"I just came back from an 8 day Italy…"

I just came back from an 8 day Italy trip. Venice, Florence, and Rome. Amazing trip loved it I traveled solo and my first international trip. Max our tour guide was incredible he for sure knows Italy. Carlo the bus driver was so nice. The hotels were great however the one in Florence was okay.
I will be using Gate1 again.

"Just returned from the 9 Day Classic…"

Just returned from the 9 Day Classic Egypt Tour. EXCELLENT!! All the venues including the hotels and Nile cruise ship were top notch. The entire tour was very well organized with plenty of wonderful things to see. Our tour director Tarek was outstanding- very knowledgeable, organized, friendly and helpful, couldn’t have had a better guide. And the price was very affordable! Can’t recommend it highly enough. Definitely can’t wait for our next Gate 1 tour!

"Below is my review of our recent tour…"

Below is my review of our recent tour with Gate 1:

This is their response: $75 pay off for the inconvenience. I’m laughing out loud for the first time since I went through the horrible ordeal in my travel with Gate 1.

————-my review————

My husband and I took two recent trips with Gate 1 Travel, one to Iceland in January and one to Spain and Portugal from March 15 to 25, 2023. The first one, to Iceland, was a wonderful experience in every way. The second, to Spain and Portugal, was an awful experience filled with anxiety and needless difficulties. What was the difference between the two trips? It was the tour managers. Our experience with Nico in Spain and Portugal has convinced us that we cannot count on Gate 1 for any future travel. Here’s an outline of why. 

—I have a condition in which I experience extreme nausea sitting in the middle or back of buses. I actually throw up in such situations. This condition is verified by doctors. 

—When traveling to Iceland, our tour manager there accommodated my request to sit at the front of the bus throughout the tour. Another member of our group had similar needs and was also accommodated. This accommodation caused no trouble among the rest of the members of our group. 

—Because I could see that Gate 1’s written policy states that tour members must rotate in their seats and there are no exceptions to this policy, before our next trip (to Spain and Portugal) I contacted Gate 1 multiple times to check whether accommodations could be made for me to sit in front of the bus. I was told that such decisions are at the discretion of the tour manager, and I understood this to mean that accommodations are possible even if not guaranteed. My further inquiries about this were unanswered. 

—At the beginning of our tour in Spain and Portugal, I told Nico of my needs and offered to show him a medical certificate I brought with me. He did not want to see the certificate, and he told me that he was instructed by the home office that he could not make exceptions to the seat rotation rule and that his directive was to maintain harmony among the members of the group. If he was indeed told this by the home office, it indicates a contradictory policy in the company because the directive doesn’t match what I was told earlier that tour managers have discretion. 

—In any case, Nico did exercise discretion and did make an exception for me (apparently contradicting the directive he said he was given) and allowed me to sit in the front seat next to him during much of the tour. But he made sure to tell me that he reported the fact that the tour manager in Iceland had made an accommodation for me. Nico told me that that tour manager would be fired for doing so. This caused me great distress and set the tone for the remainder of the tour. 

—During the tour, Nico told a tour guide not to answer my questions, saying that I ask too many questions. He told the guide this in Spanish. My husband speaks Spanish and overheard it. On another occasion, Nico told another tour guide, also in Spanish, to be careful what he said because my husband could understand Spanish. The fact that such conversations occurred further damaged our trust.  

—In Barcelona, Nico said I would not be able to sit in the front seat with him during the trip to the Gaudi Monuments — the most highlighted and popular attraction in the city — because he would need the space so he could do paperwork during the journey. As a result, I could not ride on the bus for that trip and missed out. 

—At another point, we wanted to take a train to a destination but did not want to do so if it would mean taking all of our luggage. Nico told us that he would be able to keep our large luggage on the bus. Because he told us this, we were willing to book the train, and Nico helped us book it. But just before the train trip, Nico told us that he would not be able to keep our luggage for us after all. Later, we met another group that was also on a Gate 1 tour. The members of that group had taken the train to their destination and all of them were able to leave their luggage on a bus. So there was a contradiction between how Nico handled us and how another tour manager handled a separate group. 

These are just a few points among several that could be made. I have tried to be brief in my description of what happened, and as a result, the full sense of how unpleasant our experience was may not be completely apparent. But it indeed was. The way Nico dealt with us left us feeling demeaned and relegated to nuisance status.

"There were at least 5 on the trip that…"

There were at least 5 on the trip that I knew of that had or got COVID
People were not masking and when the bus guide asked everyone to mask not all did
COVID was/is horrible
Why can’t people obey the rules
I don’t know who had COVID but 4 of us had our shots and 3 boosters
It was a great trip and met some great friends
Guides were wonderful
But don’t know if I’ll ever go again

"Beware traveling with Gate1, My first and last time"

I took a Gate1 tour, represented as a 15-day tour with a Friday departure, which was January 27, 2023. I also paid for two additional nights at the Frangipani Royal Palace Hotel & Spa for which I was charged $159.00. Because the tour was advertised as beginning on January 27, 2023, it was my expectation that the two additional nights I paid for provided accommodations for January 25 and 26. Even though I requested this in approximately July 2022, I was not told until weeks before the trip (after I made flight reservations) that Gate1 used my money to pay for January 26 and January 27, because Gate1 had not reserved accommodations for the beginning of its own advertised tour. The Frangipani was run down and did not have a spa, as advertised and was extremely overpriced. Because I found out at the last minute that I had no place to stay upon my arrival on January 25 (because Gate1 used my money to pay for January 27 without my consent), I was required to make separate reservations; Frangipani charged me $100. Not only did Gate1 fail to provide accommodations for January 27 (Day 1), there were no activities for January 27, the day the tour was supposed to begin. Additionally, there were no activities scheduled for January 28 (Day 2), the second day of the alleged 15-day tour. There were additional days "at leisure" or pay an additional charge for activities. The alleged 15-day tour was, in fact, only 9 days of scheduled activities. Gate 1 admits that “[f]or any escorted tour, Day One is the date of departure from your gateway city; in this case it would have been January 27[,]” but then makes the incredible claim that I opted to arrive early for two pre-tour nights at the hotel, as if this changed Gate 1’s advertised start date of its tour. Gate1 admits that “[a]t no time, did we book or charge you for the night of January 25," the night for which I paid. EXACTLY! At best this is deceptive advertising. This was my first and last tour with Gate1. Travel with them at your peril. You’ve been warned. If there were minus numbers to rate Gate1, I would give them no less than a -5. I’ve also filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission so, hopefully, if there are enough complaints, it will investigate Gate1.

"Unreliable and unreachable"

We have gone on 4 trips and loved them all but we learned the that they own the flight until the flight. If the flight is cancelled, they simply cancel the flights for the entire trip and rebook at last minute rates without any credit for what has already been paid. While in transit, we were denied boarding on our second flight. I called both the US and European "emergency" numbers twice to indicate that we were unable to participate in the tour. NO ONE answered. They are refusing any compensation because I didn't cancel the tour. We couldn't get to the tour; they were unavailable for us to cancel; but they claim they are blameless.

"We loved Gate1 until our flight that we…"

We loved Gate1 until our flight that we booked through them was cancelled. We have gone on 5 trips and loved them all but we learned the hard way about their policy. They own the flight until the flight. If flight is cancelled, they simply cancel the flights for the entire trip and rebook at last minute rates. They called us to tell us it would be $2200 more and we would need to arrive a day early (meaning lose another day of work) and pay an additional $220 for hotel. This became no longer an Affordable Trip to Italy.

"One of the best !!!!"

One of the best !!!!
We have been traveling with Gate1Travel many times and always enjoyed its tour guides. Not always the cheapest but the best customer service! Henry Maaravi (Israel tour guide) was the best so far! We also know many others have traveled with Gate1Travel and were impressed with the quality of the resources provided.

"Horiabel can not reach the company."

Horiabel can not reach the company.

"I’ve taken many trips over the years…"

I’ve taken many trips over the years with Gate 1 prior to Covid. All were exquisitely memorable and wonderful experiences! However I booked one trip where they paid for my travel because it was included. I learned from that one experience to always book my own travel. Fortunately I chose to book different return flights from China. My travel partner was stuck 3 days in the airport while I had the best experiences getting to my destination even though my flight cancelled due to a flat tire, the airline placed us in two hotels with meals and arrived in less than two days. I also learned never book travel insurance through Gate1 the hard way. Note that even if you use outside insurance they give you a hard time providing documentation. Post Covid our flights cancelled to Fiji due to a cyclone. Our travel insurance company paid us in full after 30 days. Do your homework. Protect yourself while traveling.