Surprised is not the word to describe our Japan vacation. We were amazed by the friendliness of the people and the cleanliness of the cities and entire country. Our tour guide, Yoyo, was very detailed and encompassing throughout the entire trip from the smallest personal details to navigating the crowded train terminals so that our group is not separated. She gave insight to the history and brought the events to light as what transformed Japan to the 21st century. She was very communicative, friendly, polite, kind, and worked tirelessly to ensure that we had an exceptional trip and experience. What a wonderful tour guide for a wonderful trip!

I just wanted to say that Anup, our tour guide, was fantastic in every way! He truly looked after us and provided that extra something that only the best tour guides can do. Anup deserves high praise for his knowledge, friendly and funny personality, and his level of care for myself and our group that was unmatched by any other tour guides I've had!

My husband and I took this trip because of the Great Silk Road. Our expectations were beyond our beliefs. We were so impressed with the country's history and culture, most especially the people of Uzbekistan. We were in so much awe of the mosques and madrasas built intricately and elaborately with mosaics of blue tiles. Admiringly, the people are so friendly and helpful. In many instances when we did our own sightseeing, such as the Metro Stations, the Orthodox Church and the Catholic church of the Assumption and the Sacred Heart of Jesus respectively, The Hotel Uzbekistan, the Amir Temur Square and the Seoul Mun, random citizens were eagerly assisting us with taxis and directions. Ilkhom, our tour manager was a huge part in our positive experiences, learning about the Silk Road in Uzbekistan, sharing to us his vast knowledge of his country.

I just returned from the 15 day China with Yangtze River trip. This trip was excellent. Everything about it was beyond expectation. Our tour guide in China ( Maggie), is outstanding and should be commended on the handling and expertise on the entire trip. She went out of her way to make sure everyone's needs were taken care of and the trip was a memorable. Thank you for a great trip.

I just want to say that this was my first time with Gate 1 and I was very impressed with everything. Our tour manager, Maggie was amazing. She always made sure that the group was satisfied whether it was our meals, our hotel accommodations, the speed of the group. I was very impressed with the hotel accommodations, especially the Howard Johnson. The breakfasts at the hotels were great, wide variety of food. I've already given my friend our China itinerary and Maggie's name. Thank you Gate 1 and Maggie.

The trip was great , had a great time, everything was planned perfect and above all the tour guide was amazing, looking forward to book my next trip with you

We arrived home yesterday, April 2. We had the most wonderful time in China. Our tour manager Gloria was very well organized and kept us schedule. She was excellent going way above the call of duty to answer and help the some seniors in our group and offering suggestions for our extra extension days in China. In Shanghai our city guide Christina was so helpful, keeping us moving forward in spite of the hordes of cruise ship tourists in the area we visited. Excellent service !! This was our first Discovery Tour and # 19 Gate1 tour for us. Definitely not our last.

I wanted to provide some feedback on our tour guide Junko who was truly outstanding. She was one of the most attentive guides we've had among our dozen or so trips with Gate1. We had some very challenging fellow guests on board and had one person who fell. She handled everything with care, understanding, patience and professionalism. She gave us a true representation of Japanese attentiveness to service and hospitality and made us feel very welcome. Her thoughtfulness during some of the longer bus trips by giving us little samples of Japanese goodies was so kind. And her ability to help us navigate through the maze of Tokyo Station and Shinjoku stations was remarkable. She kept the 22 members of our group always under her watchful eye. I would highly recommend her for future tours. She truly made Japan come alive for us. Thank you, Junko, Kit and me!!

The trip was very good. Kevin, the tour guide, made it a memorable trip with his great sense of humour. I will give 10 out of 10.

I just had the most amazing tour of southern spiritual India where Raj was our guide. I have to say this was the best tour I've ever had in my life and Raj made it possible. The guy is absolutely a fireball full of information cool stories and goes beyond the call of duty to make everything perfect and comfortable and everyone happy I was truly impressed by him on every level. This was the best 16 days I've spent ever and I travel a lot. Haven been to over 70 countries I would recommend this tour to my friends and especially with him as a guide. We had a small group of 14 with some complicated characters, but Raj was able to notice us all and create an unforgettable experience we witnessed and experience things which never could've been achieved. Had I've been on my own or with a private group. I've done a private group 10 years ago in northern India, and it was a completely different experience this surpassed tenfold I'm still recovering from the amount of information visual stimulation and unpacking my bags with beautiful things. We were able to get there as a memory, Raj is truly an amazing man. I will always remember him. I hope to cross paths with him again thank you for giving us such an opportunity.

Absolutely fantastic trip! This might be my 26th with Gate 1 and despite the worry about the war, I'm so glad I was able to arrive in Sri Lanka. Our guide, Indika, was absolutely one of the best. The itinerary hit all the highlights and overall, I learned a lot about a very different culture. Mountains, tea plantations, safaris, the beach and archeological sites...enough said.

In the many trips I have taken with Gate 1 and others Agency's, without doubt, Al, our tour guide on this trip was the best in every way. His friendly and easy-going way made this trip so much more enjoyable!

Al, our guide on our Australia Trip was excellent. He really brought the seven of us on the tour who were strangers in the beginning together as a group of friends. He had great suggestions for restaurants and things to do in our free time. He offered to make reservations for us but never made anyone feel uncomfortable if they chose to not join the group. He accompanied us on some of our free time adventures and often walked with us to our reservations to be sure we found our way and knew how to get back. He had so many interesting stories about growing up in Australia that gave us a real understanding of the country. Al was fun to be with and made the trip enjoyable. He was very organized and very professional with the tasks of a tour leader. We wish we could travel with him again.

The trip was excellent. I appreciated the different areas of the country that we were able to visit, the different activities planned-art studio, wine tasting, the well placed hotels & variety of food. But the best part of the trip was our guide Jalol. He was interesting, fun & very organized. He is truly an asset to Gate1.

I recently took the Gate 1 16-Day Southern India 'Spiritual Culture' tour, and it was one of the best trips I've ever had. The itinerary was great. Srini, our guide, was exceptional-informative, attentive, and incredibly kind. From sharing insights on India's history and culture to making sure every personal need was met, he made the journey unforgettable.

Just returned from Nepal and Bhutan. It was a wonderful trip. All was perfect. However, I would like to commend specifically our Nepalese Guide AVASH. He was more than wonderful. Attentive, considerate, knowledgeable, caring. He would ask each one of us if we were comfortable, if all was ok, if we needed anything. To help us understand the Nepalese culture, he would give us examples of his own life, his own family and this was so valuable. It helped us understand much better the dynamics of the country and how it functions on a smaller and bigger scale. In fact, of all the tour leaders I have had with Gate1, he was the best.

My trip was fantastic and I have booked another one for October. Shael was an outstanding tour manager, he was a perfect combination of knowledge, experience, expertise and fun. I felt safe as a solo traveler and would highly recommend him to your company! He made the trip even more enjoyable!!

Our trip was awesome! Ya was very, very courteous, professional and anticipated our every need. He is just great, imparting all the knowledge about the different areas that we visited and truly cared for us. The local tour guides were also fantastic, sharing their knowledge and love of their country with us. We enjoyed every minute of it.

Our tour manager, 'Mark', was superb in leading our group in Uzbekistan. He is highly knowledgeable about his country, and loves to share his knowledge and passion. He is also a funny storyteller: we will not forget his stories. I appreciated the cookies and coffee at the pit stops on very cold days. His job was done after the farewell dinner, but he must have seen that I was scared, because he was in the lobby at 6:15am the next morning, along with the driver, to take me to the Tashkent airport. I will always remember Mark's kindness to me!

Excellent! Sri Lanka is a gem. Amazing tour guide, Indika was caring and professional. Congratulations Gate 1 you have an amazing destination.

We just finished a fabulous trip to New Zealand- a country of remarkable beauty! Our trip was flawlessly executed thanks to Noels and her enthusiastic personality! Her love for her country shone through as she shared a tremendous amount of knowledge each day. We couldn't have asked for a better tour manager! Kudos to Buzz our Maori bus driver as well for his great sense of humor and expert driving!

It was our first time to the Philippines, also a great and memorable trip! We really enjoyed the islands hoping, the resorts we were staying: they were fabulous! Not to mention our great tour leader EDI. Not only was he knowledgeable, EDI was always ready to offer help in a friendly manner to each member in the group. Thank you Gate 1 for organizing such a pleasurable trip.

Great trip! Our trip director, Shyam, was amazing. Patient, fun, knowledgeable and highly professional.

Indeed we just returned from an 8 days Mythical Bhutan Discovery Tour, and it left a deep impression on us with its amazing landscapes, nature preservation efforts, and the harmonious coexistence of people and animals. Our outstanding Tour Manager Leki was extremely knowledgeable, always kind, patient, fun, and easy going. Chorten our driver, was helpful, kept the bus spic and span and skillfully navigated the winding mountain terrain each day getting us to each destination smoothly and safely, last but not least, Norbu the assistant was always there for us with a big smile, tended to all our needs from getting our luggage from one location to another and assisted us with all our mobility challenges. The three of them form a stellar team! We were very well taken care of and felt like we were part of their family. We had many marvelous moments during our 8 days journey from the feel inside the majestic Punakha Dzong, the heavenly tranquil Sangchhen Dorji Lhuendrup Lhakhang Nunnery at 1300 metres to the surprising exquisite picnic lunch they have prepared for us at Kuensel Phodrang nature park (after the hike at Dordenma Buddha mountain). It was beyond the call of duties when we were hiking the spiritual Tiger's Nest Monastery, they carried our bags, our extra jackets and bottles of water, while extended their hands/shoulders/arms for us to keep our balance as the routes are rocky and sandy. We would not be able to successfully completed our hike without them. The hotels' selection and the authentic Bhutanese food were superb, especially the national dish of chili cheese and ginger cinnamon tea!!! I teared up on the last day as the week flew by in a blink of an eye. Brief as it may, the heart warming experience that Leki and his team courteously extended to us had changed our perspective of life. We see beauty in simplicity and simplicity in itself is deep with gratefulness. Once again a huge thanks to Leki , Chorten and Norbu for being such wonderful hosts and ambassadors for their awe inspiring country. Kudos to Gate 1 for having such outstanding Tour Manager Leki and his team who put in their best efforts to ensure we had a wonderful and safe experience in Bhutan. They are your assets. We give you a 12 out of 10 stars. We highly commend you to all our family and friends. As we say in Bhutanese Namey Samey Kadrin Chhe La, Shu lay log jay gae in other word Thank you very much for an amazing life altering experience and see you later.

My trip was amazing, the guide Matt was exceptional, the hotels were good, food great, places beautiful.

We had a fantastic time in India! Thank you for providing top-notch tour and tour guide Seema!

Excellent. Richard was a very patient and good guide. I appreciated him leading us on tours and just the kindness he showed us. It was a very interesting tour. Good food also. I'd highly recommend your Discovery Tours to everyone.

I would like to commend Rebecca for her tour Manager expertise . She was considerate of all of our needs, as we were all very different. She showed us the love she has for her country, India, while respecting each of her group and their needs. She has a loving heart and willingness to help all of us. She is a dear person that should receive exceptional recognition .

Our New Zealand travel guide was top notch like all our other Gate 1 travel guides have been. Lindsay made the trip come alive, him being half Scottish and half Maori, and he tells great stories, knows his history of New Zealand. He took good care of all of us. Cannot say enough good things about him.

We have been on several tours with different companies and different tour managers. Gareth is one of the most professional and knowledgeable managers we have had the pleasure of meeting. Not only was he attentive to the administrative details; he provided us with informative and entertaining commentary about New Zealand and its history and culture. He is a great storyteller! He provided us with several options for free time that would appeal to different interests and always made himself available for any questions or concerns we might have. I was particularly impressed with the respect he showed for the Maori culture and his use of the language. He obviously enjoys his work, shared with us his love of rugby and his Highlanders (we saw a televised game with him!) and is an excellent ambassador for his country. Thank you for this opportunity.

Sarah was truly an exceptional guide. Her wit, knowledge, leadership and daily positive attitude was wonderful. She's a great asset to your organization. One in a million!!

We have taken 20 or so trips with Gate1 and we can honestly say that no tour manager has been as knowledgeable and passionate about their home country as Jairaj is about his. He simply loves talking about India and its proud history and we learned so much from him. Plus, he was able to resolve many travel problems that we and our fellow travelers experienced along the way. And he always maintained a pleasant and courteous manner about him. 10/10! We can't imagine a better tour manager. Do whatever you can to keep him!

I had the greatest time. The places that we visited are beautiful. The services of our tour manager and the local tour guides are very impressive, knowledgeable people. My experience went beyond my expectations. Thank you.

My husband and I just returned from the Sri Lankan trip. We have completed the survey but would like to make an additional comment regarding the Tour Manager, Richard, the Driver Aravinda, and the assistant, Janaka. My husband and I are seasoned travelers, so we are very aware of the impact the manager, driver and where applicable, on the day-to-day operations of the trip. On this journey we were blessed to have this trio of fine men. We were greeted each day with genuine smiles. Janaka handed each woman a different flower every day. The driver and assistant worked very well together and became part of our group. All three should be commended.

I had an excellent time. The Steven the guide was wonderful,! He made sure we were prepared for every next adventure., helping us to get through airport security. Visa readiness , flight schedules changes etc. The meals were delicious, entertainment great , as were the accommodations ! The other guides through the individual towns were great too! The history is fascinating! Thank you for a great trip!

Another great trip from Gate 1! Sri Lanka exceeded our expectations with beautiful scenery, great foods, and friendly people. Can't wait to join Gate1 for Sri Lanka northern adventure. Thank you, Shyam, Liya, and Rowan for the superb job in taking care of our group!

My wife and I just completed your 13 Day Philippines Culture & Adventure tour. Great job Gate 1 - what an amazing trip! We not only experienced a beautiful nation, we also basked in the warmth and good cheer of the Filipino people. The sights, the structures, and the various islands & adventures Gate 1 guided us through were well worth the long trip from Indiana, but what we will remember most was the people - the wonderful travel mates we were fortunate to be paired with, the outstandingly welcoming Filipinos we encountered everywhere, the excellent local guides, and our Best-in-Class Tour Manager, Mellany. To say that Lany was superb would be an understatement. This was our 15th Gate 1 tour, and all our Tour Managers have been very good to excellent, not a clinker in the bunch - but Lany wins the Best-in-Class prize. Each member of our group was presented with a small gift bag as they arrived, along with a printed booklet, complete with pictures, of all the activities of every day of our tour. This booklet should become a best practice for all Tour Managers. But a booklet cannot convey the ongoing warmth and care that Lany delivered every day of our adventure. I believe that her attitude and her leadership, along with her infectious kindness and that of her fellow Filipinos, was a significant contributor to how well our travel group got along with each other. Gate 1 is very fortunate to have her leading some of its first tours in this wonderful country, and we were most fortunate to have Lany guiding us on our journey through the Philippine Islands - she even sings!

Our guide, Shyam, was outstanding. He did a wonderful job of blending historical information with personal anecdotes that made Sri Lanka come alive. He was reassuring when necessary, safety conscious as needed, communicative and supportive. It was a pleasure to get to know him.

Our tour guide, Indika, was perhaps the most knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful guide we have ever had on any tour.

Our Gate 1 "16 GEMS OF SOUTHEAST ASIA" journey from January-February 2026 was made truly exceptional because of our remarkable tour manager. From the very first day to the final farewell, he demonstrated a rare combination of professionalism, warmth, and genuine care that elevated the entire experience for every traveler in our group. What stood out most was his extraordinary kindness and attentiveness. He never treated the tour as a crowd - he treated it as a collection of individuals. Whether someone needed assistance navigating a busy airport, extra time boarding, help with dietary needs, or simply reassurance in a new environment, he anticipated concerns before they were even spoken. Every guest felt seen, respected, and safe, which is no small accomplishment on a multi-country journey. His depth of knowledge across Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand was equally impressive. He shared history, cultural context, language nuances, and local traditions in a way that was engaging rather than overwhelming. Temples, markets, and historic sites came alive through his storytelling - explaining not just what we were seeing, but why it mattered. His familiarity with local customs helped us interact respectfully with the communities we visited, deepening our appreciation for each country. Another defining strength was his strong relationships and connections throughout the region. At every hotel and tour location, it was clear he was known and trusted. Check-ins were seamless, special requests were handled gracefully, and small touches - preferred rooms, thoughtful pacing, insider tips - made us feel like welcomed guests rather than passing tourists. These relationships added a level of ease and authenticity that cannot be replicated by logistics alone. Above all, he created a spirit of camaraderie and confidence within the group. Long travel days felt organized and calm, unexpected changes were handled smoothly, and laughter was never far away. His leadership blended efficiency with heart - a balance that transformed a well-planned itinerary into a truly memorable experience. In short, he wasn't just a tour manager; he was the steady, compassionate presence that tied together the "16 Gems" of Southeast Asia and made the journey unforgettable for all of us.

Lindsay was a fantastic tour manager. His vast knowledge base about NZ is large, and he has an encyclopedic knowledge about NZ's history and the Morai culture. He willingly shared with us facts, stories, and interesting information throughout the tour which made the longer drives on the coach more tolerable. I'm always one to find at least one recommendation for a TM, but I really do not have any for Lindsay. His experience as a TM shows. I always pride myself on trying to stump the TM with a question, but with Lindsay but I could not as he had an answer for all questions. He added much value to our trip by recommending certain vendors for souvenirs along the way, restaurants depending on your desires, and always asked us if we had any questions that he could answer. He kept informing us by posting the next day's itinerary, and reminded us of upcoming events, their timing, and when we needed to be ready, all of which necessitated very few questions from the group. I would go out of my way to take a tour with Lindsay again, if that tells you anything.

My trip to Southern India...A Spiritual Culture was the best trip ever. This trip has an outstanding itinerary that allowed me to understand the way of life of the people who live there. All the sites, activities, food, and accommodations were great. Our tour manager, Raj, was outstanding and added to our experience. He went out of his way to make sure that all of us had personal experiences with the people and the culture. I have had some great tour managers before, but Raj was the best. He went above and beyond with all activities. Our driver Roger and assistant Gopi were also wonderful. Thank you Gate 1 for this wonderful experience. It was truly outstanding!

We loved our 47th amazing trip with Gate 1 to Sri Lanka! Our excellent tour manager, Eranga, was very organized and extremely patient with all of us and kept everyone on time. The highlights of our tour for me was the visit to the local school sponsored by Gate 1 Foundation and listening to the students sing and even a bonus dance number by the little girls, plus the climb up to Sigiriya where the top view was simply superb but listening to the history made it feel alive to be in such a wonderful place. Overall, another beautiful experience and memorable adventure courtesy of Gate 1.

The tour exceeded our expectations. The itinerary was perfect, the hotels were great and experience was very memorable. The local guides were knowledgeable and very professional. We have had very good tour directors on previous trips, but Tick was the best ever! He was consistently organized while always being upbeat and caring. He made his job look easy, while constantly smiling. We will definitely consider Gate 1 for future tours.

We enjoyed our trip of a lifetime to Southeast Asia. The itinerary was set at a perfect pace; the hotels were stunning and so much was included in enhancing the day with included tours and wonderful food. A big thank you to our Tour Manager, oh who was professional, organized and knowledgeable. Nothing was too much trouble and his kindness showed through!