OAT TRAVEL
 

Just wondering if anyone has taken the OAT TRAVEL tour to Israel. This is going to be our special once in a lifetime trip--for our 40th anniversary.We are extremely active physcally, so that is not a problem. We are are very interested in the historical aspects of Israel, both Christian and Jewish. I have looked at Gate 1 and some others posted on this site, but they do not look as comprehensive as the Oat.They seem to stay in Jerusalem for many days at a time..well, any feedback or other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I took an OAT trip to Egypt, and what I liked about it was the small group, just 16 people. I can't imagine being crammed on a big bus with 50 people. Also, OAT attempts to connect you a little more than most companies with the local culture. You'll always certainly have a visit to a local school and a home-hosted meal. Those are aspects that I like. What I don't like is OATs inflexibility, but I have read that aspect is getting easier. The company now offers land-only pricing for most tours and doesn't virtually require you to buy air from them. The company has its detractors, and I've never taken this specific tour, but for a reasonably priced trip they tend to offer a lot.

I haven't taken this trip, but I went to Thailand with OAT, and swore I would never travel with them again. A friend took the same trip with the same reaction. (From my previous post: "The trip was badly planned, with AC coach travel in the cooler mornings and outdoor sightseeing in the hotter afternoons. The hotels were out of town. The food was dumbed down for westerners until some of us complained, and not great thereafter. The paid-for business-class upgrades for the return flight only came through as we were actually boarding the flight".)

There are a number of other outfits that do small group tours: budget: Intrepid, Peregrine/Gecko, GAP, Explore!, Imaginative Traveler, mid-range: Adventures Abroad, Elder Treks, expensive: Geoex, Cox & Kings, Travcoa - and others if you look around.

If you want more time in Jerusalem, it would no doubt be a good place to stay on for a few days after the tour, by which time you should be comfortable in Israel.

Also consider whether you really want to do a tour. How do you usually travel? If a tour great. But don't think you have to do a tour. Israel is a very easy place to travel around on your own.

I also have done several trips with OAT. For the most part the hotels are low end and far from the center of activity. If the climate is hot you cannot count on AC ( either broken or never functioned) even though it is advertised. As far as being active don't worry. We had be with canes and on crutches that slowed the whole tour down. We spent a huge amount of time in and getting to lousy restaurants. OAT is not what it use to be.

If Gate 1 (excellent) or Isram (located in NYC, excellent) both specializing in this area, don't have the specific set routing/departures you wish, tell them what you're looking for and see what they can design for you.

As this will eventually be a custom itinerary, the price will be higher, but it'll be your trip - where visited, # of days, type of accommodations, tours/sightseeing, etc.

While OAT, to some destinations does offer temping itineraries especially including air, as above it is still a group. And, even though they indicate maximum 16/paxs, they often combine two groups - 16 is now twice that!

Depending on budget, Cox & Kings, Travcoa and even Elder Treks likely to be way more costly. Not familiar with the other names mentioned above.

Good luck.

OAT :-( Nine out of 10 of our friends who have used OAT say never again. Poor hotels, food and cheap time fillers like visits to schools etc. If it is the only way you can afford to go and you don't want to be on a large tour bus or that's all the budget will allow then I guess it's O.K. but this is a tour company to pass on. Even friends who have used them a few years ago will not even consider them now.

Count me as another disappointed OAT traveler. We took their Egypt, Red Sea, Jordan trip in March of this year. It was our first OAT trip, and we won't do another. We had 23 people in our "small group" and we were usually with another group of the same size. Our tour director in Egypt was the worst we have experienced in many years of travel.

I agree with the other comments about the quality of the hotels and food. Fortunately, the itinerary took us to the places we wanted to see, so all was not lost.

I agree with Laurie_ann. Israel is definitely not a country where you need a tour; the distances are small, everyone speaks English, road signs are in English, you can wander around the cities without fear and the driving is not as dangerous as some comments would lead you to believe(although one should always drive defensively). There is a lot of information available so why not custom plan your own trip?

If you are interested in history you would definitely want to devote many days to Jerusalem.

Unlike the other people who have responded, we absolutely love traveling with OAT. OAT gives excellent value for the money. Fellow tour participants have always been friendly and well traveled. This company also has a commitment to having tour participants understand the country and people being visited - with home and school visits, and frequently short lectures about the country. The tour directors have always been residents of the country that we are visiting, which is an important perspective on a tour. On two of our OAT tours, we were actually contacted by our tour directors by phone and email before we left home for the tours. They wanted to know if we had any questions about the tours, and also had a few suggestions as to what to pack. OAT tours have a maximum of 16 people. On two of our OAT tours, there were a total of 15 people, and on the third, there were only 11 people. We have another OAT tour booked for the end of this year.

I have looked at the OAT itinerary for Israel and Jordan, and it looks excellent. We have traveled to Israel three times, since we have relatives there, and to Jordan once. On all of our trips, we took tours - although with other tour companies since this is a new tour for OAT.

I would be happy to answer any questions that you may have about traveling with OAT or about Israel and Jordan.

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I feel that I need to respond to some of the negative comments about OAT. I have had some experiences that were not pleasant with this group; HOWEVER most of my travels with this company have been outstanding. If you do not like getting into the culture, taking the road less traveled (as they advertise) and having unique experiences then choose someone else. If you want high class hotels, gourmet meals and maid service then choose someone else. If you want A/C plush coaches and people who talk about who they know and how much money they have then choose someone else. If you want to lie in a tent at night and listen to lions roar in the background, if you want to have a native woman ask you for your scarf in the Amazon then run back to her tent and hand you a stunning necklace worth far more than your old scarf, if you want to teach a class to African students, if you want to try mixing cow dung and mud to coat a hut, if you want to ride a camel through the desert, ride a Berber pony in the snow in the Atlas Mountains or ski on your rear down a sand dune then try OAT. If you want intelligent conversation around a fire in the evenings in the middle of the Sahara or the Serengeti then try OAT.

"If you do not like getting into the culture, taking the road less traveled (as they advertise) and having unique experiences then choose someone else." That was not my experience with OAT. And it is certainly not the only company, or the only way to travel, where that is possible.

Thanks for the comment and there are other companies. I am looking for one now but not because of my negative experiences with OAT and as I mentioned I've had a few. OAT does not have a good trip to either Rawanda, Uganda or DRC. OAT unfortunately has some interesting places that are either options or add ons and I am not pleased with that aspect. Thanks again for the response

WE TOOK THE ISRAEL TRIP WITH OAT IN MAY 2009, WE DID ENJOY IT, OUR GUIDE WAS NOT THE BEST ONE WE HAVE HAD WITH OAT, HER NAME WAS BOTIA, BUT WE DID HAVE SOME WONDERFUL SURPRISES SUCH AS THE LECTURE FROM HANNAH PICK-GOSLAR, ONE OF ANNE FRANKS BEST FRIENDS, SHE HAS TOURED EXTENSIVELY, AND DISCUSSED THE BOOK "MEMORIES OF ANNE FRANK". WE HAVE FOUND OAT TO BE FLEXIBLE ENOUGH THAT WE CAN ENJOY THIS SORT OF DISCOVERIES. WE HAVE TAKEN 8 TRIPS WITH OAT, AND HERE ARE SOME TIPS I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE YOU, 1-DO NOT TAKE THEIR INSURANCE IT IS NOT WORTH IT. 2-WE HAVE FOUND THAT MOST PROBLEMS ARE EXPERIENCED ON THE TRIP EXTENSIONS. 3-THIS IS NOT A LUXURY VACATION, BUT FOR THE PRICE IT IS VERY GOOD. 4-THEIR OPTIONAL TOURS HAVE BECOME FREQUENT AND EXPENSIVE. 5-LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF GUEST THAT WILL BE ON THE TRIP, THIS IS INCREASING AND THEY DO PUT TWO GROUPS TOGETHER ON SMALL SHIPS BUT YOU HAVE SEPARATE TOUR GUIDES, BUT THIS IS GETTING RIDICULOUS THAT THEY WILL STILL ADVERTISE AS A SMALL GROUP. 6-IN SOME CASES WE COULD GET NO HELP FROM CUSTOMER SERVICE, SO MAKE SURE YOU ASK ALL QUESTIONS IN ADVANCE AND BE PREPARED TO FIGURE OUT SITUATIONS ON YOUR OWN.

Once again I must agree with the people who were happy with OAT trips. I'm preparing for my 10th OAT trip in Oct and have never had a problem on past trips. I suggest you read the reviews on the OAT web site for your trip. The vast majority are highly favorable (Oat does publish the ones that are less so). It's possible to have a bad experience with any company, but some people seem to feel that one bad experience means that all other trips by that company are bad. I've traveled with other companies before discovering OAT and will never go back to those other companies again.

We have had only positive experiences with OAT but find majority of their travelers to be in upper 60s to 80s. Not all, but majority. Is this what others have experienced ?

I would say that most of the travelers on our 9 trips were from late 40's through 70's, with only a few in their 80's. We took one trip to Costa Rica with our 16 year old grandson during the summer when school was out and found 4 other young people on that trip. Also, there were very few times when the older people ever slowed us down.

Our experience is similar to piperpat's. Most travelers in their 50s to 70s, with a few younger, and a few older. Since these are very active itineraries, everyone has always been in good health and able to keep up with the group.

Count me in on OAT's side. I'm heading off to my 6th trip next month. Sometimes the hotels are not ideally situated but all have been clean and comfortable, some close to luxurious, and I've never had a problem with the food. I don't expect gourmet dining on a group tour. I'm a fussy eater and I've always found something that was acceptable. The food on the Morocco trip was wonderful -- lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and subtly seasoned regional specialties.

The negative comment that I disagree with the most is the idea that school visits are a "filler." On the five trips that I took they were highlight. All the participants enjoyed seeing the excitement on the children's faces when we entered their classrooms. Hearing young school children sing to us in English and their home language was a special treat.

Yes, there are other companies in a range of prices, but I cannot believe that they don't have problems or some trips that are not as good as others.

<<THEIR OPTIONAL TOURS HAVE BECOME FREQUENT AND EXPENSIVE>>

That's true, and I seldom take the optionals. You can usually do the same thing for less or something else on your own. However, with some other companies the price is all inclusive but higher than OAT, so if you want to skip an excursion, you've paid for it. I prefer OAT/GCT's optionals so I can decide what I want to do.

Tjoyfin, By the way, I had a hard time reading your post and probably didn't read it all. All caps makes reading difficult, not easier, much better to use lower case.

You can travel in Israel on your own...it's easy, my husband and I did last October.(we're active retired seniors) We did get a guide for a few days and he drove us in our rental car to the Christian sites, Tiberias and the dead sea. He also met us for a few days in Jerusalem so we could more enjoy the history.

Another option is Isram Travel. They can set you up for a few days of touring with an escort and you can do the rest on your own. Everyone speaks English, the roads are good, the food is good, the hotels are fine. There are also side tours for 2-3 days to Jordan that you can arrange on your own either when you are in Israel or before you go.

Good luck, it's a great country to visit.