Vatican tour with skip-the-line access ranked best tour on TripAdvisor, pub tour in London No1 in UK

TripAdvisor reveals the world’s most popular experiences for 2019: Vatican tour with skip-the-line access is ranked No1 globally and a historic pub tour of London is best rated in the UK

  • The winners were determined using an algorithm that took into account reviews, opinions and popularity
  • Popular experiences globally included an architecture cruise in Chicago and a sightseeing tour of Tuscany
  • In the UK, a private tour of London in a classic car and a chocolate tour of Mayfair ranked highly

Advertisement

A tour of the Vatican with skip-the-line access has been named as the top experience on TripAdvisor for 2019.

The £51 ($64) experience, which allows visitors to skip up to four-hour queues and take in the wonders of the Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Basilica, was followed in the rankings by a £33 (£41) architecture river cruise in Chicago and a one-day sightseeing tour of Tuscany, costing £81 ($101).

Experiences in the UK were listed separately with a £25 ($31) pub crawl that includes visiting some of London’s most historic bars taking top honours in the UK.

A tour makes its way through the Gallery of Maps inside the Vatican Museum. A tour of the Vatican with skip-the-line access, which includes visits to the Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Basilica, has been named as the top experience on TripAdvisor for 2019

A £245 ($307) private two-hour tour of London in a classic Mini Cooper is the second best-rated experience in Britain, followed by a £50 ($63) tour of London’s best chocolate shops in the upmarket Mayfair area.

Overall, the British capital boasts five of the top ten UK travel experiences.

Others excursions in London that make the list are a £16 Harry Potter-themed walking tour and a high-speed Thames River Cruise for £43.

The highest-ranked experience in the UK outside of London is the Belfast Troubles City Centre Walking Tour, which costs £18, and is fourth in the ranking.

A £33 (£41) architecture river cruise in Chicago, which takes in some of the city's most famous buildings, is the second most popular experience on TripAdvisor

A £33 (£41) architecture river cruise in Chicago, which takes in some of the city’s most famous buildings, is the second most popular experience on TripAdvisor 

Coming third on the list is a one-day sightseeing tour of Tuscany. Pictured is the Piazza del Campo in the city of Siena

Coming third on the list is a one-day sightseeing tour of Tuscany. Pictured is the Piazza del Campo in the city of Siena

TRIPADVISOR TRAVELLERS’ CHOICE AWARDS FOR EXPERIENCES 2019

 TOP TEN EXPERIENCES IN THE WORLD

1. Faster Than Skip-the-Line: Vatican, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica Tour – Rome, Italy

2. Chicago Architecture River Cruise – Illinois, USA

3. Tuscany in One Day Sightseeing Tour – Florence, Italy

4. Snorkelling Silfra Tour with Pick up – Reykjavik, Iceland

5. Red Rock Canyon Electric Bike Tour – Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

6. Private Guided Tour on a Vintage Sidecar – Paris, France

7. Canal Tour starting at Anne Frank House – Amsterdam

8. Best of Ubud Tour with Jungle Swing – Ubud, Indonesia

9. Xi’an Evening Food Tour by TukTuk – Xi’an, China

10. Kaituna River White Water – Okere Falls, New Zealand

 TOP TEN EXPERIENCES IN THE UK

1. Small-Group Tour: Historical Pub Walking Tour of London

2. Private Tour of London in a Classic Car

3. Mayfair Chocolate Ecstasy Tour – London

4. Belfast Troubles City Centre Walking Tour

5. Harry Potter Walking Tour for Muggles in London

6. High-Speed Thames River RIB Cruise in London

7. Royal Mile Guided Walking Tour in Edinburgh

8. Three-Day Isle of Skye and Scottish Highlands Small-Group Tour from Edinburgh

9. Oxford University Walking Tour

10. Game of Thrones and Giant’s Causeway Full-Day Tour from Belfast

Source: TripAdvisor 

Back on the global list, in fourth place is a £150 ($188) snorkelling Silfra tour in Reykjavik, where guests can swim between two tectonic plates.

In fifth place is an electric bike tour of Red Rock Canyon in Las Vegas, a 13-mile ride around the desert landscape that costs £96 ($120).

Zooming in at number six is an £80 ($100) private guided tour of Paris on a vintage sidecar, which takes in attractions such as the Eiffel Tower and the Champs-Elysées, while a one-hour canal tour of Amsterdam, which costs £14 ($17), is at number seven.

At number eight is the best of Ubud Tour on the island of Bali, which includes the chance to soar through the trees on a jungle swing and cool off with a swim at Tegenungan waterfall – for £40 ($50).

Experiences in the UK were listed separately with a £25 ($31) pub crawl that includes visiting some of London's most historic bars taking top honours. Pictured is the Black Friars pub close to Blackfriars station

Experiences in the UK were listed separately with a £25 ($31) pub crawl that includes visiting some of London’s most historic bars taking top honours. Pictured is the Black Friars pub close to Blackfriars station  

A £245 ($307) private two-hour tour of London in a classic Mini Cooper is the second best-rated experience in Britain

A £245 ($307) private two-hour tour of London in a classic Mini Cooper is the second best-rated experience in Britain

The highest ranked experience in the UK outside of London is the Belfast Troubles City Centre Walking Tour, which costs £18

The highest ranked experience in the UK outside of London is the Belfast Troubles City Centre Walking Tour, which costs £18

Rounding out the top ten is a £52 ($65) evening food tour by tuk-tuk in the Chinese city of Xi’an and a £44 ($55) white water rafting experience on the Kaituna River in New Zealand.

The winners of TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards For Experiences were determined using an algorithm that took into account a business’s reviews, opinions and popularity with travellers over the past year.

TripAdvisor spokesman Hayley Coleman said: ‘We know experiences are the best part of any trip, so over the last year we’ve doubled the bookable experiences offered to more than 200,000 – giving travellers even more of what they want and love.

‘This year’s winners – like a Balinese jungle swing, a Harry Potter walking tour, or even “faster than skip-the-line Vatican access” – are an incredible sampling of the kaleidoscope of experiences travellers can book on our site.’

 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk