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Reviews 1.6.

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Pricing scam

Pricing scam. . Changed price after I booked. Had everything written down. Added $400 for no reason. Said they cannot reconnect me with my representative. Said call was recorded but all prices were beeped out for security purposes. But somehow some number that I never heard and is not written in my notes was not beeped out? Complete liars.

Date of experience : September 06, 2024

Don't trust their prices

After making a reservation and submitting a deposit for a tour, I thought I had locked in the quoted price. They offer deep discounts for advanced payment, but I opted to wait until the payment due date, understanding that there would be no pre-payment discounts. The final payment due date is in late October 2024 for a trip commencing in January 2025. I received a letter in early August advising that the price of our trip had increased by $200 per person. The letter went on to say that I we paid in full by August 30, 2024, they would waive the price increase. This seems to me to be a breach of trust. The reason a deposit is required in advance is to protect the company, but I would think also to protect the consumer by locking in the quoted price. At no time did the agent who took my reservation mention that the price was subject to change. This sort of thing has never happened to us on Rick Steves Tours, or on Wilderness Adventure Travel tours. It did not happen on any of the three previous OAT tours we took. But OAT is doing this now. They have a new CEO who seems to be more financially oriented than customer oriented. Bottom line: don't trust the price they quote. They feel entitled to change the price and terms at will.

Date of experience : August 30, 2024

OAT’s service has declined post-covid

OAT’s service has declined post-covid. It no longer supports the plane tickets OAT purchases for YOU. In our case, they failed to help with our Business Class tickets they had purchased for us and no one was available to help for 3 days via phone. The tour guide was more interested in meeting her schedule and her family than in assisting guests and failed to provide “included services”. The Mercedes bus skylight leaked on our seats during the frequent rains. The stairs in the back of the bus were dangerous and lacked a handrail. Two of the hotels did not offer “take out” porter service for bags.

Date of experience : July 18, 2024

Not a professional company

I applied as a tour guide for this company. Once I scheduled and arranged an interview I was available to have it via Zoom. However, nobody was available to interview me. Left waiting for 30 minutes I contacted the company about this issue. Apparently I wasn't logged in. It didn't make sense. There was no apology or decision to arrange the interview again. Just unacceptable.

Date of experience : July 01, 2023

June 8-July 2 Peru Ecuador

June 8-July 2, 2024. Lima, Machu Picchu, Amazon, Galapagos. OAT has not concept of timelines nor do they care about efficiency. The pretrip from Lima to Iquitos then off to the Amazon was okay, because I was able to obtain better airlne seats. But then, we met the rest of the so called group for the remainder back in Lima. When we could have gone directly to Cusco instead of wasting two days with a bunch of people with eating disorders or sorely out of shape. Clearly, the bold print said what the physical requirements were. The guide for Ecuador, Alberto Zambrano, and Galapagos had his own agenda. We had to suffer through his briefing which most of the OAT stuff was covered previously then there was the optional Spa day at the tune of $110. Alberto handed out a flyer for he spa and said one should pick out what one wants. Then the ball dropped. Reservations were supposed to have been made but since they weren't we missed out. And on it went. Communications was lacking and surprises constantly as to the schedule, such as 0300 wake up for a joke of a flight. We made a two leg stop to the Galapagos when there was a direct flight. What is the buffoon at OAT thinking?

Date of experience : June 08, 2024

Where is the service?

I have traveled 4 times with Oat, it seems the quantity of Oat sponsored excursions is decreasing, but not the cost. Less included meals and tours. My recent issue is for an upcoming trip in October. We are staying an extra night in Paris at the conclusion of the tour. In the past Oat would book the extra night at the same hotel providing us with the negotiated hotel rate, which we would pay to Oat. Oat has recently changed the policy and will no longer book for us. They will book on the front end but not the back end. I’ve called 3 different people, written 3 emails to support and they will not budge. The hotel even told us that Oat had to make the arrangements. Seems customer service is not a priority once the trip is paid for. Very sad since I had enjoyed touring with them.

Date of experience : June 24, 2024

Excessive Service Fee!

Poor experience when cancelling an additional night at hotel 34 days before our stay. OAT gave us a sevice fee of $300. I think this is excessive. Paul Kaese - Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Date of experience : February 22, 2024

Bad customer service when it comes to processing refunds

We cancelled a trip we had booked with OAT on 11/30/2023. It is now 1/9/2024 and we are still waiting for them to credit back our deposit to our credit card. Their stock answer when we call is that it takes 45 days to process a refund. As anyone with any intelligence know, that is not true. Every other travel company we have ever booked with processes credits/refunds in 2 weeks or less. Please be aware that this is the attitude of this company toward customer service prior to booking trips with them.

Date of experience : November 30, 2023

Pricing Change!?

I have a major complaint on the pricing system of the tour. On Jul 17, 2024, after speaking with an agent, he prepared a trip summary for me with the exact tour dates and prices (web pricing). On Jul 18, 2024, I called OAT early in morning as I had some questions, after all the questions were answered, I agreed to make the $500 deposit. I verbally confirmed a few times with the agent using the pricing in my trip summary, he confirmed the pricing, and told me that an email confirmation would be sent to me. However, when I checked the email that night, the Pre-Trip, Main trip and Post-trip were all increased by $100 (Tour package increased by $300), I tried to call OAT but the office was closed. On 7/19/24 morning, I called OAT to find out why the prices were increased and spent an hour on the phone with agent and later a supervisor. I am VERY disappointed when the supervisor told me that there was Web system issue which caused the pricing different from the Booking system, and the option I was given was to change to a different cheaper tour, take it or leave it, there is no attempt to honor the verbally confirmed price even it is OAT's internal system issue. I decide to cancel the tour. I am new to OAT, and this is a terrible first experience. I feel the arrogance in OAT's policy, I have traveled with many different tour companies before, and never have experienced price change on tour packages from day to day. There are so many other good adventure tour companies out there.

Date of experience : July 19, 2024

I booked a trip for 7 months in advance. Then found out I was going to need surgery so I needed to cancel the trip less then 30 days after making the reservation. They deducted $ 2,998.00 from my deposit for travel insurance I never used. Plus they will not process the balance of the refund for 45 days. This is a rip off and a money grab. It may not even be legal. I pressed my case with O A T and they said tough luck.

Date of experience : May 16, 2024

Very poor customer service

After planning 10 trips w this company, I can NO longer recommended this company. In Feb, we booked a trip to Africa, paying an addtnl $3890 for business class upgrade, AS WE ALWAYS DID WITH INTERNATIONAL FLTS. When OAT went to finally purchase the air fare in Aug, (after keeping my money for 6 mos) they erred in purchasing coach seats and sent me a refund for $3890 without any explanation. I NOTICED we were in coach, called them and was told we would now have to pay $12k to sit in business class. Therefore this trip is now costing me an addtnl $8k that we never expected to pay!! If I had known this in Feb, we may not have taken this trip. NO ONE AT OAT HAS APOLOGIZED OR ADMITTED TO THIS ERROR. I too have been getting continued poor customer service as of late, since the pandemic.

Date of experience : November 10, 2023

We have traveled 11 times--NEVER again!

We have traveled 11 times, spending more than $110,000 with this company---NEVER again! Booked our last trip with them to Egypt. On our return home our tickets on American Airlines on our final leg were cancelled by British Air. The flight was not cancelled--only our tickets. If we wanted to get home we had to pay $650 for tickets on the same flight that OAT had already booked us on. we were at the gate ready to board and told tickets cancelled. We paid, now OAT says it's not their responsibility even though they made all flight reservations and were paid for all reservations. Beware--OAT will take your money but give no help when they owe you $$$

Date of experience : November 18, 2022

I took an OAT trip to New Zealand with…

I took an OAT trip to New Zealand with Australia add one for $3000.00. Half of this trip was supposed to be a trip from Sydney to Cairns. However this portion of the trip, which was half of what i paid for, was cancelled due to typhoon. i contacted oat about this trip interuption and was informed by customer service representative that i would be refunded half of trip. this never happened. after many calls and literally hours on hold with oat "Customer service" i was informed that the representative had no authority to authorize this refun d and to file a claim with my insurance company. my insurance company is about to deny my claim because oat has steadfastly refused to provide necessary paperwork, Oat promotes itself as catering to seniors and single travelers. i am both of these categories and they have stonewalled, baited and switched and outright lied to me. having to deal with their cusomer service is a nightmare.

Date of experience : March 12, 2024

First and last trip with OAT

First and last trip with OAT. Absolutely terrible. Guide was horrible. Didn’t help or guide us- Hank was his name. He would drive us for hours in a bus and drop us off at museum and give us a brochure to read to learn about Japanese history and culture. I have so many horror stories. Do NOT travel with this company

Date of experience : March 11, 2024

They really screwed us on the airport…

They really screwed us on the airport transfer. Their handbook states if you want come a few days early, your transfers are included. We came 4 days early so we could be rested up & see some of the things in Lecco not covered by the tour. Day before departure we find out that 4 days is to early & we aren't staying in their selected hotel, so, no transfer, which will be an extra $175 (approx). NOWHERE in the handbook does it say that. We argued for 1.5 hrs on the phone but they wouldn't budge. We had even talked to an agent the week before & he assured us we would be met at airport. There were other issues but this is the biggest.BTW, this was our 3rd, and probably last, trip with OAT. If we do goo with them again, we will do our own air reservations. No advantage of doing with them as they don't take care of problems. Once on the actual tour, we have not had any problems

Date of experience : May 20, 2024

I canceled my trip for October on April…

I canceled my trip for October on April 26th. I was informed in writing since I had the Allianz trip insurance that I would receive a refund by May 11th. When I did not receive it I wrote to inquire. I was told the policy had changed to 30 days - May 26th. I replied that I was not notified of any policy change and expected them to honor thw agreement they put in writing. The next response said I would not receive my refund to June 8th. I called and spoke to a rep then escalated to a manager and was told there was nothing they could do their finance department is overwhelmed. That might be a BIG clue for those thinking of booking with them!

Date of experience : May 14, 2023

OAT deserves a consumer class action

Anyone know a good consumer class action attorney? That's what this company deserves. I was mostly satisfied with Road Scholar, but was seduced by an OAT trip's pre- and post-options, as well as the 'no single supplement,' so signed up. I told the Travel Dep't I wanted to travel Business Class, and they made the reservation I had researched and requested. Now that it's time to pay, I noticed that they also charged me $1200 for economy round-trip airfare. Even though their website says "Free round-trip economy airfare!!!" I have never seen anything so outrageous. The customer service guy I ended up practically screaming at kept repeating lines from the handbook trying to appease me, but couldn't/wouldn't address my complaint about paying for airfare that a) supposed to be free and b) I'm not using. The R/T business fare I found on Google was just a few dollars more than what they're charging me for the Business Class 'upgrade'. Please, someone sue these people on behalf of all of us!

Date of experience : August 14, 2023

THIEVES! Buyer Beware! My mother had legitimate reasons for cancelling and even purchased Cancel for any Reason insurance. Allianz insurance assured her she’d be reimbursed in full and then OAT deducted $2,000 from her reimbursement. This company lacks honesty and integrity and we will spread the word far and wide to save others from such deception and shameful business practices!

Date of experience : April 01, 2023

Excellent tour company

I've taken 2 tours with OAT. They do a great job of handling all the arrangements, and I've had an excellent experience talking with their customer service representatives. Their tour leaders and guides have been consistently knowledgeable. And I love that there is no single supplement.

Date of experience : August 05, 2022

Don't book with OAT if there is the slightest chance you or they will cancel

I have had the WORST experience in decades of travel with OAT. I booked a trip for 2024 and had to cancel. I'm due a refund of the amount paid over the deposit/insurance. It has been two full months since cancelling and no refund has been made. I have called OAT customer service twice - one month after cancellation then today, two months after. Both times, they CS reps gave the same story with a slight twist: first call after one month - my refund should've been processed within 30 calendar days, but it was "in process" and would be paid in the next 15 calendar days at most. Today, after two months, my refund should've been processed within 45 calendar days, but it was "in process" and would be paid "whenever finance got around to it." I am going to have to contact my bank for a fraud claim because, at this point, I don't believe that OAT will refund my money and "whenever" is not an acceptable timeframe. They seem to be unable to process refunds, which does not speak well of their financial health. I am an independent traveler and read high recommendations for OAT - not my experience at all.

Date of experience : January 02, 2024

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Overseas Adventure Travel

347 Congress Street Boston, MA 02210 Phone: 1-800-955-1925

Adventure travel with  OAT  is a journey beyond the familiar, one that takes you into the very heart of a destination—to meet people where they work and live. Guided by an expert, resident Trip Leader in a small group of no more than 10-16 travelers,  guaranteed ,  OAT  invites you to explore the meandering routes, the intriguing detours, the slower paths where you can breathe deeply, absorb new sensations, encounter authentic cultures, and make new connections. What you’ll discover is not simply a destination, but a joyful awareness of the moment that reminds you, “This is not just an ordinary trip—it’s a true adventure.” We’ve been creating those moments for more than 31 years. 

OAT  can help you realize your travel dreams for a lot less than you thought possible. Together with our regional offices located throughout the world, we’ve been able to establish long-term relationships with many local vendors and hotels. Buying direct brings down our costs—and allows us to pass the savings on to you. And negotiating directly for hotel space also allows us to secure as many single room allotments as possible for our solo travelers.

OAT is part of Grand Circle’s family of travel companies, which also includes  Grand Circle Cruise Line  and  Grand Circle Travel , both of which provide unique international vacations to Americans age 50 and older. Since 1992, the non-profit  Grand Circle Foundation  has pledged or donated $97 million to more than 300 educational,humanitarian and cultural organizations worldwide, including 100 schools, in 50 countries.

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Activities please visit our website for more information on activities we provide on our tours., please check back soon for tour reviews by overseas adventure travel, overseas adventure travel last updated august 22, 2024.

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