Gate 1 Travel

I booked a trip with Gate1 Travel to tour Italy in July 2020. I purchased travel insurance. I have been attempting to get a full refund since no travel to Europe is allowed because of COVID-19. The travel insurance company, Arch Insurance, has informed me that I will not get a refund; apparently pandemics are not covered. When I log into my account at Gate1, there is no option for a refund. I paid approximately $1200. but have been told via email from Gate1 that I can only get approximately $200. refunded. Again, when I log into my Gate1 Travel account there is NO REFUND OPTION only cancellation or re-booking. Why is Gate1 Travel keeping my money? They didn't provide the service so a full refund seems reasonable.

Absolutely the WORST travel agency in the world.
They will hold your money hostage and charge you through the roof for cancellation fees. Avoid like the plague.

I should have listened to my cousin and avoided Gate 1 travel. My wife and I booked a Danube River Cruise for October 2020, we each took out travel protection insurance ($329 each = $658). We also had Gate 1 handle the complete package for air travel, hotels and the cruise–thought they would act like any other travel agency–boy were we in for a nasty surprise! When Covid-19 hit we wanted to cancel our trip, primarily because I had recently had open heart surgery plus I would have been 73 years old at the time of our trip I could not risk my life without a treatment option and/or vaccine. I felt certain that the insurance policy we bought via Gate 1 would cover this–they said no it did not cover pandemics even with my extenuating medical and age conditions (in the global High Risk category)–so what does their insurance cover if it doesn't cover something like this? When we talked to them when we were initially booking the trip they said the call was recorded and when asked a question about refund for medical situations they said don't worry you're covered 100%! Also, when we tried to cancel the trip they would only give us supposedly a 75% refund and said we would have to deal with the airlines ourselves–when we talked with the airlines they said since it was a package deal made with Gate 1 that we would have to deal with Gate 1–obviously Gate 1's people didn't have their act together and were definitely not well informed or interested in helping us. Ultimately, after hours on the phone, waiting for email responses we finally were able to get partial reimbursement for our travel expenses, overall we gave Gate 1 almost $4,000 and recovered a little over $2,400 which included much pain and suffering in dealing with these people. Relatives of mine had a similar trip booked with Viking and they recovered 125% since because of Covid-19 Viking had to cancel the cruise–even if Viking has not cancelled they would have provided a 100% refund. Bottom line AVOID GATE 1! BE SAFE!

The response is simply not what happened–when we booked with Gate 1 we were under the impression they were handling everything–they are the ones that took all of our money–we never were told to talk to the insurance people or the airline-when I used AAA several years and had a problem, AAA dealt with the insurance company and we got 100% refund. Just read all of the reviews on this terrible Gate 1–wish I had before using them, but our daughter had good luck with them because lucky for her nothing went wrong. If you have to get a high priced lawyer to book with a travel agent and take out insurance that has all kinds of fine print that is never discussed with the customer–that tells you to move quickly on to another travel agency–and please read their reviews before booking–but whatever you do remember to AVOID GATE 1 just like you would COVID-19 and enjoy yourself! Life is too short to deal with people like Gate 1!!!!!!

Our agent booked a trip with Gate1 for September of this year, Gate 1 is postponing the trip until 2022. I requested a refund and they charged me a 25% penalty for cancelling. Totally unacceptable!

This is a great company for many reasons, but number one for me was when they had to cancel our March trip to Prague due to the virus and they refunded EVERY PENNY to my credit card.

I will use them exclusively in the future.

Booked a trip to China with Yangtse River Cruise. Trip was great, hotels very good, travel times good schedules, our guide pretty good and very helpful when we missed our flight home because of problem in first airport. Our guide came back to airport and got us to a hotel for the night.Note much good to say about the cruise. Crumby ship, tiny ugly rooms, food not too good.Some was good but few choices, never even one solid meat dish at dinner, all chinese mixed up stuff, one dessert such as jello or pudding-nothing good. No ice cream ever. Food at land hotel meals was pretty good. For the price we made due and maybe use them again for Israel.. Booked about 4 yrs ago.

Gate1 VP claims check was sent on April 29. Check was not received.

Like the title says, we've used Gate1 many times to travel to europe and asia, to be honest I'm not really sure how many times, it's quite a few. We've travelled on tours enough times to expect at least a couple issues to arise but G1 always has guides that have secondary plans for almost all events and travel. Obviously the itineraries are are great but what makes a good company is the ability to handle the unforeseen. We've seen people miss flights in the middle of a tour, a broken arm, sickness, family emergencies back home, traffic accidents, major event closures as well as people deciding to extend their trip as long as they are on a holiday. Every single time, no exageration, G1 tour guides and the company have succeeded in getting people home or back on the trip with the rest of the group, made flight arrangements, reroute the group to another event/location etc.
I would have no reservation to recommend G1 and we definitely be using them again (as soon as the economy gets rolling again after COVID).

So I used them ten times due to the pricing they provide on their land tours. You have to take the good with the bad concerning this company, unfortunately. Good is the pricing and the itinerary they have for their trips. If you like a fast pace and seeing tons of famous sights without having to plan how you get there, allowing the language barrier not to matter then use them. Their tour managers are always very knowledgeable beyond measure. That's why I use them.

Where Gate 1 Travel falls short is service, it is a hit or miss on the local tour guides. Some are excellent if you've never traveled, and others are okay. You have to speak up if you don't like music constantly being played on the buses. Some of the guides tend to play while you go to one destination after the next. Single travelers, you will typically get the worst hotel rooms, sorry to say, and on many occasions. They don't help with visa's. You are on your own with that. I buy travel insurance, but buyer beware and read the fine print because it is not cancel for any reason. Make sure you can go on the trip since their cancellation policy is horrible, especially for airfare. Last leaving a country, they place you on crazy early flights where you depart from the hotel 1 AM to 4 AM to get to the airport. They do not inform you of later flights to avoid this horrible inconvenience since they look to save on bring most to the airport at the same time. In short, they pretend they care; however, if something terrible happens and the local tour manager cannot help you, you are on your own. Gate 1 travel as a company does not give a crap about you as a customer.

Booking trips customer service is not that great. You can never get the same booking agent even though they tell you, you can call them for all your bookings. Airport pick-up if your flight is delayed or you arrive late at night you are on your own, and they'll give you a voucher to use on the next trip instead of giving you back your money. You have to tip all the local tour guides they have on the tour, and it can add up to a pretty sum by the time your finish. Buses you use the whole trip are typically clean thanks to some of the bus drivers and others not so much. They are good at supplying water in countries where you cannot drink it from the tap.

On the coronavirus, they only supplied vouchers to use on a later trip zero refunds no matter what and they are not available by phone. They don't care what your financial situation is and even with the purchase of the best insurance, you have pages to read through just to say sorry what's happening is not covered.

We have taken 5 trips with Gate 1 Travel and we love this company! Some of our most memorable moments on the planet have been courtesy of Gate 1! Their slogan of more of the world for less is for real. Several people have complained on this site about problems with their insurance – not our experience at all. On one of our trips, Sandy suffered a debilitating injury which left her unable to walk. Arch, Gate 1's insurance company, must have spent 10K flying us back from Turkey first class from our hotel to our front door in Texas. They provided perfect guidance from seeking medical attention in Zadar, Croatia (that was a trip in itself) to taking care of all the arrangements. It's really bad when something like that happens in a foreign land, but Gate 1 was perfect. On another planned trip for 20 days to China, Hong Kong and Tokyo, which unfortunately we did not get to take because I was suddenly stricken with an immobilizing illness, it killed us but we had to cancel the trip (I could not walk) just a week or so before departure. Again, we were crushed, which was bad enough, but thankful that Gate 1 and Arch refunded all of our money. . . . The only quibble of all our travels with Gate 1 is that we were sold some crummy bulk TransAtlantic airlines tickets on one of our trips, that we could not upgrade, without our knowledge. Gate 1 finally straightened it out, but not without a lot of hassle. We were told on our last trip by fellow travelers that their flights purchased through Gate 1 did not now have this problem, so hopefully this issue has been rectified by the company. And finally, we just had to cancel our three weeks in GB planned for May due to Covid-19, and the company refunded our money no problem, unlike United Airlines, who suck. Bottom line: Give Gate 1 Travel a try, it will be the best decision you've made in a long time. [George Clooney, Up in the Air]

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 One 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 notable 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 day after the flight departed that the visas were ready.

My complaint with Gate One 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 One 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 One 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.

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 One 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 notable 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 day after the flight departed that the visas were ready.

My complaint with Gate One 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 One 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 One 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.

Cancelled a trip to Vietnam in late January 2020 due to the Corona Virus and our senior age. Front line Customer Service stated that they would charge $200 pp to cancel and we had 3 weeks to re-book. I requested to speak with a Manager and after discussing with him the right / wrong business model, he waive the charges but the only trip available in 2021 was double the cost. I have tried to re-book a trip that we would like to take but no re-bookings allowed until airlines start flying to different countries. We have enjoyed multiple trips with Gate 1 in the past but are hesitant to book any future travel with them due to their cancellation policies.

I have traveled with Gate1 before and have always been pleased. My friends and I booked a Tulip Time cruise departing April 25th. It was cancelled of course and we were told if we rebooked we would get a 100% credit which we have on our account. The problem is they will not allow us to rebook for next year yet, while new bookings are allowed not rebooks. Gate 1 has a special right now that saves $800. a person but expires April 30th. I'm afraid the special will be over when we get to book. When the trip was cancelled we lost the credit promotions from last year. I feel we are being treated unfairly and should have been given priority in booking.

Got a $500 Boucher for future travel and $238 from the airline back.

Please stay away! Gate one are con artists with no compassion and poor customer service. Would not even give a credit for future travel nor speak by phone to resolve matter. Stole money from me during Corona virus pandemic due totheir own greed.

4 of us recently took a tour to portugal and loved it. Gate1 accomadations were very nice and the tour guide,Berta, was wonderful. She was so knowledgeable and gave us a fantastic tour. Gate1 also helped us make arrangements to stay an additional 2 days. I am planning a family trip to portugal and Spain next year and I will not consider using any other travel system other than Gate1. They are wonderful and I'm hoping to get Berta as a guide again. She made the tour fun and she was fabulous.

I was scheduled to depart on a 16-day Thailand trip on April 16th 2020 and my trip was affected by the Corona virus and canceled. I received my credit so that I can rebook the trip, but the promotional coupon that we used to book our trip that saved us $360 each is not valid now. I feel like it is unfair that the promotional credit that we used to initially book the trip is no longer available to us since we did not voluntarily cancel this trip. Now we have a credit for a trip that we can take on next year that we will have to end up paying more for if we can't find another promo code to use. We are risking not having the date available that we need by waiting to look for a discount code. on top of it not being fair that we are forced to use a credit and not able to receive a refund, I feel like the company is squeezing more money out of us than necessary because all of the bookings are more expensive now than they were before. I would really appreciate it if someone would understand that thousands of guests are going to have the same problem and issue us all of the credits that we use to book the trip so that we can rebook at the same rate.

7 day PERU/Lima/Cusco Machu Picchu:

I recently returned from a trip to Lima, Cusco and Machu Picchu with my stepmom. I'm 31 and my stepmom is 56. My dad purchased this "girls trip" for us as a gift. I had not done group travel before this trip, let alone a group travel of ages ranging from my age to older than my stepmom's. I truly have no words to describe the enjoyment, genuine and exploratory week we had with Americo Romaineville in Peru. He is an excellent example of the education and sincerity that goes into your trip's, and a great example of the strong character of the Peruvian people. Every detail of our trip was organized down to the "t," and my stepmom and I, being two solo female travelers, truly never felt worried about a thing, or that any loose end was missing. The mixture of experiences we had throughout the week, from learning about the Incan culture, exploring and listening to the mysteries of Machu Picchu and Saqsayhuman, and listening to Americo's "behind the scenes" and genuine stories, history and facts about the country and region left me in awe. I started this post saying I was 31 and had never done group travel before because I was a believer that "doing it alone" was best. I enjoyed doing all of my homework and putting the pieces of my trips together myself in the past. However after this trip I can firmly say, if every guide is like Americo Romaineville, group travel is the way to go. I learned history and context of Peru that would have been impossible on my own, and made a true "second family" I will remember forever. On the last night together, a member in our group gave a speech thanking Americo for everything he did for us. From juggling a large group with varying personalities, to making sure every detail was taken care of, he stopped at nothing, and made our experience in Peru one I will hold dearly in my heart forever. Thank you Americo and Gate 1 Travel!

My family members have 2 reservations with Gate 1 for travel to Amsterdam 4/9/2020. (Reservation 1778272 and 1766596). Gate 1 has said would allow rebooking and airlines (United and Delta) have said no charge for change fees for this date. 4 of us have sent numerous emails to the site specified during this difficult Coronavirus period. There has been no response to date. The phone numbers provided ring for 2 minutes and do an auto cutoff. There appears to be no way to get them to respond. I have been on prior Gate 1 trips without issue. I understand this is a difficult time, but it鈥檚 unreasonable not to be able to discuss situation and confirm rebooking over 4 days.

I find that a lot of people use the power of social media when they have an axe to grind, more so than when they actually have a positive experience. After having read the other reviews, I would have to disagree with most of them.

My husband and I and two of our friends recently returned from a trip to Morocco. We generally do not do guided tours, but when we saw the deal Gate 1 Travel was offering, we pounced on it. I will say, however, we were a little skeptical going through a travel agency we've never used before, but what's life without a little risk?

I found the booking process to be simple and straight forward. They are upfront about what they are responsible for, what they are not, and what you are responsible for. I read the disclaimers front and back and they were very thorough. They mention that they are not responsible for any flight changes (as the airlines operate independently), what type of transportation they will use (and if you bother to look at a map, you should know approximately how long it will take to get from one point to another if you're going to multiple cities), etc.

Like I mentioned earlier, we had a great experience. A representative met us at the airport on time, the drive to the first city (meeting point) was smooth and uneventful, and the hotel was as promised. There, we met the other travelers and our tour guide at the orientation. Throughout our 13-day, 6 city tour, our tour manager (Ben), proved to be top-notch. He was very knowledgeable, personable, protective, and you could tell from the get-go that he was passionate about his job and he also loved his country. Ben made an impression on us and he had a direct impact on our experience in Morocco. We cannot say enough good things about Ben!

As for the other aspects of the trip (lodging, transportation, etc.), Gate 1 Travel delivered everything they promised. We stayed at the hotels that were on the itinerary, all the meals listed were served, and the tour bus was clean and comfortable. We all felt we got our bang for the buck and then some! We would definitely travel with Gate 1 in a heartbeat.

This holiday started off on the wrong foot. Arrived @ Auckland Airport … it was extremely busy @ 6:30am … it took a very long time to get thru customs. Once we got to the ground transportation area … there was supposed to be a Gate 1 person waiting to take us to our hotel. We hung around here about 2 hrs looking and inquiring about Gate 1 driver. My cell phone does not work in NZ. Was going to use the pay phone, as I had a loaded phone card, but it required credit card to be inserted. I declined as I had no clue what amount they were going to charge my credit card. Was about to purchase a temporary cell phone, when all of a sudden a person holding a Gate 1 sign appeared. We approached him and explained we had been waiting some 2 hours for him, only to find out he was there to pick up 2 different passengers. However, he did agreed to take us to our hotel. The Gate 1 drivers had NO LIST of names of the people they were to pick up and transport. If they did, they would have known we were MIA!
We had previously traveled with Gate 1 and it was a quite favorable and memorable trip!
I can't say the same for this trip. The country is very scenic and the people very nice and friendly. The tour manager Kevin, even with his bad jokes, was good. The numerous cities and towns were rather interesting.
However, I didn't realize that when we signed up for this trip … it would be ONE long boring bus excursion. I'll say we spent an average of 3-4 hrs per day on the bus. Boring!!! Boring!!!
We would stop in small little towns for some hurried sightseeing, meals and bathroom breaks. Plus we were advised we COULD NOT use the onboard bus bathroom. Wazup with that???
There is NOTHING mentioned in the Gate 1 travel literature that says this was going to be a very long and boring bus trip. Granted we covered a lot of territory, but I DID NOT intend on a spending 3 to 4 hours per day on a bus!!! This should be pointed out in the Gate 1 Travel literature.

Had to cancel trip to Italy because of Coronavirus. Spoke with Shannon Smith about getting a refund and was told over the phone the trip would be fully refunded except for a total of $600 in cancel flight fees. Moments after phone call received an invoice stating 100% cancellation fee and an amount well over $600.

We had an excellent time on our trip to Portugal because of our trip manager Rui and a bus driver Pedro. Rui did go above and beyond. Local guides were excellent, especially Augusta in Lisbon. I am a travel lover and have traveled a lot. Gate 1 provides a very broad view of the cities. No museums or zoo or aquarium were covered on this trip. But the reason Gate 1 is getting 3 out of 5 stars is because of the flights. We were promised straight flights when we were booking the trip. Initial straight flight to Portugal was switched with connection. Then out return straight flight was switched with connection. Why do I want to fly 20 hours when its 8 hr flight to Europe from USA?
Unlikely the flights were booked right away when I payed for the trip.

Reply to Gate 1 reply:
We booked the deal with direct flights guaranteed as part of the deal, payed in full right away. Direct flights were changed to connecting. Gate 1 didn鈥檛 leave up to the promise.
Anyway, I do not want to argue. My rating will not change

I have always made friends on their tours. For some reason they get friendly travelers. Was single when I used them. Fun people.