GetYourGuide vs Klook vs Tiqets: the best sites to book tours and activities online

The short answer

If you are planning a trip and want tours, day trips and attraction tickets secured before you land, the three marketplaces below cover most of what travelers search for, but each has a clear home turf:

• GetYourGuide is the broadest choice for guided tours, day trips, boat tours and shows. It lists over 150,000 experiences in 12,000 cities, the default rule is a full refund if you cancel more than 24 hours before the start, and selected activities can be reserved now and paid later.
• Klook is the one to open for trips to Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong, or whenever you want tickets, rail passes, an airport transfer and an eSIM in a single account.
• Tiqets is built for museum and landmark entry: instant mobile tickets, often timed or skip-the-line, for places like Sagrada Familia, the Colosseum and the Vatican Museums, with a full refund if the venue can't deliver your tickets within 48 hours.

None of them charges a membership fee to book; the real differences are coverage and how cancellations work.

How to choose a tours and activities booking site

A tour booking site is a marketplace: someone else runs the tour, the platform sells the ticket and handles support. What matters:

• Cancellation rule. This is the biggest money question. Some platforms have a default free-cancellation window; others leave it to each product.
• What it covers. Guided tours and day trips, museum and attraction entry, or the practical parts of a trip (transfers, trains, eSIMs). A site that is excellent for Rome museums may be thin for a Kyoto day trip.
• Ticket delivery. Instant mobile tickets you can open offline are easier than vouchers that need confirmation. Ask how long confirmation can take.
• Payment flexibility. Pay-later options, currency handling and whether credit can be reused after a cancellation.
• Support and who you contract with. A named operator, published terms and 24/7 support matter when a tour is cancelled at the last minute.

GetYourGuide vs Klook vs Tiqets at a glance

Here is how the three platforms handle the things that cost or save you money, based on their own terms and help pages:

Prices themselves are set per activity on all three, so the same museum ticket can differ by a few euros between platforms. Compare the final price on the date you want rather than the "from" figure on a homepage.

GetYourGuide: strengths and downsides

GetYourGuide was founded in 2009 in Zurich and is operated for most customers by GetYourGuide Deutschland GmbH in Berlin. It says it offers over 150,000 experiences in 12,000 cities and has sold over 200 million tickets. Each tour is run by a local supplier; GetYourGuide sells it as an agent, with its cut included in the price.

Why pick it: the clearest default cancellation rule of the three. Under its general terms, unless the activity says otherwise, you get a full refund for cancelling more than 24 hours before the start, and nothing for later cancellations or no-shows. On selected activities, Reserve now, pay later lets you hold a spot with a credit card valid until the activity date; the full price is charged 72 hours before the start, and if that charge fails you have 47 hours to pay manually before the booking is cancelled. Best price matching refunds the difference if you find the same activity from the same supplier, with the same date, inclusions and number of people, cheaper elsewhere online (loyalty, corporate and group rates don't count).

Downsides: tours are run by independent suppliers, so quality varies and you should read the reviews and meeting-point details. Some activities have stricter or no-refund conditions. Pay later needs a credit card, and refunds you take as a GetYourGuide gift card instead of to your card can't be transferred or cashed out.

More detail in our GetYourGuide review.

Klook: strengths and downsides

Klook is a travel marketplace operated by Klook Travel Technology Limited in Hong Kong. Beyond attraction tickets and tours, it sells the practical pieces of a trip: airport transfers (express trains, shuttle buses, public buses, taxis and private cars, in over 1,300 cities by Klook's count), train tickets and rail passes including the Japan Rail Pass and trains in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Europe, car rental, hotels and eSIM data plans.

Why pick it: one account for the whole on-the-ground part of a trip, which is especially handy in East Asia where Klook's rail and transfer catalog is deepest. Every product is labelled with one of three cancellation policies before you pay: free cancellation (you cancel yourself from the Bookings page within the stated period), conditional cancellation (through support if the conditions are met) or no cancellation. KlookCash, Klook's in-account credit, can be applied at checkout once you have at least 10, and any KlookCash or reusable promo code you used comes back to your account if you cancel.

Downsides: there is no single default refund rule, so you must check each listing; some are non-refundable, and nothing is refunded once the activity is completed. Bookings without instant confirmation can take 24–48 hours to confirm, which matters for last-minute plans. KlookCash can't be used on Klook Passes, gift cards, travel insurance and some events.

More detail in our Klook review. If data abroad is on your list, our guide on how to choose a travel eSIM explains what to look for in a plan.

Tiqets: strengths and downsides

Tiqets was founded in 2014 and is operated by Tiqets International B.V. in Amsterdam. It focuses on museums, landmarks and attractions: entry tickets, timed and skip-the-line slots, attraction passes, boat tours and shows. It says more than 70 million travelers have booked with it, and its app has been downloaded over 5 million times. Coverage is strongest in Europe and the US.

Why pick it: speed and certainty at the door. Tickets arrive instantly by email and in the app, which keeps them available offline. Its terms and conditions give you a full refund if a supplier can't deliver your tickets within 48 hours, and refunds can be requested until 28 days after the date your tickets are valid for. Support is available 24/7. Examples of homepage "from" prices on the day we checked: Park Güell €17.00, Colosseum €32.00, Sagrada Familia €33.80 and Vatican Museums €37.00.

Downsides: cancellation is only possible when the product description says so. Many listings allow free cancellation until 24 hours before the visit, but some museums and shows are non-refundable and can't be rescheduled. It has fewer multi-hour guided tours and day trips than GetYourGuide, and no transfers or rail. Venue rules such as a fixed arrival time, a dress code or an ID check still apply.

More detail in our Tiqets review.

GetYourGuide vs Klook: which to use where

This is the comparison most travelers actually face, because both sell tours and tickets in many of the same cities.

• Europe, the Americas and the Middle East: GetYourGuide is usually the deeper catalog for guided tours and day trips, and its 24-hour default refund rule makes planning ahead low-risk. For museum entry only, check Tiqets too.
• Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia: Klook's rail passes, airport transfers and local transport are the reason to open it first, and you can keep tickets, transfers and an eSIM in one place.
• Mixed itineraries: there is no rule that says you must use one site. A rail pass on Klook, a day trip on GetYourGuide and a timed museum slot on Tiqets is a perfectly normal mix.

Well-known alternatives such as Viator exist too; on any marketplace, the activity page's cancellation line and supplier are what you are really buying.

How to book tours online without losing money

1. Read the cancellation line before paying. It overrides the platform's default rule.
2. Compare the final price for your date and group size, not the homepage "from" price.
3. Mind the clock. GetYourGuide's free cancellation ends 24 hours before the start; pay-later bookings are charged 72 hours before.
4. Keep tickets offline, and never buy to resell: all three platforms forbid it.

For more trip essentials, from eSIMs to flight-delay claims, see our travel services page.

Who should pick which

• Pick GetYourGuide if you want guided tours, day trips or shows almost anywhere, a predictable 24-hour free-cancellation default, the option to reserve now and pay later, and best price matching.
• Pick Klook if you are heading to East Asia or want transfers, rail passes, car rental and an eSIM alongside your tickets in one app, and you're happy to check each listing's refund label.
• Pick Tiqets if your list is mostly museums and landmarks and you want instant, offline mobile tickets with timed or skip-the-line entry, plus a full refund if tickets aren't delivered within 48 hours.