Gate 1 TravelReviews of gate1travel.com

Gate1 booked our travel reservations to the Canadian Maritime Provinces, June 24-July 1, 2023. The original booking got us in to Halifax in the middle of the night and the return flight had us leaving Saint John at 5:30am. I called to complain at least 3 times with no luck. Gate 1 wouldn’t even set up transit from the airport to the hotel! Then as we were ready to drive to the airport, the leg of the flight from Montreal to Halifax was canceled by Air Canada. Called Gate1, and the first flight they could find for us was the next day. That meant we lost the first full day of the tour and welcome dinner. The agent assured me that there would a welcome package at the hotel lobby or our room. However, there was only a brief note in the room from the tour manager with no useful information regarding bag pickup or bus departure . I called and asked her to come to our room, At this point, I was extremely stressed and therefore a bit short with the tour manager. Instead of smoothing things out, she took umbrage and flounced out of the room without giving any further information. My observation of her leadership style during the remainder of the trip is that she is hubristic. She has an inflated sense of self without any exceptional credentials and is insensitive to understanding travelers needs. During the rest of the trip, she was rude to me anytime she could do that without others noticing. I’ve been on other tours, and this tour manager was totally unprofessional.

Traveled to Greece June 2023. The 20+ page itinerary made no mention of the actual length of the bus tours and the actual set up of the tour days. The bus tour occupied about 8-11 hours of our day with 630am wake up calls to get the day started. They should really mention an estimated bus travel time because that may be a deal breaker for some people especially those with back ailments, tall people, or people with leg issues. This would not be conducive for anyone that has these problems sitting in confined spaces for long periods of time. My husband, who is 6’6, his legs were swollen everyday on the bus with the length of the rides and the cramped spaces. My back was on fire due to my back issues. There was assigned seating on these buses which constantly put us next to the same couple who were not at all fresh and it was nothing we could do about it because the seats were ASSIGNED! 8-11 hours daily stuck on and off a cramped musty bus is not my idea of a good time. I did ask if our seats could be moved but this request was not taken seriously until we decided to bail on the tour Friday June 16th after 3 days. We could not take two more days of that and from hearing the same complaints from some of the other travelers the feeling was mutual. When gate 1 rep was told of our plans to leave and called us to ask why we were leaving the tour and I told them there was no accommodations made and we were told that there would be no refund even though I hadn’t asked for any refund at the time. I paid out of pocket to book a shuttle to go back to Athens ahead of the tour then had to book an additional last minute hotel stay. On top of that the tours we experienced were very boring. It was Athens, Olympia, Kalambaka, Delphi. However, The tour guide, ViVi, was very knowledgeable and thorough in explaining the sites. This did not feel like a vacation and unless you’re into forced early wake ups, all day rides on cramped smelly buses, forced interactions (because you get the feeling you can’t even break off from the group if you want to) assigned seating like you’re at summer camp, and learning all about rocks, caves and olives..pick another trip! Gate 1 needs to be more thorough and up front with the explanation of the tours/trip!

Buyer beware about Gate 1 travel insurance company, Arch Insurance. And beware of Gate 1 for selling it and collaborating with them on denying my claim. I have used Gate 1 in past and totally loved and recommended. Never had to use the insurance before though. You can look up Arch's BBB complaints, and I see some here also. I have appealed several times and am very angry, not only about my issues, but all the others who are being billed by Arch...and Gate 1. I have never written a bad review on a company before. Update: Gate One sent me an email in response to this and just said - yes, Arch insurance had denied my claims. Thanks, I already knew that ! Help me get the money owed!

My $3000 Peru trip was interrupted due to nationwide strikes/civil and political unrest which happened after our arrival where we were held against our will in the Urubamba sacred valley for multiple days and were awaiting the National Military to take control of the region and reopen local airports which had been overtaken by protestors. Our original airport we were supposed to depart from in Juliaca did not reopen until the following week as strikes and riots were more violent in that region, so we had to make alternative arrangements to fly out of the Cusco Airport once it reopened so that we could get back to Lima International Airport in order to fly to the US from there. This took 4 days of negotiating with local strikers involving the mayor and local police at times which did not work and finally we had to depart under the cover of night, physically remove road barriers, bribe strikers to let us pass and not throw rocks at our bus in order to make our flight. We made it through luckily but some other busses that left the area after us that evening did not and were held hostage by strikers 30 minutes outside of Cusco city. It was a treacherous trip which caused me and others on the tour much duress, many sleepless nights and was far from anything that could be considered a vacation, which is what I thought I was paying for. I also had to change my flight back to the US because the new flight departure time from Cusco was later than the original one from Juliaca and I could not make my original flight. I arrived in the US a day later than originally scheduled and had to cancel travel I was supposed to make for a job interview. We were told by our tour manager that we would receive a refund and it would be better if we had insurance (I did). After 7 months of trying to get this matter resolved with Gate 1 (including contacting the president directly) and their sham Arch insurance company, I was given back $270 and an insulting $200 credit which I will of course not be using. Please be wary that you will be offered ZERO coverage and protection in the event of an incident while traveling and should consider that money gone when booking whether you take the trip you paid for or not.

Gate One has been my go to tour company in the past for international travel of many years. Unfortunately, I was totally disappointed of the most recent trip. The company has tripled the size of people in a group. To accommodate the large number of people in a group by one tour guide they added a teenager as assistant of the trip. You have to pay tips for the tour guide, bus driver, local guides daily of different sites and the assistant. If you think the tips are voluntary, you are giving reference of how much you should tip throughout the trip as frequent reminder. You think Gate One has better discount. It is not the case. You are dealing with hidden costs and crowded bus with every seat filled with people. I am glad I did not go when it the weather is really hot. Can you imaging how uncomfortable it will be in the summer and peak season. I am sharing this with everyone who is interested of Gate One tour to be aware of the situation first so you can make informed decision. I will definitely stay away from Gate One after my recent experience unless the condition is improved. Thanks of Gate One response! I already submitted my feedback to the link you provided. They basically defended themselves of what happened. I believe that is what they are taught to do. This is why I am going through outside reviewer so it is more transparent by the public. And, the reviewers of the site can make their own decision of what they think.

This company lied to me about being able to add travel insurance the day after I paid for my trip after I had a chance to check with my travel partner (my elder mom). I called the next day to add insurance after my mom said she wanted it, and was denied. Then they told me I could do a name change if my mom couldn't travel and after she ended up in the hospital, I spent hours booking new flights, and then was denied a name change by Gate 1 on my land only reservation. HORRIBLE customer service! Avoid! Their response suggesting they addressed my concerns is a complete lie too. No integrity at this company! Absolute nonsense that my concerns were addressed!

Don’t bother getting trip insurance, they don’t help. We used to love Gate One and took many trips with friends, neighbors and relatives. I will not use them again.

We have booked 8 or 9 trips with Gate1Travel and loved them all!! We always purchase travel insurance and never needed it until our last trip. I got COVID on Day 6 of a 16-day trip to Ireland and Scotland despite being double-vaccinated and double-boosted). It was a nightmare to get reimbursed!!!! So, when we booked our next trip, we decided NOT to purchase travel insurance. Bad decision I guess. We are to leave for a 10-day trip to National Parks on May 30. We were shocked when my husband was diagnosed with lung cancer a couple of weeks ago. He had surgery to remove half of his left lung. He is recovering fine BUT the doctor does not want him to fly for 4 weeks (change in altitude is not good for a healing lung). I called Gate1Travel to reschedule and they said no because I did not have travel insurance. We will lose 90% of what we paid. I asked if I could take someone else and was told NO. Why not? The trip and side trips have all been paid in full! Has this happened to anyone else? What should we do?