I decided on a Yolo trip to the best of west USA. The tour had 3 amazing days, at grand canyon, Las Vegas, and Yosemite national park. The remaining 12 days were painful. Cramped into a too small bus, equipped with broken camp g gear, supported by unmotivated tour guides, and fed with most unhygiene food conditions, I cannot recommend neither the your operator nor the tour. This was the most dreadful trip I have ever made and coming home yes like vacations. Pleas, do not expect am enjoyable experience with the tour provider. read more

Hello, G Adventures Bali-Lombok Tour I would like to provide some description about Bali-Lombok Tour by this company, which was a complete rip-off! In terms of money that we have paid and the conditions that were provided. Terrible hazardaous conditions, unethical behaviour of the guide, and visible signs of corruption made this tour disgusting and a wate of time/money. Would like to warn everyone not to be hooked on this trick! Dont add profit margin to the company. Read a full review with pictures here: http://www.facebook.com/GAdventuresBaliLombokTour Regards, Anna read more

More like "F" Adventures. My experience with the G Adventures Maldives Island Hopping tour was a poor value for the cost because of undesirable destinations and unreasonable comfort compromises. Hulhumale, Huraa and Male were all poor destination choices. Also, my assigned roommate insisted on turning off the air conditioning and ceiling fan due to noise in spite of the 90+ F degree temperatures. I complained to G Adventures and was advised to upgrade to a private room through G Adventures. A quick internet search revealed that it would actually cost me less money to book exactly the same room on my own, so that is what I did. The tour company put on the report that I "insisted on booking [my] own room." That's one way to spin it. G Adventures consider tourists' Maldives expectations of white sand beaches and crystal blue waters. Hulhumale and Huraa were largely under construction, ugly, noisy, and littered with construction debris and other garbage. Male is a dirty, crowded city. With so many better options it is hard to understand why these three locations were selected. Could it have something to do with what it cost G Adventures so they could keep more of your money? You're better off on your own going to islands like Maafushi. Just do a little internet research and you can get a much better experience on your own than you can with G Adventures. read more

I picked Manchu pichu cosco stay trip.. I was a solo woman traveler for the first time and talked for an hour with their sales person to ensure I would not be alone in a foreign country, not speaking the language. Long story short, I was the only one on that specific trip and was alone for the majority of the trip. Feeling unsafe I spent a lot of time in my hotel room which are not great. Normally,, I wouldn't mind cheep hotels,, if I'm not in there a lot. This was the biggest issue since I was told there were 12 people in my group and could find people to hang out with on free time but was alone instead.. When transferring from Cosco to Machu pichu, I was dropped off at the train station to figure it out myself, luckily I found someone who spoke English. Took the train to the town near Manchu picchu with luggage. No one was there to great me there, they had given me the wrong hotel name and the hotel the my wrong name. 3 hours lugging my luggage around town, looking for a hotel that didn't exist. $60 of data roaming and finally found it but lost a 1/2 day in the town of my main reason I was on this trip. After calling and basically crying, they still messed up as I was suppose to join the group that I met earlier but did the inka trail and I didn't. I made the best of it and had a great, amazing time in Machu Pichu. When I got back, I wrote customer service. They apologized, said the sales person was new and offered me a $600 credit for my next trip with them. I asked for some of my money back for this trip, but was denied. They wouldn't even pay for my cell phone bill that they caused. They admitted everything that was messed up was their fault but no compensation. Expensive lonely trip. Don't go solo with this company. No customer service if there is a problem. The guides I did have were great and tried to help me but even they all said this was very wrong and should have been rectified read more

Extremely disappointed in G Adventures, our guide, and the whole experience overall. First time using G, Wellness tour in San Jose Costa Rica. Also, my first time traveling outside the country, alone single female. This trip was a nightmare the moment I walked out of the SJO airport. There was no one there from G to pick me up. There's A LOT of very aggressive taxi drivers as soon as you walk outside, 2 would not leave me alone and offered to "help" by calling the hotel I was supposed to be staying in. Hotel couldn't locate the CEO and kept repeating I take a taxi. I did not feel comfortable doing this alone, no one seemed to care. The 2 men lead me out of the airport on a street corner to get into the nastiest, smallest car ever, and locked in by child locks, with a non-English speaking driver. He stopped at a shady ATM b/c i was told they wouldn't take dollars. The guy withdrew $250 and since I don't read spanish, and very overwhelmed, I had no idea how much he w/d or how much he took from me for the ride. The next day when I told the CEO, she shrugged it off, said it's all part of the process and I should have been prepared in knowing the exchange. WTF? I get to the hotel super late and this hotel smells heavily of mold/mildew, so intense i had to sleep with the covers over my head. Perfect after the hell i just went thru. I'm highly allergic to mold. The next hotel smelled of rotten food. I reviewed the itinerary in depth before this trip, said I needed cash for all the activities. Nope. nor did i get to do any activity i anticipated. The itinerary is meaningless, activities weren't even mentioned by the CEO. CEO was knowledgable about the areas but seemed to be more interested in herself and what she wanted to do rather than the group. We did see some amazing places, hot springs, volcanoes, a beach, but you really don't get to choose much, it's what the CEO can manage or group vote. BE advised, if you want to go off alone, you walk or take a taxi and walking usually isnt an option because everything is really far and possibly unsafe. Seems G has no concerns for safety outside of a covid protocol. Everything is so unorganized. I received an email from G on my 6th day, regarding my $30 "refund" for the taxi i had to take from the airport. What a joke. Me and 3 others have tried to leave early and we cannot be accomodated by G drivers. CEO said G doesn't own vans in Costa Rica. Might want to update your website to make that very clear because it says you have private vehicle for all adventures. I've tried to put on a happy face and enjoy the the places i got to see but I've made all my own arrangements (super easy) to leave a day early. This was THE biggest waste of money and most horrible experience. Do yourself a favor and book your own adventure or really do your research and find a better tour company. read more

I booked a trip with Gadventures but the dates I scheduled had changed. I realized this when I went to book my flights. I called the office 24hrs after booking stating the issue and noting that the confirmation email states I have 24hrs to make a change (which I had to argue). I was told my refund was or has been processed 3xs. A month later I am still waiting to receive my refund. BUYER BEWARE read more

G- ADVENTURES - THAILAND ON A SHOESTRING From my personal experience, if it's your first time travelling solo (male or female), I would highly recommend a G-Adventures tour. They give you the chance to experience the country at a deeper level, particularly if your time there is limited. Already having transport and accommodation organised, accompanied with a flexible itinerary, enables you to completely lose yourself in what the country has to offer. Check out my full review on my blog :) https://tangledtravels.com/2016/06/19/g-adventures-thailand-on-a-shoestring/ read more

One star because they employ what may arguably be considered 'indentured servants' to carry heavy bags and equipment, and we had a horrific accident that exposed how G Adventures exploits workers in third world countries. After three days of intense hiking in uncertain weather conditions including hail, sleet and snow, two of the four mules that were carrying our heavy bags and supplies became deathly ill and one of the mules died right in front of us! Another mule was close to death. It was apparently because they ate something bad along the trail. The G Adventures staff were understandably distraught! Myself and the other travelers quickly learned that those mules were essential to the men's livelihood and without the mules, they and their families would likely face severe financial hardships. The tour guide (CEO) explained that G Adventures have no insurance to look after their 'contracted' employees or their livestock (i.e., mules). It is unconscionable that G Adventures doesn't look after their hardworking staff who may suffer injuries or even death during the course of their trips. This is wrong to the customers like me who assumed that the G Adventures staff have the similar, mandated travel insurance policies that they require all of their travelers to have. In the end, I ended up giving over $200, or over 15%, of the cost of the tour in cash towards a fund to help buy a new mule and tips. I will never take or recommend G Adventures until something is done to remedy their current processes. read more

One star is too many... worst customer service ever! I've travelled with Gadventures several times and all but this last time were very good experiences. However, my last experience was so horrible that I'm compelled to leave a negative review of their customer service, how they manage their trips, and overall bang for your buck. I will never again use this company and will again recommend them to others. First the customer service - their office staff is more focused on sales than customer service. They will provide you with great service until you book, but once you do - you're on your own. They have your money and they could care less if you have issues. My husband and I recently booked a trip to Italy. We were unaware that his valid passport was just a few days shy of the validity requirements for travel to Italy. We had wrongfully assumed that by booking a tour through a travel company like this that they would have notified us of the issue with his passport - since from the beginning they had his passport number and expiration date. THEY did not. As a result we were not able to board the plane and were delayed at home until we could get an expedited renewal for his passport. We feel that they could have prevented this issue by simply letting us know at time of booking, but they did not. On top of having to miss the first few days of a trip we had paid for we were surprised by how horrible their customer service was in providing us information we needed in order to catch up to the group. We had to call and call and email so many times just to get the name of the hotel, and contact info to the tour leader (which they never provided). And when we arrived home and wanted to discuss our dissatisfaction, we were welcomed with nothing but a delayed, cold, impersonal email from a rep that summed up the poor customer service this company has to offer. Second issue we had was with how the tour was managed. During this trip there was a group member that was extremely abusive to the tour leader and the group members-including us. Instead of eliminating the source of the issue G adventures catered to this man because of threats he made to sue them. They had no concern for the discomfort the rest of the group members felt being around this sort of behavior...they only cared about their bottom line. The man was abusive, volatile, and demeaning an we were forced to travel with him and be in his presence. WHile we understand that the company can't control group dynamic and the group members, they can certainly control how long abusive and disruptive behavior is tolerated. They only finally kicked this man off the trip more than halfway in after the guy physically assaulted a hotel owner. Gadventures did not show any care or concern for the wellbeing of the rest of the group members. Finally the value...our trip was nearly $2700 each, which did not include airfare. This amount was for two weeks in Italy and only included train/bus transport in between cities and double occupancy hotel stays. We felt this was entirely too expensive for the level of accommodations provided by the company. Three great experiences in the past with this company will not make up for the one terrible experience we just had. The level of care and customer service we received were utterly horrible and we will never travel with Gadventures again. read more

Took three trips with them but never again. Last trip to canyon de chelly was robbed (of cash) by the guides that they subcontracted out to. Reached out to both gap and the contract guides for help in resolution and both refused to help resolve. No reputable travel business should be exposing their travelers to thieves and then washing their hands of responsibility for the results. Shame. read more

Apparently, I did not have the same experience with GAP as other reviewers on yelp. On Day One, I realized that this agency is NOT what it pretends to be. Some initial notes: My sister and I went with GAP on the SMS Southern Divide trip through Peru, Bolivia, and Chile in 2008. We had done Easter Island on our own and planned to meet up with our GAP tour in Lima. The GAP trip was "22" days (but really it was about 20 days because they count the first day when you get there and the last day when you leave--both of these days included no activities or any contact with a tour guide). We were told to be in Lima to meet our group by 7pm on 9/20. When we got to our hotel on 9/20, there was no information from GAP. Our trip details said that we could take advantage of various options, like city tours. Unfortunately, since no one was there to give us any info, there was no way for us to arrange the city tour that GAP advertised. My trip ended up costing way more than GAP's estimate. The trip price itself was $2045. You then have to add the mandatory travel insurance (through GAP or your own company) which runs about $150 to $200+. Additionally, there is a "local payment" in cash that you give to the guide when you get there. Ours was $300 per person. Additionally, many city tours and other activities are NOT included, so if you want to see Santiago with a guide to explain things to you in English, factor in another $20-30 per tour with at least 2-3 of these "optional" tours per location. PLUS, you must tip each guide for included and unincluded activities, so tack on 10% of the cost of each tour/activity. It ends up costing way more than you think you're saving by doing "adventure travel." Additionally, GAP's trip details are misleading, especially in regard to the prices they list for additional activities. I noticed that many of the included tours, such as an excursion to the Uros Islands, were listed in my Rough Guide as much cheaper than the price offered by GAP. The personality, intelligence, and motivation of your guide is probably the number one controlling factor of your experience. My guide was Rocio, 25 years old, and more interested in partying and talking about male tour guides than about helping us with arranging activities or giving us information about the history, culture, or logistics of the cities and sights. She gave us no background information about the cities, countries, or sights that we saw. (Really, the GAP guide isn't a true tour guide but is more like a travel agent who just books your hotel rooms.) Our first encounter with Rocio: We didn't meet our group until 9/21, one hour before our flight to Cusco. The next morning, we rushed through breakfast to make it to the meeting. Our guide was 30 minutes late, rushed through the briefing, and because we had to rush to the airport for our flight, only gave us bits of the orientation. We did not have time to meet other group members and break the ice. However, our guide did take the time to tell us about the previous group she had led and to make fun of two members of that group. She told us that one guy was annoying because he asked too many questions and what she thought were stupid questions. That was a great way to start off our relationship, and I felt uneasy about asking her for info after that. At the airport, she left us standing in the middle of the terminal for 20 minutes while she ran off to buy new sunglasses. Our guide was consistently late to meetings (probably because she slept until 2pm every day), kept pushing the group to go party and get drunk, took us to American restaurants and stores that were way overpriced and NOT indicative of local culture, lied to us about prices and safety issues, and potentially put the group in danger when we were in Bolivia. (Basically, we were traveling through Bolivia when there were unions rioting and the US had a travel advisory against Americans traveling in Bolivia. Despite the safety issues, she got stoned while we were traveling between two cities, stuck her body out of the sunroof of the van and was screaming down the highway. It's true.) Overall, when thinking back on the trip, I try to block out the GAP-related parts and focus on the cities and countries. If I could do it again, I'd just go on my own. It wasn't difficult to get around without a guide. Plus, you don't get stuck in a group with people who aren't your "species." (My group was all girls between 19-24, drunk on the adrenalin of traveling without mom and dad for the first time. I was the oldest until another woman joined us half way and became my commiserating partner.) Occasionally, I find myself tempted to give GAP another chance especially since they offer such a wide range of trips, but I haven't been able to bring myself to do it. If you do go with GAP, ask about your guide, ask for reviews of his or her previous tours, check up on what is and what is not included, and beware! read more

My heart broke when I learned about a reviewers experience with the mule dying in front of her. I can't imagine watching an animal die like that without proper care and learning that G Adventures exploits people and their services in developing countries. Shame on them. I on the other hand only just learned of that review. And I am glad that I didn't become a customer. I am an unsatisfied almost customer of G Adventure. About two weeks ago, i learned that I would be going to Germany for a work related event. This seemed like a wonderful opportunity to join a tour while in Europe. I have not been on a group tour before and my work week is too packed to find time to create my own travel on such short notice. To make a long story short, in the confirmation I was sent, therein lied one sentence. The room that I was going to be booked in was a private room, not a shared room. I didn't need a private room and stated that in my initial call. The confirmation email was very long (probably at minimum one full page plus of text) and this message was buried in that text. I hadn't asked for a private room; the single supplement was $1200 more than than a shared room and I knew that I was okay with sharing. That is quite expensive given that Rick Steves offers $700 additional for a private room and if they can't find a person to share with you, you still get the private room at no cost. Almost six days later, when I was about to book, and had made arrangements to coordinate with business travel, to have someone watch my home, to make plane arrangements from Germany to italy, and all during an extremely swamped stressed work week. . .and I was in constant communication with G Travel, I learned about the private room on the day I wanted to pay for the tour. They said, it was in the email. Huh? I literally had to look hard for the sentence. I asked them to accommodate. They didn't want to and probably thought that they'd find someone that would pay the $2800, normally $1600 for shared. i asked if they could find a room near where the group was staying, etc.; they simply would not accommodate. I was disappointed with my experience and the lack of customer service. It was their mistake, not mine, and they didn't want to take responsibility. The solutions they provided for me were a) I could share the bed with a stranger b) I could go on another tour that was in the same timeframe (none of which were interesting or active enough) or c) pay the single supplement. They lost me as a new customer. read more

I was nervous traveling by myself for the first time, but thanks to G Adventures and our CEO Federico in Costa Rica, I had an amazing experience!! Not only do I recommend this for solo travelers, I highly recommend it for everyone, since their wide variety of optional activities allow for each person to do exactly what they want! I can't wait for my next G Adventures trip!! read more

While I would normally do a big trip almost entirely on my own, you can't really do Antarctica on your own. You're stuck choosing a tour company to work with, which for someone independent like me, seemed like quite the daunting task. After finally narrowing down my search, I wound up choosing an Antarctic cruise with G and eventually added on the Patagonia Experience as well. Best honeymoon ever! All cruise ships to the Antarctic require hefty medical insurance. G offered their plan, our travel agent offered theirs, but ultimately we went with one that we could afford and offered money back should the trip be canceled (very, very important with Antarctic cruises). As for the credit cards fees even though it's paid in USD - that is NOT the fault of G. At all. That is called American credit card companies milking you for every penny. If you use a credit card overseas, it no longer matters if you are charged in USD. The fact you are not on US soil means you will be hit with a "foreign exchange" percentage despite no actual exchange happening. I'm surprised people blame G when all you had to do was call your credit card company to find that out (a good travel agency will also warn you about credit card policies, which ours did as well). For people who travel a lot, a card with no international fees is the way to go anyway. As for the actual trip, I was very impressed. Our main guide was funny and informative, and I was sad to part with him after the Patagonia portion of the trip ended. For us, it is hard to say the restaurants were touristy considering few natives can afford to eat out often, so almost all restaurants are, in a sense, "touristy". Still, we always had the option to not eat with the group and go on our own, and option excursions mentioned prior to arrival were just that: optional. Our second guide we met up with in Torre del Paine was an American who had moved to Chile, and while she wasn't an official G employee, she worked often with them and was just as knowledgeable as our other guide. Very impressed overall, and as for tip? I didn't mind leaving one and neither did anyone else. Tips are always voluntary, and just because someone tips $50 doesn't mean you have to tip that much. Always tip what you think it's worth or can afford. Antarctica was even more impressive. The ship, M/S Expedition, was not touted as luxury but it certainly went above and beyond. By day two, every member of the staff knew your name, and once they know your name, they never forget it. Expedition staff were very knowledgeable about Antarctica's rich history and wildlife, with plenty of presentations given on the boat as well as information on shore. I added on the kayaking, and while I almost dropped out prior to the trip, I'm so glad I kept it. The kayaking was the best part! I cannot recommend paying to add on the kayaking experience. It's worth every last penny you'll spend to do it. Be sure to bring a camera that can get wet - I had a tough camera but others opted for a GoPro. Back on the ship, the food was excellent and well varied, there were plenty of interesting books in the ship library, the bridge was open and interesting to visit, and there were plenty of excellent spots to view wildlife or relax on deck. My only complaint is placing the dining room at the top front area of the ship... if you get seasick easily, it's not a fun place to be trying to eat a meal. You can ask to have a meal brought down to you if you aren't feeling well but still want your dinner, and the staff always brought it to me without a complaint. Overall, I was very impressed with G. I would not always book them for every trip because some things are certainly cheaper to do on your own, but G offers some other trips I'm very interested in and, knowing what friends paid through other tour companies, is pretty on par in terms of cost. You also have the chance to meet some great people from around the world. While our Patagonia group was rare we were told (all of us got along and became quick friends), you're still bound to meet a few people who you bond with. Thank you, G, for providing us with a wonderful honeymoon filled with friends, laughter, and plenty of penguins! read more

Although advertised as a National Geographic tour, the G Adventures "Natural Highlights of California" tour cannot match the high standard one would expect from Nat Geo. Our young driver/ tour guide did her best, but was no naturalist. She gave a bare minimum of info on our long drives and mostly just played music inside our bus. A couple of activities actually led by naturalists (our Sequoia guide & Monterey Aquarium guide) were excellent. And the marine biologist on the booked Whale Watch was excellent too. But much of the rest of this tour was disappointing in comparison with other small group tours we've taken. I could go into extensive detail, but there is too much to say. I'll give just one example: the lack of specific dates, times and accommodations on our itinerary. We were promised the "Wuksachi Lodge or similar" in Sequoia National Park but arrived at John Muir Lodge in King's Canyon instead. Now, anyone who has visited Sequoia will know that the John Muir is in no way "similar" to the Wuksachi, Sequoia's signature lodge and one of the reasons I chose G Adventures for this tour. All in all, this trip was a big disappointment. read more

Came to Thailand and got screwed over (spending 90% of the time in a bus driving around and stopping and recommended restaurants attached to gas stations (guide was super excited about making sure we always went to 711s) But we did all of our "adventuring" in the ugliest parts of Thailand. We started with a "boat tour" in a trash-filled canal. The temple was amazing, but then we drove hours... hours to a lake to get on an old houseboat that was just really run down. The guide was really, really nice and tried her best but it was just bad. Next day we drove to a beautiful national park and hiked some waterfalls, but as soon as that was over we went straight to another (less than nice) hotel and we just had NOTHING planned for the rest of the day. We literally had to tell her to stop taking us to mall food courts, that we wanted authentic thai meals and experiences, and that we were adventurous people wanting to do exciting things! Still nothing really changed. I'm sorry but that was just a horrible way to experience Thailand. read more

Just booked a tour to India/Nepal with GAP. Before even having departed on the trip, I contacted GAP to provide me with documentation of my departure/entrance from/to India into Nepal so that I can obtain an Indian double entry visa. Their phone representatives were completely unhelpful. I have had to call GAP FOUR times today to ask for this documentation to be sent to me, and between being sent documents for which I cannot open the format or being told that 'nothing is guaranteed' with respect to the time at which I could expect to receive such documents, I am still empty handed. I certainly hope the tour is better than this, if I ever get there. I will certainly not be going with GAP adventures again based on the level of grief that the booking process has caused me. read more

We booked a tour to Ecuador that we had to cancel because we were not able to travel due to Covid. We cancelled with G well within the deadline (according to their policy) to get a refund. We made our request for a refund on May 2020. It has now been 10 months since we requested our refund and even though we were told that originally it would take 8-12 weeks to get it, G Adventures has repeatedly punted this deadline down the road without giving us any notice and repeatedly telling us that a refund was "coming soon". After 10 years of traveling with G and countless referrals to friends I am appalled by the way that my husband and I have been treated by G during a difficult time by holding on to our money and essentially giving themselves an interest free loan. To add insult to injury, we reached out again in January of 2021 and they even asked for our banking information and told us a refund was coming by the end of February 2021. The refund never came and no one at G had the decency to tell us that they would not be upholding their end of the agreement. After reaching out we were told that the refund was coming end of March. We have been hearing this story for 10 months now. We will never travel with a company this irresponsible again. How do I trust this company with my safety as a traveler when they have clearly shown that their priority is money? read more

IDK how gadventures has such a low rating! I just booked my 3rd trip with them. I went on safari in Africa and hiked the Inca Trail. In April 2017 I am going to Morocco. No they are not always the cheapest tours, but they are amazing. The guides are friendly and helpful. The activities are fun. The entire trip is either very low impact or actually beneficial to the local people/environment. Even their phone service people are amazing and efficient! I have only great things to say. Besides gadventures, I have also taken 3 trips with another group. That toru company is also great and fun, but their trips are booze cruises. You don't see and experience nearly as much as you would like. And the people can be clickish. I haven't had that problem with gadventures. read more

I just returned from the Costa Rica Quest and I had the best time. The hotels got better and better, the people were nice and I made some great friends, and we got to see a lot of local culture. Our CEO (Chief Experience Officer) was very professional and a great resource on everything about Costa Rica in general. I would recommend this tour company to everyone because they leave you open to create your own experience and you don't feel like the biggest tourist in the world. read more

We were very disappointed with our Svalbard trip with G-Adventures. As per their marketing materials, the focus of the trip was supposed to be on nature and wildlife, whereas arctic history was supposed to be covered in lectures on board the ship. Instead, the expedition staff spent significant amount of time visiting historic sites. As a result, we lost valuable time and didn't end up seeing polar bears which are the main attraction of this trip and Svalbard. A few of us raised this issue with the expedition leader and asked her to head north to the drift ice to look for polar bears instead of visiting historic sites, but she didn't agree with us. We asked them for a partial refund for the days wasted on visiting historic sites, but their response was that wildlife viewing is not guaranteed which didn't even address our main complaint of misleading advertising. Never trust a company that doesn't deliver on what they advertise. read more

I went on a trip to Peru with G adventures last year. It is too many things to list that were unsatisfactory but here the worst: - The main guide was unprofessional. In between tours he was spending time with his friends in the other city. Think of an emergency. The guide was also putting us through all the tourist restaurant traps - clearly he was getting free meals there - I was sent alone to get money from ATM at 24:00. Was an emergency, we were in the morning leaving to a place without ATMs - The hotels were very bad, the breakfast awful in majority of places. Note, this was not the cheapest trip - I will never again agree to go in a night bus. Such distances are to be covered by plane. I felt sick majority of time, and the bus booked was not even private but a general bus The only good part was amount of places we visited. But again, this is tricky - it was a bit of a marathon tour, too fast pace. - Inca trail was well organized but the constant expectation of tips everywhere was irritating - the amazon tour could have been done way more interesting. I expected trips deeper into forest and way longer - The transfer back to airport was not included. Not even for money. I wonder why, as it can be pretty dangerous, I travelled solo. Not recommended. read more

Reading through the other reviews, I'm surprised to see so many poor comments related to people's experiences on the trip, and with customer service. I took a trip to Morocco a couple years ago through the company and it was amazing. Accommodations obviously vary depending on the countries you visit; but they were very reasonable at all stops along the way (including our night sleeping in tents in the Sahara!). If you're looking to travel in five star hotels, this isn't what you're looking for. But, I was in it for the adventure! And all the rooms were clean and spacious. I especially liked that I could purchase my own room while traveling with the group. I'm a strong introvert, so a little quiet at the end of the day was important to me. Our CEO (Chief Experience Officer - cheesy but who cares) was spectacular. He always kept us well informed, made great recommendations, and made us feel safe the entire time. Many in the group were single females like myself; so I think we all appreciated the company and the tour for this reason. It was easy to get around as transportation was provided the entire way. I especially loved all the unique little homes we visited and people we met, thanks to our CEO, that I definitely never would have experienced while planning the trip on my own. Being so happy with the first experience, I've now booked my second with my boyfriend to travel to South East Asia for two weeks. For me, the customer service has been spectacular. I called to book the trip over the phone, and was done in less than five minutes (it's almost TOO easy to book the travel, says my poor credit card). They follow up with information regarding their required travel insurance, but aren't pushy about it. I've called a few times with questions (regarding getting visas) as well as adding additional nights in Bangkok, and each time the person on the phone was friendly, helpful, knowledgeable and efficient. I booked our flights separate from the company only because I wanted to explore different airlines and wanted more flexibility on the flights I chose. So, I can't speak to booking flights though the company. But, every other corner of my experience with G Adventures has been great and I actively recommend them to friends and family. read more

G Adventures Galapagos South Islands Tour aboard the Xavier III The boat is not what is advertised online and in travel brochures. The boat is old and need of a total update. Our cabin on the upper deck was at best a 1.5 star rating. The beds were old and uncomfortable. The closets, storage drawers required repairs to hardware or to the cabinets.The bathroom was need of a total revamp. The hardware was broken on sink cabinet. the toilet was silicone to the floor and still was leaking. The smell of sewer gas was always present in the bathroom. If you were lucky to be one the first to shower you may have 2 minutes of warm water. The food was less than spectacular, very basic cuisine and on occasion there was not enough food for the group. One afternoon snack consisted of 2 bags of chips that were so pulverized that it was not edible. The crew works hard to provide a good experience but when the facilities and equipment require renovation and remediation it takes away from the overall experience. The G Adventures Tour was disappointing on many levels, from lodging, food, activities and I would be hesitant to book another tour with them. read more

The trips offered seem to be wonderful, yet when I needed the office staff to support me in a professional and organized manner, they fell short. After booking and completing a great to Croatia in 2009, I booked a 2012 trip to Russia (flight, land, transfers). As an USA citizen, was already aware of the foreign exchange fee I would be charged, by my credit card issuer, when dealing with a Canadian Company. I was both aware and willing (yet not happy) to pay the extra fee. Due to illness I had to cancel the Russia trip, luckily I had purchased travel insurance through the G Adventure Site, with the insurance company the customer may choose on the official G Adventure site. What I did not know is that the flight I had booked, at the same time I booked the land tour, was not covered by G Adventures travel insurance. After submitting the proper documentation to the cooperating insurance company, I was refunded the cost of the land and transfer, but not the cost of the flight. I am now OUT the cost of the flight OVER $1600.00, even after the CEO representative at G Adventures provided a receipt stating the cost of the air, land, and transfers. Because I knew I had travel insurance, I relied on G Adventures to take care of my flight cancelation Not only did they not cover the cost of the flight, the staff did not cancel my flight until I repeatedly telephoned them to take care of this issue. This company seems to work well, unless the customer has a unique situation, at which time they fell short. read more

Wow! I wish I had Yelped this company before I booked with them. We have not even taken the trip yet, but the customer service so far has been non-existent. The agents are unhelpful and rude even if you do manage to get one on the phone after they take your money. I will post again after the trip. read more

Don't trust them. They say one thing and then don't do it. I wouldn't go on a trip with them again. Poorly organized and then they don't even apologize when them mess up - just blame "circumstances", not once, but 3 times for different things. Not high quality or care about their customers. read more

Gadventures lacks costumer service and I felt taken advantage of. I booked a tour to Cambodia and inquired about a private room. Since they take 15 people it seems strange that they will double up on hotel rooms (2 people per room) for all but one guest, and that single guest doesn't get charged extra for their single room. I made a comment about this and stated it's obvious flaw. The contact from Gadventures balked and said she would give both me and my brother single rooms per my request. It was blatant that there was no reason after I made my claim why the company could not accommodate my request. She made NO mention that we would get charged extra and the same price was quoted to me when I checked in a few days later. However, when it came time to settle the remaining balance they charged my card double without ever telling me. I felt it was quite devious. They overprice their service and I communicate well. read more

Best of Flores and Komodo Island Tour, Indonesia. Just came back home from the Best of Flores and Komodo Island Tour. Booking and planning was easy as the G Adventures took care of the whole process. Even the flights were proposed to be looked into, but I was in another trip in Bali, hence joined the tour there. It all started in Sanur, South of Bali, where we met the guide Hans and then it was all adventures from craters, caves, village visit meetings with the locals, the beautiful beach in Komodo Island, and of, course the Komodo dragons themselves. The food was very good, the transport well organised and the places we stayed were from good to fantastic. Of course, in remote villages we did expect some difficulties, but there were none. The guide, Hans, being knowledgeable of the places visited, has a comfortable command of English, made things very easy and manageable. So, it was a nice experience and it came into my mind to repeat the experience or join another similar one, as I now feel very comfortable with the G Adventure tours. Thank you for the unique experience. Dave, Canada read more

We recently took a G Adventures National Geographic tour to Croatia and Bosnia. The tour guide was excellent and added to the enjoyment of our trip. Our hotel for the last two nights was different than the one listed in the itinerary. I did not consider it "similar" to the original. It was a very small, run down room with a broken and water damaged door. The quality of the rooms was a major topic the next day amongst the others on the tour. The hotel on the first night was adequate (also changed after booking) but was not up to my expectations for a higher priced tour read more

I've been a huge G Adventures fan and went on great trips in 2012 and even took my mum on one in 2014. So, in 2017 my partner and I decided on a 30something gap year and spent nearly $20k with them booking 4 trips. The first in India was beset by problems with the itinerary and poor accommodation but G apologised and issued compensation. Our third tour, 36 days in South America has however been a disaster - bad weather interrupted the itinerary and there was no Plan B, no communication and no support. Now it will be 7 days into the tour before it actually starts with some sightseeing. Furious at the lack of planning and communication. read more

Horrific company. Charge your account without your permission. I had to cancel a trip last summer because of a death in the family, and one of the representatives mockingly asked me why I had to cancel my trip and laughed when I said that my aunt had passed away. I decided to give them another chance, but today, they charged my account when they weren't supposed to. My balance is due tomorrow, yet they still charged me today and left my account in the negative. Horrible customer service representatives and SO shady. I have no idea where they are even located. You end up calling overseas for the US office. Thinking about canceling my trip. I refuse to travel with these imbeciles. read more

Hi Everyone I have a $1000 G adventures lifetime credit from a trip that I had to cancel a few years ago. Since this is a lifetime credit and I am unable to get my money back I am looking to tranfer to this credit to someone in exchange for cash. I am willing to get give a discount. If anyone is interested please let me know. read more

While looking for a review for another g adventures trip, I came across a review ostensibly written solely to malign one skipper, Ivan Alcorn. Having been on a trip with Ivan last summer I feel the need to refute these insane claims. Ivan is one of the most generous, knowledgable, kind and capable people I have ever had the pleasure to meet. He worked 10-12 hour days teaching, guiding, telling stories, managing personalities, making plans, getting vehicles and reservations, doing repairs and so much more. After he was done working, he would go to the bar with us in tow, bfd, you would too. I'm not going to go point by point because most of that review was absolutely impossible. The cigarette in the cave thing, impossible. He also didn't ever fall off the boat. Dude has the reflexes of a cat. It didn't happen. If you have a problem with cleaning trash out of the ocean, you're the dick, not him. The trip was made up on the fly, what was he supposed to organize? Each morning we were given choices of what we wanted to do, we would choose and go, just as advertised. Lastly, it's adventure tourism, if you don't want to be in a position where you have the potential to fall off a boat, don't get on one. I would absolutely put my life in Ivan's hands any day of the week. read more

I was pretty hesitant on going with this company based on the reviews, but I am SO glad I did! I've been recommending everyone I meet on my travels to do a G adventure trip. I did the Africa trip (Cape Town to Victoria Falls) and it was such a remarkable experience. My CEO, De Wet, was beyond amazing. He was so passionate about his work & always gave it a 110%. I don't think the trip would have been as amazing if it wasn't for him. I heard it really matters who the CEO is, but my friend has been on multiple G Adventure trips & she's had many amazing CEO's. My bus driver, Gilbert, was also an amazing driver. I felt completely safe & was amazed at his amazing driving skills. You MUST go on a G Adventure trip! You will have the most amazing time! What I love about G Adventures is that you don't get penalized for going solo & have to pay more for a room (you get paired up with someone- 2 people per room). I also love how it's a good amount of people in the group (mine was 18 people- nice mix of ages & people) and that you cover SO many places during your trip. I did the basic one (the middle range tour) and I highly recommend it! We stayed in decent hotel rooms & some camping nights. Most of our meals were covered, and it was so convenient having a bus take you everywhere. I also love how when you call the office, there's always an English speaking person who speaks really good English. It really helps out a lot & they were all VERY helpful (I had a million questions before making the decision to book it). It did take like 30 min-1 hr on hold until I spoke to someone though... a bit frustrating. The tours are a bit expensive, but considering what you get out of it- it's actually a pretty good deal! You literally don't have to do any research about each place! It's SO convenient if you have no time to plan a trip since everything is already planned out for you, but don't worry- you still sometimes get to choose what you want to do. It's also a great way to meet people- I've already had a reunion with some of the people I met on my trip. And you learn so much from the CEO. The CEO has a plethora of knowledge about everything. It's incredible everything they know & I think it's really special learning things that you normally wouldn't learn/know if you did the trip yourself. Look no further- go on a tour with G Adventure! read more

G Adventure Drivers going to Yosemite need to be taught how to be courteous and pull over. 20 cars behind the idiot in front of us and he had many opportunities but not once did he pull over. It took us at least 30 minutes longer to get there. read more

As part of our honeymoon, my wife and I went on the nepal base camp trail with G. I hadn't heard much about them but our touring operator gave us a choice and it was basically a heads or tails descision. Woeful, woeful, woeful. Overpriced, cost cutting company that apparently got in with the nepali touring companies early and fleeced them. Never will I go near these vermin again. It is these type of capitalistic a-holes that mess up countries like nepal. Firstly, it is COMPULSORY to eat at the lodges that G has you staying in because G do not have to pay the lodging fee if the clients eat there (and pay of course). This resulted with most of us experiencing some form of food poisoning at one stage or another over the 2 weeks. One lady had to be helicoptered out of the area, she became so ill and if it wasn't for some fantastic physician assistants on the trail with us, more would have followed as both of our guides had NO first aid knowledge at all. Secondly, the head guide gave us some printed information about the trek before we started including money per day etc. We noted that the guides expected a hefty tip at the end of the trek which had not been mentioned previously and they seemed to think of it as mandatory. Now I don't mind tipping someone if they do a good job but this was a substantial amount considering that we had already paid 1500 GPB to go on this trip. Lastly, I contacted G adventures about my concens, in particular regarding the medical issues and food. It took 2 months to get a reply, 2 months, and it was completely hollow. Firstly it was noted that guides "had become familiar with" tipping and that it was not in fact mandatory. Secondly they noted that the guides are "equipped with, or know how to access the necessary tools in case of emergency and are trained to be able to do so". Good lord, you"re hiking at 5500 m and these guys know how to dial a phone, useful eh!! The part where the represenative replied about the food was hollow in the extreme, my concerns have been passed on. We previoulsy hiked in Langtang and Helambu unguided and found that Nepal is an amazing country, with brilliant and generous people. G are one of those companies that exploits the consumer and the people who do the job on the ground and should be avoided. In my opinion (and after talking with other hikers who have hiked around everest), if you are looking at hiking in Nepal, get off the plane and hire a guide and porter privately. It's cheaper and just as easy and at least you'll feel better for tipping them. read more

My wife and I (late 50's) have been on three GAP trips and are booked for a trip to Turkey. We also had Henry in Ecuador as a Guide... he was fantastic. The local Gide in the Galapagos was rather nonchalant... just doing his job. Peru trip was amazing. Great guide. Kenya and Tanzanai incredible. Saw tens of thousands of animals... lots REALLY close. Guide and drivers were highly professional. GAP realized their error and did away with the "local fees" ... they are incuded in the up front cost. Group size is always small... generally with like-minded considerate people interested in the cultures and wildlife. Really looking forward to our Turkey trip. read more

This review is based on experiences on G Adventures "Best of Spain and Portugal Tour." I was really excited for this tour and expected a 4 or 5-star experience based on other reviews and great experience of a friend who took their Japan tour. My review is based on this particular tour; I can't speak for other tours by G Adventures. The positives: -- Hotels (usually 3 star) that were right in the middle of sightseeing areas. -- Nice selection of cities (though I could have done without Lagos in Portugal and would have preferred to have seen Porto.) -- Fun group of fellow travelers from all over the world. -- Cheaper airfare than we could have purchased for ourselves. -- Customer service was very responsive. The ( big) negatives: -- Long wait times on the phone to speak with a Sales CEO -- at times 15-20 minutes. This was a problem from the start to finish of planning and booking our tour and airfare. This was a foreboding sign of things to come. -- Plan to spend a LOT of time on public buses from city to city. In many locations where trains were available, G Adventures chose the cheaper and much longer option of public buses -- especially in Spain where the trains are wonderful! There are stretches of 4-6 hours on buses traveling between cities. This wasted a LOT of time that could have been spent sightseeing. -- Plan on bringing your own guidebooks and DO RESEARCH AHEAD OF YOUR TRIP. BOOK ONLINE for the most popular sights/museums. The core of this tour is the "orientiation walks" (2-3 hours in each city) which basically show you where things are but more often than not did NOT include any visits or entries to sights during the walk. They sometimes included unnecessary walking in areas devoid of any real sighseeing value. The CEO does NOT take you to most major sights and offers only basic information. Thus, this is not a the kind of tour where you can just sit back and assume you are seeing all the sights. We relied heavily on a Rick Steves guide we had loaded on our mobile devices. -- Double check that you are seeing THE ENTIRE ALHAMBRA in Granada (full combination ticket). The Alhambra is perhaps the most famous of the Unesco World Heritage Sites you're supposed to see on this tour. And we only saw the Gardens due to a still unclear mixup on G Adventures part. and were not told that we were only seeing a fraction of it. In fact, we only realized it when we saw postcards in town that evening of the most famous highlights of the site that we never saw. At that point it was too late for us to head back and purchase our own tickets. Unacceptable on every level. Don't let this happen to you. Granada is not easy to get to and this was a HUGE disappointment to us; it killed any possibility of us rating this tour any higher than 1 star. This was an example of a tour actually getting in the way of us seeing things we needed to see! -- Double check that you are visiting Belem (Portugal/Lisbon) with the CEO on a day when things are OPEN. Our CEO took people to Belem but they were not able to enter any of the sites because it was a Monday and things were CLOSED. Why would you do that? -- This tour, in our opinion (two of us) was more about coordination of transport and hotels than touring. The most special experiences we had were things we had to book on our own and not included in the tour. If you think you're going to a full night of classic flamenco and dinner show like other tours, you don't (you see a 1 hour free performance at an arts institution in Seville.) If you think you'd be seeing the Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona as included in the tour, you won't. If you think you'll have a special visit to an olive grove (Southern Spain is all about olives and vineyards), you won't -- but you'd expect something cool and different like that from an Adventure company that touts unique, authentic travel experiences. If you think the information in the itinerary is too basic and that you'll get more details later -- you won't. READ THE FINAL ITINERARY CAREFULLY. --Beware of "Optional Activities": On this tour, optional activities were things you could do if you paid for them yourself and, more importantly, coordinated it yourself! An "optional activity" to Sintra in Portugal, for instance, was just you finding your way to the train station, buying a ticket and getting yourself around Sintra. (Again, thank god for Rick Steves' guide.) This is something that should be changed. We asked ahead of time about this with the Sales CEO before we left and she told us that the "optional activities" are organized when you are there. Yes, BY YOU. -- Finally, in our assessment, there was nothing special on this tour that you couldn't do yourself. In fact, the more unique "adventures" we had were things we booked ourselves. Free time on a tour is great, until you realize that it's code for "DIY" travel on a tour you paid good money for. read more

I travelled to Patagonia with the G Adventures End of the Earth tour in March 2015. Good news - our main guide was excellent, one of the best I've experienced in a lot of travel. Some of the day guides, not so much. Having a good main guide makes a huge difference in a two week tour. Bad news - G Adventures administration and travel prep services are really, really, really bad. I contacted them with a couple specific travel itinerary questions and received generic responses several days later directing me to their website. How bad is that? The very reason I was contacting them was because the information was NOT ON their website. Further attempts by website and by phone resulted in responses asking me to contact my flight travel agent. Wow! I guess my independent travel agent should know the intimate details of a G Adventures trip (backpack size, etc.) in more detail than a representative of G Adventures. It is the laziest customer serve I have ever experienced. Once you get past the very hokey greeting voice with the put-on Australian accent (very annoying in any circumstance, and particularly for a Canadian based company) no-one will likely ever get back to you. Apparently they are too busy practising their Aussie accents. Not sure what is up with that. I eventually spoke to a 'customer service' rep in G Adventures Toronto office after much delay and annoying phone greeting messages. Thankfully he did not speak with a fake Australian accent but I can truly say I have never spoken to a single 'customer service' rep who was less helpful. Despite my numerous requests that he pass on questions to someone who would be in position to know and respond he definitively refused. Repeatedly. Almost a Monty Python episode. For example "it takes two or three days to get a response from our crew down there, so I'm not going to bother". Very comforting. If they really do record their incoming calls, as they suggest, I would hope there has been some recent turnover in 'staff'. read more