Great Ocean Road Tour- Viator?/concierge email

Sue M

A lot of folks have posted questions about the "Great Ocean Road Tour."
We are arriving in Melbourne two days before our tour in February and are also interested in taking this tour.
When I googled "Great Ocean Road Tours in Melbourne", the company Viator came up.
They offer two "Great Ocean Road" Tours.
One of the tours (13 hours) is a small group tour and is actually less expensive than the larger group tour. I was told it also includes lunch.
The reviews seem to be excellent. Has anyone used Viator for this tour?
We will be arriving in Melbourne on a Saturday (having flown 18 hours from LA).
I wonder if we will be rested enough to take this 13 hour tour bright and early Sunday morning.
People do seem to think it is worth it.
I may email the concierge at the Langham to ask his/her advice about tour companies.
Does anyone have the email address of the concierge? I think it was posted by a traveler but I can't seem to locate it.
Thanks.
Sue

sherry_schare

http://melbourne.langhamhotels.com.au/melbourne/

We took the spotlight on Australia tour last April and also arrived in Melbourne (from SF) two days before the Tauck tour . Since our flight arrived at 11 PM, we had enough time for a good night's sleep, a leisurely breakfast and some time for sighseeing (just walking around the CBD) the first day, and were totally in synch and refreshed enough for a quick trip to the Immigrations Museum and a half-day tour to Philip Island the next. The following day we started our Tauck tour.

We went on the Gray Line VIP tour. The actual penguin tour was a group of 10, the bus ride from Melbourne probably had 30 other travelers. Others on our penguin tour and on the same Tauck tour also took Gray line for the Ocean Road Trip the next day, but they opted out of the organized Tauck activities on that day. They enjoyed both excursions.

[Deleted User]

Sue M wrote:

the company Viator came up. They offer two "Great Ocean Road" Tours.
Has anyone used Viator for this tour?

Sue,

We've used Viator several times and been pleased with the transactions. But, please understand that they are tour brokers, not operators. What they offer at each location are tours offered by others so they aren't going to be the operators. We have found that their costs are similar to direct booking (if you can figure out who the operator is)...sometimes a bit more and sometimes a bit less. What they do provide is a single point of entry for a location to explore all the options available.

Scott

Sue M

Thanks for the input.
That probably explains why a small group tour could be less expensive than a larger group tour...different operators.
Sue

Sue M

Shescha-
Thanks for the email address of the Langham and for your thoughts.
I imagine most folks arrive a day or so early and look for interesting things to do in Melbourne that won't conflict with the Tauck itinerary.

jdurkin

Plan to arrive as far ahead of the official start date you can. Surely that's better than spending the first 5 days of your very short time in Australia feeling like death warmed up. Surely that is a waste of the money you've spent on the total cost of your trip. There are plenty of things to see and do in and around Melbourne to make the extra time worthwhile. You can get around at your own pace with the occasional shut eye or sit down to keep you going till the main show begins … which is what you've come for!

In response to this advice you may well cry …"I don't get jet lag. I got off the plane and went on an afternoon tour. You are talking rubbish!"

My reply is … well, if that notion is a comfort to you, dream on. Totally in sync? I bet you're not being totally honest. Time is the only thing that will see your inner workings working to your new location's time zone! Of course, if you normally get up 3 or 4 times during the night, that shock of the new won't really be anything other than business as usual for you.

Cheers,

Jan