Reviews
We had the best experience. Such a wonderful program. We did Egypt with Gate 1 before this Greece trip and the combination was fabulous. The continuity of the ancient history was so informative. Our guide for both programs were so in depth and informative. Rania in Greece was such a great leader. Thank you again for an amazing program.
Stephanie L.
I would like to extend my thanks to your tour manager at Greece Chryssa. She made every effort to make everyone feel welcome during the tour of Greece. Her knowledge of history, culture, and ability to get the information across made the tour so much interesting that we would love to come back for more of Greece. She was also very interesting to converse with as she cheerfully answered everyone's questions. What a great person she is! I also would like to thank Gate 1 Travel for offering such a great tour where we never needed to worry about anything because everything was planned out to the smallest details. We will use Gate 1 for our future travels.
Yevgeniy S.
Trip! Gate 1 delivered on everything, excellent guides, wonderful sites to see and options for more, excellent transportation, very nice hotels, fed often.....all one has to do is follow the guide with flagpole. I never had been abroad until 74 years old three years ago. Gate 1 has opened the world to me. I'm so grateful for this opportunity see places I only dreamed of, and Gate 1 did all the work for me. I tell everyone I know about Gate 1. Thank you!
William A.
We enjoyed our trip to Greece very much because of the great places included in our itinerary. Our Tour Manager Maria was very thorough in every aspects of our daily schedules that made it easier despite the boat transfers to Mykonos & Santorini. She was very knowledgeable in the historical ruins & places we visited. Maria always see to it that everything in our daily schedules was very well organized & our needs are taken cared of. Thank you Maria for a wonderful trip. Tour Managers like you are the pillars of Gate One. We are looking forward to our next trips with friends thru Gate One.
Liane S.
I would like to comment on our tour guide. Christina's friendliness and beautiful smile immediately drew folks toward her genuine and exceptional personality. Her enthusiasm was contagious from the very start, and her extensive knowledge brought every destination to life in a way that felt both engaging and effortless. She kept the entire group on schedule without ever making it feel rushed - always with a smile and concern that made everyone feel at ease. What truly sets her apart was her warmth, kindness, and genuine spirit. She did not just guide us through a tour - she created an experience that felt personal and memorable. You could tell she truly cared about each person in the group and took pride in her role as tour guide. Fond memories of this fabulous trip to Greece and, especially, Christina will always make me smile and will remain in my heart and thoughts for always.
Viline C.
Our Tour Manager Effie was outstanding in all aspects. So knowledgeable, pleasant and helpful. She knew her stuff! Made the trip a delight. Loved her.
Amelita K.
Markella was our guide while in Greece and did a fabulous job the entire trip. Her knowledge of Greek history was amazing! She did a great job and represented Gate 1 Travel with the highest standards. Very fortunate that Markella was our guide.
Michael M.
This was my first trip with a tour group and it was beyond my expectations. All the services, lodging, food, attractions were excellent but what I really appreciated is Markella's knowledge, friendliness, ability to communicate plans and keep everyone on track. Markella is an amazing guide; she does an excellent job! Her presentation style was interesting and entertaining. I also had a great experience when booking my reservation on the phone and also follow up emails were answered in less than 24 hours. Great customer service! And the coach driver, Aris was a pleasure to travel with. Great driving skills, friendly demeanor. Thank you Gate 1...I'll be booking another trip with you soon!
Sherri C.
One of the reasons we travel with Gate 1 (this was our 16th tour) is the consistent high quality of the tour managers. Eleni, our TM in Greece, was outstanding. Her educational background in Greek archaeology enabled her to give us a perspective on the history that far exceeded our expectations. Some of our fellow travelers suffered medical emergencies, which Eleni handled with professionalism and grace, and without missing a beat on the tour schedule. Her English is excellent, and she is a joy to be around.
Melville S.
This is my 2nd time to take this Greece independent tour and I love everything about this trip. Our stay at all the hotels exceeded our expectations, Gate 1 surprised us with these accommodations, and made our stay more comfortable and meaningful, the location of Majestic Hotel in Santorini and the Tharroe of Mykonos is incredibly unbeatable. Thank you. All the Gate 1 staff were professional in their dealings. I will do this independent tour again.
Rosemenia S.
We always have a wonderful time on our trips with Gate 1. We rave about the company to our friends! We were particularly impressed with our tour guide Kostantina! She is wonderful. Looking forward to our next adventure.
Patricia G.
I just returned from a land/cruise trip to Greece. Having a Gate 1 rep on the cruise ship made all the difference. His presence made everything so easy and allowed us a stress free trip. Constantine was the best!! Also, the land portion with Joy was tremendous. She was knowledgeable and made the experience FUN!!
Christopher M.
I would also like to add a comment about our fabulous tour guide, Stella. She was excellent-very knowledgeable about everything we did and saw throughout the trip, even her recommendations for shopping, lunch/dinner where spot on. Her personality was amazing, and she truly made the experience that much more enjoyable.
Elise W.
I want to commend the trip leader for my recent trip to Greece. Elena was outstanding! Her knowledge of Greek history is vast, and she is as natural teacher and storyteller! She was well-organized and she created a warm sense of community immediately, with our travel group. Her English is flawless, and she was upbeat and organized, every single minute of the tour. Also, our bus driver, Marion, was terrific! He kept us safe and always greeted us with a smile. Bravo to both Elena and Mario!
Lynn C.
Enjoyed this trip from beginning to end. The featured tours were enlightening and informative. Our guide Anxhela was knowledgeable and personal. She brought history to life. Would travel with her again.
Stephen B.
We had a wonderful time! I was very impressed with the service we got as Gate1 travelers. Konstantina was amazing! It was incredible how she recited history without any guides. She was the best! Our coach driver, Kostas, was amazing as well! I was really impressed that Gate1 had arranged our pickup to and from the airport. We had done a previous coach tour with another company and had to arrange that ourselves. Also, the luggage pickup from our rooms every morning was a treat too. Gate1 will be our next choice.
Eugenio G.
This was our first trip with Gate1. I know that over half our tour group dropped out to the cruise being canceled, however, they missed out! This trip was incredible! My husband and I had an amazing time and much of that had to do with Stratos. He was so knowledgeable about everything we saw! Even though we were often limited for time in museums or locations to stay on schedule, we didn't feel deprived of the experience because Stratos gave us every highlight that we probably would have missed if we did this on our own. He has a passion and love for his country that was contagious and rubbed off on us! I can't imagine another trip being better than this one (but that won't stop us from trying out another one). If we had a chance to take another tour with him, we would jump on it...maybe in the islands of Greece that we didn't get to see on this tour. The couples that dropped out missed out on so much! Thank you for making this tour a reality. It was amazing!
Elaine H.
Had an amazing trip to Greece. Our tour manager, Konstantina, was amazing. I learned so many interesting things about the area. She was engaging, and you could tell she enjoyed what she did. None of her dialogue sounded scripted, which is impressive for someone who does this multiple times. Our coach driver, Nikos, deserves a medal for getting us to and from on crowded streets. This was my first time using Gate 1 Travel, and my husband and I were impressed with how many things we were able to see and experience in 10 days. I will absolutely use Gate 1 Travel in the future for overseas trips.
Jennifer T.
Would like to express how incredibly professional and amazing my experience has been with gate 1. My team manager Nick is by far an absolutely amazing human . The passion is gives to his tour is incredible. You can tell he genuinely loves his job the way he speaks about the tour with such passion is just an amazing experience to live as my first time with gate one I can absolutely say I will be booking again. Nick has made this experience, incredible and unforgettable. It's a dream come true. Without the passion that Nick puts into his tour, I don't think that it would have been such an incredible trip.
Debby R.
Marianna based in Athens Greece is the Absolute BEST! She made the trip enjoyable and relaxing. Gate 1 is fortunate to have her working on the team.
John P.
Jenny, our tour guide, was exceptional! Her knowledge of the history or Greece as well as current culture really made our trip come to life. She has an obvious love for her country and culture that she passed on to the group. All our bus drivers were very skilled in navigating narrow streets and traffic. Very impressive. Please pass on our sincerest appreciation to all. We will travel with Gate 1 again.
Nancy R.
Our tour guide, Efi was spectacular! Her ability to create a 'family' from a group of strangers was over the top. The best I have encountered. She has this gift and it is a tremendous asset to Gate 1. It is very hard to imagine there is anyone else who could surpass this ability and care. She was also, extremely knowledgeable and articulated in clear detail for every day of the trip. I know she worked very hard to meet the changing weather and our individual requests.
Charles M.
I am very satisfied with my trip with gate 1 from March 23 - April 3. First off with the great customer service with our travel agent, Mark and the rest of the department who are very helpful and accommodating with our needs. On top of it our tour manager, Maria was hands on with our group making sure everyone is okay until the last day on our return to Athens. Maria made our trip interesting with her knowledgeable history from the sites we visited. She did an excellent job! Wishing continued success to your company.
Elizabeth M.
Just a short and brief praise for Maria on my Greece w/Crete tour. She was awesome! Her knowledge of the history of all the historic sites was amazing. Gate1 continues to amaze me with professional tour guides. Not only that but their personalities complement the ease of their organizational abilities. I had a great time as always with Gate1. Maria is a true asset for your company! I'm sure I can speak for the whole group. Thank you Maria for the memories of this tour.
Michael D.
I would like to reiterate what a wonderful tour guide Zeta was! Her knowledge of Greek history is extensive and flows without hesitation. One can see the passion she has for the history when she speaks. She also is a very caring person and always thought of the needs of the group. She made the tour 100% more enjoyable for us! We can't recommend her more highly!
Deborah P.
We had the most wonderful experience visiting Greece. This was our first trip using Gate1. Our tour director, Eva, was absolutely the best there is. She is very proud of her country, proud to be Greek and wanting to share her country with us. She gave us exceptional details of everything we saw or would see. The story she told at the Olympic site regarding the 4-time champion, his sons and daughter left me empathetic about their plight. It seemed like it just happened yesterday. Living history. Eva was always looking after us. Her energy was never ending.
Regina I.
Booking the trip with Gate 1 was very easy and smooth, extremely hassle- free and very methodical. The process is so streamlined: all you do is pick your trip, make the payments and enjoy the trip! They take care of everything! We took the 8 Day Classic to Greece - Athens, Olympia, Delphi, Kalambaka and Meteora. All the hotels were very well located in each of these places, the buses were neat, clean and on time making the journey through not just the geography, but even the history, ever so memorable. Our Bus Driver Socrates, was just as fantastic and bowled us over when he parked a gigantic 53-seater bus in reverse on a skinny windy uphill street!! Very very impressive! Our Tour Manager, Yiannis was super fabulous! He was extremely knowledgeable, witty, patient, so attentive and very dedicated to all of us. He answered all and any of our questions, in great detail and made it so interesting. We had an extremely memorable and enriching experience of Greece, thanks to him! He educated us not only with the history dating back to centuries BC, but also familiarized us with the cultures, traditions, values that make the very fabric of Greece. Thanks to him, we love Greece even more than we thought. His recommendations on food, souvenirs and Greek specialties were spot on! Yiannis went out of his way to be ever so kind and helpful in arranging for our transport to the airport, because of a last-minute Taxi strike. We would absolutely recommend Gate 1 and Yiannis any time, hands down!
Shreyas R.
I just wanted to express how wonderful our tour guide, Eva, was. She was so knowledgeable about the historical portions of our tour that I wish she could just pour her knowledge into my brain as it just couldn't absorb it all. She was friendly, caring and warm. I am so happy that we had her as our guide. I hope in the future we are on another tour with her. She really was exceptional.
Sandra C.
My trip to Greece was amazing! Once again Gate1 has provided me with experiences of breathtaking sights, cultural immersion and flawless planning. It was such an affordable trip, yet all the experiences were first class. I was especially impressed with our tour guide. She was a pleasure to travel with and especially patient with a variety of passengers. She had a range of ages from 12 to 80 and yet her overviews of each site made the history come to life. Thank you for your outstanding service and I am sure I will be traveling with you again.
Colleen R.
Our trip to Athens and beyond was amazing. Our tour guide, Demetra, had all the answers...both to questions about arrangements and also about the history and geography of the sites we visited. She was kind, well organized, and all we could want on our first trip to Greece.
George M.
Amazing! This was my 5th trip With Gate 1 and I can honestly say I'll Never travel with another company. Our tour manager was brilliant. Everything ran smoothly and the added things like the lunch with cooking class and dancing lessons were beyond fun.
Kirstan T.
We just completed the 7 day essential Greece tour. Our tour manager Rania was amazing! Gate 1 does a fantastic job of finding the best tour guides in the industry and she helped to make our tour enjoyable and memorable. Thank you for another great trip, Gate 1!
Elizabeth H.
I wanted to follow up on the survey I recently completed to let Gate 1 know how utterly fantastic our tour guide, Rania, was! She was perfect in every way, and she put a great deal of effort into ensuring we knew the schedule, had regular bathroom breaks, and enjoyed timely food stops. She provided a wonderful balance of engaging us and yet allowing time for breaks when we might need some downtime on the bus. She also made sure that we rotated seats on the bus every day. She was highly organized, so everything ran like clockwork -- yet things did not feel overly structured. Rania is also incredibly knowledgeable about history, landmarks, and archeology. She knows the dates for everything. She was so eager to share information, which made our time with her so very interesting. She gave us helpful tips such as when we'd be back in the Plaka area for shopping, so we wouldn't have to carry our purchases throughout the entire week. That was such a helpful hint. Rania deserves high praise! Also, our bus driver, Alex, was wonderful! He was so courteous and professional. And boy, does he know how to drive a big, long bus! He got us safely through very narrow streets in tiny villages, and he was required to make a very long and impressive backup to one of our hotels, also through a narrow passageway. Alex and Rania made a great team! Thank you so much!
Jane G.
The Greece trip was amazing. I enjoyed every excursion, breakfast, dinner and all the time I was with Nina the tour guide. She is very knowledgeable, attentive and gentle. I loved her personality. She did an amazing job.
Adelita C.
From the moment we landed in Athens, every single detail felt guided, organized, and steady, even when things around us (like canceled flights and changing schedules) weren't. Our transfers were seamless, our hotel stay at The Stanley was easy and comfortable, and every part of our three-day Aegean cruise unfolded effortlessly. Even when we hit unexpected travel issues later in the journey, Gate 1's structure gave us something solid to rely on. That alone was worth its weight in gold. But the true heart of this trip was Maria, our tour guide. Exceptional doesn't even begin to describe her. She was warm, knowledgeable, and unshakably calm-one of those rare people who can make a group instantly feel grounded and taken care of. She somehow managed to weave history, humor, culture, and guidance together in a way that made everything feel personal. She remembered the details, answered every question, checked on each of us, and made sure we never felt lost-whether we were navigating Athens, the Acropolis, the cruise schedule, or a new island at sunset. By the end, she felt less like a guide and more like someone you genuinely hope stays in your life. She told me to find her on Facebook so we could keep in touch, and of course that's when I realized I didn't have her last name-because she's simply "Maria," the way someone unforgettable only needs one name. Gate 1 turned what could have been a stressful first international trip into something beautiful, smooth, and full of once-in-a-lifetime moments: wandering Mykonos at night, standing above Santorini's caldera, exploring Ephesus, watching sunsets we'll remember forever. My boss always said Gate 1 was the best. After this experience, I can say with certainty-she was absolutely right.
Heather H.
I wanted to take the time to comment on our experience with Yiannis, our tour guide for Athens & Greece, prior to the 4-day Aegian cruise. Yiannis was amazing. He was not only extremely knowledgeable of Athens, Olympia, Delphi, Crete, he also shared valuable cultural information. He was personable, friendly, and punctual, and always took time to confirm that everyone understood what was expected at each location. He was patient. He was very concise. What we enjoyed the most about Yiannis is that he was very passionate about GREECE, and tried to pass it on to his tour group. He helped us experience Greece in a way that we could never do on our own! The rest of the trip (cruise portion with Panos, Nicholas, and Isadoro) paled in comparison to our experience with Yiannis on the land portion of the trip. He is a great asset to Gate-1!
Catherine E.
Vivian was an EXCELLENT guide, definitely the best tour guide Ive had to date. Vivian's historical knowledge and ability to communicate was thorough. I received everything I wanted on this tour -Thank you!
Marguerite G.
I wanted to express kudos to Rania. She is in a class by herself. Her attention to detail, professionalism and ability to manage a heterogeneous group was evident from the moment the tour began. Her being an anthropologist with an amazing command of her country's history made for an exemplary experience. You have a gem on your staff.
Linda H.
I'd like to give additional props to our tour guide, Murat. He was exceptional in every way - I marveled at how he was able to corral 40 people, make everyone feel "at home", keep us organized, and make it look absolutely effortless- incredible! In addition, his extreme knowledge, passion, and enthusiasm for our tour history and subject matters was truly unparalleled. I (and everyone on the tour), learned so much about Turkey and Greece from him. This, combined with his welcoming personality and delightful humor, just wrapped it all up to be an amazing experience!
Grace C.
Our tour manager, Efi, is very knowledgeable and friendly. She showed a lot of passion on Greek history and mythology. It was great to have her as our tour manager.
Ilan S.
My husband and I had the best time with Gate 1. We will be back for more tours. Katerina, our tour guide in Greece was wonderful!! She was able to make the entire trip fun and keep 40 people organized and share a wealth of knowledge about the Greek culture and history. We appreciated seeing so many interesting places, planned excursions, tasting a large variety of Greek foods. If we had planned a trip ourselves, we would have had the pressure of figuring out how to get to places and what to do. With Gate 1 you took all that pressure away and we were able to totally relax and have fun. We became friends with our bus driver, Giannis too. He was a delight. The cost of the trip was affordable. As I said above, we will be back.
Kathy V.
Our last Discovery 13 days Greece the Birthplace of Civilization trip was exceptionally great. We were 9 of us in our group with 10 others. Our Tour guide Eva was amazing. Well-read and very proud of her culture and heritage. She was so good that the whole group felt like was a family. In our group we were 6 of us who were vegetarian and Eva went out of her way to provide us with the best local meals. At one restaurant when the meal was not acceptable, she made sure they replaced it with something which was acceptable. There were times our day started at 8.00 am. This was to beat the traffic and crowds. We can give EVA five for her great service. We would NOT like to forget the coach driver Plato. We wish to have him drive us on our future trips. Greece streets are very narrow with cars parked on either side. Plato knew what he was against. So precise in his driving. Besides he took care of the coach and kept it very clean. Overall, we were all very happy with Gate 1 Travel. Truly "MORE OF THE WORLD FOR LESS!"
Dhrulata P.
I would like to just say that every tour guide we had on this vacation did an amazing job. They were friendly, professional and helpful with every move we made. I would like to give special recognition to Vivian, who was brilliant, fun, professional and overall, the best tour guide I have ever had. I had tears in my eyes when we said good-bye. Thank you for employing people that have such high levels of people skills along with significant knowledge and great pleasure in doing their jobs.
AnneMarie M.
I just wanted to say what a great level of service our tour guide, Maria, provided on our trip to Greece. She was very knowledgeable of all locations we visited and was able to answer all questions the group asked. She was also very punctual, accommodating, friendly and kept everything running smoothly. I don't know what more a guide could have done to provide a wonderful, memorable experience. She is a real asset to your organization.
Martin F.
This was our first trip with Gate1 Travel. Overall, our trip to Greece & Crete was wonderful. The 2 tour managers who were on our trip (Athina in Crete and Georgina in mainland Greece) were absolutely amazing. They were both very knowledgeable about the sites we saw. They provided content about the sites along with Greek mythology in a way that was fun and factual. They were both professional and personable. We very much enjoyed the various sites we visited and the hotels and food were excellent. We look forward to selecting our next overseas trip with Gate1.
Kenneth G.
It was absolutely fabulous, hiking from Fira to Oia was on my list...CHECKED!!! Dimitris and Dionysis was awesome tour managers/guides, plus we had a great group of people!
Cynthia O.
Very nice! Our guide, Constantino, really enjoys his work and truly could be a professor of Greek history and mythology. We learned so much, and not at the cost of having lots of fun too. Not to mention delicious food and wine!
Philip R.
I wanted to tell you that our Tour Manager for Greece, Mara, was amazing! She was fun, very knowledgeable and extremely organized. We really enjoyed her personality and all the history she gave us. She really made our tour! Also, while on the Celestial Journey, our bartenders, JD and Mark, were amazing! Very friendly and entertaining! We really enjoyed their magic show!
Diane G.
We really enjoyed our trip. Demetra, the tour guide, was outstanding. The trip was well organized and the accommodations were very nice. The bus drivers were amazing with their excellent skills at maneuvering the bus in small areas. A+ for them. The trip and tour exceeded our expectations.
Barry H.
Rania was an amazing book of knowledge. She took great care of us and was so organized and gave us so much great information. She kept us ahead of the crowds and hot weather. Wonderful tour guide! Panos brought such positive energy and spirit to our cruise and excursions. Such a blessing to have met him! Also, our driver in Greece, Kostas, took great care of our safety for all of our drives. Very nice man too. I look forward to another Gate 1 adventure!
Rachel J.




