I just returned from Uzbekistan March 28-April 8, and want to express my gratitude to our manager Davron who made this tour unforgettable. He was knowledgeable, informative, helpful, nice with a group, and very organized. I wish all Gate 1 tours had guides like him.

We had a very good time the Hotels were excellent and our tour guide Mari was the best. She explained everything in minute details. She took care of our Vegetarian meals. I think you should have more guides like her and she definitely deserves a raise. She was the best Tour Guide we have ever had.

The trip was amazing! So many beautiful places, people, and animals to round out our trip! A whirlwind of a trip traveling by planes, trains, automobiles, luge scooters, boats, bridges... and of course on foot... so blessed to be a part of Gate1 and looking forward to our next adventure! Thanks so much for being there for us on the front end to make the trip more perfect and passing us off to Darrin and Linda to show us their countries! Gate1 did not disappoint!!

The trip was wonderful, in large part thanks to our excellent tour leader Shiyam! 3 highlights for me: climbing the 1200 required steps to reach summit of Lion Rock, Sigiriya; train ride to Eliya; and stilt fishing on the Southwest coast. Accommodations, and food were terrific.

The trip was very memorable and enjoyable. Kevin, our tour guide, was a great guy. Not only was he knowledgeable of New Zealand culture and scenery, Kevin added a lot of zest to the trip with his witty remarks and unrivaled sense of humor. Overall, I would recommend this trip to anybody who wishes to explore the majestical beauty of New Zealand.

I would like to recognize the outstanding job by tour manager, Radhika, deserves special kudos. Radhika made the trip for me, with her knowledge of Hindi culture and history allowing me to appreciate things I would otherwise not have been able to do. She often pointed out things in our surroundings that I would have looked at without understanding what I was seeing, and added explanations about things we were passing by. She also added from her own cultural background in demonstrating aspects of dance, singing, and decorating the ground in front of the door on one occasion. She was approachable, kind, engaging and went out of her way to assist in whatever needs a member of the tour might have. I enjoyed her very much.

I just arrived home from a wonderful trip to Sri Lanka. The Tour Guide, Richard, was excellent! All the hotels were 4 or 5 stars centrally located and all the employees with an effective and efficient customer service oriented! The Marriott Weligama Hotel was 5 stars with all the rooms facing the ocean!! The meals included were excellent with a variety of food! It was an adventure trip with climbing, safaris, train trip, etc.! Thanks Gate 1 Discovery Tours for this unforgettable trip!!!

It was wonderful. Sanjay was a fabulous guide, sights were varied and interesting, had enough free time. We highly recommend this trip

Akiko is the BEST tour guide I have EVER had on ANY tour by any company. She is warm, empathetic, extremely knowledgeable, establishes rapport and relationships within the group, and obviously loves her country! You see it her way. She is an INCREDIBLE asset to Gate 1.

This was our first trip and we booked based on a recommendation from a good friend. We had no prior experience with which to compare and had never been to that part of the world. I must say though that we had a wonderful time due to Gate 1's efforts; the tour guide, Lindsay; and pure luck. All of our stops and activities were enjoyable and went off smoothly. The most significant of these for us were the dinner with the family in Rotorua and the Haka ceremony and dinner because they exposed us to the cultural aspects that emphasized the difference between their lives and some of those in Auckland and Wellington. The trans alpine train ride and our time at Milford Sound were also memorable. We were lucky in that the only rain during the entire trip occurred either before or after we embarked each day. The build up of increasing beauty and diversity of landscapes ending with the boat trip on Milford Sound kept the fatigue and weariness I had expected, from setting in. I think the glue that brought it all together was Lindsay. All of the scenery and people were speaking in their own way but he was the one interpreting it for us. I don't recall a question that went unanswered and responses often included references to past historic and/or personal experiences. He knew where we were going but also knew and showed us interesting ways to get there. For example, on our visit to the capital he got the driver to take us to the observation station on Mt. Victoria overlooking Wellington. This was not listed on the itinerary but the views made it a pleasant bonus. Same goes for the short walk through the red wood forest. The meals were very good but his culinary expertise enhanced the experience. He had the perfect mixture of professionalism, knowledge and experience. He took a genuine interest in all of us. He anticipated and coached us on how to approach many sites already crowded with other tour groups. Finally his love for his country and its people was unwavering, not in your face, but undeniable.

My wife, and I celebrated our 44th wedding anniversary during our New Zealand Discovery Tour. Our Tour Director, Richard, is an outstanding, professional, knowledgeable, organized, and empathetic person. Richard's organization of information and knowledge of New Zealand made the trip easy and interesting. If Gate 1 has a rating system Richard is 100% and an outstanding ambassador for Gate 1 travel. If we could request a tour director for our future travel, it would be Richard.

The trip was fantastic! Our guide Rae was excellent in terms of her knowledge and caring. She relates well to everyone and help form a close-knit group. In addition to our fantastic guide, the itinerary was perfect. Some of the special events like calligraphy, sushi making, saki tasting, kimono dressing, a rickshaw ride, etc added memories to our perfect trip. We were so thrilled that we signed up for two more trips when we returned home!

Our tour guide Katsumi was the best tour guide we have ever had. He was outstanding in every aspect of his work. Kind, caring and attended to our every needs. He was patient with us and showed us and explained all about Japanese culture and customs and history. We enjoyed all the aspects of Japan that we saw, and he made it more interesting for us when he explained in detail about things in Japan. He went above and beyond to make sure we were all comfortable. We were impressed with the cleanliness of Japan. We learned a lot about Japan on this trip and would recommend it to everyone

It is good to be home after 2 weeks of travel. The trip was great! Japan is an amazing country, with very different cultures. But this trip was also great because it was a Discovery trip which takes great care of the members. Also, it was great because of Katsumi, our tour guide and Manager. He is a great organizer. Overall, we are very happy with this trip.

After our Australia Gate 1 trip (which was superb) I was expecting the same in New Zealand. It took a day or two to adjust to "Di" (Dianna) style having come off the outstanding experience Fiona. But by the end of the 2nd day we had settled into "Di" and her different style. Once she got the feel of our group she excelled in providing personal and practical information and guidance about New Zealand Moari culture, history, language (which was fun learning key words and phrases) and an exceptionally detailed explanation of the of the New Zealand focus on preserving its natural environment, animals and birds life, and uniqueness of everything. With a background in cultural anthropology/archaeology I found Di's information extremely informative and well presented. She also gave personal information and experiences about New Zealand which truly helped our group grasp the uniqueness of New Zealand. I learned so much from Di both on the bus and during nature and city walks. Her knowledge (which she freely shared to the delight of everyone) of NZ was well received and greatly appreciated. By the end of the tour I ranked Di in the top 5 Gate 1 tour directors I have known.

Our New Zealand Discovery tour was awesome. Annaliesa was an outstanding tour manager. We had great weather and thought the itinerary was terrific, really highlighting the culture of NZ along with the amazing scenery.

This is my 5th Gate One Tour and by far THE BEST! Why? Because of Tour Manager Aaron. I don't have enough adjectives to describe how organized, helpful, informative & congenial he was. Each morning and evening he summarized what to expect. As we traveled around NZ I'd think of a question and Aaron would answer without my asking. His comments and descriptions resulted in my making notes about things I'd like to read more about when we got home. Hotel check in was a breeze. Orientation at the latest stop clear, concise, and full of helpful tips, things to see & do, where to eat, how to get there. I am so grateful. New Zealand is a varied, beautiful country with great people and Aaron is the perfect host and my #1 Kiwi!

Small Group Discovery Tours in Sri Lanka. The trip was wonderful, and I invite everyone to put this tour on your bucket list. Mr. Hesh, our tour manager, was outstanding in managing the tour with his wealth of knowledge about his country. He did an outstanding job of explaining what we could expect on tour that day. Our driver was outstanding in driving the bus he was assigned and always took great caution while driving. Our assistant did an outstanding job each morning, he would give us flowers, which made our day especially as we started our morning tour. They work very well together they make such a great team. The hotels were all outstanding, very clean and the workers were always so helpful to assist us and were always very friendly. The food was outstanding at each hotel and the tours places that we visited was outstanding, especially going to the Yala National Park and saw wonderful animals. The country was very safe, and we didn't have any problem while walking in the city and during our free time during the tours.

New Zealand was Amazing and Gate One was the perfect vessel for the trip. Aaron was extremely knowledgeable and passionate about his homeland. He was very thorough with his information and his task of keeping the group focused. Geoff was a great driver and always was happy to interact and tell us about his homeland. Josh was also an exceptional driver and he was great when he helped me with understanding Marmite. In addition, Josh was very helpful assisting people on/off the bus. He also seemed to really care about the safety of the group by constantly being vigilant. New Zealand and the Gate One staff are amazing. Thank you.

Overall it was a wonderful trip! The highlights were the town of Rotorua with the Maori cultural center & native show, Queenstown and Te Anau with spectacular scenery on the boat cruise. Dinner with a native family was special Our guide Lindsey was exceptional! Great personality, encyclopedic knowledge of New Zealand and Maori culture being Maori himself. He went the extra mile to make sure we were safe, comfortable and having our needs met. I would have liked to have spent more time in Napier & Queenstown. I would have liked to visit a winery or two in Marlborough or Hawke's bay. Doing both islands was a little ambitious. It did give a good feel for New Zealand but by it's nature it was a "Cook's Tour". I would like to go back to NZ on a focused wine lover's tour. This was my second Gate 1 tour. I compliment Gate 1 on their exceptional organization, top notch accommodations and their selection of outstanding tour guides.

We had a fabulous experience in Japan. We were pleasantly surprised with the calligraphy session, chopsticks gold leaving, kimono dress up, geisha performance and discussion and kodomnomi maki dinner. But most impressed with our tour guide, Hiroshima. He was well informed. Organized, patient, professional and courteous throughout the entire trip. Gate 1 hired excellent staff in this trip. It was our first experience with Gate 1 and will book with you again.

Kapok was an exceptional tour guide. On a scale of 1-10 he's a 20! Knowledgeable, friendly, good sense of humor, treated everyone of as a special guest of his country. The Gate 1 info didn't prepare me for the magic of India, or what a special trip this was going to be. It seemed KP had a surprise for us every time we turned around.

I have traveled with Gate 1 (now 29 trips) and I have to say (no strongly want to say) the Australia trip was one of the best I have experienced. Why? Because of the Tour Director "Fiona!" She was superb for giving all the standard expected items (ie. times, room assignments, arrival/departure information, bus seat rotation, etc), but she gave/provided much more because of her extensive and appreciative knowledge of Australia and the places we were experiencing Fiona gave us valuable tips so we saw, comprehended and understood more about culture, aboriginal and European peoples, geographic and natural environment.

Kevin was an amazing tour manager: building group cohesiveness, emphasizing safety, letting us discover the new wonders of each day. New Zealand is beautiful. The pacing of the tour was relaxed. The long drives were broken with walks, sights, quick 10 am tea, and more. On the bus, Kevin built rapport for bus drivers (Tommy and David) with the group. Kevin's quirky humor and stories helped bus time fly by. We enjoyed New Zealand, our 12th Gate1 tour. We left wanting more, but understand that the length is confined for two-week vacations. Definitely, NZ is on our "go back" list. The pacing maximized our ability to see lots without feeling rushed. This tour was already fine-tuned, worked like clockwork. Kevin clearly had a long-term mutually respectful relationship with selected hotels, restaurants, tour guides, and vendors for boats, and more. Long-term, trusted vendors enhanced our experience.

The 14 day New Zealand tour was fantastic. The culture, people and stunning beauty of the islands are beyond compare. Aaron was a superb TM. Organization and attention to detail were impeccable, but it was his ability to communicate information to the tour group that really stood out. Whether it was the history of the islands, Maori legends and traditions, details regarding flora and fauna, or briefings about the itineraries, Aaron shared it all with humor, enthusiasm and positivity. His abilities as TM helped a diverse tour group to come together and enjoy the tour, and each other, in a very profound way.

My trip to India / golden triangle was amazing. I've been traveling with gate 1 for a while now and always the experience has been priceless!!! Jimmy, our tour manager is been an wonderful person to travel with. He is the epidemic of laughter, knowledge, authentic, thoughtful, intelligent and caring. By the second day in our trip we felt already a family! Accommodations were great, the tour team: bus driver and his assistant all were great.

Srini is the best guide ever and that is said after every gate 1 guide was very excellent. Srini still stands out as he used no local guides and is qualified to do all he did. He is a proficient manager of people and brought the group into balance by the second day. Srini went out of his way to find weddings and elephants plus all manner of interesting goings on. The group itself was also excellent as all were seasoned travelers, on time and stayed healthy for the duration. The contrast between northern and southern India is fascinating. Thank you, Gate 1, for our sixth memorable trip with you!

It was a very moving and spiritual experience for our 37th gate 1 tour. This is the first discovery tour we have done and we are pleased with the size of the group. In 2 weeks time, we got to know everyone and felt like a new extended family. We enjoyed all the temples and sites we visited and our tour manager, Jay, was excellent. Overall another truly memorable gate 1 trip. Many thanks for this opportunity to travel the world for less.

My fiancé and I as well as my cousin and his wife just completed the Gate 1 Travel tour to Australia and Tasmania. We had a most incredible trip covering major towns and cities on the east coast, IIuru and Tasmania. Bruny Island was stunning. I commend Gate 1 for the fabulous trip you put together. I can't begin to imagine how much work was involved with all the arrangements. It was the trip of a lifetime for us. Bravo! Kudos go to our tour guide, Matthew. He was the best. He was informative, fun, attentive and a real good guy. He nicknamed us "The Mob" and helped us all to speak Aussie. He took great care of us even diffusing a potential confrontation that surfaced in Melbourne. Please keep up the good work.

16 Day Southern India, A Spiritual Culture was a wonderful tour. It was action packed, with many temples to see & the Indian culture to explore. Gate 1 provided us with truly spectacular hotels in the most interesting environments. Our guide, Srini, was the most accommodating of guides. He was helpful, informative, gracious and a true problem solver for our minor traveling concerns. This was a great trip. Thanks, Gate 1.

It was great! Just like all of my previous Gate 1 trips. Excellent tour guide. Fabulous hotels and I learned so much about the culture of southern India. I loved the food and all the information that I was given. There was lots of variety to this tour. Can't wait to plan my next destination.

Our New Zealand trip was fabulous! Our tour manager, Kirsten was so knowledgeable about her country and provided all kinds of information and little stories along the way. Our tour group was so fun and made the trip very enjoyable and fun. This was our first tour and we couldn't have asked for better weather, beautiful scenery and fun experiences. We will be using Gate One for our next trip. Thanks for all your help booking.

Our trip was outstanding. Factors contributing to this include: A stellar guide. Aaron was organized, considerate of individual needs, and an excellent communicator. His commentary was insightful, engaging, and always relevant. He is very knowledgeable about history, natural history, and about Maori culture. Of the three group tours we have been on, Aaron we clearly our favorite tour guide! Our itinerary was great. There was great variety. We hit the highlights that we were most interested in. No one travel day was exceptionally long. We had a good blend of being "on the go" and downtime. The hotels and food were great. We loved the variety. We liked that the hotels were very close to the city center/main attractions. We appreciated the way our bags were handled. Our coach drivers - Steve and Larry - were excellent. The coaches were comfortable.

I had a great trip! Linda, the tour guide, was so incredible the entire trip. On the last day my group told her how much she meant to us on the trip. She knew everything about NZ and we all said we now know everything about NZ due to her. The bus drivers were wonderful too! Thank you for a memorable experience!

My trip was fantastic. Nepal is such a beautiful country and this trip was perfect. The busy city of Kathmandu with its beautiful stupas and temples, the Rhinos at Chitwan National Park, the charming town of Bandipur, the lake at Pokhara, and the view from Nargakot all added together to make this trip very special. The people of Nepal were the friendliest and truly made us feel very welcome. To top everything off, you also have an amazing view of the Hymalayas. The icing on the cake was our tour manager, Anup. He was the best. His knowledge and love of Nepal along with his helpfulness and concern for all made this trip special. I encourage anyone with a sense of adventure to visit Nepal. You will not be disappointed.

My wife and I just returned from a fabulous tour of New Zealand with Gate 1. Needless to say, we were impressed with the encyclopedic knowledge of our tour manager, Kirsten. She also provided us with supplementary information in the form of handouts concerning NZ flora, fauna, history, government, art, culture, and the economy. She was very patient and, at all times, positive, despite encountering minor hiccups during the trip. One example - one our group left her purse (with her passport) at a cafe in a town, and we had to backtrack to retrieve it. Kirsten worked well with both bus drivers in getting us to where we needed to be on time. Kirsten took great care of our group, and generously shared her knowledge of all things New Zealand in a light and informative manner. I noted that her knowledge at one of the national parks exceeded that of the local guide!

I am very thankful that I joined this trip. Sri Lanka is super beautiful especially so the people are extremely nice, friendly, honest and grateful, respectful. The natural beauty of Sri Lanka, especially the beautiful natural sceneries.....the green, verdant hills and mountains, clean fresh air, the moist air that the nearby Indian ocean gives, the safari that we went to OMG. On top of that, our tour guide, director SHYAM did an excellent job, the driver Mr. Asholea and the assistant tour guide Mr. Ara did their job as well.

This trip was excellent! The itinerary afforded us the ability to see both "big city" Japan and the beautiful countryside of the "Japanese alps" area, where many trees were starting to change color in the fall. We also enjoyed the many cultural activities included, such as sushi-making, calligraphy, and dressing in kimonos. The star of the trip was our tour director, Nobuko. She was enthusiastic, funny, very knowledgeable, and highly organized. She was very generous with her time, taking us on many evening walks to areas that were not on the itinerary. I highly recommend this tour with Gate1, my seventh!

Hiro was an amazing guide. Getting me meals that didn't include seafood in a country that thrives on it for every meal ( and for others too) was beyond spectacular. No guide has ever accommodated me that way and it was so appreciated. I also loved having one guide for the whole trip instead of local guides at every site. This was my favorite Gate 1 Trip. The activities were fun and educational along with great sites and nice hotels. A perfect itinerary and trip. Many thanks.

It was a great tour with a great, caring tour guide, Annalise. First class bus drivers Chris and Gerry, irreplaceable every day, keeping us hydrated and safe on the road. Every day was a big surprise with beautiful places, comfortable hotels, timely and tasty meals. Our group was like big Family. Annalise was the Best.

Sri Lanka changed my life for the better! Richard, our tour manager, is the best tour manager I have ever had the pleasure of touring with. He is remarkably intelligent, hilarious, thoughtful, organized, proactive, patient, creative, understanding, authentic, adventurous, considerate, and made the trip so enriching. All of the accommodations were beautiful, the friendly bus driver and assistant put safety first and were always quick to lend a helping hand. The bus driver drove us through Sri Lanka will incredible skill among all the traffic and windy turns and heights we encountered. Everyone I encountered was friendly and gentle. I miss Sri Lanka so much already and need to return!

The trip was amazing! Rumi is the best tour guide I've ever had! Every day the tour was full of the history and traditions of Japan; but the most fun was the exposure to all the Japanese culture. By the last day, I was thinking that there were too many shrines and temples scheduled, but when we got to the final shrine it was spectacular. Great trip! By the way, My husband thought he was done traveling; but he just told me he'll take another Gate1 tour if they're all like this one...if the tour guide is as good as Rumi! Looks like we'll try another Gate1 tour next year!

Rumi is an amazing tour manager! Very organized and punctual and made our days go very smooth. Her personal stories and sharing of personal memorabilia (ie: photos, spelling of her name in different Japanese styles) and amazing knowledge about the country is fantastic. All of the cultural activities we did were amazing! Loved your sense of humor....very funny!! Thank you Rumi for a very fun, amazing and memorable trip!!

We knew that Uzbekistan is an interesting country with a lot of history going back to the b.c. era, but we were a little hesitant to go as this is a relatively new destination for Gate 1. However, we were up for a huge surprise, not only did this Gate 1 trip once again exceed our expectations, but also Uzbekistan turned out to be an amazing country with great people. Our tour manager and guide Maruf (Mark) not only was able to share the great history of his country but also he allowed us to learn the culture of Uzbek people . They turned out to be the most welcoming and friendly people who are proud of their history and happy to share it with visitors. Their tolerance to all world religions and cultures impressed us the most. Uzbekistan is very welcoming to tourists, English is widely spoken. Once again Gate1 didn't disappoint us on their choice of tour managers, guides and drivers. Thank you, gate 1 for another great vacation.

Thank you! It was one of the best, if not the best, trip I have been! Tour Manager Hiroko is definitely the best! Very lucky to have her. Japan is so beautiful, so clean and people are soooo disciplined. Why can't all countries be as clean? Been to Singapore and it is just as clean. Feel so safe .... not scared of theft and the surroundings at all despite the crowd everywhere, especially at train stations and tourist spots. First time to take Discovery Tours... worth every penny spent. Length of tour could be extended. Not enough time for leisurely shopping.