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Reviews 358
CynS
Oct 20,2023I'm very disappointed in Gate 1's lack of empathy and flexibility in allowing rescheduling of a trip to a Muslim country the week after the recent attacks in Israel. There have been many active protests and government support of Hamas at the destination. Visits to mosques and Jewish religious sites were included in the tour and no additional security was being offered by Gate 1. I was more than willing to postpone my trip or apply my total payment to another future trip. Instead, I lost over $4000 for the trip, airfare, excursions and transfers and was not given any other option but to forfeit more than 90% of my payment. I was also misled (by two separate agents) to believe that I would be refunded my airfare minus a $250 penalty. Instead, I now have a credit for a sum uncertain with no way to access it with an airline that only goes to one destination. The tragic events in recent days should warrant the ability to make changes in travel plans without excessive penalties. Gate 1's policies are unreasonable given the unprecedented times we are living in.
Don Taylor
Oct 17,2023Very disappointed with Gate 1. We’re scheduled to tour Egypt in November. However, due to the the conflict that’s happening now with Israel in Palastine/Gaza and the West Bank, we are justifiably concerned about our safety. Our trip is fully paid, but we had humbly requested to reschedule for a later date to travel (Not asking for a refund) just to reschedule. Unfortunately for us Gate1 outright denied our request disregarding our concerns. The Arch insurance that’s offered through Gate1 essentially only covers Gate1.
Kris Walton
Oct 15,2023Absolutely the worst! Don't bother buying trip insurance with them. It's a scam and when you try and cancel (even if you've purchased the Cancel for Any Reason) they give you the run around. There are so many exceptions that its pointless to even try. When I called to ask questions about fees the clueless rep told me they couldn't answer my questions and I had to call Arch Insurance. I called Arch and they told me they had nothing to do with setting rates for cancellation. That was all Gate 1. I've been calling and emailing for days and no one responds. .....Buyer Beware. Find another tour company
S L
Oct 09,2023Just return from Gate 1 Travel - 11 Day Kaleidoscope of Iceland. The trip was horrible! The tour guide was unorganized, lazy, making up excuses all the time and put our lives in danger and the driver was totally incompetent. Day 1: According to Gate 1 itinerary, when we arrived in the hotel and we suppose to meet together for breakfast. There was no signage at all as where should we all go and the tour guide was nowhere to be found. Many of us ended up paying extra for the hotel breakfast which is US$30+ because we thought we need to meet the tour guide inside the restaurant. Until much later then we discovered that the breakfast was arranged in the basement of the hotel. Again, there was NOT any signage to tell us where to go. It was a mess right from the beginning. Afternoon the itinerary includes a stop at the viewing of the Perlan and the Sun Voyager sculpture, but the tour guide never did. The weather wasn’t an issue. He even insulted us on the bus saying that you guys didn’t even notice sightseeing places were missing, haha. We noticed alright, just didn’t say anything. In the welcome drink, the tour guide passed around a few papers and told us to take a photo which is our daily itinerary. A lady in our tour asked him about itinerary next day and the guide responded in a condescending manner “What did I tell you yesterday? You are not a child.” and never answered her question. He was constantly talking to us in a condescending tone of voice. By the way there is no daily itinerary posting in the hotel lobby like all other Gate 1 tours that I have joined before. Day 2, we all noticed a few people looked and sounded very sick with heavy coughing and a few of us spoke to tour guide privately with our concerns, told the guide to tell them to put on a mask in the bus or covid testing but he did nothing. He announced on the bus in our very last day, if anyone not feeling well, please put on a mask. It was kind of late after we stayed together in a very tight space for the last 9 days especially on the bus. We are fully vaccinated and stay healthy all these times since covid hits but sadly we got home and tested, we got covid and all because Gate 1 Travel has no covid guideline in place and the guide was extremely irresponsible. We are really suffering now because of contracting Covid in this tour! Day 5, the tour guide drove the bus with us in it and did that more than once even in the dark. He is our tour guide and by doing so, I think he had put 40+ lives in danger which is totally unacceptable. His excuse was that “boy needs to play with big bus sometimes”. Maybe that is how he felt but that is not how we feel. He has put our lives in danger! Also the female driver should never allow him to do so. Both are being irresponsible and this is a critical incident of concern. Day 7, the tour guide skipped our scheduled sightseeing and meals without consulting us. We sat in the hotel lobby all day with very little information. It was a horrible and exhausting day for us. Way past the boarding time for the bus departure in the morning and the bus doors were still locked. No information provided as what is going on. The tour guide decided at 3:30 pm it is time to go so we board the bus and were on our way. When we checked in to the hotel, the guide said delay was due to the weather, but the people in the hotel also gave a questionable look. We didn’t arrive our next hotel till midnight. Hotel in Hofn was dirty. In our room there was disgusting mucous snots on the wall, hairs on fresh towel, mold on bathroom wall and the dinner wasn’t good. Mentioned the problem to the front desk next day and they did clean up the snots. Both the tour guide and the driver refused to answer basic questions. For example: I asked the driver that where are we going next and how long the drive will be? The driver replied: I know where are we going but I am not going to tell you so you will be excited when we get there. I asked again: I really want to know where are we going next and I will pretend that I am excited when we get there. The driver replied: I know where we are going but I won’t tell you so you will be very excited when we get there. I got nowhere with her which was very frustrating. I think I am entitled to know where am I going in the trip! There were 40 passengers in the bus and I don’t know why we weren’t allowed to use the front door to get on to the bus especially when the weather was bad. Even when we knock on the door, the guide and the driver will point us to the back door while they were sitting and chatting comfortably in their own seats. Joined many tours before from different tour companies. This time is the first time ever that we have had encountered such horrible and unprofessional tour guide and bus driver. We are extremely disappointed with Gate 1 Travel.
John Chun
Oct 08,2023I have been on 12 gate 1 trips, they provide excellent value, great 4 star hotels, well informed tour guides, all for the lowest prices that I have found.
Tenaj
Oct 07,2023This company is terrible. Sitting in the airport 4 hours. The person at Gateway told me they booked my flight illegally. No compensation!!! Do not use this company if you value your time
Sher
Sep 27,2023I wish I could give 0 stars, this company is disgusting, customer service and communication is very poor! I purchased a flight ticket on the 17th September for my son, upon receiving the confirmation and ticket I noticed that they had put my name on the ticket instead of my sons name bare in mind that I already have a flight ticket booked for that day and time with the same airline for myself and other members of my family, gate1 still proceeded to process the ticket which makes no sense, I reached out to gate1 via email because for some strange reason you can’t even speak to these people via phone, it took them about 5 days to reply to me, and there response was they didn’t make the error and they won’t be changing the ticket, my question to them was why would I book another ticket in my name for the same day and the same flight, I have 7 days till I travel with my family and now my son has no ticket, this is supposed to be our family holiday and now I’m so worried that this issue will not be resolved, I can’t purchase another ticket and more to the point why should I and I haven’t made the error, I also spoke to the airline who advised me that gate 1 can easily change over the name on the ticket, they also told me that they can take control of the booking if gate 1 consents to it which they are refusing to do! (I wonder why) this situation is causing me a lot of stress and upset with my family because their is now a risk that my family will be divided all because of this disgusting unprofessional unhelpful agency From the 17th of September till now this issue still remains unsolved absolutely horrendous!! AVOID! AVOID! AVOID!
Mike
Sep 26,2023BEWARE!!! If i could give this travel agency ZERO STARS I would. We called to confirm seat accommodation prior to booking online; knowing seating class for all airlines are different. Well, this company advised us that when booking premium economy seating we would get PREMIUM economy seating. We found out after booking and checking out delta app that our first and last leg domestically was premium economy, GUESS WHAT!? The 14 hour flights weren’t. We are traveling to Bangkok. So i call to speak with someone since we had already been given directions over the phone (by a gate 1 agent) to book and was placed on hold several times for more that 20min to confirm premium seating was comfort with delta and other affiliate airlines. We were WRONG after talking to Brian and Sky. If you booking with these folks booking never book online because it is not accurate and it is obvious accountability is not taken when there are recorded conversation and invoices that speak to seating. Get this…they wanted to charge us an EXTRA 5k to fix THERE ISSUE. STAY AWAY!!!
Elisabeth Wiklund-Papadopulos
Sep 18,2023I had to cancel our trip to Greece (reservation 2470468) one month prior to travelling because of renovation works in our apartment that takes longer due to water flow and damage issues; thus works would not be completed on time. I requested a cancellation on the website on 1st September; got an email stating we will be in touch in 3-5 days. I called Gate1 Travel on Tuesday 5th September to follow up. The lady on the phone kept putting me on hold (5 times) so it ended up being a 50 minute call. I even suggested to give my phone number so she can call me back once she has found my cancellation email. She said "No, if you want this to be cancelled today, you have to wait on the phone". Not a good start I thought and quite unprofessional behaviour. The next day I got a confirmation of trip cancellation and a few days later; I got a refund of $650.20. I had paid $7158 for 2 persons. As I had taken the "Cancel for any reason" insurance; I was told to get in touch with Arch Insurance Solutions to make a claim which I did. It took them a week to get back to me that my claim was rejected. So I contacted once more Gate1 Travel requesting a further refund. I accept that I lost the reservation costs $600 but I find it unacceptable that Gate1 Travel are no refunding the money they owe me. I should have checked the reviews way before even booking the trip to avoid all this disappointment.
MCH
Sep 14,2023My luggage was lost and I let Evi our travel guide know when I called her when I arrived around 11:00 pm and not 5:00 that evening at the hotel she acted as if I bothered her and I only called because when I checked I was given her information at the front desk and no information on the itinerary for the next day was left for me and had I not taken the initiative to call I would have been completely lost and also when I saw her the next day she didn't introduce herself she did not give me a quick briefing of what to expect because I missed the meet and greet because of the issues with my flight. I looked at the bus and found my name and got on and when she saw me on the bus, she simply asked my name and checked it off and went back to the front of the bus and I never received my Gate1 name badge or anything else that was given out during the initial orientation. It is a good thing that the Gate1 family and NOT EVI was willing to assist me. My flight was cancelled and rebooked several times at the airport and when I arrived at the airport my luggage was missing so I had to file a claim. After I went out to the lobby to meet the person that transferred me, he took a picture of the paperwork and said that Gate1 would take care of it, and she sent it off to someone at Gate1. The airport also said that my luggage should be on the next flight that was scheduled to arrive at 3 AM so I could have it delivered to the hotel, or I could come back and pick it up. I didn't have the hotel information, so I opted to come back and pick it up. After I got settled in, I got on the bus the next morning not worrying about my luggage because the driver from the previous night said that it would be taken care of. I will give Evi credit for being very knowledgeable about the things that we saw however her customer service skills in dealing with people are horrible. On the way to the museum, I said something to her again about my luggage and asked her if it wasn't there what should I do, and she said to wait until we get back to the hotel. Again, because I was initially told that Gate1 would take care of it by the driver when I landed, I was not really stressing about my luggage. I opted to stay in town and enjoy as much of Athens that I could and when I got back to the hotel I asked if my luggage was there, and it wasn't and that's when panic started to settle in for me. I called Gate1 and the agent on the line began to tell me that it was the responsibility of the airline and not theirs that my luggage was lost. I was furious because I knew that I had purchased the insurance and so I just hung up. I called the airport and gave them my claim information and they confirmed that my luggage was there so at that point I called Evi to see how Gate1 could assist me with getting back to my luggage. She asked me to meet her down in the lobby in 15 minutes and I did, and she acted as if that was the very 1st time that she had heard about my luggage getting lost. She was extremely dismissive, and she tried to call to see if there was another driver transporting someone from the airport that could bring me my luggage and there wasn't and then she called someone and that's when she told me that it was not Gate1's responsibility to get my luggage. I explained to her that when I arrived the driver told me that Gate1 would take care of it and since I was told that I didn't have any reason to not trust what I was told. I explained to Evi that this was the 1st time I used Gate1 and that I could only trust what was told to me. She proceeded to stick with the fact that it was the airlines’ fault and that Gate1 wasn't responsible. She also then told me that I filled the form out incorrectly and that I should have had it delivered to the hotel and I told her that I couldn't remember the name of the hotel and I also explained that if the form was filled out when the driver took a picture and sent it over that whomever received it would have actually looked it they could have told me that I filled it out wrong and I could have simply walked back into the door and had it corrected. She proceeded to tell me at that point that it was my fault and that Gate1's policy. all I heard at that point was a bunch of rules to cover Gate1. I explained that I needed to get to a hotel and since Gate1 wasn't going to help me if she could please help me arrange for a cab and she said it was going to be about 45 minutes and that it was going to be about 55.00 basically asking me if I could afford it... My entire trip no luggage and now that I am home still no luggage and having problems finding it and I purchased the travel insurance with Gate1 and all of the arrangements were made through Gate1. am back home now and I emailed Gate1 to let them kow about my experience
RichK
Sep 12,2023We travelled with Gate1 in May 2023 for an Amazon Express guided tour. We did some research before booking online and were skeptical, but for the sick promotion they had online, we figured it was worth a try, especially after reading all amazing reviews from satisfied customers. We were stunned by how well everything was planned, and backed up in situations where due to the unpredictable weather in the rainforest, things had to be changed last minute. The food was custom fit for every person, delicious and served right on time. Our guide and driver were friendly and very knowledgeable. They made us feel very comfortable from the first interaction. It was definitely a trip we would never be able to replicate without a trusted tour provider, and our expectations were well exceeded. Highly recommend and will definitely be using again.
Imtiaz Alam
Sep 10,2023Our trip to Morocco from 8/31/2023-9/7/2023 was a pleasant surprise. I will give our trip a 5 star rating. Our guide Mohammed and his team made our trip so easy and wonderful. When we reached Casablanca we were greeted by Mohammed and his team outside the airport arrival doors. Throughout the trip, Mohammed and his team were on top of everything. They really cared for us. Mohammed is an excellent guide. We traveled to Rabbat, Fez, Marrakesch, and Casablanca in a private air conditioned Gate1travel bus. All the hotels were very good with the exception of Rabbat Hotel which was average but it had the best breakfast and location. Our return to the Casablanca airport was great. Mohammed boarded us on the bus. When we reached the airport there were several people to help us. There was a very nice gentleman who helped us with our luggage and all the way to the ticket counter. For the price and service provided by Gate1, we give our trip a 5 * rating. We cannot praise enough Mohammed and his team making our trip a pleasure. Mohammed and his team is a great asset to Gate1 Travel in Morroco!
Janette Steele
Sep 06,2023Booked a tour online but we wanted to speak with someone - not just click buttons on a computer. This was all too hard for gate1 consultants who were tardy at responding to emails. Whilst waiting for a response about how to make the payment (because it was in USD), our booking fell over (even though we'd emailed the consultant to ask her to hold the booking because we were in the Northern Territory outback without mobile range for 2 days) and then the tour was booked out. We'd already booked our fares from Australia. The consultant called Nicole was most unhelpful throughout the process and is totally unsuited to that type of job. I'd never look at any of their tours because I see the reviews are very negative and I can see why. They need to pull their socks up before they go broke......
Kent chong
Aug 25,2023Today 25/8/2023 when i was in Monas , your agent(Is a man staff) never Line up to enter the Monas . Time is about 9am to 10am…i hope he can say apologize to other who Line up imfront of his Group…thank you
Consumer
Aug 19,2023We 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.
aniram
Aug 19,2023This service is entirely unacceptable. I noticed that my name has an error and have been going back and forth calling every single day to speak with someone in regards to correcting this egregious mistake. Each day i speak with a new person and they inform me that they have corrected the issue and that it takes about 24 hours for the change to be reflected. Each 24 hours that pass, there is no change. It is exhausting having to jump through hoops for a simple mistake that 1- should never have happened and 2 should have been corrected after the initial phone conversation. Yesterday, was the 5th time i spoke with someone, Clinton Foley, at which point i required that i receive a confirmation email proving that amendments were being processed. Today was the last time i spoke with someone and again the name is an error. My trip is 2 weeks away and instead of preparing and getting excited for this experience i am left with a sour taste in my mouth and dont even want to continue my business further with gate 1 if simple issues like this cannot be resolved with me calling DAILY. Escalate this to the highest personnel and fix this mistake immediately.
al
Aug 15,2023My wife and I have been traveling with gate 1 for 10 years now. Ever since COVID, the costumer service has gone down the drain. On our most recent trip to yellow stone, with 2 other couples, we found out just a couple days before our trip that gate 1 only booked 2 room for 3 couples, instead of 3. We called costumer service to fix their error and with so much attitude, they made us pay double for the extra room. I do not know how it is logical for 3 couples to book 2 rooms. Be very careful and double check your flights, room, meals etc when booking with gate 1
millie troll
Aug 11,2023I have been traveling with Gate 1/Discovery Tours since 2013 and have taken numerous trips with this company. Their customer service has always been very good. However, recently, they canceled a tour due to insufficient travelers. My airfare was already purchased. I found another trip leaving within the parameters of my airfare. G1 was willing to pay for a change fee. However, I called the company and also had my travel agent call to see if they would pay for the prenight since I would arrive early, instead of the change fee. We were told no. Asked to speak to a supervisor and still waiting for a call back. G1’s customer service has gone downhill. They would rather lose a good customer than pay around $200 for the hotel (which is what the change fee would cost). I will never book a tour with them again. UPDATE- My travel agent heard back from G1 and they are making the issue right. Don’t know why a supervisor couldn’t come to the phone to begin with and this situation would have been resolved immediately.
Latasha Davison
Aug 08,2023I wish I could give Gate 1 no stars. I canceled a trip, which I had insurance for. Now Gate 1 is saying I have an airline credit which Singapore airlines knows nothing about. Gate 1 is saying I can o my use it with them but can’t use it for the land portion . Well I booked a whole package with them $ they are staying my left over funds can’t be used for anything else and they won’t refund it. That sound ridiculous!! This company is TERRIBLE! I canceled way in advance and had insurance. They already took money for the cancellation fee, which I understand your policy is your policy but why are you scamming people. Why not let me rebook the trip? This doesn’t make since. BEWARE‼️ Looks like Gate 1 responded to my complain like they have in the past ONLY they never reach out. They only reply to make it seem like they will help. Today is 8/12 and this is the 3rd time they said they will Make this right and haven’t. Read the other review GATE 1 doesn’t care about their customers. I only wish I would have read the reviews first because loosing 2,300 is not okay especially when you cancel 3 months in advance and purchased insurance. I will file a claim with the BBB so this won’t happen to anyone else.
Maryland Drive 455, 19034, Fort Washington, US
http://gate1travel.com
James
Oct 24,2023Excellent trip tour of Douro River in Portugal. Patricia on our cruise was excellent as was Amir. They made our trip a great trip.