Gate 1 Travel is a travel service provider that specializes in offering affordable escorted tours, river cruises, and vacation packages to a diverse range of destinations worldwide. With over 40 years of experience in the travel industry, the company aims to provide quality travel experiences that cater to various traveler preferences, including escorted tours, small group tours, walking tours, and independent travel options. The company's target market includes budget-conscious travelers seeking enriching travel experiences without compromising on quality. Gate 1 Travel focuses on delivering value through carefully curated itineraries and competitive pricing, making it an appealing choice for individuals and groups looking to explore new destinations. Customers can find a variety of travel packages that suit different interests and budgets on their website, gate1travel.com.
Gate 1 Travel receives a mixed reception from customers, with many expressing disappointment in their recent experiences. While some reviewers praise specific tours, such as the "14 Day Classic Greece with Crete & Santorini" and the "Essential South Africa Tour," highlighting exceptional guides and memorable itineraries, a significant number of people report serious issues.
Common complaints include poor customer service, difficulties with booking and refunds, and a perceived decline in quality compared to previous trips. Customers mention frustration over canceled flights and inadequate responses from the company when seeking assistance. Despite a few positive experiences, the overall sentiment leans negative, reflecting a growing dissatisfaction with Gate 1 Travel's service and reliability.
Summary generated with AI from recent reviews
Each source counts by its number of reviews. Only reviews written by people are scored.
| Source | Rating | Reviews | Weight | 6-mo | Fake risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Trustpilot Imported Trustpilot reviews | 2.7 | 378 | 100% | -1.1 | ● Low |
Monthly average rating from reviews written by people · latest review Jul 2025.
| Month | Average | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 24 | 4.0 | 1 |
| Sep 24 | 2.7 | 3 |
| Oct 24 | 1.3 | 3 |
| Nov 24 | 3.0 | 3 |
| Dec 24 | 3.3 | 3 |
| Jan 25 | 1.5 | 2 |
| Feb 25 | 2.7 | 3 |
| Mar 25 | 5.0 | 1 |
| Apr 25 | 3.8 | 6 |
| May 25 | 3.0 | 4 |
| Jun 25 | 2.3 | 6 |
| Jul 25 | 2.3 | 3 |
Share of positive (4–5★) and negative (1–2★) reviews mentioning each topic · based on the 378 most recent reviews.
“A little late on writing this review”
“I have taken many big trips with Gate 1, I e”
Same method for every company: overall rating, legitimacy checks, the average rating of reviews mentioning each area and the 6-month trend · Travel Agencies.
| Company | Overall | Legit | Booking | Service | Value | Trend | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 2.7 out of 5 (poor) | 100 out of 100 | 2.3 out of 5 (poor) | 2.4 out of 5 (poor) | 2.6 out of 5 (poor) | +18% | 378 |
| 4.9 out of 5 (good) | 100 out of 100 | — | 5.0 out of 5 (good) | — | — | 1,109 | |
| 4.6 out of 5 (good) | 100 out of 100 | 4.5 out of 5 (good) | 4.5 out of 5 (good) | 4.6 out of 5 (good) | — | 1,069 | |
| 4.8 out of 5 (good) | 100 out of 100 | 4.9 out of 5 (good) | 4.9 out of 5 (good) | 4.6 out of 5 (good) | — | 1,050 | |
| 4.8 out of 5 (good) | 100 out of 100 | 4.1 out of 5 (good) | 4.8 out of 5 (good) | 3.4 out of 5 (fair) | −1% | 1,014 |
Bottom line: Gate 1 Travel is #5 of 5 on overall rating in this group. On booking, Audley Travel scores higher (4.9 vs 2.3).
378 reviews of Gate 1 Travel. Filter by what matters to you.
My experiences have been varied. Mostly great. One tour the guide was very knowledgeable but snarky, witchy disposition. Most recently, absolutely HORRID hotel!! Why idk. There were so many others in the area. My first trip with Gate1 was stellar. The recent trip was good but that old, smelly hotel has left me feeling uneasy.
We took a Portland-San Francisco land tour and were mostly disappointed. The guide was sarcastic and left way too much time traveling with NO commentary. Occasionally, when a question was asked, she ridiculed the questioner....so very rude, and many times had no idea of the answer. This is our 4th or 5th trip w G1...may not do another.
I have traveled to India twice with Gate One/ northern India and southern spiritual India. Both were excellent. I just returned from their new heart of southern India tour starting from Bangalore, and must say I was quite disappointed. It was skimpy and needs much tweaking. Not recommended.
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Polarized pattern: few middle ratings. 38% of recent reviews are 4–5★ and 53% are 1–2★.
Great company with well-organized tours but the insurance company they route all Travel Insurance through—Arch Insurance—has terrible reviews and does everything to avoid paying claims. I had a trip scheduled to Mexico in March 2024–and paid for. I had to cancel my Gate 1 trip because I was hospitalized for 11 days after I flew a long airplane flight from Ireland. At the time I booked the Gate 1 trip I was well. I suffered from acute pulmonary embolisms from the long flight. Arch insurance only paid out $300 on my well documented claim. I am a retired lawyer and know how to fill out and document claims. Their denial was flagrant. Getting only $300 back made it a complete waste of time to file the claim. If 11 days with acute pulmonary embolisms preventing me from future plane trips is not justification, what is? Never ever accept Arch. Find another provider.
We toured Southern England. Our guide, Mark, was delightful. Our accommodations were awful. In Stratford-Upon-Avon, where it was in the mid-80’s, we had no air conditioning in our rooms. There were major traffic issues. I’d you don’t mind substandard accommodations, go for it.
I took a tour with Gate One in the spring of 2023 to Portugal and Spain. I will probably not book with this company again. I trusted Gate One to take us to the highlights of both countries. I was wrong to do so. The city I was looking forward to the most was Barcelona, Spain. The website for that trip featured Gaudi's wall that overlooks the city. Disappointingly, the Park Guell which is portrayed in every Barcelona image collection that I have ever seen was omitted from our tour. Worse, by the time I realized this, no tickets were available for me to purchase independently. So I missed out on seeing the place I had most wanted to enjoy. Also in Barcelona is the Sagrada Familia. It is the top-rated activity on many tours. It was not included in the Gate One tour, and tickets were unavailable. The Casa Batllo' was also on my wish list. Since it wasn't included and tickets were unavailable, I missed that bucket list sight as well. Instead of these prime areas, we endured a drive-by of the defunct Olympic Village. We did have free time, which we could have filled with tickets for the three sites previously listed if we had known weeks or months earlier that those highlights were not included in the tour. My comments to Gate One were dismissed with the rationale that we should have known from the itinerary that those activities were not included. Never before have I felt the need to preview the highlights of an area before embarking on a tour and then cross-checking that they were included. This would certainly be my recommendation for anyone using Gate One. I can't afford to go to Barcelona again so will have to live with disappointment. I do not recommend Gate One.
We recently returned from the 9 day classic Italy tour with gate 1 and I have mixed feelings about this trip which I want to share partly because the gate 1 website doesn’t allow you to submit a review and the only ones available on their website were all positive and wonderful. This was not the case for us. We had a great and busy trip but excursions were optional and food included in trip was fair to horrible. Hotels were not the best but not the worst. They were clean, beds were comfortable, AC worked great, and very good water pressure. Some rooms were very small but for a short stay (2 nights) it was manageable for 2 guests. The first day of arrival in Murano, rooms were not ready until after 4:00 pm which was unbearable after a long flight and time changes. I think this can be better especially if you are organizing a group of travelers. The island of Murano was quiet, not a lot of restaurants and many of them were closed. Keep this in mind when booking this trip. Venice is a lot more active and has many more options for dinner and shopping. Tours and excursions were misleading and not clear when booking trip. Tours included walking outside and exploring the city, rarely did you go inside anything, that was all extra. The worst one for us was during booking it implied we would be going to the Mighty Colosseum, possibly the main attraction of Rome only to find out we were not going in just walking past it. We were told they couldn’t get tickets, then were told only small groups are allowed in at a time. This was all false we had to buy a separate tour to see the Colosseum which was a group of 30 people. In fact, you had to buy many separate tours to actually go inside and see anything. This package included breakfast and 4 dinners. If you are expecting amazing food at these dinners think again. Two of the the 4 dinners were pretty bad, one at Starhotels Metropole in Rome was horrible. A type of meat served, possibly roast beef, was inedible. You couldn’t cut it or chew it. Service did not ask how was your food or why aren’t you eating it. The dinners served an appetizer, pasta, some sort of meat (type unknown), and a desert. There were no choices or options for different types of meals. You get what you get and if you didn’t like it you didn’t eat. You were not even able to buy yourself another meal. Coffee was never offered with desert. The restaurants should have at least 3 different dinner options to choose from. Some of the dinners were cheap and poor quality. Tour manager did not tell you where the dinner was or what was being served in case you needed to make other arrangements. Tour manager was receptive to limited availability of food but had no solutions. This is troublesome since you are indirectly paying for bad meals through your vacation package. Gratuities were not included and should be in the package. It was out of control and awkward. Everyone wanted and expected a tip and travelers were reminded to tip at least 3 times during the trip. It was great to have someone else handle your transportation, hotel accommodations, and show you around the different cities. Tour managers and guides were kind and friendly. They appeared knowledgeable about the areas’ landmarks. Their recommendations for shopping and restaurant options were not the best. Found better recommendations on yelp and trip advisor.
This was an independent tour so our group liked that we can plan our own activities/tours. Glad that our Louvre tour got canceled because it was nice to be on our own pace. Gate 1 needs to improve on finding better hotel locations. We were so far away from the center of everything in London and Paris! The only plus in Paris was the metro was right there. For the amount we paid I think we could’ve gotten better hotel accommodations. (We had to switch rooms in Paris because the AC wasn’t working!) The airport transfer pickups were on time and smooth.
I have traveled 18 times with Gate One, have referred dozens to them, feel they are a terrific value , BUT…. Their discovery tours you pay more for, and get a higher level of service. Booked Patagonia trip for 2, in March, called them in October with airline question, was told, all our flights were cancelled. Really? When were you going to tell me? Spent total of 5 hours overs 2 days trying to rebook. Asked for manager, too busy, they’d call me back, never did. I tried repeatedly to get manager involved, never could. I had to pay $3200 for new flights. I paid for the trip in September in full. So I paid for flights twice!!!!!! Many emails even to owner of gate one, no resolution. At the very least I am owed $950 x2 ( the original difference if booked land only price), so $1900 due to me for buying flights twice. Gate one has asked me to be patient, well, now I need money back!!! Not patience left!!!! Stop avoiding me, do the right thing for a loyal long term always happy customer. This need’s resolution now!!! If they treat someone who travels with them this much, this way, would you be confident booking with them????
My mom and I traveled to Italy this past April. We had a great time although it was a bit too busy for us, but we did cover almost all of Italy you could possibly imagine. The breakfast was fair, not good but not bad. Dinners were good but not great and lots of fun. My biggest complaint is we were on a tour in Florence with Gate 1 travel and taken to a jewerly shop were we were than given a short talk regarding their products and than instructed we would receive a discount for being with Gate 1 travel. My mom and I both purchased 1 piece of jewelry each. When we went to purchase the products, we were told our discount was in the form of a tax credit and we had to turn the paperwork into customs to receive this discount. I was skeptical and questioned the process a few times but was reassured by the staff that it was very easy and if we had any problems to contact an email that was written on the instructions we were to follow. We followed the instructions as written and verbalized to us by the jewelry shop staff but were unable to complete due to our flight being delayed from Naples into Munich and we had to literally run to our next flight. I contacted the email 3 times with no response and I double check both my spam and the address given. I than contacted Gate 1 and were told in simple terms, there is nothing they can do. I believe this is a scam!!! I believe this is a way for them to make more money off of you. My mom and I are out 300 dollars. Which isn't a ton of money but I am sure we are not the first ones this has happened too! The Jewery shop is called "The Gold Market" and address is 50122 Firenze. I have also submitted this review to the BBB to further investigate this.
This 9 Day tour should actually be called 7 Day Classic Japan - Gate 1 needs to revise / review since 2 of the days you are actually in transit. Our tour guide Ichiro was phenomenal- kudos to him for his patience & handling the hiccups. Loved the country, it's people & the culture. Only disappoinmet was that Japan has so much to offer but the Gate1 itinerary focussed on way too many shrines/temples.
France April 27 - May 9. We have had several Gale One tours that were Great, but not this one. Basically the accommodations and land travel were not acceptable. Sights were wonderful. First, the Bus was too small for such a long trip. When sitting, my knees hit back of seat in front of me. No space for legs or anything else. Very cramped. Could not use pouch on back of seat in front of me. Overhead bin was very tiny. Secondly, Most Hotels, especially Mercure hotel chain were terrible. No air or windows in the rooms. Asked for fan but not always available. Hotel in Bordeaux was the worst. 1 of 2 elevators not working; very hot in room; no relief in sight; meals too sparse. The only decent hotel was in Lourdes where we could open the window. We understand that air-conditioning is infrequent in Europe, but for the price we pay, Gate One can find better places to stay and still be in center of cities. Tour guide was very nice but seemed uninformed. Gate One tour guides for Greece, Morocco and Sicily were tremendous comparably. Some of her facts about castles etc. differ from most tour books. She needs to use a script as her English is too halted for being a guide. She seemed to often pause mid-sentence thinking for the next word. She frequently asked tourists for the correct word to use. Poor idea to show two 50-year-old irrelevant movies in the bus. Could not see subtitles unless sitting in first 2-3 rows near the screens. We were looking for more history about the country, artists, music, Resistance movement during WWII, French influence around the world, why Paris selected for so many international treaties, etc. Several lunch rest stops were at gas stations. We were captive for expensive, lousy food. It would have been nice to know this a day or two in advance so that we could purchase food elsewhere & bring it with us on those days. In closing, we like Gate One generally and have several friends who used them per our recommendation. Not sure I would suggest it again. Thank you for your opportunity to reply here.
I just returned from the 7 Day Galapagos Express trip with Gate 1. In a nutshell, this trip kicked my senior citizen butt. It is very fast paced with a lot of walking. I walked more than 5 miles several times. The hiking is for VERY fit and experienced hikers on volcanic rock and uneven stones. The hotel in Baltra was nice but great for mountain goats. There were no elevators and some rooms were up three and four flights of curving stairs. Food and prices were decent. My son, a former Marine, had to rescue two people from drowning when the guide took them snorkeling. These were people with little or no experience in deep water and I questioned why the guide even allowed them to go. There is a lot of getting on and off small boats. I would recommend anyone over 60 or so to see the sights of the Galapagos on the Discovery Channel. I went in the first week in May and the weather was very hot, which made the walking even more tiring. The first day in Baltra we got off the flight and started our hike. We had been up since 4:00 am and the hike lasted until 5 or 6 so everyone was really tired. It's going to take me several days to recover from this trip.
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
My wife and I are moderate travelers and decided to book our first guided tour through Gate 1 based on the countries they covered. We booked the 13day Croatia, Slovenia, Venice tour and were very excited to visit all of these countries. Our initial flight into Europe from the U.S. was cancelled (not the fault of Gate 1) which put us behind 2 days into the tour. I will give Gate 1 credit in that they did everything possible to eventually reunite us with the our in progress tour. On the 6th day of the tour my wife who was fully vaccinated and boosted tested positive for covid in Dubrovnik Croatia. We did the right thing and notified our local tour operator and as expected were told we couldn't continue with the group. What was not expected was the total abandonment from Gate 1 management of us and our stranded travel situation in Croatia. During my wife's 5 days of required isolation in Dubrovnik, we received one phone call from Gate 1 management inquiring into her health and well being! They offered no assistance in getting us home, only stating if you can get to Venice, you may still use your booked return flight home. Good luck arranging travel from Dubrovnik to Venice. To keep this review brief, I will end with saying, yes we did eventually safely make it home but without any assistance from Gate 1 management. They never called to check on my wife's recovery (she did), never called or checked to see if we did indeed make it home and have never followed up. Be aware if you get Covid while traveling with Gate 1, buckle up for the unknown as it could be a nightmare. I can't end this review without taking the time to say how ever grateful we are to our local Gate 1 tour operator Ivona Ercegovic who went above and beyond to see that we not forgotten and left (literally) on the streets of Dubrovnick. Ivona called or texted everyday to check on Stacy's condition, found us a place to say while Stacy isolated and did her best to help in anyway to make the situation less difficult, all while continuing to lead the tour we had been on! She is a true asset for Gate 1 and we will forever be indebted to the assistance she provided. We would rate her a 5 out 5 on the short amount of time we got to enjoy her tour leadership and the assistance during our struggle to get home. Wish we could say the same for Gate 1 management. UPDATE: I must give Gate 1 credit as the head of their Customer Service Department reached out to address the concerns I voiced above. They stated they had a process in place for when a passenger gets covid and that this process was not followed completely. They stated their goal was to learn from the mistake and improve the process so it doesn't occur again. They did inquire as to my wife's health and were apologetic. The Gate 1 tour itself, was very well managed and covered some of the most beautiful country we had ever visited!
Gate 1 travel company has been great to work with. This time what was disappointing was the un- professional attitude of our tour guide, Desire, in the 11 day S Africa tour. She seemed to take no responsibility as part of the company, more like it was ‘their’ company. It was very surprising that she also made up nicknames for the male guests inappropriately,which can be very taboo according to some cultures. Thank goodness, the countries ,and the wildlife we visited did not disappoint.
Although we saw some fabulous sites we did have some issues with our 17 day trip to Egypt and Jordan. Our first guide was wonderful and had an unbelievable storehouse of knowledge, but perhaps too much as he frequently talked so long at a site that we had almost no time to explore on our own. Secondly we had 3 intermal flights that we had to get up at 4 am to catch and therefore were tired all that day. Our second tour guide did not carry a flag and it was very difficult to keep track of him when we were in large crowds. Finally we had an issue with lost luggage where our guide made us all wait for over 2 hours even though our hotel was only 10 minutes away.
A changed in their itinerary due to aiport closure made us traveled by bus for over 9 hours.
Their service is degrading. Lately they offer you a 7 days tour, but in reality is 6 because day #7 is the flight back, at midnight or 1am. This happened on our last 2 trips. So on day #6 you have a very long day, because at night they drive you to the airport for the night flight and when you arrive at your country, you have spent around 24 hours without stop. Also because they buy the bulk seats for the tour with the airlines, every body in the plane from Gate1 is not seating with their relatives, so people are trying to change seats with others, to seat with their companion. The hotels they choose are fair for the price you're paying and the busses and tour guides are pretty good.
I don't have a star rating for Gate1 Travel yet. They came highly recommended by family and we were very happy to book based on itinerary and price (Res #1975670). We are due to depart for South Africa soon and I can't get an agent to call/ email me about visa's, vaccinations or internal flight times so I can book transfers etc. I have filled out the online form several times over the last few months and tried to contact them via Instagram but haven't had a response. I've also called twice from Australia to be told that the wait time is over 2 hours and no one called me back when I left my number. I'm starting to get very nervous about this entire trip, we are traveling with kids and need confirmation that this is a reliable company. I can see other reviewers get a response here and I'm hoping I'll get the same. Can an agent please email me asap?
Gate 1 Travel is a travel service provider that specializes in offering affordable escorted tours, river cruises, and vacation packages to a diverse range of destinations worldwide. With over 40 years of experience in the travel industry, the company aims to provide quality travel experiences that cater to various traveler preferences, including escorted tours, small group tours, walking tours, and independent travel options. The company's target market includes budget-conscious travelers seeking enriching travel experiences without compromising on quality. Gate 1 Travel focuses on delivering value through carefully curated itineraries and competitive pricing, making it an appealing choice for individuals and groups looking to explore new destinations. Customers can find a variety of travel packages that suit different interests and budgets on their website, gate1travel.com.
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