Travel companies to avoid?

[OldShooter]

And when you travel, how to you get explanations of the local culture? Especially when you don't speak the language? How do you manage yourself through Customs and Immigration if you are visiting several countries that have strict borders? Or do you just use local guides when you travel?

There is much to be said for going independently and I have done it with friends, but, then I rely on Viator or something similar to help with seeing some of the hidden places, and what they mean.

For us, our first choice is a guide/driver who travels with us. We get to be friends and have fascinating over-dinner conversations. We only go places that we want to go -- no tourist shops that bribe the guides for example. No waiting for the couple who is always late to the bus. No waiting for the ones with weak kidneys. We eat when and where we want, never at boring tourist buffets with lowest-common-denominator food. We stop for photos when we want. ... and so forth.

Our second choice is to use local guides. We try to find them via their own web sites so they don't have to pay commissions to agencies.

Getting through customs and immigration has never been an issue, even in third world countries. Language barriers vary, but there is almost always someone around who speaks a little English. In places that have a good flow of English-speakers, it is very common to get English-language restaurant menus and English-speaking hosts if not wait staff. Really, none of this has ever been a problem.

Incidentally, I mistyped in my post #4. Should be $100 bills, not $20s. I can't edit it now. Sorry.

 

[Dash man]

Whatever you do, don’t use Costco Travel. We booked a cruise online though them for this past January. When the Omicron Covid variant became widespread, we couldn’t ever get through to them when we wanted to postpone our cruise. We eventually convinced Royal Caribbean to let us cancel because of our inability to get through to Costco Travel. The calls would be answered with a message saying to call back another time due to high volume, then just hung up. Never again!

 

[Gremlin]

My brain keeps reading the title as “travel companions to avoid.” I’m not sure what that says about my state of mind lol.

 

[Koolau]

Now that my husband and I are both retired, we'll be doing that first few years of retirement traveling. For years I've been looking longingly at last minute travel deals with Gate 1 and other companies. This leads me to ask if there are companies that I should absolutely avoid?

We used to use the aggregators (or whatever they're called.) More recently, we go directly to airlines/hotels, whatever. There's no way to know for certain, but I think we save money (or at least don't lose any money.) YMMV

 

[ElizabethT]

No waiting for the couple who is always late to the bus.

This is for sure one of the things we much appreciate about our Gate 1 trips to date. At the start of Day 1 the tour guide usually goes over general items, including the importance of being prompt. And to ensure that promptness, we are all advised that unless we have contacted the tour guide to advise there is an issue, the tour guide will assume our absence is due to having made alternative arrangements, and the bus will leave on time accordingly.

Problem solved!

 

[OldShooter]

This is for sure one of the things we much appreciate about our Gate 1 trips to date. At the start of Day 1 the tour guide usually goes over general items, including the importance of being prompt. And to ensure that promptness, we are all advised that unless we have contacted the tour guide to advise there is an issue, the tour guide will assume our absence is due to having made alternative arrangements, and the bus will leave on time accordingly.

Problem solved!

Well, not quite. We had that same thing happen with a Viking river cruise in Moscow. Guide waited a little out of courtesy then launched. Staff helped the late couple get a cab and chase after the bus. I don't know how it turned out.

But you still get people who, just before boarding after a stop, need the WC -- while everyone waits. We were also on a 4 hour minibus tour in Soweto and as we returned to the bus a woman spotted a shop ... "I'll just be a minute." Fifteen minutes later she showed up. Same-o a Road Scholar trip in Sicily: Two women chose to sit down for a restaurant lunch about 10 minutes before announced departure time and held us all up for about 20 minutes.

In some cases group travel is almost unavoidable but for us he wasted time herding the group, the huge negative of dull food, and (often) forced presence at tourist shops paying the guides for our bodies, are pretty big negatives.

 

[brett]

We used to use the aggregators (or whatever they're called.) More recently, we go directly to airlines/hotels, whatever. There's no way to know for certain, but I think we save money (or at least don't lose any money.) YMMV

Same here. We seldom use travel vendor when buying AI packages. The last few times we have found that it can be 20-25 percnet less expensive to arrange the hotel stay and the flight on our own. Doing exactly that this week for a potential November AI booking.

When we arranged or own safari and trip we approached a local agency that 'specialized' in the area. We were not enthusiastic about the info or the prices. So we contacted the safari firm in South Africa directly. They provided far more information, suggestions and we saved a fair bit of money by booking direct.

Not always the case, but it pays to shop.

 

[athena53]

But you still get people who, just before boarding after a stop, need the WC -- while everyone waits. We were also on a 4 hour minibus tour in Soweto and as we returned to the bus a woman spotted a shop ... "I'll just be a minute." Fifteen minutes later she showed up. Same-o a Road Scholar trip in Sicily: Two women chose to sit down for a restaurant lunch about 10 minutes before announced departure time and held us all up for about 20 minutes.

We had a couple who wanted to stop at a pharmacy in Kathmandu. We thought maybe they were looking for a remedy because one of them wasn't feeling well. Guide went in with them. They must have been there for 30 minutes. Bus driver had to keep circling the block because the streets are narrow and still showed damage from an earthquake a few years before and other vehicles couldn't get through.

They came back with several bags and bragged how much they'd saved buying antibiotics there- $200 or $300. They had horses back home- don't know whether they bought them for the horses or themselves. Really inconsiderate.

 

[Koolau]

Yeah, my mom and aunt went on one of those bus tours. They had a blast. Word got back to me from the sponsor: Don't sign them up for any more! I know what they were talking about.

 

[Chuckanut]

This is for sure one of the things we much appreciate about our Gate 1 trips to date. At the start of Day 1 the tour guide usually goes over general items, including the importance of being prompt. And to ensure that promptness, we are all advised that unless we have contacted the tour guide to advise there is an issue, the tour guide will assume our absence is due to having made alternative arrangements, and the bus will leave on time accordingly.

Problem solved!

I was on an Rick Steves tour once where we had one lady who had no problem at all keeping the rest of us waiting 5,10 even 15 minutes while she sauntered back from lunch or shopping or whatever. One morning she was not at the bus at the prescribed time, nobody had seen her at breakfast, and she was not in her room. The guide was done with waiting for her. He gave the hotel his mobile number and instructions as to where she could catch up with us at the next hotel. She did.

At other times I have seen RS guides pull shoppers aside and tell them they can't expect us to wait while they shop. If they wish, they can leave the day's activities. They are not prisoners. But, no more waiting. Note: the tours offer plenty of self- directed time where one can shop, visit a site not on the itinerary or find a nice caffè on a hill overlooking the location.

 

[Souschef]

Then there are those who feel entitled that rules do not apply to them. We landed in Santiago Chile, and there was signs about not bring fruit or vegetables into the country. There were bins to discard anything.
The bottom line was they caught a number of people and fined them. In the meantime the rest of us stood outside the bus waiting for them-no apologies from any of them.

 

[explanade]

Speaking of travel companies, has anyone ever gone on one of the National Geographic expeditions?

Look interesting but very expensive, seem like they're usually 5-figures for about 10 days.

 

[braumeister]

Speaking of travel companies, has anyone ever gone on one of the National Geographic expeditions?

Look interesting but very expensive, seem like they're usually 5-figures for about 10 days.

Yes, they are mentioned here now and then.
We've gone with them to Alaska, including an extension to Denali, and also the Galapagos (we skipped the Macchu Picchu extension on that one). Both were well worth the money.

 

[FIYes]

We have taken one Gate 1 tour. It was a good value for the money. The hotels were well located. I’m not looking for luxury hotels but location is very important to me.

We took 2 Cosmos tours. One was very good and one was not. The one that was not good had very bad locations for a couple of the hotels. We had a couple of extra days at the final hotel and it was located next to small regional airport. It wasn’t the airport that any of us were using to fly home. There were no nearby restaurants. It was an inconvenient walk to find a bus to get to city center. One of our tour group had his bag snatched while he was talking to the front desk at the hotel. That was our last Cosmos tour even though the first one was excellent.

We took a Globus tour in Peru and it was excellent.

I have observed a couple of Grand Circle tours in our travels and they appear to have an elderly clientele. Based on observation, I would say that in our late sixties, we are too young to fit in with Grand Circle.

We also do independent travel. There are advantages and disadvantages to both group tours and independent travel. I really want to get back to traveling post Covid. At this point I still have concerns about being in a group with Covid circulating.

 

[explanade]

Prefer to do independent tours but thinking of Morocco and it might be worth it to do a guided tour given that not speaking the local language is likely to be a bigger issue than in Europe.

 

[OldShooter]

Speaking of travel companies, has anyone ever gone on one of the National Geographic expeditions? Look interesting but very expensive, seem like they're usually 5-figures for about 10 days.

We had been getting Nat Geo adverts for years and DW wanted to try one, so a few years ago we signed up for an Ethiopia trip. We spent three weeks there, with the first 11 days as part of a 20-person photography tour with National Geographic Expeditions ($17,000 for the two of us). This tour concentrated primarily on the tribal areas in the south. Following that, we spent nine days on a private custom tour ($6,000, total) in the north of the country, which has a long and interesting history. (Though not a place you'd want to visit these days.)

I don’t think it’s possible to do a better job on a group tour than Nat Geo did on this one. Arrangements were thorough and precise, schedules were adhered to, and itinerary changes and improvements were made whenever the opportunity arose. For example, when we made stops where walking might be a challenge, our tour coordinator routinely hired “helpers” for each of the several people in the group for whom walking was difficult. He clearly had been provided with enough discretionary cash to ease our way as necessary and he employed it generously.

In making tour arrangements for our second half, we narrowed our providers list down to two: Oumer from Host Ethiopia and another. The single difference was that Oumer (and a driver) was available to accompany us for the entire trip, while the second company's arrangements involved our having different guides in each place. We enjoy developing a relationship with our guides, so Oumer won our business.

Would we recommend the National Geographic Expeditions tour? That is a difficult question, and the answer depends very much on what kind of experience you’re looking for. As I said, it was superbly designed and managed. We have nothing but praise in that regard. But with the NG tour costing well over double the per-day cost of a completely customized private tour, our conclusion was that it was not a good value, comparatively. We do not ever expect to take another one.

Also, we prefer the flexibility of traveling alone with a private guide and driver, but others may prefer a group experience and not be concerned about the cost.

 

[explanade]

Good info OldShooter.

Actually I searched for photo tours of Morocco.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/expeditions/destinations/africa/land/morocco-photo/

I saw this one for 12 days and the single occupancy adds $2300 to $2500.

The accommodations look interesting and they're described as high-end. But it appears if you average out the total cost over 12 days, they're budgeting maybe $500 a night for double occupancy and single occupancy is $200 more a night?

Or maybe the photographer and guides are taking up a big chunk of the cost.

I've seen similar number of days, covering many of the same destinations, for under $2000. Probably not staying at as nice places.

I don't need a photographer holding my hands. In fact preferable to just take me from city to city and give me some free time and some general advice about what to see. Or something in between guided all the time and being let loose to be on our own.

 

[Out of Steam]

After the shutdowns in 2020 and cancellation of travel by airlines, I would avoid all third party travel agencies. Book flights, hotels, and cars directly with the service providers.

I have a long-term difference of opinion with my wife on this. She likes to use Expedia, etc., I want no part of them.

My wife and I do agree that we're done with Aer Lingus. They are unresponsive and curt in ways that are nothing like Ireland in general.

 

[bmcgonig]

I have a long-term difference of opinion with my wife on this. She likes to use Expedia, etc., I want no part of them.

My wife and I do agree that we're done with Aer Lingus. They are unresponsive and curt in ways that are nothing like Ireland in general.

Being from Ireland I’ve dealt with Aer Lingus on occasion. On one particular occasion when I was here in US I found them unhelpful when calling them. Having to call them back I decided to call their number in Ireland instead. I got a whole lot friendlier reception and a lot more help! Just a one off experience but it was notable enough that I still remember it.

 

[ElizabethT]

We also do independent travel. There are advantages and disadvantages to both group tours and independent travel. I really want to get back to traveling post Covid.

Yes, concur. I paraphrased it yesterday to DH by saying that when we travel abroad independently, the highs are for sure higher, but so are the lows. The lows generally being the mishaps or mistakes that occur due to not being locals with indepth knowledge of the area.

An approach that had been working for us pretty well pre-COVID (the 'Before Times' as I'm starting to see it referred to ) is/was to come in a week early for some independent travel time, and/or to stay a week beyond for same.

 

[FIYes]

Yes, concur. I paraphrased it yesterday to DH by saying that when we travel abroad independently, the highs are for sure higher, but so are the lows. The lows generally being the mishaps or mistakes that occur due to not being locals with indepth knowledge of the area.

An approach that had been working for us pretty well pre-COVID (the 'Before Times' as I'm starting to see it referred to ) is/was to come in a week early for some independent travel time, and/or to stay a week beyond for same.

Yes, I agree with the independent stay before and/or after a tour. The tour lets us hit the highlights and the independent stay let’s us explore in depth at our own pace. I do so want to get back to travel. We did an independent trip to Portugal this spring. It was great, but I tested positive for Covid 2 days after we got back.

 

[braumeister]

Yes, I agree with the independent stay before and/or after a tour. The tour lets us hit the highlights and the independent stay let’s us explore in depth at our own pace. I do so want to get back to travel.

Exactly the way I look at it.

 

[Out of Steam]

Being from Ireland I’ve dealt with Aer Lingus on occasion. On one particular occasion when I was here in US I found them unhelpful when calling them. Having to call them back I decided to call their number in Ireland instead. I got a whole lot friendlier reception and a lot more help! Just a one off experience but it was notable enough that I still remember it.

True, their US call center is nearly unreachable. Living near Richmond, our most practical flights are through Boston, which makes Delta fairly easy.

 

[Gotadimple]

I have observed a couple of Grand Circle tours in our travels and they appear to have an elderly clientele. Based on observation, I would say that in our late sixties, we are too young to fit in with Grand Circle.

Of course you'll fit in. Folks are very friendly. But don't judge a book by it's cover. I have done trips with 80 year olds on Grand Circle and Overseas Adventure travel who are very mobile, active, and engaged. You'll find people of all ages with these two tour groups. Sometimes people on commercial tours will be older than you are, but, you can also meet people who have had interesting experiences that makes touring together more than just going and seeing things.

I would encourage you to look at the itinerary, the hotels they would put you up in, and the level of activity on the tour. If their brochure doesn't state that, then call!

If you don't want to plan it yourself, and want context to what you are seeing, group tours are a great option.

- Rita

 

[nwsteve]

I don't have personal experiences with OAT but a number of my neighbors have liked so was considering them for a trip. When I started to research them, I found they did a very DISMAL job in taking care of their clients during Covid. Very difficult to reach, autocratic responses to refunds if you even got a response. Forced rescheduling of tour till following year or loss of payment, etc
Pretty clear that they got a F for their treatment of clients during Covid. If you are considering OAT check reviews beyond their website.