Guide to Iceland
Reviews and Complaints

We paid for premium accommodations on the 10-day ring road driving tour of Iceland. My wife and I were traveling with two other adults so we booked as a group of 4. On two occasions we were booked into apartment style rooms with one bedroom and a pull out couch for the other two adults. One of those accommodations was in the lower class of accommodation by GTI’s own website. I called right after getting our itinerary to note the error and was assured that this facility had premium class rooms as well. It did not. In no world is a pull out couch a premium accommodation for two adults. I was aware that they may book a party of 4 into “family style” accommodations but it never says that everyone might not even get a legitimate bed. We had to book additional rooms at our expense for those two nights. GTI was no help.

We booked the Memorable 11 hour Small Group Tour of Golden Circle and Blue Lagoon 8/25/23 through Guide to Iceland. Guide to Iceland abandoned us, two elderly women, at the pier. We were on the Carnival Pride which was late getting into port due to the MSC Fantasia docking before us. Guide to Iceland was aware that we were arriving on the Pride and they had recommended this tour. When we got to the meeting point, they had left without us. We called them immediately and asked to be on a later tour. We were denied. We then asked to be allowed to catch up to our tour at a stopping point and were denied. We asked that they ask another tour company to provide our tour. Again we were denied. Finally we asked for a refund and were denied once more!

They were rude and disrespectful and offered absolutely no solution to this situation and ultimately stole $411 from us!

Guide to Iceland

David,

Let me me very clear, this letter and any further action has nothing at all to do with my respect for you as a writer. But I feel my time in Iceland was actually ruined because of the poor planning and in appropriate itinerary ruined my vacation in Iceland.

 I'm sorry to say yesterday was A disaster for me and there will have to be an
Adjustment on the price for the many poor choices your agency made, including the casual transport
 on arrival, the poorly thought out itinerary for an 80 year and the absurd departure day.

  The room at the hotel was unacceptable and never cleaned. I complained to the hotel about this,

I do not appreciate being taken advantage of. The quality of my room was awful, I have complained to the hotel about the absence of cleaning. The room was never cleaned, plus for the money I paid it certainly should have been a better room. 

I have missed several things I could have seen if some serious thought had been given to my circumstances.  I should have been to a museum, even whale watching instead of sitting in a bus for 14 hours today unable to do any of the activities that were strenuous for the 20 year olds in the group, to say nothing of an 80 year old.

There is no point in replying that I was sent the "final itinerary". I've never been to Iceland and had absolutely no idea what "walking the ice crater" meant. I assumed all of these things were, like most tours, observed by the tourist. 

Only the good graces of the ski -mobile leader
Made snow moiling work. It was absurd to book that
trip for an 80 year old woman. Because the leader agreed to let me be his passenger I felt it was Ok to go on that trip. If he had not agreed, I would not have gone at all.

I paid nearly $2000 to your agency in good faith. I paid promptly and expected some personal treatment upon arrival and departure, a decent hotel room, and an itinerary that would not just waste my time. I had none of that.

I see what your agency does:  You buy bus vouchers and send them to the client, and that is the sole activity of the arrival and departure day. Then you choose some bus tour that may seem to you to be alright, and book that. You book the hotel at some reduced price and you call that a serious attempt to fashion an instructive and enjoyable "tour". In short, your agency does nothing to take into consideration the age of the client and the ability of the tourist to do anything.

I have cancelled the AMEX charge. You can immediately deduct the arrival and departure day since sending me vouchers counts for nothing. Something is due you for the hotel, and some modest amount, and I do mean modest, for the two long worthless bus trips. 

I do not mean this personally, but I assure you I do NOT intend to pay anything like $2000 for the "service" you provided. Depending on the hotel bill, I will add some minimal amount for the bus trips and allow that total to be charged - I am certain I can get the whole amount expunged, and I seriously considered it. I can see that most of our clients do not "get" the lack of interest concern your agency actually puts into their trip.  

As you know I am a writer, If you do to agree to this, I will post my experience with your agency over the various Facebook pages available to me, and they are quite a few. I will NOT be taken advantage of in this manner. It is really terrible, since I was so looking forward to coming to Iceland and your poor planning ruined the trip for me.

BTW, Even the tour guide, Christian was appalled at the way this was planned for me. Had I been stupid enough to try to walk the crater today, he would have been responsible if I had fallen or been hurt.

This is what I will pay for if presented with the bills:

The hotel, but I must see your bill. I asked them for it but they refused to give me a bill for what they charged you. The room charge should not exceed $100 a night for three nights

Also, I was never told I would have to change buses to get to my hotel, I was told "someone might help me with my heavy luggage"  Never the less, I will pay for the bus IF I get a copy of the bill you actually paid.

I will pay for the first day of the tour, because through the kindness of the lead snowmobiler I did have an fine time on the ice that day, again  you must submit a copy of the actual bill you paid him.

That is all I will pay for and only with copies of the bills. Under no circumstance will I pay more than $500 for what "services" you performed - I sat for 14 hours in a bus with Christian day before yesterday, because I could not appropriately do the activities - 14 hours in a bus is no joke and I should have been engaged in activity appropriate for me, of which I now know there are plenty in Iceland.

I am sending a copy of this letter to AMEX, and to the Complaints Board of Iceland along wth the note I sent you about my age.

I will not engage in any correspondence back and forth about this. I will refrain posting it on my several outlets on Facebook and writing a letter about my experiences to the NY Times and other outlets for which I have previously written, until I hear what your final "bill" is. If you dispute this, I will refuse to pay anything at all, based on all of the above and the simple and sad fact that I will never be back to Iceland and your agency ruined my experience.

I have to say that what is angering me most is how stupid you think I, and other tourists, must be to accept this profoundly poor service -  I have travelled all over the world, I know what a good tour is like, and I know that your "service" is as close to a scam as one can get. 

Don't bother to trying to explain, I get it. A few phone calls, mail the "vouchers" and you think your job is done. That may work with others but it does NOT work with me. Better show theist your boss. Also, Christian called your office during the day I spent with him to say that not only was I angry but I was right - and he did not appreciate being given the responsibility f trying to get an 80 year old woman waling an ice crater!

Sheila Levin

P.S.

Here is the note from me where I advise you of my age:

Sheila Levin 
Aug 2

to Davíð

Hi,

I'm almost 80 and you are a young man. I've started reading your book, it is really wonderful. You are a natural writer.

I'm bringing you a copy of Simple Truth's, my first published novel. In some odd way, we are very much the same.

Sent from my iPhone

Guide to Iceland

David,

Let me me very clear, this letter and y further action has nothing at all to do with my respect for you as a writer. But I feel my time in Iceland was actually ruined because of the poor planning and in appropriate itinerary ruined my vacation in Iceland.

 I'm sorry to say yesterday was A disaster for me and there will have to be an
Adjustment on the price for the many poor choices your agency made, including the casual transport
 on arrival, the poorly thought out itinerary for an 80 year and the absurd departure day.

  The room at the hotel was unacceptable and never cleaned. I complained to the hotel about this,

I do not appreciate being taken advantage of. The quality of my room was awful, I have complained to the hotel about the absence of cleaning. The room was never cleaned, plus for the money I paid it certainly should have been a better room. 

I have missed several things I could have seen if some serious thought had been given to my circumstances.  I should have been to a museum, even whale watching instead of sitting in a bus for 14 hours today unable to do any of the activities that were strenuous for the 20 year olds in the group, to say nothing of an 80 year old.

There is no point in replying that I was sent the "final itinerary". I've never been to Iceland and had absolutely no idea what "walking the ice crater" meant. I assumed all of these things were, like most tours, observed by the tourist. 

Only the good graces of the ski -mobile leader
Made snow moiling work. It was absurd to book that
trip for an 80 year old woman. Because the leader agreed to let me be his passenger I felt it was Ok to go on that trip. If he had not agreed, I would not have gone at all.

I paid nearly $2000 to your agency in good faith. I paid promptly and expected some personal treatment upon arrival and departure, a decent hotel room, and an itinerary that would not just waste my time. I had none of that.

I see what your agency does:  You buy bus vouchers and send them to the client, and that is the sole activity of the arrival and departure day. Then you choose some bus tour that may seem to you to be alright, and book that. You book the hotel at some reduced price and you call that a serious attempt to fashion an instructive and enjoyable "tour". In short, your agency does nothing to take into consideration the age of the client and the ability of the tourist to do anything.

I have cancelled the AMEX charge. You can immediately deduct the arrival and departure day since sending me vouchers counts for nothing. Something is due you for the hotel, and some modest amount, and I do mean modest, for the two long worthless bus trips. 

I do not mean this personally, but I assure you I do NOT intend to pay anything like $2000 for the "service" you provided. Depending on the hotel bill, I will add some minimal amount for the bus trips and allow that total to be charged - I am certain I can get the whole amount expunged, and I seriously considered it. I can see that most of our clients do not "get" the lack of interest concern your agency actually puts into their trip.  

As you know I am a writer, If you do to agree to this, I will post my experience with your agency over the various Facebook pages available to me, and they are quite a few. I will NOT be taken advantage of in this manner. It is really terrible, since I was so looking forward to coming to Iceland and your poor planning ruined the trip for me.

BTW, Even the tour guide, Christian was appalled at the way this was planned for me. Had I been stupid enough to try to walk the crater today, he would have been responsible if I had fallen or been hurt.

This is what I will pay for if presented with the bills:

The hotel, but I must see your bill. I asked them for it but they refused to give me a bill for what they charged you. The room charge should not exceed $100 a night for three nights

Also, I was never told I would have to change buses to get to my hotel, I was told "someone might help me with my heavy luggage"  Never the less, I will pay for the bus IF I get a copy of the bill you actually paid.

I will pay for the first day of the tour, because through the kindness of the lead snowmobiler I did have an fine time on the ice that day, again  you must submit a copy of the actual bill you paid him.

That is all I will pay for and only with copies of the bills. Under no circumstance will I pay more than $500 for what "services" you performed - I sat for 14 hours in a bus with Christian day before yesterday, because I could not appropriately do the activities - 14 hours in a bus is no joke and I should have been engaged in activity appropriate for me, of which I now know there are plenty in Iceland.

I am sending a copy of this letter to AMEX, and to the Complaints Board of Iceland along wth the note I sent you about my age.

I will not engage in any correspondence back and forth about this. I will refrain posting it on my several outlets on Facebook and writing a letter about my experiences to the NY Times and other outlets for which I have previously written, until I hear what your final "bill" is. If you dispute this, I will refuse to pay anything at all, based on all of the above and the simple and sad fact that I will never be back to Iceland and your agency ruined my experience.

I have to say that what is angering me most is how stupid you think I, and other tourists, must be to accept this profoundly poor service -  I have travelled all over the world, I know what a good tour is like, and I know that your "service" is as close to a scam as one can get. 

Don't bother to trying to explain, I get it. A few phone calls, mail the "vouchers" and you think your job is done. That may work with others but it does NOT work with me. Better show theist your boss. Also, Christian called your office during the day I spent with him to say that not only was I angry but I was right - and he did not appreciate being given the responsibility f trying to get an 80 year old woman waling an ice crater!

Sheila Levin

P.S.

Here is the note from me where I advise you of my age:

Sheila Levin 
Aug 2

to Davíð

Hi,

I'm almost 80 and you are a young man. I've started reading your book, it is really wonderful. You are a natural writer.

I'm bringing you a copy of Simple Truth's, my first published novel. In some odd way, we are very much the same.

Sent from my iPhone