Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The prices of some of their trip packages seem almost too good to be true. If anybody out there has booked trips through Gate 1, what was your experience? I'm particularly interested in their independent and build-your-own vacation packages.
Gate 1 is a tour company. Primarily escorted tours in the budget to low moderate range (I don't mean that to be a bad thing).. They've been around a long time - I heard of them in the early ninties when I was single and did several group escorted tours.
Online reviews are notoriously scewed to the negative no matter what is being reviewed, but if you Google 'gate 1 reviews' you'll get lots of stuff. Take it with a grain of salt, and remember that some people have a strong hatred of group tours.
If you're looking for budget group tours, have a look at Friendly Planet. If you're looking fir assistance in planning independent travel, I'd suggest a good travel agent who is either located where you want to go oe specializes in that specific area. (I've got recommendations for South Africa and Costa Rica, if you need them. Otherwise, I've done the planning on my own.)
Gate 1 is a tour company. Primarily escorted tours in the budget to low moderate range (I don't mean that to be a bad thing).. They've been around a long time - I heard of them in the early ninties when I was single and did several group escorted tours.
Online reviews are notoriously scewed to the negative no matter what is being reviewed, but if you Google 'gate 1 reviews' you'll get lots of stuff. Take it with a grain of salt, and remember that some people have a strong hatred of group tours.
If you're looking for budget group tours, have a look at Friendly Planet. If you're looking fir assistance in planning independent travel, I'd suggest a good travel agent who is either located where you want to go oe specializes in that specific area. (I've got recommendations for South Africa and Costa Rica, if you need them. Otherwise, I've done the planning on my own.)
I appreciate the response - I really do - but at this point I have actually attained a pretty high level of familiarity with the types of packages Gate 1 offers, and have scoured the web trying (and failing) to find prices better than what they offer for flight/hotel combos. I'm only interested in booking a flight/hotel combo (as opposed to an escorted tour), as I like to wander and do my own thing when traveling. What I'm looking for now is input from someone who has used Gate 1's services and can comment on their experiences with the company. I realize I could've made this more clear.
I certainly agree that online reviews are best taken with a grain of salt. Many of the Gate 1 reviews are so positive that I become paranoid they're fake, while others are so negative that I suspect the reviewer simply has an axe to grind. Unfortunately, I've yet to come upon a review talking specifically about experiences with their independent and/or build-your-own packages.
I certainly agree that online reviews are best taken with a grain of salt. Many of the Gate 1 reviews are so positive that I become paranoid they're fake, while others are so negative that I suspect the reviewer simply has an axe to grind. Unfortunately, I've yet to come upon a review talking specifically about experiences with their independent and/or build-your-own packages.
Maybe because the consumers who travel independently wouldn't use Gate 1 (a company that specializes in escorted tours)? Again, I'm not saying that to be negative. One of the ways that group tour providers can offer cheao packages is by pre purchasing plane seats, blocks if hotel rooms, etc. If they are passing those duscounts on to their independent travelers, that could be an excellent deal. (But make sure you have good travel insurance ).
I'd suggest you post and peruse forums at specific travel sites, like Fodors, Frommers, and especially TripAdvisor. Ultimately, I believe that if you have an attitude of 'you get what you pay for' and have a plan B in place (trip insurance and a good credir card), you'll be fine.
ETA: I'm a pretty adventurous traveler, but I'd hesitate planning a trip to Turkey right now. Things will get worse before they get better in that regiin.
I've done several trips with them (Egypt, Italy, China, Morocco) and I have been very satisfied for the most part. My only negative experience was the tour guide in Shanghai, he took us to not so great places to eat. The guides in Beijing and Xian were excellent. The guides in Egypt were particularly good. Had a woman who was an archaeology professor at a university in Cairo. One of the best tour guides I've ever had.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
