Gate 1 Travel Avis 439

Our "Stay & Explore" tour was full of history and fun. Our Tour Manager, Jackie Mullen, took great care to inform, entertain, and manage our group of 40! She remembered our repeat travelers and spent time getting to know what the new travelers wanted to know. The hotel was well-situated in Oxford and the hotel staff was very attentive.

I have been on 2 Gate One trips and have been very satisfied with the level of service and the quality of the tours. The guides have exceeded expectations! There were complications due to weather on the last trip and the 24 hour emergency services were right on spot. I have lots of friends who travel exclusively with Gate One and I am comfortable using them as a solo or as a couple.

I’ve taken several trips with Gate 1 Travel over the years, and overall I’ve been very pleased—they typically offer well-organized tours and interesting itineraries at a good value.
The Nine Day Taste of Rio de Janeiro tour is no exception. It’s thoughtfully planned and provides a great introduction to Rio de Janeiro, with a nice balance of activities and free time.
However, I was surprised by the cost of airport transfers. The company charges $141 per person each way—$141 from Rio de Janeiro–Galeão International Airport to the Copacabana area hotel, and another $141 for the return trip. That’s $282 per person for a transfer of roughly 15–16 miles (about 25 km).
For comparison, I checked pricing for a similar route independently and found rates at roughly 10% of what Gate 1 is charging, even when reserving in advance. These options also include standard safety features such as driver tracking, verified drivers, and trip records, making the difference in pricing difficult to reconcile.
I understand that organized tours may build in additional considerations such as coordination and reliability; however, a difference of this magnitude seems disproportionate for the distance involved and would benefit from clearer explanation or more competitively priced alternatives.
Overall, I still value Gate 1’s tours and would travel with them again, but this was one aspect that didn’t feel aligned with the otherwise strong value they usually provide.

Below is my reply to Gate 1’s reply:

Gate 1, thank you for your response.
Could you please clarify whether the $141 per person transfer is for a private vehicle or a shared transfer with other passengers? This distinction is
important, as it directly affects how the pricing is evaluated.

For context, I looked into comparable options independently. Standard rideshare and taxi services for this route are roughly 10% of this cost, and even pre-booked executive car services are often around half the price. Given this, the $141 per person rate appears significantly higher than typical market rates
-particularly if the transfer is shared.

I fully understand that organized tours may include coordination and reliability considerations. However, clearer transparency around what is actually being provided (private vs. shared, level of service, etc.) would help travelers better
understand and evaluate the value.

Thank you in advance for clarifying.

This was our tour guide on a recent Gate 1 tour and she was awesome! Extremely knowledgeable about every location. Would absolutely recommend Daja of Gate 1.

I have a beautiful amazing tour that for sure is very memorable. Gate 1 make it easier, smooth and I see so many places that includes to the package beside 4 stars hotels, coach transportation, breakfast included, some lunch and dinner to a nice restaurant. Pick up drop off from & to airport. They deliver your luggage to every hotels we move. My tour guide Agnes is very responsible & knowledgeable. I will miss her. Thank you Gate 1 for stress free and a wonderful experience. I will definitely travel with you guys for my next travel

It’s disrespectful that they conduct tourist tours during the Palm Sunday Mass at the Cathedral of Buenos Aires. The church is open for a wide range of hours, so there is no reason to schedule tours right in the middle of a religious service, with people talking and disrupting the atmosphere.
As a company, this shows a clear lack of respect not only for the space but for the people attending the mass. Religious services deserve basic consideration and silence, and choosing to prioritize tours over that reflects poorly on how they treat others.
——
Es una falta de respeto que realicen recorridos turísticos durante la Misa de Ramos en la Catedral de Buenos Aires. La iglesia está abierta durante un rango amplio de horarios, por lo que no hay razón para programar visitas justo en medio de una celebración religiosa, con personas hablando y generando interrupciones.
Como empresa, esto demuestra una clara falta de respeto no solo por el lugar, sino también por las personas que están asistiendo a la misa. Las celebraciones religiosas merecen un mínimo de consideración y silencio, y priorizar los recorridos por encima de eso habla muy mal de cómo tratan a los demás.

They did they touristy tour during the Palm Sunday service… super disrespectful and shows lack of awareness and disregard for the significance of the celebration

I would not recommend a company that demonstrates such poor judgment and lack of cultural and religious sensitivity.

WE just came back from Kaleidoscope of Colombia trip which was amazing. Colombia is one of the most beautiful countries I have visited with unforgettable landscapes. Our Gate 1 Tour Manager Leon Pardo not only met our expectations but exceeded them in so many ways. He is the best tour manager, and it is in large part his attitude, knowledge, commitment, organizational skills made everything easy and memorable. He went above and beyond what was required from him including evenings walks, small treats for everyone, etc. We enjoyed our vacation and Thank you Gate 1 and Leon for superb tour organization!

I took a Gate 1 Travel small-group Discovery Tour of the Philippines in February 2026, advertised as secular. The tour manager conducted daily morning prayer sessions on the bus and never called me by my correct name during the 10-day tour.

I sent a chain of three formal complaint letters, escalating through multiple levels of customer service, yet it took over a month for them to acknowledge that prayer sessions led by a Gate 1 tour manager were inappropriate. Even then, the Vice President of Customer Service did not take personal responsibility or address the broader implications for tour management.

These serious professional and ethical deficiencies make this tour not recommended for travelers seeking respectful, secular experiences.

Update - Thank you Gate 1 for your Trustpilot reply. This is not a matter of expectations but of the deficiencies in both the tour managment and the handling of my complaint, which I have already outlined in detail. I do not wish to engage further.

My issues relate not only to the tour itself but to broader shortcomings in how your organization handles tourism management and customer concerns. These include the tour manager’s conduct during the trip, the framing of my complaint as a matter of personal sensitivity, the loss of my detailed follow-up, and the lack of any response from senior customer service leadership. Taken together, these issues raise serious ethical questions about your company’s accountability, transparency, and commitment to treating guests with fairness and respect.

For that reason, I will not be pursuing this further and consider the matter closed.

This experience, echoed by many reviews on Trustpilot, suggests that Gate 1 Travel reframes problems as expectation gaps rather than resolving them.

Gate 1 delivers ' Bang for the Buck ' great hotels - good food & guides - our 2nd Gate 1 adventure gets 👍👍👍

Beware when booking. I booked a National Park tour in November 2025 for a tour beginning November 2026. I had to cancel in March 2026 over 6 months prior to the trip. Although I signed up for trip insurance and cancel anytime, I was informed that the insurance did not cover the deposit. No offer from Gate 1 for return of deposit or a credit for a future trip. We took a National Park tour in Fall of 2025 and were very pleased; however, now I would be very cautious to book again. Very disappointed.

We loved our trip to South India. This was our fourth trip with gate one.

Our journey through South India with Gate 1 Travel was truly unforgettable, and much of that is thanks to our exceptional guide, Stalin V.
From the very beginning, Stalin’s deep knowledge of India’s history, culture, and traditions enriched every destination we visited. His explanations brought each site to life, adding meaning and context that went far beyond what any guidebook could offer. But what made him truly special was not just his expertise—it was his genuine care for each traveler’s experience.

Stalin went above and beyond to ensure everyone was comfortable, engaged, and enjoying the journey. He took the time to connect with each person individually and created a warm, welcoming atmosphere where our group quickly began to feel like a family. His personal stories about his faith, his family, and his life in India added a heartfelt and authentic touch that we deeply appreciated.

His kindness, attentiveness, and positive spirit made our trip not only smooth and well-organized, but also meaningful and memorable. Because of Stalin, this was more than a tour—it was a personal and enriching experience we will always treasure.

We are truly grateful for his dedication and highly recommend him to anyone traveling with Gate 1. He made our India adventure very special.

On our 1/23/2026 trip to India with Gate1 I severely injured my foot, under following circumstances:
1. On day 4 of the “16 Day Classic India with Ranthambore”, Gate1 brought us to the Akshardham Temple.
2. When we left a bus to go to the temple, a heavy rain started. We travel a lot, and in inclement weather like that, travel companies would cancel excursions to protect their customers. Here, wet we continued, unaware what we are stepping into.
3. We had to remove shoes and socks before getting inside the temple,
4. Marble/stone walkways and stairs leading to the temple were very slippery. On a way we managed to navigate with assistance of handrails.
5. On the way out, a local man who was pushing a water away from those walkways and stairs, prevented us from getting to the handrails, despite our protests.
6. Gate1 tour guide, has already left the temple, and was quite a distance away from a large part of his group still there. Hence, we could not ask him to intervene about that handrails access, or to assist members of his group of elderly people to get down safely.
7. I have fallen and severely injured my foot. My recovery will take months, severely impeding my other medical treatment I am undergoing.
8. What assistance I got from Gate1 you may wonder:
a) No ambulance, despite me repeatedly demanding the Gate1 tour guide summon one. He was telling me “it’s on its way”, but apparently it was not true.
b) No police to take an accident report.
c) Man at the temple, with dirty hands and dirty bandages he pulled from a dirty tool box passing as an "emergency assistance" box, applied those “bandages” to my open (a bone sticking out of my foot), bleeding wound
d) Abandoned by Gate1 tour guide, bleeding, soaking wet and shivering, outside in the rain, I was waiting for help, wondering why we were even brought there
e) After over two hours or so, I was taken to the hospital in a unsanitary car, as that ambulance I was demanding Gate1 has never summoned, scared that I could get an infection that could end my life.

The trip was fine; no thanks to Gate 1’s “customer service.” Gate 1 customer service is terrible — to the point of outright lying. My daughter was supposed to join me on my October 2025 trip to Iceland, but had to cancel at the last minute. I anticipated added costs as I traded my daughter’s position on the tour with a friend. Gate 1 did NOTHING to help trade the positions. Even when I offered to take a complete loss for my daughter not going and pay for everything again for my friend, Gate 1 still wasn’t satisfied.

The “customer service” person “helping” me stated the tour was full and I couldn’t just trade my friend for my daughter. She said I had to cancel my daughter first and then see if there was still room for my friend (leaving me to go on the tour by myself). When I countered a full tour shouldn’t be an issue since I’m cancelling my daughter’s position, the person said after canceling my daughter's position, people on a waiting list would get priority over my friend.

The lies came in when customer service insisted as soon as my daughter wasn’t on the first flight, the airline would notify Gate 1 and everything else on the tour would automatically get cancelled for my daughter. The hotel wouldn’t allow my friend to stay in my room and the tour companies would check our identification as we tried entering the buses. I called both the hotel and tour companies in advance and they had no issues with someone else accompanying me in my hotel room and on the tours.

I have no idea why Gate 1 “customer service” tried to make such a complex issue out of something that should have been so easy. I have been to every continent, except Antarctica, multiple times. I will retire soon and traveling the world is my prevailing goal. I thought Gate 1 would be motivated to make a life-long customer from a first-time customer who travels multiple times per year and all over the world. I have no intention of ever using Gate 1 again.

We have utilized Gate 1 multiple times for trips in the States as well as abroad. We choose independent travel. You can't beat the value! Everything is as advertised. The hotels offered in vacation packages are wonderful! So far we have traveled with Gate 1 to California, Costa Rica, Italy (4 times!), and Ireland. Can't say enough good things about their value and service.

Inexperienced and unprofessional staffs. Owner and management team, please provide proper training to your employees. Your employees represent your company, too.

I’ve taken numerous Gate 1 travel Trips and have enjoyed everyone of them, however, lately attempting to get someone on the telephone from the call center is possible. Wait times exceed 2 to 3 hours. They offer a callback feature which I elected on two occasions but never received a phone call. I’ve tried the WhatsApp chat feature, but it’s just as bad. I’ve also used the email feature, but they say it may take up to five days to receive a reply. I’m not sure what’s going with customer service but as a paying customer, something must be done and done soon. Prompt, efficient and excellence in Customer service is the backbone of a good company without it the company will fail.

Have been patronizing Gate 1 Travel since 2015. Previous customer service experiences were positive. Spent the last 3 calendar days (01/09-11/2026) trying to get a simple question answered. Examples of current problems include: 1. They never have anyone available to answer the phones, 2. They schedule, through their chat platform, telephone conversations and never call, 3. Yesterday, I thought I had gotten through. Was told that 10 agents were working and that I would receive a call back. That never happened, 4. Today, called them, @ what appears to be a partially outsourced call center to another country, call was received, I was told that I was being "internally," transferred. I emphasized that previous calls had been disconnected by the Gate 1 representative and today's call was promptly disconnected by Gate 1, 5. After spending over an hour on the chat platform was connected virtually with an agent. Asked the simple question and the agent immediately began trying to up-sale me. Agent asked for a phone # which was provided and agent-on three separate occasions-lied about having called. etc. Have questions about an upcoming Gate 1 trip? Be prepared to spend hours trying to get through. We will never use them again.

I am totally disappointed in their website. I booked a reservation prior to being able to book a flight. Not a problem, but the problem I have is flights are available online to people who are now booking the same reservation because flights are available for people now booking. I booked over a month ago and they were not, but now are and I am still not seeing the flights. I called and they said it would take less than a month for me to see what people that are booking now can see. That is ass backwards. Those people that booked prior to flights being available should be given the opportunity to pick flights prior to people booking now. It is totally ridiculous for it to happen that way. I thought I was doing the right thing and now I might not be able to get a flight from a city near me because it is not available to me before everyone else. Just frustrated!!!!!!!!!!! Had issues booking my initial reservation as well. Website to me is definitely not user friendly!!!

DISAPPOINTING- As a disabled senior, female traveler with mobility issues I request wheelchair assistance at the airports, that didn't happen. I requested direct non-stop flights, that didn't happen.

I left Capetown, South Africa at 2pm on Monday, Dec 22nd. I didn't get home til Wednesday, Dec 24th Christmas Eve. The booking agent told me there was 1 stop in Dubai for an hour.

After an 8 hour flight, I arrived in Dubai. I was the only black person in the flight needing a wheelchair, I was tge only passenger that did not get one. I was forced to walk for a very long distance, carring my carry on.

I NEVER HEARD MILAN, ITALY mentioned until I boarded the plane 2 hours later and it wasn't on my ticket. I was told there was a direct flight from Dubai to NYC, I wasn't on it and it was too late.

I paid to upgrade to business class for this 8 hour flight. The seat reclines into a bed to ease the pain in my body. After arriving in MILAN, ITALY I was forced to get off for cleaning and refueling. An hour and a half later , I reboarded the same plane and was forced to pay another ridiculous upgrade fee to fly 8 hours to NYC.

I purchased both travel insurance policies, of course, my situation wasn't covered. I received a response to my complaint from NIKKI H. in customer relations. Nikki issued a lousy 250.00 future travel credit. Gate1 has a 300.00 min deposit- she didn't even offer this. She blamed me for incurring the upgrade fees (FOR HEALTH REASONS) and she blamed me for not calling from Dubai. I was already on the plane when I found out I was headed to MILAN, ITALY.

I was never told I was going to MILAN, it's not on my ticket - I SHOULD HAVE BEEN ON THE DIRECT FKUGHT BACK TO THE USA!

GATE1 NEEDS TO REIMBURSE ME FOR THE UPGRADE FEES. I wouldn't be leaving reviews if they tried to make this right.... Nikki H. responded and canceled my upcoming trip and processed the return my deposit. SHE TOLD ME TO GO TO THE AIRLINE, THAT GATE1 BOOKED ME ON FOR REIMBURSEMENT - HORRIBLE!