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Reviews Gate 1 Travel Iceland

Joseph Herbert

Joseph Y. Herbert is a journalist, author, and travel writer based in Iceland. He is passionate about exploring the culture and history of Iceland and sharing insights into its unique landscapes and people with his readers.

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6 Day Affordable Iceland with Northern Lights Pursuit

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• Tour the Aurora Reykjavik: The Northern Lights Center and gain insight into the Northern Lights On the South Coast, view stunning scenery including volcanoes and spectacular waterfalls Visit Gullfoss Waterfall and the Geysir Geothermal Area, home of the Strokkur Geysir At the remarkable historic area of Þingvellir, visit the site of the world's oldest parliament Enjoy the warm soothing waters of the world-famous geothermal Blue Lagoon Search the skies for the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis), among the most spectacular phenomena on earth Please note: Northern Lights tours are subject to correct weather conditions and solar activity. Sightings cannot be guaranteed. If the tour is canceled locally, we will attempt to offer another Northern Lights tour on an alternate evening, conditions permitting. The Northern Lights tour departs in the late evening and may not return until after midnight

What's this trip about?

Attractions, trip includes.

• Round trip flights New York-Keflavik, Keflavik-New York Other departure cities available. Click on date of departure for selection and prices. For important information click Flights to Iceland Airline taxes & fuel surcharges 4 nights First Class accommodations
• 2 nights Hella 2 nights Reykjavik Hotel taxes, fees & service charges Hotel porterage Arrival transfer 9 meals: 5 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners with wine Sightseeing per itinerary in modern motor coach Services of English-speaking guide throughout Entrance fees per itinerary

Want a tailor-made trip instead?

Your trip, your way, planned by an expert:.

• You choose budget, destinations, activities, transport & lodging type
• Expert designs the itinerary for you, and once approved, takes care of logistics

Dates & Availability

Check Current Availability, prices, specials with Gate 1 Travel .

The total tour cost includes the tour price (regular or promotional) and the compulsory local payment. The promotional price is subject to change. Check directly with the operator for the latest price offer. The tour operator requires you to pay only the tour price to purchase your travel. The compulsory local payment will be paid when you join the trip. All prices are based on double, twin or triple share occupancy. Solo passengers will be accommodated in a double, twin or triple room according to availability with a passenger(s) of the same gender. Single supplement only needs to be paid if the passenger does not want to share and requests their own room. Discounts can only be applied at the time of booking and cannot be added at a later date, regardless of any changes made to the original booking.

Prices may vary due to local taxes and trip seasonality. Click "Request Info" to inquire directly with the tour operator for the final trip price.

Gate 1 Travel Reviews & Ratings

Other gate 1 travel reviews, gate 1 cares about money and not customer satisfaction or safety.

We have loved Gate 1 and always sing their praises. We've been on 7 tours with another one booked for fall. We were supposed to leave for Ecuador this week, however ...

THE ABSOLUTE WORST

THE ABSOLUTE WORST. Dishonest, incompetent, fraudulent. We booked a trip to Europe with them, and it was a mess from start to finish. The flight that we paid extra...

Joyce Toler

Poor customer service

It has been about 7.5 years since I traveled with Gate 1 Travel. In the past, customer service was exceptionally great! Now I am appauded with the unprofessional and...

See all Other Gate 1 Travel reviews

Tour Operator

Gate 1 travel.

Gate 1 Travel offers escorted tours, European river cruises, independent vacations and customized international vacation packages for less. Our discount travel packages and tour packages to destinations worldwide provide exceptional value, saving our customers time and money. We have taken care of all the details so you don't have to. Find your dream vacation today.

Company Background & Highlights

Mission: To deliver More of the World for Less by developing quality, affordable vacations for North Americans. To provide exemplary service to our customers and to earn their loyalty. To respect our partners. To invest in our employees, providing a safe and comfortable work environment. To know and understand our products and destinations. To constantly innovate and be a leader in technology.

Founded in 1981 with 3 employees; now with over 200 employees worldwide

Headquarters: Fort Washington, PA (Suburban Philadelphia)

Overseas Offices: Hungary, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, Morocco, Argentina, Indonesia, Great Britain, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Peru, Ecuador, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Cambodia & Vietnam

30+ years of providing travel services to clientèle

Product Types

Escorted Tours - Group Tours

Small Group Tours

European River Cruises

Escorted Bus Tour/Sea Cruise Combinations

Independent City Stays

Independent Fly & Drive Packages

Multi-Destination Rail Packages

Customized Vacations (Vacation Builder)

Custom Groups and Individuals

Target Consumer Market

Gate 1 Travel's target market is a traveler seeking high quality, affordable travel ranging from a superior tourist class to moderate deluxe class level of accommodations with the highest level of service.

Financial Security

Gate 1 Travel is backed by the largest, most well-respected financial institutions and insurance providers, guaranteeing the greatest level of financial security to every passenger. Gate 1 welcomes your inquiries of any of those independent offices.

Gate 1 Travel's active membership in USTOA (United States Tour Operators Association), a professional organization representing the world's leading tour operators, requires that Gate 1 meet a minimum requirement of $1 million professional liability insurance (Gate 1 maintains a $5 million policy).

Additionally , Gate 1 is required to participate in the USTOA $1 Million Travelers Assistance Program, requiring them to post $1 million in security, held by USTOA, in the unlikely event of bankruptcy or insolvency.

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Things to do, itineraries.

• Iceland Tourism
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Gate 1 tour to Iceland - Iceland Forum

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Gate 1 tour to Iceland

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I do four major tours a year so I am a fussy and well seasoned traveller .You really have to work at pleasing my travel appetite,Gate1 does a great job doing that ..they work hard from start to finish keeping their clients happy .

Iceland is a land of many geographical contrasts and the Gate1 Itinerary allowed us to visit a large number of dfferent geographies on its South, East and West Coasts .They have carefully selected hotels that provide excellent comfortable relaxed accommodations and meals .The location of the hotels allow you to explore the local areas on your own at the end of the touring day .All of our provided meals were excellent .I heard of no complaints from anyone. Breakfasts selections were abundant Even our Vegetarian Traveller was happy with her meals as she was always looked after by our attentive guide and our accommodating hotel hosts ..

We visited fishing villages ,farms ,Geothermal Power Plants ,gysers ,glaciers ,volcanoes ,waterfalls ,learning centers ,historical churches, greenhouses , art galleries, museums,graveyards , etc etc .There was something for everyone ,We saw and experienced the true Iceland and met its real and colorful people !

For those who wanted adventure there was Islandic Horseback riding along the coast ,duck boat excursions into rivers , hiking , coastal cruises to off shore islands for bird and whale watching, etc ,

Our driver / guide Gunnar was perhaps one of the most happy and colorful guides that I have had the honor of meeting through out my travels .Gate1 carefully chooses their inbound tour companies and this one is of no exception .I always say that the guide either makes of breaks a tour .Our guide always made us feel like one big happy family ,Our group consisted of participants ranging in age from their early 20s to one gentleman who boasted a young age of 87. He was a big brother to us all .

Gunnar was sensitive to all of our needs and accommodated any requests if it was within reason,,,many extra stops were made for photo and bathroon opportunities ..this made everyone happy !! Gunner is himself a world traveller and he knew how we wanted to be educated and entertained .Our days were always spiced with his excellent humor and story telling .

He was a very flexible guide and because he knew a lot of the locals he provided us with a unique look into their private lives and customs ,

We ALL learned a lot about Iceland and by the end of the tour we considered ourselves experts on the subject thanks to Gate 1 . Gate1 Travel .com provided me with the same excellent value and services that I received from them while on their Thailand Tour ,Many of our Iceland tour members were repeated Gate1 clients so I guess that speaks volumes for itself ."Stick With a Good Thing When You Are Lucky Enough to Have Found It"

Iceland is the land of Ice and Fire ...it should be on everyone's bucket list .

This topic has been closed to new posts due to inactivity.

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Married with Wanderlust

A travel & marriage blog.

Our Experience with Gate 1 Travel

Sometimes it’s hard to know exactly what you’re going to get when using a new tour company, because online reviews are very mixed! We found that to be the case the first time we booked with Gate 1 Travel, but decided to go for it anyway.

We had such a good experience that we’ve now traveled twice with Gate 1 and we have another trip scheduled for August!

TIP: There are some easy ways to save extra money on Gate 1 Travel (on top of their promotions). For example, you can get $50 off your first booking ! Those money-saving tips are at the bottom of this article, so don’t book without checking them out.

Iceland with Gate 1 Travel

Our first experience with Gate 1 Travel was to Iceland in 2015. We saw the deal on Travelzoo (5 days for less than $500 including flights & hotels) and it was too good to pass up! This is a destination that WC has always wanted to visit.

We received good customer service when booking and that service continued throughout the entire vacation. In Iceland, our Gate 1 Travel tour guide, Oli, was with us throughout the trip. We added on a full day tour around the Golden Circle and Oli was with us the entire day providing history and explanation about the attractions. The tour included a waterfall, geysers and a national park.

The hotel with our Gate 1 Travel package was Reykjavik Lights Hotel and it had everything we could have needed. Breakfast was included and it had a small bar with local beers. The location was about a 10 minute cab ride from downtown. However, we liked that it was a short walking distance to one of the local thermal pools. It also offered free Wi-Fi.

Peru with Gate 1 Travel

We booked our second trip with Gate 1 Travel to Peru on their “Machu Picchu Express” tour and this time we traveled with four friends! We all booked separately and several of the people in our group were traveling from different cities. The customer service representatives made sure that it all worked out and we were on the same schedule.

Despite some really early morning wakeup calls, our trip to Peru was fantastic! Our tour guide, Rene, was with us from pickup at the airport until we arrived at our hotel. He also was our guide for our full day visiting Machu Picchu. While on the bus ride, the Gate 1 Travel guides shared information about the country, history and culture. They’re also very gracious about answering questions!

At Machu Picchu, we had a large group so Gate 1 provided ear pieces and headsets. This made it easy to hear our guide even if we were at the back of the group (or wandering off for photos!).

We stayed at two different hotels during this trip but really enjoyed both of them. The first hotel was the San Augustin Urubamba . It had a beautiful courtyard and comfortable rooms.

Another thing we love about traveling with Gate 1 is you can do as much or as little with the tour group as you’d like. For example, our third day in Peru was an “at leisure” day. Gate 1 had optional excursions you could choose from, or you could make your own plans. We opted to hire a private guide to take just our group around the Sacred Valley .

How to Save Money with Gate 1 Travel

There are several ways to save money with Gate 1 and these benefits can really add up to help you afford your next trip!

Pay by Cash or Check

First, Gate 1 offers a 5% discount if you pay your final balance by cash or check. This includes most of their tour packages. However, payment for the deeply discounted packages is usually due in full upon booking.

Book your First Trip with Gate 1

You can receive $50 off your first trip by mentioning their Refer a Friend program when you book! Call to make your reservation and let the representative know you were referred by William Williford with Account ID 6168885  and you’ll receive $50 off! It’s as simple as that!

Refer a Friend

Once you travel, you can encourage your friends to use Gate 1 with your referral information and you will start earning credit towards your next trip! Your friend will receive the $50 off their trip and you will receive a $50 credit for your next tour! A great part about this program is that your referral credits can also be combined with special offers and promo codes on the Gate 1 Travel website.

Final Thoughts about Gate 1

We always recommend that you have an open mind. Don’t believe every review you read about travel companies, hotels, excursions, etc. We’ve read reviews that were negative about companies and hotels, yet we’ve had great experiences with them!

Consider this: when you are booking to find the cheapest deal, you will not likely get a 5 star hotel. That doesn’t mean you won’t have a great experience! We’ve liked almost every hotel we’ve stayed at using travel packages (with Gate 1 Travel and other companies, as well). Same goes for transportation. With the cheapest package, it is unlikely you will be able to choose your airplane seat. You also may be limited on how much luggage you can bring. In the scheme of things, does this matter if you’re getting a great deal?

We look at it like this: We’re not spending a whole lot of time in the room so as long as it is clean, we don’t need all the bells and whistles. If the tour package is the best deal around, we are more relaxed about the accommodations and usually review them with that in mind.

All of that being said, we’ve had great experiences with Gate 1 Travel, the hotels, guides, and transportation! We highly recommend you give them a shot if you’re looking for a great deal. Plus, they handle a lot of the hard work with planning!

NOTE: Some of the links on this page may contain affiliate links. By using these links, you’re helping us continue our adventures at no cost to you! As always, our opinions are completely our own!

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18 thoughts on “ Our Experience with Gate 1 Travel ”

We used Gate 1 travel for a 12 day trip in Turkey and it was fabulous!!! I recommend them highly.

Hi Michelle, We’re so glad to hear you also enjoyed your trip with Gate 1! How was Turkey? We would love to get there sometime!

Two friends and I have a Gate 1 tour to Ecuador, Amazon & Peru in September & are looking forward to it. Thanks for the info. We used the Refer a Friend from a relative and I also found a Retail Me Not Coupon for $25 off each traveler. So we ended up getting $125 off the total cost of the trip.

Great idea to search Retail Me Not! Hadn’t thought of that for past bookings. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for this awesome blog and excellent suggestions on travel. Really worth it to hear from somebody with first-hand experience. Beautiful pictures! We are considering going to Peru this August 2019 and are considering Gate 1 as an option. I was bit confused/anxious on seeing the wide range (good to bad) of reviews for Gate 1 Peru tours, but looks like you guys had a good time and highly recommend the company? We are vegetarians – would food be a big problem/issue? We also heard that some of the Gate1 hotels may not be great? We were considering the “10 day affordable Peru Tour – Plan A or B hotels”. Any recommendations on the existing Gate1 tours? I know I may be asking too many questions here. Thanks! All the best for your travels and keep posting your excellent suggestions!

Hi Shree, Thanks for writing! We have now traveled with Gate 1 to Iceland, Peru, the Azores, and Spain. Personally, we can say nothing but good things about the company. We have not received anything from them for our positive review- we just thought it was worth sharing because of the wide range of reviews we initially found online. As far as hotels go, we have always found them to be clean and nice. I think you have to take into consideration that you are booking through a discount travel company and getting a great deal so the hotels are not always “city center.” Sometimes they will be more like a long walk or a taxi ride. In our opinion, that is super worth it for the great deal they provide. If you book on your own, the costs will be much higher for hotel + flight. For your food question: we didn’t inquire about anything like this while there, but can say there were a huge variety of foods in Peru. I’d suggest searching Pinterest for “vegetarian in Peru” and reading some posts on this topic from other bloggers 🙂 Happy traveling!

Wow, thanks for the very quick and helpful reply! We’ll take the Gate 1 tour. Peru here we come! 🙂

Hi shred, We are also vegetarians and old couples, planning to travel this year 2022 in June. Can you share your experience please

The Gate 1 Tours we’ve taken have always had a variety of age groups so you shouldn’t have to worry about that! I believe they will also ask you about dietary restrictions so that should not be a problem.

Great article! Can you share which package you selected when you went to Spain? We are planning a Spain trip this fall and would like some package recommendations.

Hi John, Happy to help! We traveled with one of their “Independent” packages, meaning we were responsible for our own airport transfers and did not have a guide with us during our visit. Here’s a link to the package but keep an eye out, because it was on sale when we purchased: https://www.gate1travel.com/europe/spain/2019/independent/barcelona-madrid-vacation-8dbcnmads19.aspx If you’d prefer to have a guide with you, I’d recommend one of their “Escorted” tours. We’ve used those for Peru and Iceland. Have fun!

Hi! I want to use your referral code but it says your account ID is not found! Did it change?

Hi Esther! I don’t see why it would have (it is my husband’s ID that is posted) but you can definitely try mine: Kristy Williford – 6168895

Booked our first trip and used your account # thru refer a friend mentioned. Thank you! Going to England/Scotland for 10 days excursion and a few extra days on our own.

So glad you got the discount! We hope you have an amazing time and let us know how it goes. We’d love to see Scotland someday.

$50 saved with the refer a friend; Thanks to the Looking forward to our England / Scotland trip end August. Carole

Wonderful, glad you got to save $50 and enjoy your trip!

Hi hello , how are you doing, it’s nice article I’m very happy to read your blog , it’s such interesting content, thanks for sharing with us .

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