viator Video’s on the Viator YouTube channel.

He didn’t, alas, take my advice and now finds himself with only a couple of months left in office, and he has presumably used up all his annual leave allocation. (That’s a good question: how much annual leave do Presidents get? And how much do they take?)

Travel rarely does any harm, and it certainly improves the mind of the traveller, something that was apparent as we watched the stark differences between Bush’s dumbed-down “I’ve been to Texas too…” persona and the impressive worldview of the President-elect. The joy and relief that’s been apparent around the world since America voted is perhaps the best example of the “wisdom of crowds” that we have yet seen: the rest of the world knew six months ago that Obama was the right choice, and held its breath on Election Day to see if their American cousins would arrive at the same conclusion. They did, and the world now seems a little friendlier.

Travel in the Footsteps of Barack Obama

Obamamania: From Chicago to Hawaii, Indonesia to DC

Anyway. Those of you who have been swept up in the excitement of all this electioneering may want to consider some vacations that get you a little closer to the world of Barack Obama, and Viator can help: with plenty of things to do in Indonesia, Hawaii and Chicago, we really can get you a little closer to the places that shaped the President-elect.

Let’s start with far-off Indonesia, with the world’s largest Muslim population and a cultural life so diverse and colourful you will never see or understand a tenth of it. But you can try, and there’s no better place to start than Bali. Think volcanos, surfing, batik, cooking, exotic dance performances, diving, perfect weather and friendly locals. We featured a post with suggested Bali itineraries last year, and they’re all relevant today. Whether you soak up the culture or relax your days away, you certainly won’t be thinking about the latest Zogby poll while you’re in this paradise.

Hawaii is a different kettle of fish altogether. And boy, they sure are proud of their local guy. You may have visited Oahu before, but we have some activities there that will help you get under the surface a little further; after all, you can go shopping at home, you don’t need to go to Hawaii to do that! Instead, consider Creation - A Polynesian Journey; the Lahaina - Kaanapali Railroad; the Sacred Hawaiian Spirits Tour; or the Hawaii Royal History Tour. Each will enhance your understanding of Hawaii and its culture, provide amazing photo opportunities, and leave you wondering why you bothered to go shopping on those earlier visits.

Chicago is famous for its verbose — i.e., windy — politicians, although Mr. Obama seems to be verbose in the very best of ways. Our tours in Chicago focus on the city’s wonderful architecture, and there’s also a South Shore tour that takes you right into Mr. Obama’s ‘hood, including Grant Park, where he delivered his election night speech. I always enjoy bike tours, and we feature a waterfront neighbourhoods bike tour in Chicago that will help you understand why this great city is beloved by its inhabitants. (We’ve also selected some Obamamania Tours in Chicago and Washington DC to get you primed for Inauguration Day.)

So there’s a few ideas to get you a little closer to Barack Obama’s world. Republican or Democrat, liberal or libertarian, American or not, we are all going to spend the next few years reading about and hearing about and being influenced by, one way or another, this enigmatic character. Let’s get to know him a little better, and what better way than to walk in some of his footsteps?

-Rod Cuthbert

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s Chicago tours and things to do in Washington DC. For you diehard Republicans, channel your inner Sarah Palin on a tour in Alaska, your inner John McCain on a tour to Arizona. Sorry, Joe - Delaware isn’t part of the Viator travel mix.