My husband and I visited Koper, Slovenia for the first time while on our honeymoon cruise. Koper was our final stop, and I booked this experience in advance through Viator. Since I am new to Viator and this was also our first trip outside of the U.S., I made sure to carefully follow the instructions provided. Unfortunately, the meeting instructions were confusing. The voucher stated that we should go to a kiosk inside the terminal, but we were actually directed to the area near the “yellow tent.” This information definitely needs to be updated. We arrived around 11:00 AM for our 12:00 PM tour. The first gentleman we spoke with was kind and told us we were in the correct place. He specifically instructed us to return about 10 minutes before noon and pointed out the gentleman who would get us onto the correct bus. My husband and I walked around for a little while and returned at approximately 11:45 AM. We approached the gentleman exactly as instructed, and this is where the experience became extremely unpleasant. I showed him my voucher, and instead of calmly explaining what he needed, he began yelling about a ticket. When I tried to explain what the first gentleman had told us, his attitude became incredibly rude and condescending, as though I was slow or incapable of understanding simple directions. It was completely unnecessary and highly unprofessional. As a Black traveler in a foreign country, I would not feel comfortable directing another Black traveler to interact with this gentleman based on the way we were treated. INSTRANKA TOURS, please do better. Someone greeting international visitors should be welcoming, patient, and professional—not make guests feel belittled before their experience has even begun. Thankfully, once we got past that interaction, the rest of the experience was wonderful! Our driver, Ally (short for her full name), was incredibly kind. She drove us to the caves and gave us very clear instructions about what to expect and where we needed to be. And the caves themselves were BEAUTIFUL! Truly stunning. I honestly do not believe we have anything in the U.S. that compares to what we experienced there. My husband and I chose Exit 3 on the way out, which included approximately 700 steps and was estimated to take an hour. We completed it in about 45 minutes! Along the way, we were able to see even more cave scenery, a beautiful waterfall, and sheep along the path. Despite the VERY rude and unnecessary interaction with the greeter at the beginning, the actual cave experience was absolutely incredible and something we will remember from our honeymoon for years to come.
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We are genuinely pleased to hear that, despite the misunderstanding at the beginning, you enjoyed the tour overall. We would, however, like to clarify what happened. The meeting point under the yellow umbrella was clearly stated in the booking information and was also confirmed by you prior to the tour. Your ticket also specifically says that you needed to exchange your booking voucher for the tour ticket before joining the tour. This check-in procedure is important because it allows us to confirm who our guests are and ensures that everyone is safely accounted for before departure. In your case, you didn't even know which your group was, so our staff had no way of knowing that you were waiting for any kind of tour. Had you been left behind because you had not checked in, the responsibility would unfortunately have fallen on us as the tour operator, which is precisely why our staff tried to ensure that you join correct tour. We have reviewed the situation with our colleague. He has apologized if his manner or explanation came across as rude or upsetting, as that was not his intention. He was trying to explain why guests cannot simply proceed unattended especially when they may not yet know where the group is going. Our guides have a responsibility to accompany guests and ensure their safety throughout the tour. We also respectfully ask that the issue of racism not be brought into this matter, as this is completely unrelated to what occurred and is hurtful to our team. We have been welcoming international visitors for 19 years, arriving not only by cruise ship but also by land and air, from countries and cultures all over the world. If we had any issue with that, we simply would not have been able to build and sustain tourism business for nearly two decades. We sincerely apologize if the interaction made you feel uncomfortable, that was certainly not our intention. At the same time, we hope it is understood that the initial confusion resulted from the ticket instructions not being followed, rather than from any personal issue. We are nevertheless very happy to hear that you enjoyed the tour and hope that the positive experience of the visit is what you will remember most.
