We received reminders... - We received reminders prior to the tour of pick up times and what we needed to take. The driver picked us up from the hotel entrance and dropped us off after the trip. He was very polite and made sure we had our tickets with us. He escorted us to where the tour began and was very helpful.

An informative trip - Robben Island is well worth a visit! On arrival you have to enter the museum and go down the steps which take you to the boarding gate for the ferry. It takes about 35 minutes to sail across to the island and once there a guide talks a little about the island itself. Then a firmer inmate takes you around the prison and tells you what it was like being a prisoner and what it was like for Nelson Mandela. Guide answered many questions and you got a real insight into the life there and apartheid. I would definitely recommend this trip, it was value for money and very informative.

Great half day tour - This was a great half day activity. Good idea to get the morning one imo if it's hot which it was for us. Nice boat trip over and seamless transfer to the bus and the tour. Both guides were engaging and charming, particularly impressed that the prison guide had spent 7 years there as a prisoner so could give genuine insight into the horror.

Great! - Great guides who told us lots of new and unknown. We learned a lot and are so happy with everything.

This is part of the history of South Africa and should be visited. - A sad part of South Africa's history. It's unbelievable. A former prisoner leads through the prison. It makes you tear up.

Good to know the terrible... - Gave an insight into the terrible experiences the prisoners faced and the conditions they had to endure. The guides were able to explain first hand the traumas they had gone through.

Commerciality trumps human consideration every time… - My gripe is centred solely on the fact that there was no leeway, no capacity for judgement, no empathy in the case of my 90 year old Mum and a booked trip that turned out to be on a day where the weather was bad, the crossing choppy. Asking to defer the trip, I was initially told this could be accommodated and was offered an 8am slot. At 90, this wasn’t a doable option. I asked for a later slot - told fully booked - so asked for a later slot in 2 weeks. This was denied. I was then told ‘The Captain has confirmed the 12pm sailing is going ahead’ ( my original booking ). The issue now was timing - potentially not enough time to get sorted and get down to the ferry terminal. But no negotiation, no humanity, no ‘right’ decision ( to allow Mum to defer ) was possible. I guess my feeling is this - money, greed, intransigence, lack of judgement, zero tolerance, uncaring attitude…all on the part of Viator. Poor show.

This was not what I... - This was not what I expected. We were purchasing the standard ticket at a premium by buying via Viator, with no added benefit over buying a ticket direct.

A truly awful waste of time - On the boat crossing the staff were shocking. One guy very aggressive but most of them had an “attitude.” This being our first visit to SA and our first day, sadly, not a good first impression. We couldn’t hear the safety video stating how to put on your life jacket. Not a life jacket in sight!! I get sea sick but the employee insisted I couldn’t be at the back near the fresh air and that there were sick bags if I needed. Not a sick bag in sight. Late arrivals got to sit at the back near the fresh air. Upon arrival, you board a bus for a tour which was bearable and slightly informative but took 40 minutes and could have been done in 10 minutes. Talk about stretch it out. The bus left us with the next guide who would show us the prison. There wasn’t any information around to read and we were “preached” at by the guide and gained little information about the place. Near the end of his tour/preaching we were walked quickly past Nelson Mandela’s cell and then led back to the boat. This boat was a different one and we could actually sit outside and the staff were good. I really wouldn’t waste your time or money and would advise a visit to Wikipedia would be a far more pleasant way to learn about the history of Robben Island. Don’t go!

A terrible experience, don't make my mistake - NEVER BOOK A ROBBEN ISLAND TOUR WITH VIATOR. It is not a South African tour company and you are charged you much much more for tickets that are cheaper directly through the Robben Island Museum. Viator comes up as the first option at the top of the search when you type in 'Robben Island Tours' into Google. If you don't know better, you just follow the prompts. Two months ago I reserved 2 tickets of R1000 each for the half day Robben Island tour for 26th Dec, for myself and my daughter, booking reference 1329088997. This was before I learnt that R600 tickets can be booked directly through the Robben Island Museum for visitors of any nationality. I indicated when I booked with Viator that neither of us was South African, although I have a South African retirement visa. We also didn't need a pick up, although there was no option to indicate that on the Viator booking system. I kept getting messages on my phone requiring my RSA ID and wanting my pickup details. I phoned the number to confirm that we were not RSA citizens, and that we didn't need pick up. I was told to ring a US number to discuss, and that the payment would double for non-RSA visitors. WHY?? The payment for R2000 went through 2 days ago on my visa card, but there were no tickets in my name at the desk this morning when we attempted to board the ferry. This was despite receiving an email message the day before with a link to my e-tickets with a bar code, which I had printed out and presented when attempting to board the ferry. However what I printed out weren't the actual tickets with a QR code and the whole trip had to be aborted. I ended up having to rebook 2 tickets directly with the museum (R1200 for two). I had no idea that Viator was American tour company, and I have now lost R2000 which no one at Viator will talk about. We were told this morning by Robben Island ferry staff that this happens many many times with customers who have booked through Viator. Viator books blocks of tickets, and then sells off already booked (and paid-for) tickets to other customers at short notice, as it appeared happened to us this morning. This was a dreadful experience and I believe that I was misled. I would like a refund, and an explanation as to why I needed to provide a RSA ID in order to access my booking. I host many visitors from other countries, and I will be telling them all about this experience.