Many times I have been asked which tour company is best to go to exotic destinations, G Adventures (formerly known as Gap Adventures) or Intrepid Travel? Sometimes choosing between there two companies can be a challenge since both offer almost exactly the same tours for the same audience at a similar price range.
I have traveled with both tour companies, and even though both companies are focused on the same “off the beaten path adventure niche”, the travel experience can vary drastically depending on which tour you take with each company. Here is a comparison between these two companies that could help you decide which one fits best for your travel plans.
But first, do you know if you can handle a tour? Or are you more of an independent traveler? If you’re not sure, check here first to see if a tour really suits you.
So, what makes G Adventures and Intrepid Travel so good?
- They both are internationally renowned travel companies that specialize in adventure travel around the world.
- Both companies have taken the lead in having sustainable trips by offsetting each tour carbon emission or by supporting local environmental causes.
- They have a high safety standard –which I consider is a high priority.
- Both companies have a similar tour classification, which go from budget to comfort. Also, they have a well-developed classification according to cultural shock and level of activity. Tours are family friendly as well as active backpacker friendly.
- They really take you “off the beaten path” in most of their trips. Local home stay and camping are common among their adventure trips.
- The flexibility is priceless. There are pockets of time throughout your tour that give you the flexibility to do whatever you want –walk through the city, visit a museum, revisit a temple, relax, you name it.
- They offer great last minute savings. G Adventures offers 25% on travel deals while Intrepid gives a 20%.
- Both companies have over 20 yrs of experience.
Photographer: Sally Johnson - www.dallystreetimages.com
Ok, both companies look great, but you still don’t know which one to take based on that info. So, here is a breakdown of some pros and cons based on my experience.
Pros
- Very cheap – This is one of the main reasons why I travel with G Adventures. The ratio of quality to price is superb!
- More destinations – With over 1,200 trips, it is pretty sure that you will find a trip that suits your specific needs and wants.
- More departure dates – Tours depart every day, couple times a week, or couple times a month, depending on its popularity.
- Lifetime deposit – If for any reason you have to cancel your trip, your deposit is safe –for life. What’s even better is that it is transferable to another person, or you can donate it to their eco-friendly foundation – Planeterra Foundation.
- No single supplement – Traveling solo? No problem. There is no additional charge unless you want a room on your own. For me, as a solo traveler, this is a big plus.
Cons
- Variable local operator quality control – This is probably what hurts them the most. Many of their itineraries are subcontracted and operated by other local companies –even when their staff and vehicles are branded with the G Adventures logo. Sometimes the quality of some of these companies is not at the level of G Adventures, therefore affecting your trip’s quality.
- Guides are somewhat hit or miss – Following the previous point… Guides can easily make or break your trip. The destination might be excellent, but if the guide is a slacker (has no knowledge, is not around, not enthusiastic, etc), it can affect your entire trip. I just want to point that most G Adventures guides are well-trained guides that are totally fit for the job, but I’ve seen and heard about a couple inexperienced or lazy guides. This is hit or miss depending on your tour.
- Keep an eye on the “optional” – When selecting a tour, check the itinerary and look for optional activities. When you have an optional activity the choice is yours to decide whether you want to do it or not, but doing it comes out of your pocket. If there are many optional activities, try budgeting for them and keep track of how they add to your total tour cost.
Pros
- Very reliable and extremely good reputation – In general they tend to have a reputation in terms of customer satisfaction. They have a better feedback among travelers. Complains about Intrepid are minimal.
- Highly qualified local operators – Compared to G Adventures, the chances of selecting a trip that is run by a high quality tour operator are higher – including the ones subcontracted to local companies.
- Smaller average group – The average group has 10 travelers compared to an average of 15 on G Adventures. It’s neither good nor bad having more or less travelers. It just depends on your preferences. But most people like smaller groups for a “better experience”.
- Most tours are guaranteed – You have a wider selection of guaranteed tours. You don’t have to worry if the tour is going to run or not depending on the number of travelers.
Cons
- Slightly more expensive – Compared to Gap, most Intrepid tours are heavier on your pocket. Still, you need to evaluate and compare similar trips between both companies to see what is included and what not. This will help you establish which one gives you the best value for your money.
- Trip variety is smaller than Gap’s – Although Intrepid counts with over 1000 itineraries, G Adventures has over 1200 itineraries.
- Less Departure Dates – Departure dates are more spread apart than G Adventures’. This might reduce the flexibility of choosing a trip.
- Single Supplement is compulsory in some trip styles – Although most trips don’t require single supplement, some of them do ask for a compulsory single supplement. In most cases it is over $100. If traveling solo, verify if the trip style you are choosing requires single supplement.
In the end, would I recommend G Adventures or Intrepid?
It depends… (mhmmm… how is that for an answer?!). The fact is that it all depends on a combination of factors like price, schedule, quality, and destination.
Just some quick-fire recommendations:
Based on price: mostly G Adventures, but do your research. Based on schedule: G Adventures, but again, do your research. Based on quality: Intrepid Based on destinations: North America – Go on your own. If you want a tour, choose G Adventures. For Canada do G Adventures (it’s their base). South America – Intrepid. Except for Peru, which you should do with G Adventures. Latin America – G Adventures Eastern Europe – Both are good. Western Europe – Go on your own. Middle East – Both are good. Africa – Intrepid Asia – G Adventures Southeast Asia – Both are good. Australasia – Intrepid (it’s their base) Antarctica – Intrepid Arctic – G AdventuresThese were based on experience and reference, but feel free to differ. I hope this helps you decide whether G Adventures or Intrepid Travel will give you the best travel experience.
Do you have additional recommendations? Share them…
I did a ten day tour through Intrepid Travel a few years ago. It was in Egypt. Overall I was satisfied with the tour. I was able to do things that would have been difficult to do as a solo traveler. Luckily we were a small group. The biggest challenge was getting along with the different personalities. Would I take a tour again? Yes, if it meant getting to see things that I would miss out on as a solo traveler. However, I prefer independent travel.
Thanks Nancie. That is my recommendation too. Take a tour if you want to do and see things you know will be difficult as a solo traveler. So far I’ve had the luck of having good companions on my tours. There are always one or two travelers who keep themselves away from others, but in general I’ve had good camaraderie with other travelers on the tour. But yes, I myself prefer independent travel too.
Perhaps another pro for Gap Adventures is their travellers forum-
http://wateringhole.gapadventures.com/index.php
This is a very good resource for any traveller wanting to ask any sort of question about their trips,or about travel in general.
And it’s reassuring that you can ask about anything that may be worrying about your trip prior to taking off instead of arriving up and starting cold turkey.
That’s right Jim, The Watering Hole Forum is another pro for Gap Adventures. There you can also have the chance to meet before hand other travelers that are going to be on your tour. A good way to break the ice even before you start the trip.
I’ve thought about going on one of the Gap adventure trips to kick off my RTW trip next year. Mainly because I’m traveling solo and I’m a new backpacker so I thought that would be a good way to get my feet wet (no pun intended) in a somewhat organized way.
I’ve traveled with less adventurous tour companies that had a forum, it was definitely a plus. It allowed every one to get to know each other before the trip and a good way to get questions answered.
Thanks for the info, I didn’t know about Intrepid, I’ll check them out.
Yes, I think Gap and Intrepid (among others) are a good introduction and transition for any backpacker that wants to go on the road for a long time but has no idea where to start or what to expect. If you feel comfortable with the way things are run on those type of trips, then it’s pretty sure you’ll do fine traveling solo.
Hi Norbert,
Really great article, because I’m sure you’re answering many questions that travellers have when trying to choose between Intrepid and GAP. I must confess up front to being biased, since I’ve been working and travelling with Intrepid for over 12 years, but I thought there might be a couple of other points to note:
Actually Intrepid has never had compulsory single supplement on any of our small group adventures and we have over 8000 departures of around 1000 trip itineraries, most of which are guaranteed to depart.
Plus one of the big pros for Intrepid, we are the only tour company to carbon offset our trips!
Love the GloboTrek posts and how much you help people around the globe make travel an adventure. Great stuff,
Sue, Intrepid Express editor.
Thank you for sharing that information with us Sue. First of all, big kudos to Intrepid for the carbon offsetting. That is a great initiative and a big plus to travel with Intrepid. Sorry, it was my understanding that “urban adventure” style trips do require a single supplement for solo travelers, but I apologize if I’m misinforming. I’ll update the info to show a correct comparison. Thanks!
Both companies promote carbon offsets.
http://www.gapadventures.com/sustainable-tourism/what-you-can-do/#carbon-footprint
Yes they do, though I think in different ways. Gap gives you the opportunity to offset your international flight (I should ask Gap more about this, considering I’m taking one of their tours in less than two months), and you can also contribute with reforestation and other foundations. I’m not sure if Gap offsets the carbon emission of the tour itself. On the other hand, Intrepid automatically offsets your carbon emissions from your tour. They purchase carbon offset credit per each kg of CO2 each traveler emits.
Throughout this discussion, possibly important for all travellers, that we not place one company as better than the other.It’s not in our long term interest .We travellers need companies competing against each other so we get the benefits of increased services, and competitive pricing.
Good to see what Norbert has done in listing each companies strengths and weaknesses, so they can take note of those and improve we it is needed.
We have travelled with Intrepid twice, Gap Adventures once, and will be with Gap Adventures again for 2 weeks in Ethiopia.I’ll be blogging on that so if they aren’t up to scratch, it’ll get around.
Incidentally the comment that Gap Adventures uses local contracted operators does have it’s benefits.Part of Gap Adventures philosophy is in maximising it’s beneficial impacts at a local level, and using local contractors ensures more money is spent with grassroots local companies.And that’s good.
Anyway, let’s hope both companies are competing, and around for us all in the future.Spreading your business between two(rather than saying one is better than the other,) I feel is better for we travellers long term.But let’s encourage that competion on price and value.
BTW, In reality, how many people actually do buy or pay for carbon offsets?
Any surveys on this?
I’m not sure about that, this Idea of carbon offsetting is “barely new” among companies (in general). I only know that Intrepid (for example) already includes the cost for the carbon offset in your trip’s total cost. The actual number comes out to how many people really understand the concept and are willing to contribute with the environment.
We did a GAP tour in Peru. Our guides were great (Inca Trail, Amazon Rainforest, etc) but our tour leader was terrible. She was there to “facilitate”, but she really just sat in the car (although, to give her credit, she was on her last week with the company).
We enjoyed it – especially the Inca Trail. GAP is without a doubt the most sustainable operator in the region and they take care of their porters (nice backpacks, jackets, etc).
We took the tour because we thought Peru would be too dangerous on our own. In hindsight, travel throughout the country was easy and we probably would do it on our own if we did it again.
I’m doing the Inca Trail with Gap in September. I’ve heard they are one of the best to choose from to do the Inca Trail. So I guess you recommend taking the tour with them, but pray to get a different tour leader. lol
Did Peru in 2009 – awesome!
However, the guide was a big disaster – Miserable, complaining, disorganized person.
But I can’t blame GAP for that, I have done 3 trips with GAP and they are fine.
Hey Theresa, so great you had an awesome time in Peru. Wow, it’s bad that specific guide was bad, but I see you’ve done more tours with them so you know good they can be, as well as how important it is to have a good guide.
The Lares Trek is beautiful compared to Inca Trail (my two cents worth comment). The reason I say this is because, Inca Trail is steps,steps and more steps whereas the Lares Trek takes you higher, the view is spectacular with green gem coloured lakes and heady path ways one shares with the Lamas.
Loved the 3 day trek!
Next, must head off to Southeast Venezuela
Happy travels.
Theresa.
I personally want to experience the Lares Trek in the future. I have a couple friends who’ve done it and they highly recommend it too. They’ve given similar comments on the terrain conditions and altitude.
I look forward to it!
Southeast Venezuela… that sounds interesting!
Happy Travels to you too, Theresa!
“The actual number comes out to how many people really understand the concept and are willing to contribute with the environment.”
And of course the other question is, does it?
You ever followed the trail of companies that your carbon offset dollars passes through, and how much each rakes off before you ever get to see your money plant a tree in Brazil or Niger?
Personally, we donate equivalent to conservation organisations working with communities or wildlife in Africa, knowing every dollar is effective at the coalface.
well, there I really don’t have an answer. Or my best answer would be “I just have faith that my contribution is going to the real cause”. But I will never know for sure if it really ends up there. Can you recommend of any organization that has a “transparent” donation process? Be it environmental or wildlife conservation. I will be good if more people get to know these types of organizations.
Hi there
Great article. Thanks.
You have used an image of mine – the volcano one. I am happy for it to be used in the promotion of Intrepid as it was taken on one of their trips. But I am wondering where you got it from as I’m not that keen on it being readily available for use.
If you could let me know, thanks
Sally
Hi Sally –
Thank you for your comment. Yes, in fact the picture came from an Intrepid search. You are now given full credit on it.
BTW, it is a great picture!
Hi, that photo really is fantastic, I was just wondering, which volcano is it? And where?
Cheers!
Charles
Hi Charles –
That is Volcan Pacaya in Guatemala. Impressive indeed!
Cheers!
Thanks!
Really great photo. And great blog topic.
Charles
Good subject for a blog that one Norbert!
Currently our international donations go into child(6) sponsorships with Childfund,
two baby elephants,and 1 wild dog.
Oh and 1 village pump!
Enjoy-
http://holesinmysoles.blogspot.com/2010/03/so-here-is-little-story-of-one-of-those.html
I appreciated your blog post. I am looking for a budget trip with my two kids. In the past I have hated tours and always travel on my own, but my kids enjoy having others to play with, so I’m considering this mode of travel in a small group. Might be nice also to have someone else organizing things instead of always having to be in charge myself.
I went on a tour in Peru with GAP in November 2008. The local tour guides were excellent, especially in the rainforest, and lodging was fine. I loved the country and had a great time for the most part.
The only bad part of the tour, really, was our horrible tour leader. He refused to translate vegetarians’ requests for vegetarian meals, insulted various members of my group in Spanish to the driver (not knowing I’m almost fluent in Spanish), rolled the van’s windows down in 45 degree weather and refused to close them despite many of us asking him to, pointed out dead dogs once he figured out that seeing them upset some of us, and was generally lazy, unpleasant, and helpful. I complained to GAP about him both while I was on the tour and after the tour (including several e-mails and filling out a survey about the trip) and never got a response from them. Needless to say, I won’t be travelling with GAP again.
Oh wow. I’m really sorry to hear that Jackie. Tour leaders are very influential in the experience you have at your destination. It’s sad your tour leader acted that way and for the poor response on GAP’s part. I personally have traveled with them on various occasions and haven’t had any issue, in fact, they have been amazing, but who knows if in the future I have a tour leader like yours that makes a negative impact on my trip experience.
Thanks for sharing with us your experience. It’s good to have both perspectives in order to make better informed decisions.
Jackie was your tour guide called David, he was peruvian and he was sexist and an awful tour guide – he made 3 people in our group cry!
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GAp, are not worth the money. They make you eat at expensive restaurants so the guides get free meals, and change your accomodtion then belittle you in front of the group for questioning it. We were on a tight budget and were made to feel like scroungers for complaining that the indivated m,eals were not included, and the hotels changed to camping. Our tour guide had 3 ppl crying, and almost everyone vowing to complain upon return. Will I hear from GAP at all after complaining? it reamins to be seen. Here is my letter-
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing in regard to a recent ‘South America Overland – La Paz to Rio’ trip that my girlfriend Rachel Mullaney and I took part in dating from the 8th of June till the 6th July 2009. We feel that various aspects of the trip did not live up to the itineray as sold by Gap Adventure and as such would like to make a complaint concerning the areas we felt we were miss sold, and request a refund for the unsatisfactory aspects of the tour. The areas we are concerned with include transportation, provision for meals and accomodation, all of which at points along the journey did not live up to what was advertised.
Firstly the tour is advertised as an ‘overland tour’ in an overland truck. However we were actually given two 4×4 vehicles. Every other gap tour group we met had been given a different story as to why an overland truck was not available and the reason we were given that the truck could not get a permit to leave peru is not believable, as if this is the case why advertise this form of transport?
The 4×4′s broke down constantly (to the point where their road safety was questionable), allowed in copious amounts of dust, and more importantly one car actually only had space for four people, not five. This meant that if you were at either side you were sitting on both heightened plastic ledge and the lower seat. Given also that the suspension on this 4×4 went halfway through the trip, it was terribly uncomfortable. The journeys were often 10-16 hours long and to be barely able to walk for the next day after such a journey is entirely unacceptable. When booking a tour such as this you expect to be very comfortable, when in fact public transport would have been far more comfortable and a lot cheaper.
The constant theme of the tour appeared to be that whilst the itinary never changed, GAP(or our tour guide, it was uncertain as to which) had cut a lot of costs. The accomodation was an issue here, where in Iguassu falls we were made to camp instead of being in a hotel room for three nights. Our tour leader told us that the hotel we were meant to stay in was 90 reais a night, whereas our camping was only 15. Therefore I would like to be refunded the difference for those 3 nights for myself and Rachel as we had in fact paid for those nights in the cost of the trip. What was also massively hypotrical was the tour guides response to our questioning as to why the accomodation had been changed. He was very rude and abrupt and upset my girlfriend. He also declared that if he had it his way the whole trip would be camping, and then upon arrival at Foz de Iguassu he promptly upgraded himself into a room and left us to camp. The fact that we were offered an upgrade to a room for a fee was even more insulting, as it was clear there were plenty of rooms for everyone that GAP just did not want to pay for.
Another issue throughout the trip was the lack of included meals. We did not recieve half of them, particularly in Brazil. The GAP website advises to bring $400 for food, and we easily spent double that. When we would question our tour guide as to why the meals that were indicated as being included on the itinary were not included he was again very rude, stating that GAP do not give him a budget that would cover all the meals meant to be included in Brazil. If we were travelling for a whole day and arrived at the campsite at night he would also say it was simply too late to cook, again getting out of giving us the food we paid for. In Bolivia on a long journey we were once given a packed lunch, this would have been a satisfactory solution in Brazil also, however the guide said that there simply was not a budget for a packed lunch in Brazil.
The meals that the tour guide did include were often questionable. For example one dinner in Chochis was a plate of horsemeat to be passed around and eaten, the next night a plate of beef. Whilst we were grateful to actually be getting a meal that we were entitled to, many of the group were not keen on just eating ‘finger food’ meat for every meal. Another example would be the one included meal in Paraty (out of 3 nights where all meals were meant to be included) when he asked us all to be back at 3pm for lunch, but did not cook it until 5pm therefore wasting our day and also avoiding cooking any dinner. It was at this point where everyone in our group had given up asking the guide why things were not included as doing so invited no useful response and generally illicted both rude and confrontational behaviour from the guide.
Even more irritating was the fact that because we did not know which meals would or would not be included it meant that we would sometimes be left with no choice other than to miss meals and go to bed hungry. On journeys we would be left with no choice but to pay for food in expensive service stations/ roadside restaurants or wait until our destination where potentially no food would be offered. If David had been honest and said ‘there are no meals included in Brazil’ we could have purchased our own food from the supermarket as we would usually do when travelling instead of always eating out.
Myself and Rachel were sold the trip as including a lot of meals, and the itinary indicated every camping meal included and many of the travelling days had meals included too. This is why paying £1150 and a $600 local payment each in total for the trip seemed worth it as we knew we could have a smaller budget as most food was included. However given that half the food was not included and we spent double the $400 estimated food cost, we would both like to be refunded for the food we had to buy.
It is clear that we recieved a cut cost version of the trip that we paid full price for, and this is simply unacceptable.GAPs cost cutting measures for no other reason than to save the company money at the expense of the tour group
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Hi Rachel – Wow, sorry to hear you had such a bad experience and I totally understand why you would never travel again with them. It’s too bad you had a guide that had such a negative effect in your trip. Hopefully the destinations lived to the expectations.
What I can say (having traveled with them more than a few times with positive experiences) is that their tours are not focused on being “very comfortable”, unless they are labeled as “comfort” tours. From my experience, overland tours are not comfort. Gap (and Intrepid for that matter) focuses on providing and adventurous/off the beaten path experience where you will travel in local transportation ranging from pickup trucks, to overnight buses, to trains, and what not. Same thing goes for accommodations… most of their overland or off the beaten path tours do a combination of hotels, camping, sleeper trains, and others.
Something I want to stress is that they don’t “make you” eat on expensive restaurants. You have the full right to eat wherever you want. They might suggest and in some cases push for one particular restaurant, but in the end you choose to eat wherever you want. If the meal is included, then that’s another story, but then, you’re not paying that meal.
Now, I tried to find that exact same tour you mentioned on their site to give an informed response but I wasn’t able to find it under that name. The one I found is called “Brazil Crossing” and starts from La Paz all the way to Rio. I honestly don’t know if that’s the one you took (with a different name) or not, but it looks like the experience you had and described in your letter to Gap (in terms of destinations, accommodation, transportation, and included meals) is similar to what they are advertising on their site. But again, this is just an assumption since I wasn’t able to find it under the name given. (And I apologize in advance if I’m wrong).
On the guide… yes, there I have to say that a guide can make or break your experience. There is no excuse for a guide having that type of behavior and you did right in informing it to Gap.
Now, I’m not trying to defend them just for the sake, I’m just portraying my experiences and what I know about them. Thanks for sharing your experience since there always are possibilities of getting positive and negative experiences will every tour company.
Hi Norbert, thanks for your reply, I do see what you are saying, and with all of my complaints this was still an amazing and enjoyable trip because of the location and the friends we made. South america is so enjoyable, though it was a huge relief to get to the end of the trip an spend a few weekss in brazil without our tour guide!. the trip was la paz–> Rio.
The whole point of why I was so annoyed was the false advertisement of the trip, things that were meant to be included (entrance fees, hotels, meals) were not.
Having hitchicked and camped around various parts of the world comfort isn’t a must for me, but when you pay for something you then expect it.
For example if the itinary said camping then that would be fine, but to watch the tourguide spend the budget on booze for himself then check himself into a hotel we were meant to be in while we have to camp in our tents with holes in being bitten by mossies, with no food after a 14 hour drive in a car where 4 people were squeezed into two bucket seats, with no seatbelts working (at one point our wheel fell off and we almost crashed so this was a consideration) it just ruins the day. If you have paid a local fare for this tranport you laugh it off and take a couple of painkillers for your aches but if you have worked over a year to save for the trip and dont get the things you are meant to then it is not on.
I dont think people consider that they may need to spend a lot more, as costs are cut, and that if the tour guide is awful you are stuck with him! I mean especially for single women, this guy d to sleep with the one single girl on our trip, he later ranted at her for an hour about her being a christian making her cry, and she still had to spend the next few weeks in his company! The guide was so sexist he wouldnt even hand the keys to the rooms etc to me, he said ‘the man’ ie my boyfriend had to take the keys, similarly when I complained about the cuts to the trip he would only respond to my boyfriend.
Our drivers hated the guide too, as he would not let them stop to eat and tried to force them to just keep driving, we will be good friends the driversfor year to come though as they even showed us around rio once the trip was over and were fun drinking partners!
A friend of mine went on a similar trip with GAP and was in a spacious bus and looked to be having a great time with a great tour guide, and seemed to get all of the accomodation they were meant to (but not the meals) so on the other hand I am glad there are positive experiences out there!
Anyhow I feel bad about my rant but I did want people who were in my position to not do th trip unless they have ‘back up money’ in case the same thing happens to them!
Oh, definitely… I’m glad you expressed yourself and let us know about your experience since it happens, not everyone has a great experience with Gap (or any other tour company). But, I’m glad you had the chance to enjoy each destination.
From what I see the experience was highly affected by your tour guide. It’s a shame it happened to you. I hope Gap took care of him, because I believe he should not be guiding tours anymore since he affects a lot the experience of travelers. Good thing the drivers were good drinking partners and showed you around!
I hope this doesn’t prevent you from taking other tours in the future, whether with Gap, Intrepid, or any other tour company.
I booked a trip to Peru with GAP, “Amazon to the Andes,” on a total whim, by myself, without reading reviews… I have to say I am now extremely nervous…. I’m used to traveling alone and am fine with very rustic conditions… However, now I’m just worried about having all my stuff stolen etc… Norbert.. It’ll be fine.. right?!?!?!
Hi Deb – Wow, so exciting you’re doing the “Amazon to the Andes” tour. I took the first part of that tour, which is basically the “Inca Trail” tour, so I can say by experience you’re going to have an amazing time! Actually, I wrote three posts about my Inca Trail trip here. (they are a series, so you can start with the first and continue). While on the tour, there’s nothing to worry about. I don’t think you should worry about getting your stuff stolen or anything. Remember, all the other travelers are in the same position as you, and no one is thinking about that since all they want is to enjoy their time.
The porters are the most humble and serviceable people you’ll ever see, and the guides are very knowledgeable and friendly.
I’m sure you’re going to have an awesome time, as Gap has a very strong stand in Peru, and this is one of the most recommended Gap tours. You’re going to be fine, there’s nothing to be nervous about! Let me know how it goes or if you want to know more about this trip in particular.
Hey Deb,
I travel solo – and nothing was stolen – recently came back from Vietnam the guide was a great guy and looked after us (some might not think so but it all depends on what you demant on the trip).
Did the Amazon thing too with GAP – be ready for fun (the night cruise in a tiny boat was awesome!) you get to check out caiman.
Nothing was stolen – I will say this don’t wear expensive stuff (you call attention to yourself).
enjoy the ride!
Theresa.
Wow Theresa! You’re really a globetrekker! I’m glad to read that.
It’s cool you also had a positive experience and had no issue with getting things stolen or something similar.
Happy Travels!
Great article Norbert – thanks for sharing information on Adventure Travel, and your thoughts.
By-way-of-introduction, my name is Lyndon File, and I am part of the Gap Adventures team. I just wanted to add some clarification to the post by Rachel.
Traveller feedback allows us to get better at what we do and that is positive energy that is created by something like this. As a company we really appreciated the opportunity. Our lead with service culture was all over this, and there were a lot of people in our organization who will learn because she gave us the opportunity, and that excites me. We pride ourselves on having the best possible customer experience and this was not for her and her fellow travelers, and I apologize.
We received the feedback posted above on 10th August 2009. We sent the below reply on August 24th 2009. (I have removed any confidential information and posted our reply below for clarity).
24 August 2009
Unfortunately, the overland truck that was scheduled for this departure experienced mechanical problems and at short notice, we had to provide an alternative mode of transportation. The 4X4 vehicles provided was the only viable alternative available to us as we could not secure a permit with a bus or another overland truck at such short notice. Due to the last minute nature of this change, we could not sent out a proper notification. We regret to learn of their disappointment with the alternative transportation provided, and apologize for any inconvenience they experienced.
The service level of the SLLR is basic, and therefore the type of accommodation provided is either simple hotels or camping. As the group experienced, the accommodations in Iguassu Falls were changed from hotel to camping. Although our terms and conditions allow us the flexibility to make such changes, we regret to learn that a proper notification of the change was not sent. The trip details for the SLLR have since been updated and this change is reflected.
We have addressed the concerns regarding the meals provided with his Tour Leader, David. David has advised that he informed the group during the briefing that there would be long travel days and meals included on these days would be replaced by others, which they were. David has also advised that at times when the group arrived at a destination late, he would ask the group if they were hungry. If they were, he would cook a meal, however at times the group was too tired to eat and he therefore didn”t. Please note, we have reviewed all the feedback received and this concern is not shared by all the participants. This is not mentioned to minimize the concerns, however trust puts matters into perspective.
We appreciate the comments on David”s performance. We are very much aware that the performance of our Tour Leaders is the largest influence on the success (or otherwise) of our tours. We apologize for the lack of professionalism they may have experienced. We have also reviewed David”s evaluations from all of his recent tours and they have overall been positive. Although no other complaints were received on his performance, we forwarded these comments to our Operations Department who in turn will address them with David accordingly.
We strive to provide our travellers with a positive and rewarding travel experience and we sincerely regret to learn that we failed to meet expectations. We thank you for taking the time to inform us of his concerns and allowing us the opportunity to improve our services for future travellers. As a gesture of goodwill, we have processed a refund in the amount of xxx per person. We sincerely hope to have the opportunity to welcome you aboard another worldwide adventure and can restore their trust in our company.
Hi Lyndon – Thanks for sharing your response regarding Rachel’s feedback. To me it seems like a well rounded response and even generous in refunding whatever amount you felt was prudent. Like Feedback, good or bad, is always good to get since it helps improve and provide the best service and experience.
Thank you so much for inputting your perspective to the discussion and for sharing this response, as it helps put things into perspective.
I just signed up for my 7th GAP tour (now called G Adventures…) I had absolutely delightful trips with GAP in Ethiopia, South Africa to Tanzania, China, and India (twice-different parts of the country). I did not enjoy my tour in Japan although I loved the country. I left the tour early and just traveled on my own. I am now going to Ecuador with GAP. I did day trips with Intrepid in Southeast Asia (mostly Vietnam) and loved those too. The tour leader can make or break a trip. I have also done tours with other more traditional tour companies and absolutely love the GAP and Intrepid type tours. I will never do another tour with another company unless these companies suddenly become really bad for some reason that I cannot see. In some places where the language and culture is very different from what I am used to, these kinds of tours really help ease you into it. After my tours I have usually spent additional time on my own and felt much more prepared for navigating on my own than I would have otherwise. Even as much as I did not like my tour guide in Japan, for instance, I would have been worried about trying to go to Japan on my own. By being with the tour group for a couple of weeks (or maybe 10 days) I felt ready to tackle it on my own.
Renee, It’s so good you’re sharing your experience here! I’m glad you’ve had good experiences with both Gap Adventures (G Adventures) and with Intrepid Travel. Like you said, the tour guide can make or break the trip, but it’s good that in most of your trips they have been positive. Like you, I also like to travel on my own after doing the tour. It help a lot in getting used to the country’s customs, language, and travel style. In many cases, it is better to do it that way than to do it all on your own from scratch.
Hope you have a great time in Ecuador with G Adventures!!
Have you ever traveled with Geckos? I looked at them, G Adventures, and Intrepid for travel to Africa.
Hi AJ –
I haven’t traveled with Geckos, but I’ve heard they cater mostly to young/college-like travelers.
On the other hand, I’ve heard good things about G Adventures and Intrepid for Africa.
Sorry I couldn’t provide much more info there.
Good to know. That wouldn’t be my crowd, so I appreciate the insight. Thank you!
You’re welcome AJ. I would still recommend checking out some travel forums and read the experiences of people who’ve actually traveled with them. Who knows, maybe they do have different age groups in their tours.
This is a great comparison! Well done!
I have traveled with both companies and have had amazing experiences with both.
I have noticed a certain higher level of quality with intrepid, especially where the leaders are concerned. It’s hard to hate on one when they are both trying really hard to provide great experiences. I went to Peru and morocco and the US with Intrepid and India, ethiopia & Egypt with g adventures.
Something that surprised me the most was the best trip by far that i have done with both companies was my Intrepid trip in the US. Our leader was absolutely phenomenal. So much passion and took us places that were not in any guidebook. He was really proud to be a tour leader for Intrepid and it showed. I might have to disagree that g adventures is the better option in North America. I didnt even know that gap has trips in north america.
Thanks Theo! Like you mentioned, both companies are great, and from your own experience, you can say that the guides can make or break the travel experience. I truly believe in this. I’m glad you had great experiences with both companies, they truly are good companies, so you won’t fail when choosing between either of them.
Hi Norbert!
Thank you for this comparison. I have been doing a lot of research. I was looking at both Intrepid and G Adventures.
I would like to see as much of South America as possible. I am a 27 year old female travelling solo, so safety is HUGE for me. I decided to look at these two companies because, as you mentioned, they are known, have been around for a while and I feel they attract travelers like myself. I want to take advantage of travelling with a group and go “off the beaten path” as my version of backpacking. I have never done that before.
So I found a couple of tours with these companies, I am looking at 60-80 day tours. G Adventures is winning because of the fact that one of their tours is ideal for my time off work. But I have read a lot of negative reviews about their customer service and tour leaders, where as I haven’t found much regarding Intrepid. So now I am debating which to go with.
It’s a tough decision to make. If I had a friend to travel with then I would plan this without going through a company. I am going to be investing a lot of time into this trip so I want it to be a good one. It seems that Intrepid’s biggest con/difference than G is the money. I would fork out more money for a better experience.
I guess my question is if you have heard anything about both companies’ long tours. Have you heard any good/bad things about them? Do you have any additional advice?
Sorry I rambled on, but I am stuck!
Thanks for your time! I posted in Tripadvisor to get some advice but got zero responses. I am hoping you can help!
Hi RD –
Sorry for my late reply, but I’m glad to see that a fellow traveler and Intrepid Editor gave you a few pointers there. I would say to take good consideration on both companies as they are of great quality. I personally travels with Gap or G Adventures to Peru and my experience couldn’t have been any better! I’ve heard and experienced good things with both companies, so my decision between one and the other would be between dates convenience, money, and sights visited. With regards to quality and experience, they are both great and highly professional. What I guarantee is that you won’t go wrong by choosing either of these companies.
I definitely recommend traveling solo with both company as I’ve done it myself and I’ve met so many other travelers doing it that way too. You’ll see that by the end of your trip, you all will b very good friends. Still to this day I keep good friendships with my “Gap/Intrepid friends”.
I personally haven’t done a long trip with either company, but I’m met many travelers who have done it. Their long trips are based on a combination of subsequent short trips, so your group of travelers will change every one or two weeks, unless the trip is originally scheduled and a whole from beginning to end.
Like Deb said, you have to pick and choose which “bad” reviews to take into consideration. From my own experience, many of the people who give bad reviews they do so based on “unrealistic” expectations. For example… It’s like saying you saw a cockroach in your jungle hut in the middle of the Amazon… um, what where you expecting? You’re int he middle of the jungle, that is to be expected!!
If you have any other questions, feel free to let me know and I’ll do my best to help (and not take as long to reply)… haha
Hi RD,
It sounds like you are planning a fantastic trip in South America! Doing all the research and trying to choose the trip that’s best for you is a big deal. I won’t go into a big sales pitch about Intrepid (I’ve been working with them for nearly 14 years) but just a couple of points to note:
Intrepid spends a great deal of time training and monitoring the performances all of our teams on the ground. In addition to extensive destination training, we also focus heavily on safety, first aid, local interaction and responsible travel. It’s vital that our team know how to interact appropriately in the communities that we visit, but are also able to understand the needs of international travellers.
In South America we have a fantastic team of very experienced leaders who have been with Intrepid for many years and have a proven record of being able to cope extremely well in emergency situations. As well has having an unrivalled knowledge of the region they also have an excellent understanding of the expectations of Intrepid travellers.
Travelling solo on our trips is no problem and certainly not unusual, as you’re likely to find others choosing to do the same. Plus you won’t have to pay any extra unless you wish to reserve your own room.
Whatever you decide we’re sure you’ll have an amazing experience, as South America is extraordinary and absolutely brimming with fantastic real life experiences!
Happy travels,
Sue, Intrepid Express Editor
Thank you for the info on Intrepid Sue! I appreciate it. I am still doing my research though. Trying to narrow it down to a couple if trips to make my decision.
Thank you Sue for sharing your info with RD and us!
This past August I went with GAP to Peru. It was amazing. My leader was awesome! He was fun, knew everything about everywhere we went, and it was one of the best trips I have taken. The people in the group were just as great as our leader… I was only on a 10 day trip, but we joined with others on 60 day trips and they said that their entire adventures were perfect. I definitely reccomend GAP, don’t listen to the bad reviews. They made me nervous, however they couldn’t have been farther from the truth.
Thank you Deb! It’s refreshing to hear your positivity! I appreciate your input. I’m narrowing down the tours from both companies to choose the best itinerary I guess.
Thanks Deb for helping RD and sharing your experience with us.
ps. im a 25 yo female solo traveler. I actually made a great friend on the trip and I’m going to visit her in Germany in may!
This is very helpful Norbert! I’m considering going to Peru this year so did a search and lo and behold, this article came up.
Intrepid is having a 2-for-1 special so I’ve been leaning that way. Why did you say you prefer G Adventures for Peru? (I have never taken an organized tour before, so this will be a new experience for me. I’ve always planned my own adventures but figure Peru is a place that I need a tour in order to experience it best.)
Hey Michael!
Well, just like you, before heading to Peru I did a huge amount of research to find the best company I could go with to do the Inca Trail. At that time I found G Adventures to have “more ground” and “experience” in the Inca Trail. That was the main reason why I went with them. I can say that Intrepid also does good trips in Peru, as I ran across a few of the Intrepid travelers and they seemed to have a good experience there. But, I haven’t tried Peru with them, yet.
In my case, I used G Adventures for the Inca Trail, but the rest of Peru I did on my own, like I usually do. I would recommend you to used any of the two tour operators for the Inca Trail (if you’re doing it… and even Peru Treks, a more local company that has a good reputation), and do the rest of Peru on your own if you don’t mind taking buses all around the country.
Let me know if there’s anything else I can help you with!
Great blog Norbert! I’m glad I came across your list! What a great help! I have often wondered which one was better myself, and although I haven’t tried Intrepid yet, I was thinking about checking them out for Africa and China. I did one Gap Adventure tour to Patagonia back in 2004, but unfortunately it was also with David. His last name began with a C. It must be the same tour leader because he was lazy and offensive to the guests, loved to drink to the point of intoxication, and he spoke poorly about guests in Spanish to the locals (he really should have watched what he said. A lot of people understand Spanish!). I swore it would be my first and last tour with them, but then again, I know that everyone is different. Not all tour leaders are like David. I just can’t believe that he is still working there!
Thanks SLP! Oh wow, sorry that you had the tour with David. It seems like he’s not the type of person that should be leading tours. He’s hurting Gap’s reputation and it is a shame, since Gap (or G Adventures) is a great company. Hopefully he’s still not working there. I do recommend you check both, G Adventures and Intrepid for Africa and China. I’m sure you wont go wrong by choosing any of them. Me personally, I’m doing another G Adventures tour in Kilimanjaro! So, I’ll let you all know how’s the experience with them.
Nice! I’m heading there in 3 months
Which route are you doint?
Doing it with G Adventures – this will be my 4th tour with them.
Happy Trails.
Theresa
This is a great find, Norbert. Thanks for posting this! Like a lot of the recent commentators, I’ve been looking into going to Peru and hiking Machu Picchu and a lot of the comments here are very helpful. I’m taking a small sized group, around 6 – 7 of us and originally wanted to plan the trip ourselves, but since none of us have ever done extensive trips like this I figure an adventure group would be best for the Inca Trail portion.
I’ll be honest, after reading the comments I’m leaning towards Intrepid rather than Gap. They have a good deal going on now (2 for 1) and all the negative comments seem to be geared towards Gap tour leaders. What did you recommend Gap specifically for Peru in your post?
Any comments/suggestions/tips would be much appreciated. I’m currently looking to book one of the tours for the hike, and then spend a week or so exploring Peru ourselves.
Thanks – Jonathan
Hi Jonathan –
Thanks for your comment. Yes, honestly, it is more common to find negative comments towards Gap than towards Intrepid. In the post, I recommend Gap for Peru because of the Inca Trail. I did the Inca Trail with them and they were beyond amazing. Not only that, but Gap has a good reputation there and they have good grounds with the amount of groups they lead there and their resources. Now, outside of the Inca Trail, either Gap or Intrepid will do fine, I think.
If Intrepid is 2 for 1, I’s say go with them. You won’t go wrong choosing between Gap or Intrepid.
As for your idea of going on your own after the Inca Trail, I say, go for it! That’s what I did, and Peru is very easy to travel on your own. They have a good bus system (Seyuz bus) that can take you to almost any part of the country.
Please, let me know if you need any help with Peru. I’ll be glad to help!