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Gate 1 Travel Review: Are Their Organized Tours Worth It?

Gate 1 Travel Review: Are Their Organized Tours Worth It?

Have you ever wanted to take a trip where everything is planned for you? I was in the same boat when I found Gate 1 Travel, which offers escorted coach tours all over the world. If you're wondering whether this is the route for you, I did all the work to give you the inside scoop!

gate 1 travel boston

Miriam enjoys writing about travel, and other adventures abroad like studying or working as an English language assistant. Her favorite places she's visited (so far) include London, UK, Angers, France, and the entire country of Norway. When she's not dreaming of new locations to explore, you can find her singing, acting, or dancing (probably all three), binge watching cozy crime TV shows, embroidering, or trying to come up with clever puns.

One of the best parts of traveling is getting to decide where you want to go and what you want to see. However, it can also be the most stressful part of traveling.

How do you make sure you see everything you want to see, get the right hotels, and eat at the right restaurants, all while staying on budget? One option I often think about to help alleviate that stress is to book a tour that covers all the nitty-gritty details!

When you're thinking about organized travel, you'll come across so many tours and guides that'll it'll hurt your brain.

One of those is Gate 1 Travel. So, the real question is does it beat out other options when booking tours?

I wanted to find out so that you'll have the essential info on its tours, prices, destinations, and more! This way you'll be making a decision with lots of valuable knowledge.

Gate 1 travel logo

What Is Gate 1 Travel?

If you're not a fan of traveling with strangers, my advice is to go with a travel agency or plan your own trip. Don't go with Gate 1 Travel or other travel groups. Plan and go discover on your own instead with Pilot!

That's because you will definitely be exploring with a group if you book with with Gate 1 Travel.

Numbers fluctuate, but if you're keen on staying in a smaller group, be sure to check out Gate 1's Small Group tours . Also known as Discovery Tours, there are no more than 22 travelers on these trips, so you won't have to worry about there being too many people with you.

‍ Discovery Tours also allow you to get up close and personal with the country you're visiting in a way that often isn't possible in larger, escorted tours.

How Large Are Gate 1 Travel Groups?

If you're not a fan of traveling with strangers, my advice is to go with a travel agency or plan your own trip. Don't go with Gate 1 Travel.

Numbers fluctuate, but if you're keen on staying in a smaller group, be sure to check out Gate 1's  Small Group tours . Also known as Discovery Tours, there are no more than 22 travelers on these trips, so you won't have to worry about there being too many people with you. 

‍ Discovery Tours  also allow you to get up close and personal with the country you're visiting in a way that often isn't possible in larger, escorted tours. 

How Do I Book a Tour?

If you're interested in booking a tour with Gate 1 Travel, you'll first need to make an account.

You can head to the login page to do this. Once you've done that, you can start booking!

You'll select your tour region, followed by the country you want to visit and the tour that appeals most to you.

Choose your departure date, and decide whether you want flights included. You can then select those flights and any optional tours you may want to do during your trip.

Gate 1 travel tour

What's Included in Gate 1 Travel Tours?

When booking a tour with Gate 1, you want to know what's included.

Something I liked to see is that every trip offers a "land only" and "air & land" price, so you can decide whether to have your flights included. Flights do only go to and from select cities, depending on your tour dates.

Escorted tours will include the following:

  • Accommodation for the nights of the tour
  • Hotel taxes and service charges 
  • Transport between cities
  • Certain meals (what's included will be outlined in the tour details)
  • Sightseeing per the itinerary in an air-conditioned coach with a guide!

Not included is airfare for land-only trips, any visa-related fees, and optional extras you may decide to add to your tour.

Gate 1 travel bus

Gate 1 Deals

Every traveler loves a good deal, and Gate 1 offers some great affordable vacations. It's actually one of the best bundle travel deal sites out there!

By heading to the company's Featured Specials page, you'll get to see Gate 1's flash deals, as well as any last-minute deals for upcoming departure dates. They also have a featured destination sale which will change from time to time.

To access the deals, you'll need to use the promo code listed on these pages, and then you're on your way to saving on your next trip!

From its website, you can also sign up to receive weekly deals via email. You never know what you'll get in your inbox!

How Do I Contact Gate 1 Travel Customer Service?

Whether you have a question or a complaint, it's never a bad idea to know how to contact customer service.

Gate 1 Travel is currently experiencing a high volume of inquiries, but you can still fill out a  form  via the website to send an online inquiry. 

If you're traveling soon, you can get ahold of the team by phone. The company has 24-hour assistance line can be reached in the US by calling 215-572-7676. 

Cancellation Policy

If you find you can no longer join your Gate 1 Travel tour, how can you cancel your trip?

Once you've made at least a partial payment on your trip, you have to submit a cancellation request in writing via the contact us page.

Cancellation fees will then be applied based on how much time remains before your trip and will be applied as a percentage of what has already been paid. 

Customer Reviews

Overall, travelers seem to be satisfied with Gate 1's services and its tours.

Many of the complaints speak to packages booked with flights and how flight cancellations or changes have upheaved entire trips. Others have also mentioned the mismatch of travel credits promised versus ones they actually offer.

Other travelers have complained about Gate 1's customer service as being difficult to reach and not entirely helpful. It sounds like quite a few individuals had a tough time getting a full refund for their trip, even with travel insurance, when booking with them.

Whether it's that explanations can't be given, refunds are not fully issued, or travelers are sent in circles, it sounds like customer service is a hit or miss.

Other complaints have also touched on the itineraries being too packed to truly enjoy what you're seeing or to feel rested enough for them. 

Gate one travel boat

Is Gate 1 Travel Worth It?

After all my reading, my advice is to proceed with caution. Here's why.

My first impression when I got onto the website is that this is mainly targeting an older audience, with their branding outdated to the 2000s. That's not a judging criteria, but just a red flag in my opinion.

While Gate 1 Travel offers a lot of packaged tours, the volume of travelers who have had their trips impacted by flights booked through Gate 1 is concerning.

Instead, I would avoid the flight risks by opting for land-only tours. If you go this route, Gate 1 does offer tours all over the world, so it's a good place to at least browse through when you're trying to make a decision.

They also offer other kind of tours like independent vacations, European river cruises, and customized international vacation packages, but it's honestly not for me. The price is way too expensive and I can frankly plan it myself.

They also seem to charge a bit more than the actual ticket for many attractions, which to me seems like a dealbreaker unless it is actually hard for me to get the travel reservations myself.

In Gate 1 Travel's benefit, they sure do have tons of locations. From Paris to Peru, From Ecuador to Budapest, their tour packages extend to many destinations around the world. They also offer discount travel packages there and here, so that's something to consider for all you deal-seekers.

Keep in mind that some comments were made about the itineraries being a bit packed. So, if you're more of a relaxed traveler, I would be very careful going with Gate 1 Travel.

That being said, if you want to do and see as much as humanly possibly, Gate 1 could be the tour company for you!

If you like the idea of booking a tour but still aren't convinced that Gate 1 Travel is right for you, make sure to also check out companies like EF and Intrepid !

Our Rating: 3.1/5 

  • Tours all over the world
  • Small group options for more immersive experiences
  • Includes accommodation, and guided coach tours
  • Options for smaller group tours
  • Flight cancellations can result in trip cancellation
  • Poor customer service
  • Some feedback of packed schedules

Gate 1 Travel FAQs:

Is gate 1 travel still in business.

Yes, very much so. They've been operating for over 40 years and continue to maintain its operations despite its outdated website design.

Is Gate 1 Travel better than Trafalgar Tours?

They both offer the same comparable luxury comfort tours, so it's hard to say. I'd give Trafalgar the edge since they have more experience under their belt, but individual experiences will vary. Read our Trafalgar Tours Review for more detail!

Is Gate 1 Travel an American Company?

Yes, they're an American owned and run company based in Fort Washington, PA!

Who is the founder of Gate 1?

Dani Pipano is Gate 1 Travel's founder.

Ready to Get Traveling?

Whether you opt for a Gate 1 Travel tour, use another company, or decide to freestyle your next adventure, we want to make sure that you have the best time.

Use Pilot so you can keep all the different elements of your travels in one place and easily access them all. Plan your dream vacation today with Pilot!

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Disclosure : Pilot is supported by our community. We may earn a small commission fee with affiliate links on our website. All reviews and recommendations are independent and do not reflect the official view of Pilot.

FlightDeck’s Editorial Process

Miriam Jaffe Blog

's Experience

  • Blogger for Global Opportunities Office at Queen Mary University
  • Wrote my own blog posts for a personal blog while working as a language assistant in France
  • Writer for Pilot
  • English Language Assistant in France for two years
  • Professional experience in higher education/study abroad for two plus years in the UK

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Founded in 1981, Gate 1 Travel is known for offering quality vacations at competitive prices. Gate 1 has a wide selection of attractively priced escorted tours, river cruises and independent vacations in destinations worldwide.

The company’s escorted tours feature the latest-model motorcoaches and comprehensive itineraries. One upfront price covers your accommodations, transportation, some meals and guided sightseeing. Professional tour directors who lead each group are carefully selected for their extensive knowledge and attention to detail. River cruises include some of the same components, but instead of traveling via motorcoach and staying in hotels, you’ll move between cities and sleep aboard a well-appointed riverboat.

Independent vacations with Gate 1 are also popular. These trips are perfect for travelers who want to utilize Gate 1's planning and rate negotiation services but prefer maximum freedom to explore a destination.

Trip ratings on this site are based on the quality of accommodations, the number of included meals and activities and the level of service delivered. Gate 1's vacations are categorized as first class or deluxe on the industry rating scale (budget, first class or deluxe).

  • Save $600 per couple off tours. Prices shown reflect discount. Expires March 31. Click here .
  • Reduced airfare from select gateways is included in the price of certain tours. Click here .
  • Save 15% on tours in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Prices shown reflect discount. Expires March 31. Click here .

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Watch CBS News

AI expert says Princess Kate photo scandal shows our "sense of shared reality" being eroded

By Haley Ott

March 14, 2024 / 1:24 PM EDT / CBS News

London —  The European Parliament passed the world's first comprehensive law regulating the use of artificial intelligence on Wednesday, as controversy swirled around an edited photo of Catherine, the Princess of Wales, that experts say illustrates how even the awareness of new AI technologies is affecting society.

"The reaction to this image, if it were released before, pre-the big AI boom we've seen over the last few years, probably would be: 'This is a really bad job with editing or Photoshop,'" Henry Ajder, an expert on AI and deepfakes , told CBS News. "But because of the conversation about Kate Middleton being absent in the public eye and the kind of conspiratorial thinking that that's encouraged, when that combines with this new, broader awareness of AI-generated images… the conversation is very, very different."

Princess Kate, as she's most often known, admitted to "editing" the photo of herself and her three children that was posted to her official social media accounts on Sunday. Neither she nor Kensington Palace provided any details of what she had altered on the photo, but one royal watcher told CBS News it could have been a composite image created from a number of photographs.

Ajder said AI technology , and the rapid increase in public awareness of what it can do, means people's "sense of shared reality, I think, is being eroded further or more quickly than it was before."

Countering this, he said, will require work on the part of companies and individuals.

What's in the EU's new AI Act?

The European Union's new AI Act takes a risk-based approach to the technology. For lower risk AI systems such as spam filters, companies can choose to follow voluntary codes of conduct.

For technologies considered higher risk, where AI is involved in electricity networks or medical devices, for instance, there will be tougher requirements under the new law. Some uses of AI, such as police scanning people's faces using AI technology while they're in public places, will be outright banned apart from in exceptional circumstances.

The EU says the law, which is expected to come into effect by early summer, "will guarantee the safety and fundamental rights of people and businesses when it comes to AI."

Losing "our trust in content"?

Millions of people view dozens of images every day on their smartphones and other devices. Especially on small screens, it can be very difficult to detect inconsistencies that might indicate tampering or the use of AI, if it's possible to detect them at all.

"It shows our vulnerability towards content and towards how we make up our realities," Ramak Molavi Vasse'i, a digital rights lawyer and senior researcher at the Mozilla Foundation, told CBS News. "If we cannot trust what we see, this is really bad. Not only do we have, already, a decrease in trust in institutions. We have a decrease in trust and media, we have a decrease in trust, even for big tech… and for politicians. So this part is really bad for democracies and can be destabilizing."

Vasse'i co-authored a recent report  looking at the effectiveness of different methods of marking and detecting whether a piece of content has been generated using AI. She said there were a number of possible solutions, including educating consumers and technologists and watermarking and labeling images, but none of them are perfect.

"I fear that the speed in which the development happens is too quick. We cannot grasp and really govern and control the technology that is kind of, not creating the problem in the first place, but accelerating the speed and distributing the problem," Vasse'i told CBS News.

"I think that we have to rethink the whole informational ecosystem that we have," she said. "Societies are built on trust on a private level, on a democratic level. We need to recreate our trust in content." 

How can I know what I'm looking at is real?

Ajder said that, beyond the wider aim of working toward ways to bake transparency around AI into our technologies and information ecosystems, it's difficult on the individual level to tell whether AI has been used to change or create a piece of media. 

That, he said, makes it vitally important for media consumers to identify sources that have clear quality standards.

"In this landscape where there is increasing distrust and dismissal of this kind of legacy media, this is a time when actually traditional media is your friend, or at least it is more likely to be your friend than getting your news from random people tweeting out stuff or, you know, Tiktok videos where you've got some guy in his bedroom giving you analysis of why this video is fake," Adjer said. "This is where trained, rigorous investigative journalism will be better resourced, and it will be more reliable in general."

He said tips about how to identify AI in imagery, such as watching to see how many times someone blinks in a video, can quickly become outdated as technologies are developing at lightning speed.

His advice: "Try to recognize the limitations of your own knowledge and your own ability. I think some humility around information is important in general right now."

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Catherine Princess of Wales

haley-ott-cbs-news.jpg

Haley Ott is the CBS News Digital international reporter, based in the CBS News London bureau.

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A very disappointing and demeaning tour - GATE 1 TRAVEL

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I will give the travel part of the tour a 4 star and the shopping and meal a 1 star. We go with... read more

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A travel horror story I. RDU, Raleigh, American Airlines. 943206856 My only relative and cousin... read more

gate 1 travel boston

A very disappointing and demeaning tour

My husband and I took two recent trips with Gate 1 Travel, one to Iceland in January and one to Spain and Portugal from March 15 to 25,2023. The first one, to Iceland, was a wonderful experience in every way. The second, to Spain and Portugal, was an awful experience filled with anxiety and needless difficulties. What was the difference between the two trips? It was the tour managers. Our experience with Nico in Spain and Portugal has convinced us that we cannot count on Gate 1 for any future travel. Here’s an outline of why. —I have a condition in which I experience extreme nausea sitting in the middle or back of buses. I actually throw up in such situations. This condition is verified by doctors. —When traveling to Iceland, our tour manager there accommodated my request to sit at the front of the bus throughout the tour. Another member of our group had similar needs and was also accommodated. This accommodation caused no trouble among the rest of the members of our group. —Because I could see that Gate 1’s written policy states that tour members must rotate in their seats and there are no exceptions to this policy, before our next trip (to Spain and Portugal) I contacted Gate 1 multiple times to check whether accommodations could be made for me to sit in front of the bus. I was told that such decisions are at the discretion of the tour manager, and I understood this to mean that accommodations are possible even if not guaranteed. My further inquiries about this were unanswered. —At the beginning of our tour in Spain and Portugal, I told Nico of my needs and offered to show him a medical certificate I brought with me. He did not want to see the certificate, and he told me that he was instructed by the home office that he could not make exceptions to the seat rotation rule and that his directive was to maintain harmony among the members of the group. If he was indeed told this by the home office, it indicates a contradictory policy in the company because the directive doesn’t match what I was told earlier that tour managers have discretion. —In any case, Nico did exercise discretion and did make an exception for me (apparently contradicting the directive he said he was given) and allowed me to sit in the front seat next to him during much of the tour. But he made sure to tell me that he reported the fact that the tour manager in Iceland had made an accommodation for me. Nico told me that that tour manager would be fired for doing so. This caused me great distress and set the tone for the remainder of the tour. —During the tour, Nico told a tour guide not to answer my questions, saying that I ask too many questions. He told the guide this in Spanish. My husband speaks Spanish and overheard it. On another occasion, Nico told another tour guide, also in Spanish, to be careful what he said because my husband could understand Spanish. The fact that such conversations occurred further damaged our trust. —In Barcelona, Nico said I would not be able to sit in the front seat with him during the trip to the Gaudi Monuments — the most highlighted and popular attraction in the city — because he would need the space so he could do paperwork during the journey. As a result, I could not ride on the bus for that trip and missed out. —At another point, we wanted to take a train to a destination but did not want to do so if it would mean taking all of our luggage. Nico told us that he would be able to keep our large luggage on the bus. Because he told us this, we were willing to book the train, and Nico helped us book it. But just before the train trip, Nico told us that he would not be able to keep our luggage for us after all. Later, we met another group that was also on a Gate 1 tour. The members of that group had taken the train to their destination and all of them were able to leave their luggage on a bus. So there was a contradiction between how Nico handled us and how another tour manager handled a separate group. These are just a few points among several that could be made. I have tried to be brief in my description of what happened, and as a result, the full sense of how unpleasant our experience was may not be completely apparent. But it indeed was. The way Nico dealt with us left us feeling demeaned and relegated to nuisance status.

I would give Gate 1 an excellent rating because of the superior service I received on my recent trip to Thailand. I love that they take care of every detail - all I need to do is relax and enjoy my trip. My tour guide Kit was everything you would want in a guide - funny, informative, thoughtful. She was constantly bringing local treats on to the bus to share with us. The hotels we stayed in were top notch. The cities were visited were all really interesting and showed us different aspects of Thailand. I can't say enough about how great this trip was!

We loved Italy with our tour guide Patricia! However, several weeks before our trip we received a call from Gate1 stating that Delta had cancelled our Jacksonville to Boston leg ( which we had paid more for) and they needed to rebook all of the flights to and from Italy as they cancelled the entire flights. They found us new tickets for an extra 2200 plus we would need to pay an extra 220 dollars for a hotel as we would need to arrive a day early. The Affordable Trip to Italy is no longer affordable. I asked for my money back and was told I could only get 50 percent back. My husband found a flight out of Miami for an extra 450 dollars. We had to drive 6 hours to get there but it was more affordable. We have asked to speak to a supervisor several times but have yet to speak to someone. The agent gave us 50 a piece (credit) because someone closed our request to speak to a supervisor. Just know, you do not own the tickets(even though you paid for trips months before) .

Gate 1 has left me stranded in foreign countries 2 times now without any support or assistance getting a new flight home. This happened in Equador and Africa. I had to find my own new flight snd ride to airport, even though everything was originally booked thru and by Gate 1. You cannot rely on this agency to get you home. Horrible service.

Loved Sri Lanka. The tour was very nice and the staff was some of the best I have experienced. Our guide, Shyam was awesome, very considerate and worked very hard to accommodate so many weird request.. always with a smile. His verbal history of Sri Lanka really helped us understand the nature of their country. I will for sure return for the Northern tour. Great choice of hotels, staff and points of interest. Thank you so much for this experience. Judy

gate 1 travel boston

I have been on two Gate1 tours, to Mexico in Aug 2022 and to Egypt in Feb 2023. I thought the Mexico trip was a great value for money, the Egypt trip of average value for money. For both tours, I was very pleased with the destination tour manager and local tour companies. The hotels and motor coaches at least met my expectation for quality and sometimes exceeded expectations. Included meals were okay, neither bad nor in any way exceptional. The biggest disappointment is Gate1's US staff's below average customer service. The US office is consistently bad. They are VERY hard to reach by phone and provide no email address. Their website looks to be 15 years out of date and is useless for resolving issues. If you can reach them by phone, maybe they can help, but it's far from assured. For one of the trips, the one to Egypt, the tour price included R/T flights--both JFK to/from Cairo and two flights internal to Egypt. Gate1 bought group tickets on EgyptAir but failed to enter travelers' frequent flier numbers or arrange for specialty meals, despite having the information on hand. EgyptAir, which also has pretty poor customer service, said all this had to be arranged by Gate1, since these were group ticket and, of course, Gate1 doesn't answer the phone. Had to walk to ticket counter in Cairo and walk in to a ticket office in Aswan to get frequent flier numbers entered and meal choices.

gate 1 travel boston

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Gate 1 Travel Consumer Reviews

PENNSYLVANIA -- We've made several trips with Gate 1 in the past, with consistently good experiences, but we're trying to postpone a trip to Sicily scheduled for April 2022 and there doesn't appear to be anyone home. We've always found them responsive in the past, but . . . multiple calls have gotten the following nonresponses: 1) "High call volumes, so fix it through our website" - but there's no way to do that, and the website says to call their phone number; 2) "We're busy, but we'll call you back in one hour and twenty-two minutes" - but they don't; 3) "We're busy, and your hold time will be two hours and twelve minutes"; 4) "Contact us by e-mail" - but other than an automated response, crickets. They appear to have fired all their staff and are set up solely to take in money and send out automated reminders.

gate 1 travel boston

MONTECATININI ITALY -- BUYER BEWARE!!! I don't know about the other people posting these reviews but a "Great Trip" is the farthest thing from the experience we had with Gate 1 Travel. We also knew that we were getting an amazing deal to fly to Italy for 8 days but it was the worst experience of our lives. Every aspect of our trip that was associated with Gate 1 Travel was absolutely awful.

This was supposed to be a dream vacation for my son, who has wanted to see Italy since he was 6 and is now almost 17. We purchased our trip in early March and traveled in mid Sept.. The flight was fine but upon arrival to Milan where we picked up our rental car we started realizing that Gate 1 had done a "Bait and Switch" for just about every aspect of the trip starting with the rental car and getting worse from there.

The rental car was supposed to be a "Fiat or similar" although we ended up with some brand I have never heard of, a wagon of sorts that rumbled and sounded like it was going to die on us every time we drove! The hotels were the worst hotels we had ever stayed and at, and I have stayed in hostels in 3rd world countries like Guatemala that look like the Hilton compared to the San Marco. Literally the worst hotel ever!

The minute I saw our room I was creeped out and went to the front desk to show them the pictures we had seen on Gate 1 and complained that our room was nothing like pictured, the hotel was nothing like pictured! They said sorry but they were full, not offering accommodations at their sister resort a block away or anything, even though I had booked my trip 6 months earlier!

I then went to our room and contacted Gate 1, letting them know how bad our room was. Their response was basically "sorry we book packages and there is nothing we can do for you"! That has been their response, if I get one, every time I have contacted them about this awful trip. We stayed 2 nights to try and make it better and make sure we were not overacting, asking for a few extra pillows to help make the bed a bit more comfortable. When we woke on the 2nd morning after barely sleeping because the bed was so uncomfortable and dirty, my son and I were completely covered in bug bites! We got up, showered and left the hotel to go stay elsewhere.

The entire trip associated with Gate 1 was literally the worst experience of mine and my son's life and I am not exaggerating. He had so badly wanted to see Italy and experience everything the country has to offer but thanks to Gate 1 and the worst experience ever, we will never return to Italy and I will never deal with this company again. If you are even considering booking with them, I would not!!!

I have traveled all over the world and you can definitely find better ways to travel on your own than through this awful company or you too could end up miserable in a foreign country with absolutely no help from the company who was super helpful when it was time to pay then is absent when you have questions or need help. Do not book with Gate 1 and feel free to contact me if you have questions as there is so much more that was bad and that the company failed to provide. Good luck.

FORT WASHINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA -- First know that I have waited close to a year before writing this review to make sure it is written with a clear mind and not just out of emotion.

We had only travelled outside the country one other time to adopt and everything was handled by the agency so we did not know what it entailed and I relied on Gate 1 Travel for assistance. BIG MISTAKE!

It was early June when I first contacted them to make arrangements potentially for a trip later in August. My major concern was getting things prepared and getting visas on time. The lady I first spoke to put me on hold to check if this was possible. She came back on the phone and informed me it only takes a few weeks for a Visa, recommended they like to use Gen Visa, and we would be fine. She then asked If I would like to purchase additional insurance just in case something happened and we were not able to make the flight. I agreed to the insurance, paid the $600 cost to start and informed I could pay the rest to help keep things moving along.

I paid the additional money and then everything fell apart. When months later I spoke with another person I was told that they don't have anyone at the company they could checks Visa times with so the first lady flat out put me on hold and then lied to me.

I also later found out after losing over $4000 that the insurance I was given was a third party insurance that covers illness. Believe me, the day the plane left without us I was very sick to my stomach and dealing with dangerously high blood pressure from being out all that money. I later found out that they have a different insurance through their company which they quote as a Travel Protection Plan-Cancel For any Reason for only $69.00.

Also found out too late that you get a discount if you take the time to mail them a check rather than paying immediately by credit card. Once you pay in full you are locked in and CANNOT cancel or make any changes.

I do not know why the Visa place they recommended (Gen Visa) as having no problems with the timeframe took nine weeks to process visas when I hear it is usually significantly shorter. We were notified the week after the flight departed that the visas were ready and were stamped the day after the departure date.

My complaint with Gate 1 Travel is 1) Why did a service representative put me on hold then lie to me when they have no way to check on Visa times. I could have easily scheduled the trip at any time later as necessary if not lied to? 2) Why knowing my only concern, was I offered a worthless more expensive third party insurance when their Travel Protection Plan-Cancel For Any Reason was cheaper and covers what was my original main concern? 3) Why was I not informed that since I have such concerns I should NOT pay in full thus locking out any potential ability to change?

I could better handle having to absorbed a $600 starting cost, changed dates and still letting my adopted daughter see where she came from and learn about her culture. On advice from a Gate 1 representative I am now out over $4000 and it will probably be another decade before saving enough money to attempt this trip again for my daughter.

All this because Gate 1 seems to only be concerned about getting the money, lying and not actually caring for the customers. I also did not appreciate when they contacted me to say since I missed the flight they were giving up the rest of the trip reservations and was their anything else they could help me book for any other travel destinations. Talk about adding insult to injury.

PENNSYLVANIA -- With regret, This is the jist of what I'm writing to Dan Pipano, CEO of Gate1. This situation put me in a corner while Gate1 absolved itself of all responsibility for air, changes and costs. I purchased a Feb 15 2020 tour package to Thailand including flight arrangements from Gate1,The carrier was Air China and the flight due to depart Newark NJ with a layover in Beijing on the way to Bangkok.

In light of the coronavirus, travel arrangements have been shifted and unnecessary travel to China is either cancelled or not recommended. Indeed, according to Gate1 agents, Air China offered to provide waivers or refunds to its travelers. Upon requesting an alternative flight from Gate1 I was told only Emirates Air for $1300 RT at my personal expense was available.

In purchasing this ticket with them I assumed problems like this would be coordinated and organized since Gate1 is overall tour company in charge of all aspects of the trip. That's why I bought the air ticket through them rather than on own. This cost is prohibitive for me, making it impossible for me to get to Thailand. Since this is now unaffordable with no other alternatives, I requested postponing this trip to a calmer time when I could travel as planned. Since this is not a problem of my own making, and I have no equitable options right now, why should I suffer such expensive consequences? I was hoping for some fair alternatives or an option to postpone.

I don't know why - considering that the only other time I traveled with Gate1 we had a problem with cancelled flights and similarly confronted carelessness and no options - you, the customer are behind the 8 ball, left to your own devices. Gate1 - no problems for them and no help or satisfactory resolution in sight.

In the first instance I booked a trip to Namibia in 2018 with a good customer of theirs. Due to inclement weather in the States our flight schedule was suspended and we could not make our connecting flights. We encountered great difficulty in getting any help or attention from Gate 1. We were stranded in the US, trying to connect with their agents to get help, to make the trip happen, but our calls, and requests for response and direction were dismissed, or ignored.

Since we couldn't afford to cancel – although tempted since there was no help forthcoming - we reorganized flights by ourselves and continued calling Gate1. After a full day of calls from the airport, I finally managed to land on a few people who - only when I informed them we would be forced to cancel because of their inaction - finally organized safe connections for us in Johannesburg and Namibia, and a meet up with our group. All this took nearly 24 hours and was finalized only a number of hours before our flight to Johannesburg. An unnecessary fiasco of cavalier attitudes, indifference and lack of professionalism.

I determined never to travel with Gate1 again so didn't even bother to lodge a complaint. I'm pretty well traveled so have experienced all kinds of misadventures - flight delays, cancellations, etc. But in all cases, when traveling with a tour company, the company undertook responsibility, and provided professional assistance, attention and solved flight and land tour problems as a matter of standard business practice. (Even Smartours!)

I changed my mind - to my regret - booked, and here I am again. I understand the company's costs and contracts but cannot sustain this financial loss myself - especially since no rational, affordable and parallel options were offered. Take it or leave it. This is exacerbated by the health situation and that I suffer from asthma, am 73, and have underlying respiratory ailments. This trip has become too expensive, complicated and difficult. Not to mention that my trust level in the company's approach and treatment of customers has been severely compromised.

I hope they'll consider these extenuating circumstances and – especially in light of my previous experience with Gate1 - make a fair accommodation and allow the postponement of this trip until a safer and better time. I'd like to give this another try when I can afford it and they have the options to provide a good travel experience. That would be much appreciated!

MIAME, FLORIDA -- The Better Business Bureau webpage has 64 complaints listed against Gate 1.

Trying to deal with Gate 1 customer service is a nightmare. I just had the customer service supervisor, Brian Adams, hang up on me while I was still trying to explain that there is an explanation for the mix-up in their records.

Our problem is very similar to many of those BBB complaints. In our case, they are refusing to allow us to book a trip until we pay them for the airline flight problem that has already been resolved over a year ago.

Brian Adams told me that Gate 1's upper management will not allow us to book a trip through them until we pay them for a flight to Greece in Sept. 2018, that we did not take. We were forced to cancel the trip 7 months earlier in Feb. 2018.

It was not a problem with the trip cancellation insurance coverage. A car accident caused the family emergency, an emergency that was clearly a valid reason to cancel the trip.

Gate 1 withheld and would not return the money we paid for the flight to Greece in Feb. 2018. We tried to resolve the issue with phone calls and 32 text messages. We continued to try even though we were bounced around to several different people at Gate 1.

After Visa researched the incident. 32 texts, letters, and many phone messages, they concluded we did all we could do in good faith to resolve the issue and canceled the charge.

This was not the first problem with customer service; they canceled a trip to India in 2016 that we had already made arrangements for, less than a month before we were scheduled to leave because as they stated, not enough tickets were sold. Another trip was canceled less than 2 weeks before it was scheduled to leave to South America in late 2019 according to our friend.

We used Gate 1, five times, India, Africa, South America, Costa Rica, and Croatia.

Over the years we have spent tens of thousands of dollars with Gate 1. Now we cannot join our travel friends because of Gate 1's mixup with the insurance company that they collected the money from us to use.

Do you need to have a specific time slot for your trip? Expect that when you buy trip cancellation insurance through a travel company they will take care of the red tape? Expect courtesy and fair treatment if an unexpected event occurs? Expect a travel company to value you as a long time loyal customer? Expect they will follow the rules set up by accepting credit cards? That they will value you as a customer and treat you fairly?

There is enough to worry about when you travel out of the country without having to worry about being treated unfairly by the business you pay to make sure problems are minimized. We have done everything possible to work with this unreasonable business Gate 1 and failed.

Go the Better Business Bureau site, see if other travel companies have had any similar complaints. Read Yelps about Gate 1's business practices, i.e. the experiences with customer relations and business practices, not the guides or trip experiences, before you give them any money.

FT. WASHINGTON -- Gate1 Review 8 March, 2019

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Herewith is a lengthy review of our (my wife and I) last September's Gate 1 travel package experience. This review has taken a long time to generate because of the dispute that ensued between Gate1 and my wife and I. First, let me say that my wife and I are both senior citizens and believe this to be a most important factor in our drive from Milano, Malpensa airport to Montecatini Terme, Italy.

It was the most dangerous and disatrous travel experience we've ever had in our half century plus traveling the world and living abroad. After the initial reservation for an 8 day, 7 night fly and drive travel package to Montecatini, Italy, we had questions regarding our scheduled travel, primarily driving in Italy and Italy's rental car company's requirements, viz., insurance, driver's age, comprehensive theft and damage coverage, etc.

The Gate1 agent we had, obviously to us, was likely working from home; she seemed new at her job and did or could not properly read and understand my emails hence giving erroneous information on the questions I asked. Finally, we were able to correspond with another agent. Little did we know that the damage had already been done by the first Gateway1 ‘HELP' agent which will eventually be explained as this reveiw continues.

Because we lived in Florida we paid considerably extra money, almost half the price of the tour package, to change our departure city from New York to Miami. Gate1 booked us on Lufthansa . We arrived in Frankfurt around 0800 the morning of 5 September, 2018. We found our transfer terminal for the flight to Milano and waited approximately 5 + hours. Our Milano flight was late arriving in Frankfurt, hence, late departing. We arrived in Milano, Malpensa airport around 1600 hrs (4pm). After some difficulty we finally located Budget Car Rental agency which was outside the main terminal. It was now near 1700 (5pm). The car rental representative took my information and then said: “I'm sorry but there is no reservation for you.” I replied: “What?” Please check again and he did and said the reservation had been cancelled months previously. My wife and I were dumbfounded. He said he was very short on rental cars but could find us one but first would need to get approval from Gate1 travel in Pennsylvania, USA. This took a long time and several phone calls by Budget to the US to reach the appropriate Gate 1 person with the authority to allow Budget to give us another car and to confirm Gate1 would pay for the car. Our Budget agent discovered that the car reservation cacellation was done solely by Gate1. During the Budget Reps conversation with Gate1 representative I was standing at the Budget counter leaning forward to better hear the agent because of ambient noise despite him being on speaker. He told the Gate1 representative that he only had one car available similar to the one Gate1 had cancelled and that it would cost approximately 650 Euros for the 8 day rental. He explicitly said the price in Euros, NOT US dollars, a point that would later be disputed by Gate1. Finally, I heard the Gate1 agent say she would approve the new car rental for the quoted amount of 650.00 Euros. The Budget representative put me on the phone with the Gate 1 agent and confirmed to me Gate 1 would pay the 650 Euros but we would have to put the charge on our credit card and Gate1 would reimburse us at a later date. My wife and I were getting anxious about our long (31/2-4 hour) drive to Montecatini and time was rapidly passing; we knew darkness would soon arrive.

After more paper work and inspection of rental vehicle we got the Budget car, a Renault. It had a GPS and we asked the Budget attendent to show us how to program our destination into the car's GPS. He said he did not know how to do this. There was only one other agent and he too did not know how to program the GPS. He said, not to worry the drive to Montecatini would be easy, straight on the Autostrada for most of the distance. “Most of the distance” became our big problem.

We left the airport and immediatley hit heavy traffic as it was rush hour in Milano. We were on a feeder toll road but eventually made it to the Autostrada for Bologna & Firenze and the Sun was deep in the Western sky. There was heavy, heavy traffic. Since we were without GPS we were relying on road signs on the Autostrada but we saw only the major cities: Parma, Bologna, Firenze, etc.

Nighttime came. We had been driving less than two hours. We decided to stop at a truck stop for refreshments, bathroom and to ask directions. Unfortunately English was not spoken by the attendant but we understood her to mean we were going in the right direction for our destination. We continued and started to seen signs for Firenze. I thought we had gone too far on the autostrada. We turned around and admitted to ourselves we were lost. In fact we got lost several times on the Autostrada from Milano to our destinations. Sections of the Autostrada near Bologna to Firenze was still under repairs or construction. Two or three times we stopped at gas stations/truck stops for information. Twice more that night we exited the Autostrada trying to find our way to Montecatini Terme. It was pitch black and few to no lamp pole lights on most sections of the Autostrada. It was now approaching 2300 hours and we were totally exhausted (~ 36 hours without sleeping) having not slept on the flight from Miami to Frankfurt. For the second time we discovered we we almost to Firenze and again we truned the car around and headed North in the direction of Pistola - Bologna - Milano. We think we exited the Autostrada somewhere around Pistola and again stopped to ask directions to Montecatini Terme. Finally, around 2330 hours we arrived at the city limits of Montecatini Terme. We tried to follow directions and again stopped to ask for directions to our hotel in downtown Montecatini.

We drove round and round in the central part of town looking for our hotel. We stopped twice more for directions and finally found our hotel at midnight. The last person we asked was another hotel's desk clerk. He knew of our hotel and gave us proper directions.

This SNAFU essentially caused one lost day and night of our Italy stay. The problem with Gate 1 worsened upon our return to our home in Florida. I contacted Gate1 and about our refund for the car rental they had promised that we had not yet received. Gate 1then stated it needed the car rental return document and the receipt from Budget showing the amount we paid. I had already emailed them a photo of this while we were in Switzerland but they said they didn't have it. Go figure.

I sent the required document and then conversed with Gate1 about our money. The final amount debited to my US bank credit card was $750.00 US (650.00 Euros). Gate1 told us they would only reimburse us $650.00 US as that is what the Budget agent had told Gate1's representative. I rebutted this saying that I was standing six inches away from the Budget agent's face when he told Gate1 representative the price in Euros, not US dollars and then the Gate 1 agent confirmed the 650.00 Euro rental price to me as well when I was put on the phone with her by the Budget agent. Over a span of a couple of weeks Gate1 repeatedly denied that the amount given them was in Euros, rather it was US dollars. Gate1 gave us the ultimatum that it would only pay $650.00 (Dollars US) not a penny more. We were exhausted after our trip and fighting with people at gate 1 for weeks, starting in Malpensa, Milano. To stop the insanity we finally accepted their offer and swallowed the $100.00 loss.

In conclusion, my wife and I would never, ever recommend to anyone Gate1 Travel and this especially goes doubly so for seniors. To reiterate, we believe that Gate1 put us in harms' because of the delayed flight departure from Frankfurt to Milano and most importantly by cancelling our Milano car reservation. This resulted-in and required us to drive in heavy rush hour traffic at dusk but mostly at night from Malpensa Airport, Milano to Montecatini Terme. We were in a foregin country with different traffic rules, regulations and laws, narrow lanes on the autostrata with sections under construction that had few signs and no lighting. We were ~ 36 hours without sleep on this dangerous trek. As a medical doctor I am telling all seniors who may want to consider the offer of a car with your travel package tour that may require a lengthy drive and to drive at night to reach their destination hotel to think deeply about the factors you must consider before purchasing the travel offer and/or being put in a risky/dangerous situation as happened to us. Our trip from Malpensa, Milano to Montecatini was suppose to be be driven totally during daytime. We had no idea something like this would occur. Gate 1 after learning our circumstances and knowing full well we were senior travelers could have taken appropriate steps to keep us out of harms' way. We suppose Gate 1 thought the car rental and drive from Milano to Montecatini would be a way to sight-see. It wasn't because most of the distance was by autostrada and not much to see even in the day time. Why would we or anyone need to use a rental car at NIGHT for a four hour plus drive on an autostrada or interstate? Where was the benefit? Budget has a car rental office in Lucca, a town near Montecatini. Gate 1 could have gotten us a room at a Malpensa airport hotel, like they did for our trip home, or let us find a hotel and they pay for it. We could have collected the car the next morning or gone by train or bus to Montecatini that evening and night and stayed in our room at the Amabasciatori Palace. Gate 1 actions and lack thereof not only put us in jeopardy but cost us more money and a full day lost off of our trip. For us, I repeat, never again with Gate 1. Reviews say Gate 1 is a ‘Cheap Travel Agency'.That has surely changed especially if you select another departure and return airport.

I believe all persons thinking air + car + hotel travel should think deeply but especially so if you are a senior. I believe you should also think deeply about Gate1 and how they reponded to their error of deliting our car reservation and putting us in an untenable situation. It was a terrible experience and could have been tragic. We suggest you think about the following when you consider traveling, especially with an automobile added to your travel package and its outside the USA:

Your Age (in europe you can be a driver above a certain age) Your Energy levels (do you rapidly tire with driving, etc.) Your medical conditions, history: bladder & bowel problems, incontinence, vision problems, such as cataracts, hearing problems, (do you require frequent rest stops or restroom calls?) Your ability to speak or use a translation device for the language of the country you are traveling in. Vehicle and personal insurance coverages Functional GPS in rental car. Set destination at rental agency and be familiar with GPS and it's idiosyncrasies. Will your car rental require twilight or night time driving? Where? The estimated and realistic driving time to reach your final destination. Have a cell phone that works for the area in which you are traveling. To have add-on medical insurance with air ambulance benefits. Carry on your person a printed document of your medical history and if possible use a computer translation website to translate your medical history into the language(s) of the country or countries you will be visiting. You can store all of this on a USB thumb drive but I would also carry a hard copy, printed in the language of the country you will be visiting just in case the only help is a passing stranger who doesn't speak English or lacks a smart phone or a computer. Plan your scheduled driving route and identify the towns on your route with hospitals, especially those having emergency facilities and if they have units that can properly address any medical conditions you may have or that may worsen into an Emergency. (I did not see any signs on the Autostrada and roads in Italy showing locations of hospitals or medical centers). Which hospitals on your route are rated as trauma centers? Price the gasoline in the country or countries you will be driving in and compare it to the cost of trains, buses, flights, parking and guided tours.

Please understand that I am not giving medical advice rather I am just saying think, investigate and plan before you act or depart on your travels.

In retrospect were we to revisit Italy, a country I once lived-in many years ago and love, I do not think at our ages (wife and I), that we would elect to rent a car again. What I once did all those years ago, driving a car all around europe, camping on roadsides and byways in a pup-tent was for a bygone era. Italy (Europe) is simply too changed, crowded and too risky these days. I would not even do this in the United States. I believe using a combination of independent and guided tours in one's destination country, city or town is best and the safest choice. As you are likely aware guided tours usually cost more but in the long run offer much greater and safer advantages especially for senior citizen or those with disabilities.

I wish you and yours safe and enjoyable travels.

FORT WASHINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA -- We have taken five trips with Gate 1 and have been very happy with the value and quality that it offers on their trips. This past July we booked a bucket list trip to Japan with their small group's division for this coming April. We have always felt better about buying our air through them because that way they are responsible end to end. However, this being a very long trip we requested Premium Economy from American Airlines and provided them with the flights we wanted to go on. The cost shown on Google flights for that itinerary with American showed its cost at around $5,055 for two at the time we saw it. Gate 1 quoted us $5,830 total for the same itinerary.

However, wanting Gate 1 to do the booking for us, we accepted, and they booked the flights. They said they had to charge our credit card immediately to secure these flights and they did. We asked Gate 1 to do our seat selection, but they could not do an acceptable job and it took a couple of days for us to be able to go in and select our seats since Gate 1 had not finalized the payment to American. Much to our surprise after we selected our seats American Airlines showed us the invoice for this itinerary with them on Supreme Economy and it was for $5,055, substantially less than the charge from Gate1 ($750 less). The only thing we could figure the difference being for was the transfers from airport to hotel and back in Japan, which are costly.

So, we called Gate 1 and asked what the cost of that transport would be if we were to purchase it from them without the air fare; the answer was $375 for both, which still left a substantial difference of $400 in more costs. So what is included in that additional $400 you are charging us? We referred the matter to Gate 1 over one week ago and had the issue escalated to a supervisor. We included documentation and copy of the invoice in our email. Well, today we heard back from Gate 1 and that supervisor and the answer was: it is what it is, too bad, so sad.

In a nutshell, we were told that what American charged us is not what Gate 1 pays for that fare and that it included charges to Gate 1, such as fuel charges, etc. which our invoice from American showed as being part of their lower price. We asked for an itemization of those charges to compare what we were paying for and were told no in no uncertain way, “we told you about the cost and you accepted it” and that was it. If anything, Gate 1 as an aggregator and travel agent should get better prices than individuals like us can.

We can accept that Gate 1 needs to charge for ground transport, but not at more than twice the rate they quoted us as an independent purchase. And that is the reason we are writing this message, to make sure that buyers beware and be very careful when purchasing air from Gate 1. Do your homework before booking your air! This is not the type of response and/or service we expected from Gate 1.

We are sorry to hear of the difficulties you are experiencing with your current booking. Please try reaching out to our Reservation service staff and speak with the first available agent or reach out to us using our online "Contact Us" form.

I have taken two trips with Gate One and have had flight issues both times. The first trip was guided and the problem was mechanical in nature. No other plane, had to fly one in from Mexico, we were in Quito. The airline took responsibility of its own and issued credits for the flight. The second trip was to Australia and was an independent trip. The airline was China Eastern. The time in Australia was wonderful. The hotel was in need of a refresh, but the reviews had made that clear. We spent little time there, but it was not the quality most people would expect. I did some research before I booked so I was not surprised. I SHOULD have researched the airline better, who knew! China Eastern has a poor reputation. Flying though China in general is best avoided. On the return trip we were late landing. There was only 30 minutes until the next flight left. China Eastern just refused to let us leave the arrivals area and said we could leave the following day at 1:00 or 9:00 PM. Go get the luggage and be taken to a hotel. This meant applying for a temporary Visa, finally got through that process only to have people very rudely tell us to wait 30 minutes for the hotel. Of course we were not in the right place, after almost an hour of waiting for the people to come get us. Next place, 30 minutes, bus will come. Asking for an updated was not well received. 90 minutes later we are put on a bus and taken to another shabby hotel. I spent the night trying to make new travel arrangements as we were supposed to land in LAX at 6:00 PM Saturday night and fly out at 6:00 am Sunday. Instead, at 6:00 am I was in Shanghai. Re-booking the flight resulted in $200 per person fees and put us home on Monday - cost a day of PTO. The hotel in LA was non-refundable of not canceled by Thursday of the previous week - an additional $155 loss. The car was airport parked for two additional days due to the delay - 21.90 plus tax. We spent 13 hours at LAX - add meals and agony that cannot be calculated with a price. Overnight flight home - maybe the best part of this ordeal since it was very quiet since most people slept. While at LAX talked with China Eastern (why not, had plenty of time!) They said (as stated on the website) that any refunds for trip delays/interruptions had to be handled by the booking agent if one was used. You guessed it Gate One says their terms and conditions that were agreed to say no trip insurance no relief. They also said if I "didn't know what I was doing" I should have called. Of course they also said the layover time in Shanghai was "legal" and would have been offered by phone as well. I am a seasoned traveler and the only time I have used an agent has been the two Gate One trips, all others, domestic and international, I have booked myself without indecent. They were insulting and did not care whether I planned to remain a customer or leave poor feedback. BEWARE of Gate One. Great when all goes smoothly (but do your independent research and understand what hotels they are using and apparently airlines as well)! I would suggest avoiding their independent tours completely. Even guided, they deposit you at the airport so you are on your own with flight issues. The numbers you are given to use if there is a problem were useless. The group of people that I was stranded with in Shanghai tried calling, no answer. As a final thought, don't connect through China if you can avoid it, all Chinese airlines have a poor reputation and the country is notorious for having flight issues and doing nothing more than providing a room if absolutely necessary. I have yet to find a place on the Gate One website to leave a review. That speaks volumes! You can read positive reviews, but just try to leave a review, not happening!

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA -- We enjoyed our trip to Peru and found our principal guide, Victor, to be wonderful -- well organized, informative and enthusiastic. Our hotels were above average, except for the Sonesta at Lake Titicaca. The walls were paper thin there and we could hear everything in the adjoining room.

Our one extreme disappointment was Gate 1's response to the hurricane emergency in Miami, where we were scheduled to fly to on our return. American Airlines sent us something the day we left for Peru, September 6, offering us the opportunity to receive a full credit or to change our flight on September 16, when we were scheduled to fly from Miami to Boston. (We booked the AA leg separately because we wanted to break up the trip by a day both coming and going.) The email from AA indicated there would be major travel issues on our return. As a consequence, we called Gate 1 Travel first thing on September 6th to see what we should do.

The person I spoke to said to make arrangements with the Avianca reservation folks in Miami when we went to check in for our flight. When we tried to do that, we learned that Avianca staff DOES NOT DO FLIGHT CHANGES at the airport, they all need to be done online. So we called Gate 1 back, again, to see if they could rebook us on an Avianca flight from Lima to Boston. (Simultaneously, we were checking the flights on Avianca's website on our phone.)

Although Rich in Gate 1's office did help us -- after significant pressure on my part -- he booked us a return flight for $556, although we could have booked the same flight for $450 directly from Avianca. Since we were perilously close to our departure time, we allowed Gate 1 to make the change for us. We received NO credit for the original flight. Rich indicated that Gate 1 had no influence with Avianca to cut a better deal. I find that rather preposterous since Gate 1 sends 15,000 people to Peru a year -- clearly the agency should have some clout!

This was our first experience with Gate 1 and I expected the agency would be on top of travel emergencies like hurricanes. This can't be the first experience the agency has had in dealing with a major storm. Clearly, the first person I spoke with at Gate 1 did NOT know how to correctly respond to a client in such a situation, as she advised me to do something (make the change directly with Avianca in Miami) that Avianca does not do. The uncertainty of whether we would be able to get home added extreme anxiety to our party as well as to others in the group. Our tour manager, Victor, had no information to guide us.

One of the travelers with our group, who has traveled a few times with Gate 1, made this comment, "Gate 1 is very accommodating until they receive their fee, but after that they don't want to hear from you." I would say this was certainly our experience.

DO NOT EVER BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY.

I'm sure you'll be just fine if you don't have any issues, but god forbid any issues come up- THIS COMPANY IS WORRIED ABOUT ONE THING AND ONE THING ONLY- AND IT'S NOT YOU!

My best friend and I booked a trip to Greece through Groupon with Gate 1 Travel. I scheduled the trip to leave out of Cincinnati, which was where I lived at the time. Shortly thereafter I received a job in another state. Due to this, I needed to reschedule my flight to not be out of Cincinnati, but to the new city.

I called Gate 1, and explained the travel. I said I needed only to change the first and last leg of the trip to the new city, not the middle of the trip as I was stopping in Paris for a few days.

72 hours prior to leaving for the trip, Gate 1 moved my flight from Athens to Paris to where I would now arrive a day later than my best friend. However- they didn't touch her reservation. Mind you, we booked this trip together, had all of our vouchers together etc. Now that they moved the flight, I won't be traveling with her, and I'm now missing our previously booked excursion.

I called Gate 1 Travel to complain. Why would you move the middle flight when all I asked for were the flights bookending the entire trip I asked. They then said they needed to review the phone call where I placed the original call.

They said they would call me back by end of day- NOT. So here I am, 48 hours prior to leaving and I've completely lost a day of my trip and they couldn't care less. When I called back and spoke to a gentleman on the phone, I told him directly that I was going to write a horrible review of the company because of how each call was answered and handled. Each time I called, I was met with condescension, where at one point the guy actually told me that I was "threatening" him for writing a review. I said it's not a threat, I'm telling you honest feedback, asking for help, and all you do is interrupt me when I try to tell you the issue. Of course I'm upset, but I'm not yelling, raising my voice or using foul language. I'm frustrated. I've asked for the flight to be changed back and you tell me you can't. I this point I asked to speak to his supervisor, and his exact words to me were "I don't know if I feel like transferring you now".

I have had wonderful interactions with other Groupon Getaway trip purchases, such as Affordable Asia and many others, but I would never, ever use this company again. It's full of horrible people who feel they have "power" because they are in charge of your itinerary and are not there to help you. They care about selling trips, and not the people who keep them in business by buying their trips.

I will never use this company again, and I truly hope whomever uses them in the future doesn't have an issue, because if you do, they will literally laugh in your face. Shameful.

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  4. Gate 1 Travel Review: Best or worst option for organized tours?

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COMMENTS

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  7. About Us

    Founded in 1981, Gate 1 began by offering tours to Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Greece & Turkey. Fast forward 40 years and we now offer thousands of tours spread across all 7 continents. Headquartered in Ft Washington, PA we have grown to over 600 employees worldwide with international service offices and round the clock support for our travelers.

  8. Gate 1 Travel Review: Are Their Tours Worth It?

    Overall, travelers seem to be satisfied with Gate 1's services and its tours. Many of the complaints speak to packages booked with flights and how flight cancellations or changes have upheaved entire trips. Others have also mentioned the mismatch of travel credits promised versus ones they actually offer.

  9. GATE 1 TRAVEL

    Specialties: Gate 1 Travel offers escorted tours, European river cruises, sea cruises, independent vacations and customized international vacation packages for less. Our discount travel packages and tour packages to destinations worldwide provide exceptional value, saving our customers time and money. We have taken care of all the details so you don't have to. Find your dream vacation today ...

  10. Gate1Travel

    Mission: To deliver More of the World for Less by developing quality, affordable vacations for North Americans. To provide exemplary service to our customers...

  11. Iceland Vacation with Airfare from Gate 1 Travel in

    Iceland Vacation with Airfare from Gate 1 Travel is a top merchant due to its average rating of 4.5 stars or higher based on a minimum of 400 ratings. ... Boston (BOS) Airline taxes & fuel surcharges; For additional departure airports/pricing, contact Gate 1 Travel at (800) 682-3333.

  12. Gate 1 Travel

    455 Maryland Dr. Fort Washington, PA 19034, US. Get directions. Gate 1 Travel | 5,134 followers on LinkedIn. Your ticket to see "More of the World for Less" | Gate 1 Travel offers escorted tours ...

  13. Danube River Cruise

    Boston. 59 29. Danube River Cruise. Review of GATE 1 TRAVEL. Reviewed March 18, 2021 . This review is late in coming but I still wanted to do it. We loved our River Cruise with Gate 1. ... Ask K8206GDsh about GATE 1 TRAVEL. 24 Thank K8206GDsh . This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor ...

  14. Gate 1 Promo Codes & Travel Deals

    Departure Date: May 25, 2024. $6379* - $5199* - Save: 25%. Use Promo Code: LMNDA25. Book Now! Browse More Deals. Valid for a limited time only. Offers subject to availability and may change without notice. Promotion is not valid on existing reservations or combinable with any other promotion or credit. Select offer above to book or call 215-572 ...

  15. Gate 1 Travel

    Gate 1 Travel. Founded in 1981, Gate 1 Travel is known for offering quality vacations at competitive prices. Gate 1 has a wide selection of attractively priced escorted tours, river cruises and independent vacations in destinations worldwide. The company's escorted tours feature the latest-model motorcoaches and comprehensive itineraries.

  16. Gate 1 Japan 9-Day with tour guide Ichiro

    GATE 1 TRAVEL: Gate 1 Japan 9-Day with tour guide Ichiro - See 353 traveler reviews, 224 candid photos, and great deals for Washington DC, DC, at Tripadvisor. Skip to main content. Discover. Trips. ... Boston, Massachusetts. 19 7. Reviewed June 4, 2023 . First and last time with Gate 1.

  17. Iceland's Northern Lights $599* with Flights

    5 Day Iceland's Northern Lights. 3 nights Reykjavik, flights, Northern Lights Tour, breakfast daily. Depart from: $599* Boston. $649* New York City. $699* Chicago | Baltimore | Washington DC. $749* Denver.

  18. AI expert says Princess Kate photo scandal shows our "sense of shared

    Ajder said AI technology, and the rapid increase in public awareness of what it can do, means people's "sense of shared reality, I think, is being eroded further or more quickly than it was before

  19. A very disappointing and demeaning tour

    My husband and I took two recent trips with Gate 1 Travel, one to Iceland in January and one to Spain and Portugal from March 15 to 25,2023. The first one, to Iceland, was a wonderful experience in every way. The second, to Spain and Portugal, was an awful experience filled with anxiety and needless difficulties.

  20. Top 10 Reviews of Gate 1 Travel

    Gate1 booked us on Lufthansa . We arrived in Frankfurt around 0800 the morning of 5 September, 2018. We found our transfer terminal for the flight to Milano and waited approximately 5 + hours. Our Milano flight was late arriving in Frankfurt, hence, late departing.

  21. USA

    Gate 1 Travel has provided quality, affordable escorted tours, river cruises and vacation packages for 40 years. We look forward to showing you More of the World for Less on your next vacation. ... 1 Boston, 2 Hyannis, 1 Pittsfield, 1 Burlington, 2 Newry, 1 Portland: Classic: $2899: $3309* 9 Day Eastern USA: Colonial, Revolutionary & Civil War ...