My husband and I recently had the pleasure of embarking on the 12 Day Lyon & Paris journey with a 6 Day Burgundy Barge Cruise on MS Daniele. It was truly a journey to remember. From the moment we stepped on board, we were warmly welcomed by the exceptional crew who went above and beyond to ensure our comfort and joy throughout the trip. Vincent, Christopher, An, Alexis, Margo, and Lazslo created a warm and inviting atmosphere. They made us feel like part of their family. The tour manager, Patrisia, was exceptional, demonstrating professionalism and genuine concern for our group. Always ready to assist with questions, provide valuable insights into the destinations we visited, and ensure that everything ran seamlessly, her dedication truly enhanced our experience. Our dining experience on the MS Daniele during the 6 Day Burgundy Barge Cruise was simply magnificent! Each meal was a masterpiece of flavors, expertly prepared and beautifully presented Overall, the combination of outstanding cuisine, a cozy ambiance, and exceptional service enhanced our Burgundy Barge Cruise experience to new levels. A heartfelt thank you to the dedicated crew for making each day memorable.

Fantastic!!! This was our first "Discovery" tour and it was amazing. Alice, our tour manager, was one of the best we've had with Gate1 - being organized, well informed about the sights, professional, respectful, friendly and fun! Giuseppe, our driver was thoughtful, helpful and kept us safe on the road always. It's difficult to recall all the amazing towns, villages and sights as we saw so much in such a short period of time. The fact that this tour concentrated on lesser known sights/towns meant a wonderful surprise awaited us each day. We would highly recommend this trip, especially if Alice and Giuseppe are in charge.

Although I have enjoyed every tour manager I have had previously, I must say that Andrea was the best of all. His warm personality and sense of humor made this trip to Sicily very special. He was organized and attentive to every detail necessary to make things run smoothly. Our group was quite cohesive because of Andrea's calm and helpful manner. His love for his country definitely made us love it as well.

Elvis, our tour director, has so many good qualities that it is hard to list them all. First, he imparted so much knowledge to us while keeping us on time and entertained and watched over very carefully for our safety. Along with that, he is personable and caring, while being an excellent problem solver with well-thought out answers to our many questions. The list of tour guides that were chosen for this particular trip were all excellent, funny and shared personal stories along the way. The motels were all very welcoming, comfortable, and clean along with serving excellent breakfasts. And our driver Matjia was top notch, and we always felt comfortable & safe with his driving, which was quite challenging in many places. What a combo you offered here with Elvis, Matjia and the tour guides --- they made the trip a long lasting memory for us all. A big thanks to them from the Barneses.

The guide, Mary was simply excellent. She significantly enhanced the quality of the trip. She ran a tight ship, kept everything on time, was extremely knowledgeable of all the places we visited, was very friendly, and had great recommendations for free time activities. Quality guides like her is the reason we continue to chose Gate 1. The motor coach accommodations were fantastic. New bus, comfortable, spacious, etc. The driver, Pat, had superior driving skills, amazing. Felt confident in his abilities. He was also a great guy to be around. The hotels were absolutely amazing, great choices by Gate 1. The dinners and lunches were awesome, had a great time.

Fantastic trip! Our tour guide Lorana was so bubbly, knowledgeable and fun. I was afraid I would be disappointed after having Nick for the tour guide before this trip beings I was doing a back to back trip. She was no disappoint but a joy to be with. I did miss having the hands on things I had on the prior trip, but I did get to make pesto. Great group of clients on both trips. She made you feel special and what great humor she had. She was very sincere asking if we needed anything and if we were happy with our rooms. She made it her priority to make us happy. Only wish we had more time shopping, especially at the Cinque Terre. Would loved to have had more time at each village shopping. When stores are small and lots of people it takes time. No complaints only kudos..... great tour guide, amazing hotels & great food and tours.

We would like to take this opportunity to sing the praises of our Sicilian/Malta guide Maurizio. My husband and I have traveled extensively and have had many good guides. But we can say with all sincerity Maurizio is one of the best. Beyond his knowledge and organizational skills he was so at ease with the members of our group right from the start. His sense of humor was endearing which affected all aspects of our days. He was generous with his time and liked to give us little surprises on a regular basis. We will never forget him or our trip.

Our Discovery trip to Slovenia, Dalmatian Islands, and Croatia was wonderful. Our Tour Manager, Tina was excellent! She was engaging, positive, organized, honest and very knowledgeable. This trip met my expectations and more.

I wish to give our tour guide, Tracy, an excellent rating as she provided us with exceptional knowledge and energy and became an integral part of our group. She went above and beyond my expectations to make my first Gate 1 tour perfect. My highest compliments to our coach driver, Arek, for keeping us comfortable and safe as he drove the unbelievable narrow roads throughout our trip. I thoroughly enjoyed Tracy and Arek during our time with them. Both get A+++ from me.

This was our first tour with Gate 1. We loved every thing about this trip. Our guide Anna was absolutely wonderful. Her professionalism, friendliness, knowledge, and sense of humor, made the trip truly enjoyable. She communicated the history of Poland and explained it so we could understand and feel the love for the country. Anna has a great sense of humor and you could see that she truly enjoys what she is doing. She taught my husband and I many things we will never forget. We will recommend this trip to our friends! Our bus driver Adrian was phenomenal. Very professional and always welcomed us back onto the bus with a warm smile and humor.

I really appreciate John, our tour guide. He was always polite, punctual and made himself available to us at any time. He was so very Knowledgeable about the history of Ireland and told us so many interesting stories about Ireland and the people. He went out of his way to make each person on the trip feel special. I'd love to travel with him again.

Our trip far exceeded our expectations in large part due to our tour manager. In addition to creating a great group spirit, keeping us on time, making sure our questions were answered, being flexible (ex: making adjustments to benefit all), and giving us local tips, Giuseppe provided many interesting additional facts and background information that helped us further appreciate Italy as a country, as well as the areas we visited. Our driver was great, too! Thanks for a truly extraordinary experience!

Our recent Discovery tour to Sicily and Malta was excellent due primarily to the efforts of our tour Manager, Mauricio. Together with our bus driver, Enzo and our local guide in Malta, Tracey, they managed every detail to create the best tour we have taken across the last five years. I don't think Maurizio could have managed the details any better while assuring a safe, educational, and fun tour. The standard Maurizio set for individual care should be a benchmark for your Tour Business for all guides.

We had a great time on this, our 18th Gate 1 tour. Everything went according to plan. The days were packed with activity and things to see. Our Tour Manager, Liz, was exceptional. She kept our group of 22 moving and created harmony among us. We all got along fine and this contributed to the enjoyment. Looking forward to our next trip with Gate 1 in August.

It was great! Can't say enough good things about our TM Ana. She was very knowledgeable about the history of the whole region. Very friendly but made sure everyone was on time clear in her instructions. Great administrator. I told her I wish she would be our TM for every trip we take on gate1 :)

I just wanted to comment on our tour manager, Robby. He is truly one of your jewels! He knows the region so well and it was evident in all of our touring days how much he cares that we have a good time, get to know the area, and also tells us where the rest rooms are! He made everything so easy for all of us, was friendly, and made suggestions for our leisure time and for restaurants in the area. This was truly a wonderful trip getting to meet some new people and traveling with this fun group. And he provided tips when entering each area so there were minimal surprises. Robby is a great problem solver, and really made it possible for all of us to see and experience all that northern France has to offer.

Our Barge cruise in France was wonderful. TM Milissa was very good. The added side trip to Dijon was spectacular. Please add it to the itinerary as we thought it was one of the best parts of the trip. The whole barge cruise concept is wonderful and wish Gate 1 would add more barge itineraries. Thank you!

The Bulgaria trip was Amazing! I am so glad this trip was an option! We covered a lot of ground and did something different every day and everything was so interesting to see and do. There was a lot of history that I did not know about and it was fun to learn. the tour manager was great and everyone of the local guides gave so much wonderful information you could tell how much they love their country!

This was possibly the best tour we have had with Gate 1. Our Travel Manager, Miguel, deserves a 10++++ in every way. Also, Carlos, guide, would rate a 10!!

Totally unexpected luxury and pampering while floating past picturesque villages with occasional stops at stunning chateaux for wine tastings in antique wine cellars. I have taken many Discovery tours around the world, and this was cut above! Consider the barge cruise as close as one can have to a private boat with staff of six, including a private chef whose three meals a day, fine wines included, were maybe better than any you would find in the Burgundy area. The boat had an excellent cruise director who worked hand in hand with Ana, perhaps the best tour director I have ever had on dozens of guided trips. This is not a tour for one who wants to see a gloss of the main sites of France. It is for the discerning traveler who wants to wander into small towns, cities, and markets with knowledgeable local guides, drink fine wines, and let the gentle drift of the canal and surroundings wash away any stress.

Our visit to Bulgaria was absolutely fantastic. We thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the trip. The itinerary was perfectly planned, allowing us to explore various parts of the country and bask in its breathtaking natural beauty. We gained valuable insights into both the ancient and contemporary history of Bulgaria. The highlight of our experience was our tour manager, Georgi, who not only became a true friend to the entire group but also provided invaluable assistance. His passion and knowledge about Bulgaria were infectious, and he ensured that all our needs were met with a touch of humor. I highly recommend visiting this incredible country.

Our Benelux tour was terrific, and many compliments to Katia for helping to make it such a pleasant and successful trip. Katia was very caring, friendly and thoughtful to all her guests. She was an efficient problem solver with issues big and small, while never losing her composure. Katia seemed to anticipate the needs of everyone, and she was so patient with questions, directions, suggestions for activities and dinner, and much more. She kept us all on track and kept an on-time schedule for everything. It was the first time she and our bus driver Phillip worked together, yet they had great rapport and established effective teamwork. I really appreciated the time Katia put into creating narratives about our upcoming places we would visit; she shared factual and interesting information while we were driving on the bus about the next country, the town we were visiting, the people and customs, history, and good details about the particular cathedrals, museums, and towns. Katia was a top-notch tour guide with a very pleasant, helpful, and friendly personality. I hope to be so lucky as to have Katia as my tour guide on a future Gate 1 adventure

Our Benelux tour was terrific, and many compliments to Katia for helping to make it such a pleasant and successful trip. Katia was very caring, friendly and thoughtful to all her guests. She was an efficient problem solver with issues big and small, while never losing her composure. Katia seemed to anticipate the needs of everyone, and she was so patient with questions, directions, suggestions for activities and dinner, and much more. She kept us all on track and kept an on-time schedule for everything. It was the first time she and our bus driver Phillip worked together, yet they had great rapport and established effective teamwork. I really appreciated the time Katia put into creating narratives about our upcoming places we would visit; she shared factual and interesting information while we were driving on the bus about the next country, the town we were visiting, the people and customs, history, and good details about the particular cathedrals, museums, and towns. Katia was a top-notch tour guide with a very pleasant, helpful, and friendly personality. I hope to be so lucky as to have Katia as my tour guide on a future Gate 1 adventure

Andres was a fabulous tour director. He communicated clearly, gave us good general expectations, and diplomatically handled any rough spots. Really appreciated his directions. Tanya was a very good driver. We had good, knowledgeable tour guides- Jose in Madrid was a standout. Very good tour!

Our trip was superb. Jola our TM was outstanding! We had a small group that enjoyed being on your together, as we had experienced Gate one in the past and loved the offerings . Hotels, food and travel sites were great. Poland was/ is amazing when you travel with Jola! Roman our chauffeur was an expert driver. So glad we chose this trip! We recommend this tour and company to all who love traveling.

I cannot say enough good things about our excellent trip leader Filipa. I have taken maybe 6 Gate 1 trips and 18 Road Scholar trips. All had excellent leaders, but I must say that Filipa elevated excellence to a new level. Starting on day 1 she exhibited and encouraged camaraderie, provided so much very helpful written and verbal information, and showed true concern and care for the group. Everyone in the group felt the same way. I think Filipa gave more of her time to us than other leaders might. When I became motion sick on the bus due to the windy roads to our hotel, she took it in stride providing me with plastic bags to vomit in, accompanying me to my room, bringing me fresh apples to settle my stomach, and remaining with me until I felt recovered. I celebrated my birthday during the trip and Filipa, after asking if it was ok to share my birthday with the group, had two very thoughtful celebrations for me, one on the bus where everyone sang in English and one in our dinner restaurant where diners sang in Portuguese. This was so kind, thoughtful, and reflected so well on Filipa's character. Gate 1 is fortunate to have Filipa as a leader.

The trip was great. Our best one yet! I think this was our 9th tour with Gate 1 and we loved it. Our tour manager, Francisco was the best-so knowledgeable, caring and interesting. He went out of his way to make it a great time for everyone.

Very nice, very good itinerary, very good food, our tour manager Francesco is excellent, he's the best, I've been traveling since 1987, to many travel companies, he's the best, I recommend promotion and salary raise for him. He took care of us from the very first day to our last day! He did an exceptional job.

This response is regarding our tour manager, Wesley. Wesley was unfailingly kind, considerate, and professional. He engaged with everyone and made sure that we were having a great experience. He provided so much useful information that I can't remember it all, but every big piece of knowledge he shared enhanced the trip. His stories and obvious love and appreciation of his native country made such a difference in how I saw the country. The fact that we were a small group (only 21 travelers) made it so much better and easier to get into venues that a larger group might not get to experience. The highlight for me was the Irish National Stud, although visiting the women-owned brewery and the Burren Smokehouse were also great experiences. I'd take another Gate 1 Discovery tour in a heartbeat and if Wesley were the tour manager, I'd be even happier to sign on.

Our Tour Manager, Krzysztof, on our 12 Day Benelux Tour is an excellent Tour Manager and represents Gate1 very well. His knowledge of the destinations is unmatched, and his communication skills enable smooth sailing for a diverse group of travelers. The trip was fabulous! Well done! Thank you.

We enjoyed everything about our recent food and wine tour of the piedmont in Italy, but especially the pesto making event in Rapallo! The shop owners were very generous with their time and expertise! The prosecco tasting and lunch at Merotto was out of this world! The food and wine were great, and the dining room and tour guide were top notch! Thank you!

Miguel was a terrific tour guide - his knowledge of history and details was amazing. He added to the value of the tour and conversation with his input on music and culture as well as our group discussions on current world economic and social topics. This was my first Gate 1 tour and feel I was incredibly lucky to have him as our tour manager. He always looked out for everyone's interests and concerns. Our whole group photo at the thank you dinner captured the bond our group had during our tour! Tome' was a great driver, not only his driving ability but his positive spirit and enthusiasm were a joy each time we joined him on the bus or at meals. Both provided great perspectives and were key to a wonderful trip!

Our Discovery Tour of the Culture & History of Portugal was a success. Excellent guide, Miguel (he gets an A+). Excellent driver, Tume (skilled driving that big bus, friendly). We saw & learned a lot about Portugal. We had a great visit!

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to our tour manager Ana. She has created a very special atmosphere in our group which makes our trip very interesting and comfortable. We have learned a lot about Spain from Ana. We learned a lot of facts from Ana about history, religion, economics, art, architecture, education, climate, social life of Spain. It was truly discovery trip. Ana is very professional, friendly, organized and thoughtful. Our group developed a habit at the end of each day to say thanks to Ana for another beautiful day.

Another amazing tour! The 13 Day Albania & Montenegro Discovery Tour, our 12th Discovery Tour, was absolutely fantastic. Our tour manager, Dusan ensured everything ran smoothly while presenting an in-depth perspective that only a local with years of experience and knowledge can provide. Mihai, our bus driver, demonstrated total professionalism and amazing skills in maneuvering our bus safely in even the most challenging situations. And our local guides were among the best with an astonishing command of history and culture. The small group experience brought a personal cohesiveness to the group that made it a truly rewarding experience. Albania and Montenegro with breath taking views and wonderful hotels are absolute gems that should not be missed. Thank you, Gate 1!

We took the "12 day Northern Spain Discovery" from March 28 , 2026 to April 8, 2026. Our guide, Hugo, was incredible! Best tour guide ever! Knowledgeable, fun, impeccable time management, and so accommodating. We felt like we were exploring with a local friend rather than a guide. He brought the history of the Spain to life with such passion and humor. He was attentive to everyone's questions and went out of his way to make sure our family had the best experience. Highly recommended!

From the moment we arrived at the hotel (a day early), Maevon was there to greet us, make us feel welcome, and provided us with an information packet on the local area as well as a few immediate restaurant recommendations, which we gratefully used. Maevon went 'above and beyond' from that first meeting to make sure we all were well-informed, comfortable and happy with each day events, meals and lodging. He even included extra information and some of his hand-drawn maps which I will keep as special mementoes of our trip and for future reference. We have never had a tour guide who continually checked with each group member on how things were each day, and sincerely cared about our enjoyment, learning and comfort on the trip. We know that wherever in the world it is, if Maevon is guiding, it will be a stellar and fun travel experience!

I wanted to comment about our tour manager (Adrianna) and driver (Antonio). They are both top notch! Everyone on the trip thoroughly enjoyed the tour and Adrianna really added a special touch. She and Antonio were always in synch on the plans and kept us on schedule 100% of the time. Very impressed with both of them, especially Adrianna as she had a lot on her plate. Thanks!

I can't say enough about our trip guide, Pedro He was incredible, and kept all travelers punctual. His information he shared was so detailed and so real. This made the trip one of the best we had on Gate 1 tours. You should highly value his worth to the entire team at Gate 1. Another person worth noting was our initial driver, Pedro. He took great care of all of us.

Our trip was fantastic! Our first discovery tour and we will do it again. Our tour manager, Gilles, was great! He was very knowledgeable, gave us directions for getting the most out of each location, taught us French, sang for us. We were a very friendly group of really nice people, and I had the feeling he enjoyed us as much as we enjoyed him! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves every day! Our driver, Antonio, was terrific too. Thank you for leaving us with many nice memories of our trip.

This was our sixteenth trip with Gate 1, and I would like you to know that we rank our guide, Michael, in the top two guides on all our trips. We had an incredible experience with Mike. He brought a blend of efficiency and warmth as he kept the group moving on schedule and fostered an atmosphere of harmony. Mike had outstanding knowledge of the areas we visited, and his presentation was professional and easily understood.

Jakov was fantastic! He was knowledgeable, friendly, funny, and caring. He made the trip exponentially better. His knowledge and love of the country was wonderful and endearing. He was an excellent communicator and made us feel informed and safe. He was always on time and was happy to interact and answer questions at any time during the trip. I would love to have him as my guide again! Our driver - Silvie - was also fantastic. He was very helpful and made us feel safe. And that was not easy on some of those narrow, windy roads! He always made a point to stop or slow down for us to take photos or see something special. He was also super helpful with the luggage and was very friendly. I could not ask for a better guide or driver than we had with Jakov and Silvie.

Our tour manager for the Swiss Alpine Jewels trip, Dennis, was outstanding and went above and beyond in all respects. His knowledge, passion, enthusiasm and organization are top notch. He made the trip fun and rewarding for the whole group. Also, our driver, Pieter, was fantastic and super competent handling very difficult roads.

We just wanted to say that our tour manager/guide throughout our recent 15 Day Discover Poland vacation, Agnes, was fantastic. We have been on other companies' tours and Agnes, on our Poland tour, was the best manager we have ever had by far. Not only was she professional, proficient, informed and dedicated, but she was so much fun to be with. And she seemed to enjoy being with us as much as we enjoyed being with her. Thank you Agnes for making our trip so pleasant and memorable!

Thank you Ana and Daniel for keeping us safe in our travels . Ana is caring knowledgeable , organize had safety awareness . She's on top of everything .Daniel is a very safe driver and very efficient . Thank you for the memories and the history of Balkans that I have to take home . They can be my tour manager and driver again . I feel safe and had fun .