We did our first guided tour of Costa Rica with Gate 1 Travel. I often handle all aspects of the vacation planning, including making hotel and flight reservations, choosing what to do at each destination, and determining how long to stay. I can select activities based on my interests and the time I want to spend. Additionally, I have greater freedom to choose the time of the visit based on my schedule.
Why we picked Gate 1 Travel
During my research on Costa Rica, most recommendations were to visit different areas to experience its diversity. Another piece of advice was to rent a car to visit other sites and have the flexibility to see more places. At the same time, the challenges and problems associated with renting a car, including insurance and hidden costs, were mentioned. Gate 1 Travel guided tour allowed us to visit different areas without the hassle of renting a car and driving on narrow and winding roads.
Additionally, Gate 1 Travel tours offer a great deal of flexibility. We picked the 7-day Costa Rica itinerary, which included San Jose, Arenal/La Fortuna, and Monteverde. Click here to read our blog post on the Costa Rica itinerary. You can also take the 10-day tour, which includes Mount Antonio or Tortuguero. They also have a list of optional activities, which you can add for an additional cost for a fun-filled day, do something on your own, or unwind at the hotel or swimming pool.
Gate 1 Travel Company
The company is headquartered in Pennsylvania and has provided quality, affordable escorted tours, river cruises, and vacation packages for 40 years. Gate 1 Travel offers tours in regions across seven continents. They’ve grouped them into Europe, Asia & Pacific, USA & Canada, Latin America, the Mediterranean, and Africa.
Pros and cons of escorted tours
Taking a tour with a travel agency has its benefits and drawbacks. If you don’t want to plan all the details, it is easier to book with them, and everything is planned for you. Moreover, everything is paid upfront, so you know how much it costs, and it doesn’t have any unexpected charges. They allow you to enjoy the maximum number of sites in the shortest time, with the least hassle, as others arrange all the details. Escorted tours give you the security of traveling in a group and are convenient for people with limited mobility.
On the downside, if you book an escorted tour, you must pay a large sum of money upfront, and your lodging and dining choices are predetermined. Escorted tours can be jam-packed with activities, leaving little room for individual sightseeing, whim, or adventure. They also often focus only on the heavily touristed sites, so you miss out on the lesser-known gems. Plus, you may not always be happy rubbing suitcases with strangers.
Our experience with escorted tours
Booking with Gate 1 Travel helps us to pay for flights, hotels, activities, and food as one bill, and we don’t have to deal with money in a foreign currency. All transportation was included, and we didn’t have to worry about getting from the airport to the hotel or getting to the next destination. The itinerary was well-planned, and the tour guide explained the history and culture of the country. He also provides all the details of what we will do next and other recommendations. The tour was priced right, and we even got a couple of dollars off using the promo code. You can sign up for weekly specials and get emails about the destinations with deals. You can also check the last-minute deals on the website.
Booking Process
The booking process was very straightforward. You can visit gate1travel.com to look at all the tours offered. The tours are offered as ‘Land only’ or ‘Air & Land,’ so you can decide if you want to include the flights. The airport to hotel transportation is included if you book your flights with Gate 1 Travel. You also have the option of selecting your departure city. You can add any optional activities you want to add to your trip on the next page. Once ready to book, you can log in to your account and book using the promo code(if applicable).
Hotels and Restaurants
All the hotels offered by Gate 1 Travel were of top quality. The tour manager assists the passengers with hotel check-in formalities and luggage handling. Click here to read our blog on where we stayed in Costa Rica. A couple of lunches and dinners were also included in our trip and offered three-course meals with drinks. The tour guide takes meal orders in advance, and it helps the restaurant to serve a large group in an organized and timely manner. The tour guide also accommodates any dietary restrictions and offers recommendations. Most of the optional activities also include lunch or dinner. The tour guide provided great suggestions if you want to do something independently. The guide also provides recommendations if lunch is not included on a particular day.
Activities
The itinerary provided by Gate 1 Travel has all the details about included activities and the optional ones. There were a couple of optional activities you could add during your booking process or can be added locally (10% extra) with cash. All optional tours include transportation to and from the hotel to the site. Some activities also had lunch or dinner. The tour guides provided all the information beforehand and let us know what we would see and do to maximize our experience. Here is the list of activities we did on our trip, and you can read about them in our blog posts.
EcoTermales Hot Springs with dinner
Monteverde Brewery Tour with dinner
Selvatura Hanging Bridges Tour
Mishaps
A couple of weeks before the trip, I got an email saying our return flight was canceled. The new flight we got was for the next day, which was 24 hours difference. I tried to call the airline, but since I booked the flights with Gate 1 Travel, they asked me to call them. Calling Gate 1 Travel customer service had more than an hour of waiting. After talking to the representative, they didn’t put any effort into getting us an earlier flight, and we had to pay extra for the additional night and waste one day. If I had booked the flight myself, I might have had a chance to get an earlier flight or maybe get some credit for the inconvenience.
If everything goes according to plan, it’s good, but if anything changes, the customer service is hard to reach and not helpful.
Summary
We enjoyed our tour with Gate 1 Travel and highly recommended it to anyone. The booking process was easy and smooth, the tour guides and bus drivers were fantastic, and the trip price was right. The issue with flight cancellation had nothing to do with Gate 1 Travel, but I felt I might have had more control if I had booked the flight myself. Flight delays and cancellations are common even if we book everything ourselves, so be flexible in your schedule and prepare for any inconvenience.