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• Bannockburn Tours ruined our day

  Margaret E,2026年6月23日

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  1.00

  Our visit to Sydney was ruined by the Bannockburn tour company. I booked the tour several weeks ago and a week before the tour date I got an email advising us that instead of starting the tour as soon as our ship arrived at 8 am they would start at 10am. Ok. No problem. We were told to meet at the pier. We walked to the end of our pier where shuttle buses and taxis were picking up/ dropping off a little after 9:30am. By 10:09 we were concerned that we were not in the correct location. Just as we were about to call the number on the ticket, an SUV pulls up and Mike jumps out saying he’s here to pick us up. We were confused. Every review that mentioned transportation referred to a van or coach. This was an SUV with 4 large bucket seats (one being the drivers seat) and I tiny bench seat in the back. There were already two passengers in the car. The two bucket seats in the middle could fold up and flip over in order to gain access to the bench seat. However, the two bucket seats were not on runners and could not be moved forward to give the bench seat more leg room. The bench seat was 4’ wide at most and an adult could barely fit his/her feet on the floor. The adults knees were right up against the back of the bucket seat. There were two indentations on each end of the bench signifying that as a seat for an individual. That left a small gap as wide as my hand for an adult to sit in the middle. When we expressed concern (the driver said he was picking up two more people), the driver agreed that it was a very tight fit and had told “Alex” that it wouldn’t work for six passengers but he was overruled. We then proceeded to another pier and waited for it to disembark its passengers. I assumed this is why the late start was requested. I thought that we were waiting on two people but soon a large van drove up with the Bannockburn tours logo on the side and they loaded 8-10 people into it. This van had individual bucket seats throughout and is what we had expected to ride in. Our driver pulled two women from the group waiting to board the van and told them they would be riding with us. It became clear that the company had overbooked and the SUV was an emergency supplement. Our driver said it had just “passed inspection” that morning and the security people at the dock were not happy about allowing it to be used since it did not have the proper paperwork. My husband and I had seen enough. We told the driver that we would skip this tour in order for there to be enough room for the others and requested a refund. Our driver then said that was up to Rick who had been talking to the security personnel about clearing the SUV for use as a tour vehicle. Rick came up and told us we didn’t have to go but he would not refund our money. I pointed out that the tour described at least 3 hours of driving time and the 3 people in the back would be extremely uncomfortable. Rick proceeded to get in the back with me to show me how much room there was. His knees touched the back of the bucket seats in front of him ( he was not a large man) and even though there were only two of us there was only about 6” of space between us. I asked him where the 3 rd person was going to sit and he indicated the six inch space between us. I said riding for hours in those conditions was not reasonable and we wanted a refund. He refused. I told him I was not getting out of the car until we received a refund. He threatened me with the police and I told him to do what he had to do. He called the police and while waiting the other passengers that had the SUV (they were standing outside) told him he was being unreasonable and threatened to write bad reviews. The police showed up and Rick informed them of the situation. A nice officer came up to me and asked for my side of the story and I told him. As I was talking my husband was standing in the open doorway on one side and the officer was standing in the open doorway on the other side. Rick came up and tried to shove my husband out of the way and was sharply told by the officer to not touch my husband. After I finished my story the officer said that Rick had been very aggressive and agreed with my assessment that he had acted like a jerk. He persuaded Rick to refund the money and since Rick knew my husband could sue him for assault he finally agreed to a refund. We felt bad about holding up the others for the tour but they were extremely understanding and said they agreed with us that it wouldn’t have worked for all of us to cram into that space. The police officers couldn’t have been nicer to us and I am very impressed with how professional they were. We hugged them upon parting. I would also like to say that our driver was nice and we understood that he had no control over how many people were supposed to fit in the SUV. This was just very poor decisions being made by management. I cannot say whether the tour is any good since we did not go. Our day in Sydney was now half over and we were exhausted by the upsetting circumstances. We went back to the ship and didn’t even see the town.

  

  

  

  

• A miss at the highland village

  Laurie C,2025年10月23日

  - Review from Viator

  2.00

  Poor timing missed th highland village. It was closed when we arrived and we were allowed to walk around but it looked more like a ghost town. There were no period actors and nothing to see/do demonstrations . The tour guide was very nice, thank you terry. The Alexander graham bell museum was a nice experience.

• Great cruise excursion

  rodneymartens60,2025年10月21日

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  The Highland Village was interesting, especially talking with the period aged costume individuals… they provided a lot of history to the village. The country side was beautiful… as the leaves were at peak it would have been nice to stop for more fall colors. Alexander Graham Bell museum was good, learned a lot more about the man

  

  

  

  

• Great tour!

  Francis G,2025年10月13日

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  We had a wonderful tour of the Highland Village and the Alexander Graham Bell Museum, thanks to our exceptional guide, Tom. Despite some unexpected challenges—including a last-minute change in our ship’s docking procedure and a few late passengers—Tom handled everything with grace and professionalism. He quickly adjusted the itinerary without compromising the quality of the experience. Tom was incredibly informative, sharing rich insights into the history and culture of Cape Breton and the life of Alexander Graham Bell. His passion for the area was evident and made the tour all the more engaging. He was also attentive and helpful throughout, ensuring everyone was comfortable and well taken care of. Most impressively, Tom managed to get us back to the ship right on time, which was no small feat given the delays. Highly recommend this tour—and especially Tom—for anyone looking to explore these fascinating sites with a knowledgeable and reliable guide.

• Bad experience

  Alejandro I,2025年10月12日

  - Review from Viator

  2.00

  Not worth it, the driver kept us waiting 1 hour, then I drive 2. Hours without giving any information, left us in front of some pizzas gave us 25 minutes to eat, finally took us to the Alejandro museum Graham Bell gave us 45 minutes and returned to the port after an hour and a half of road

• Sydney’s Best

  Djpalin,2025年10月5日

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Bob, our driver and guide, was a bundle of energy and knowledge. He knows the area so well and did everything to make our visit memorable!

  

  

  

• Great tour! Beautiful scenery.

  Harlan M,2025年9月25日

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Knowledgeable guide. Beautiful sights. Highland Village is a place we would love to visit again. This was a great tour!

• Great Tour of the area!

  Catherine R,2025年9月25日

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  Tom was great!! Very knowledgeable and courteous. Love the small group sizes offered by Viator. Great way to see the area.

• We liked the small group...

  Theresa E,2025年9月23日

  - Review from Viator

  4.00

  We liked the small group tour. Enjoyed stopping at Christmas Tree Island post office. The highland village was interesting but we enjoyed Alexander Graham Bell Museum a bit better. We had a little time to eat lunch in Baddeck. All in all a nice overview of the area

• Nice local tour for cruise passengers.

  3333Phil,2025年9月9日

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  A nice tour to consider when visiting via cruise ship. Got to learn some history of the Scottish settlers and their way of life. Plenty of time to walk around the recreated village and interact with the characters who manned many of the buildings.

  
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