Gate 1 Travel Tours
Apr 20th, 2010, 10:42 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Gate 1 Travel Tours
I just returned from a two week tour of Thailand with Gate1 Travel and I can't say enough good things about our experience.
I am not a "tour" type of person preferring independent travel but let me say that this trip may cause me to reconsider. From our arrival in Bangkok (from LAX) to our departure there was not a single glitch. Everything that was promised was delivered. The accommodations were some of the best hotels I have stayed at and our luggage was always waiting in our hotel rooms prior to our arrival each day. What a luxury!
We traveled from Bangkok to Chiang Mai via Thai Airlines where we boarded a very nice air conditioned bus. With some planned stops along the way there was still plenty of free time to explore on our own. We then spent two days in the Chiang Rai area, one day in Sukhothai and Ayuthaya before returning for three final days in Bangkok.
Our tour guide, "Oh" was great. She spent endless hours catering to everybody's needs. She is very knowledgeable of the country (a life long resident) and speaks very good English. She also has a great sense of humor.
Should you be considering a "tour" of Thailand please consider this a rave review. Although this was my first experience with Gate1 Travel there were others on this trip who have been on as many as nine trips with them. I think that speaks volumes about this company.
This was a great value for my travel dollar.
I am not a "tour" type of person preferring independent travel but let me say that this trip may cause me to reconsider. From our arrival in Bangkok (from LAX) to our departure there was not a single glitch. Everything that was promised was delivered. The accommodations were some of the best hotels I have stayed at and our luggage was always waiting in our hotel rooms prior to our arrival each day. What a luxury!
We traveled from Bangkok to Chiang Mai via Thai Airlines where we boarded a very nice air conditioned bus. With some planned stops along the way there was still plenty of free time to explore on our own. We then spent two days in the Chiang Rai area, one day in Sukhothai and Ayuthaya before returning for three final days in Bangkok.
Our tour guide, "Oh" was great. She spent endless hours catering to everybody's needs. She is very knowledgeable of the country (a life long resident) and speaks very good English. She also has a great sense of humor.
Should you be considering a "tour" of Thailand please consider this a rave review. Although this was my first experience with Gate1 Travel there were others on this trip who have been on as many as nine trips with them. I think that speaks volumes about this company.
This was a great value for my travel dollar.
Jul 27th, 2010, 03:44 PM
#2
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 180
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thank you for your review. I am using Gate 1 for my trip to Vietnam in October and it's good read a good review.
Last year I went to Thailand and Angkor Wat with Smartour and did not like the tour guide. Our guide in Angkor Wat was great, so I would be reluctant to use them again.
Last year I went to Thailand and Angkor Wat with Smartour and did not like the tour guide. Our guide in Angkor Wat was great, so I would be reluctant to use them again.
Jan 30th, 2012, 07:03 PM
#5
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 16
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Just returned from almost the same tour-- but with different and very mixed reactions.
I had done almost the same tour about 10 years before but with Smartours. I also traveled independently to Thailand as well as many other countries, both in SE Asia and elsewhere.My Sig Other had never been to Thailand and wanted a tour.
Gate 1's choice of hotels was superior, in almost each case I was very happily surprised at the hotels used by Gate 1. However the Gate 1 guide was a big disappointment while the Smartours guide was outstanding. While far from an expert,I found errors in many of his statements ( to give just a few examples, according to him, after the USA left Vietnam in 1975, the Vietnam War then continued for 3 more years against the French who again invaded Vietnam; being told that a store I wanted to visit was more than an hour out of town and accessible only by taxi, to later find that it was easily reachable in 20 minutes for less than $1 by public transport, and much more).
Also the Gate 1 Optional Tours often seemed to bear little relationship to value. Both the dinner cruise and the shows were generally available online with at least the same and generally superior transportation and often additional extras (drinks, better food, and other services) at a significantly lower cost than was being charged by Gate 1. The "Mekong Cruise" we took was a joke--across a small river and then possibly 300-500 yards with both sides of the river being heavily developed (dirt, tractors and casinos) to some Laotian shopping stalls that were selling almost entirely Thai goods and which would not even accept Laotian money. Most of the group went on the "Mekong Cruise" (probably because they had erroneously believed there would be an interesting cruise portion and also because since this "option" was scheduled in the middle of an included trip, the alternative appeared to be to wait for a few hours with almost nothing to do.) Several had their passports "stamped" for Laos-- we did not since we had previously traveled in Laos, although now I wish I did in order to be able to compare whether that stamps are the same. The Myanmar excursion was similar-- while I knew that we could enter Myanmar for about $10 US pp at the border crossing-- through playing on our fears, almost all of us paid an additional $33 (1000 baht per person), which had to be in cash, for supposed VIP treatment so that our passports would not be temporily held by the Myanmar passport officials and for a short excursion and tuk tuk tour(which tour at least one travel site said should have cost about $5 and included an additional stop.) All the cash and passports were all required to be put into a bag.I have tried to find out on the web about this supposed VIP service but have not found out anything. however as our passports were stamped with Myanmar entry, they had to have been received by Myanmar officials (ie--not held in Thailand). Also for some strange reason, our guide refused to return our passports to us until the next day; making me wonder why.
The Smartours guide consistently made outstanding recommendations for restaurants, shopping and other requests. Here also, I felt Gate 1 missed the mark-- the recommendations, when made, were generally to overpriced and often almost entirely empty restaurants or to the latest (and overpriced) mall. One excellent recommendation he made was that we would need an adaptor plug, but while he first said where it could supposedly be obtained, it was not stocked there and then he denied saying so and had no idea as to alternative stores.
I had done almost the same tour about 10 years before but with Smartours. I also traveled independently to Thailand as well as many other countries, both in SE Asia and elsewhere.My Sig Other had never been to Thailand and wanted a tour.
Gate 1's choice of hotels was superior, in almost each case I was very happily surprised at the hotels used by Gate 1. However the Gate 1 guide was a big disappointment while the Smartours guide was outstanding. While far from an expert,I found errors in many of his statements ( to give just a few examples, according to him, after the USA left Vietnam in 1975, the Vietnam War then continued for 3 more years against the French who again invaded Vietnam; being told that a store I wanted to visit was more than an hour out of town and accessible only by taxi, to later find that it was easily reachable in 20 minutes for less than $1 by public transport, and much more).
Also the Gate 1 Optional Tours often seemed to bear little relationship to value. Both the dinner cruise and the shows were generally available online with at least the same and generally superior transportation and often additional extras (drinks, better food, and other services) at a significantly lower cost than was being charged by Gate 1. The "Mekong Cruise" we took was a joke--across a small river and then possibly 300-500 yards with both sides of the river being heavily developed (dirt, tractors and casinos) to some Laotian shopping stalls that were selling almost entirely Thai goods and which would not even accept Laotian money. Most of the group went on the "Mekong Cruise" (probably because they had erroneously believed there would be an interesting cruise portion and also because since this "option" was scheduled in the middle of an included trip, the alternative appeared to be to wait for a few hours with almost nothing to do.) Several had their passports "stamped" for Laos-- we did not since we had previously traveled in Laos, although now I wish I did in order to be able to compare whether that stamps are the same. The Myanmar excursion was similar-- while I knew that we could enter Myanmar for about $10 US pp at the border crossing-- through playing on our fears, almost all of us paid an additional $33 (1000 baht per person), which had to be in cash, for supposed VIP treatment so that our passports would not be temporily held by the Myanmar passport officials and for a short excursion and tuk tuk tour(which tour at least one travel site said should have cost about $5 and included an additional stop.) All the cash and passports were all required to be put into a bag.I have tried to find out on the web about this supposed VIP service but have not found out anything. however as our passports were stamped with Myanmar entry, they had to have been received by Myanmar officials (ie--not held in Thailand). Also for some strange reason, our guide refused to return our passports to us until the next day; making me wonder why.
The Smartours guide consistently made outstanding recommendations for restaurants, shopping and other requests. Here also, I felt Gate 1 missed the mark-- the recommendations, when made, were generally to overpriced and often almost entirely empty restaurants or to the latest (and overpriced) mall. One excellent recommendation he made was that we would need an adaptor plug, but while he first said where it could supposedly be obtained, it was not stocked there and then he denied saying so and had no idea as to alternative stores.
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Andybravo
Asia
7
Apr 27th, 2016 08:54 AM
jspbeutp
Asia
12
Aug 5th, 2011 07:38 AM
