China, Japan, South Korea & Central Asia
Reviews
It's wonderful! To learn about the Japanese culture. All was perfect. Thanks to Do our guide and all tourist who made this trip a success.
Eliza D.The trip to Tokyo was amazing, Rie was great. Got to see a lot of amazing places from Mt Fuji to the sea.
Joseph O.Hide was our TM. He was the best I have ever had. His instructions were clear, every detail was covered. He went above and beyond on several occasions especially offering extra evening tours to acclimate us to each hotel area. I was so impressed by Hide's organization skills, patience and compassion.
Ellen M.Gate1 continues to amaze me. My trip came off without a hitch. Everything worked well and as it should. Hotels were great. Everything was well organized. The two tour managers on this trip were incredibly good. Gate1 generally has excellent tour managers but the two on this tour (Hailey and David) were really amazing. Their "value added experiences" were some of the best parts of the tour. Thank you for being such an awesome company.
Bruce R.It was fabulous!!! I cannot say enough about our Chinese tour manager, Maggie!! She was so helpful, informative and just the best!! I would recommend this tour highly.
Jane R.I wanted to say how much I enjoyed our Uzbekistan itinerary. It was an amazing country and I learned a lot. I would like to specifically mention our Tour Manager Kamola. Her knowledge of the history of Uzbekistan and the subject matter were excellent, and her youthful energy was refreshing. She worked hard to make sure we had a great experience. This was our 13th Gate 1 and obviously won't be our last. Thanks again for another great trip.
Mark H.Our trip was even more adventurous and enjoyable than we ever imagined it could be. Our guide, Mark was the best guide we have ever had on any trip with any company. Mark taught us about Uzbekistan culture, climate, ecology, education, medical care, history, people, religion and more. Also, assisting Mark was Fax, who was so knowledgeable and prepared and both Mark and Fax spoke from their kind hearts.
Eleanor D.Tom has been an amazing tour manager and he made our first visit to China and our first tour with Gate 1 an amazing experience. He was very attentive to our needs and did all the "little things" that made the experience so much better. Please thank him again for us and we look forward to our next Gate 1 tour!
Simon W.I wanted to commend our Tour Manager/Director Davron. Knowledgeable and excellent leader. A great problem solver and adjusts whatever the needs may be. the other staff of Gate1 who assisted us are excellent. Xavier has been very helpful in so many ways, from picking us up in the airport to assisting in orientation. Hotels are excellent, one suggestion for Panarams hotel is more selection on breakfast menus. Those restaurants were selected and food is amazing. The tours and places selected are mesmerizing. The drivers are excellent. Thank you. Keep up the great work!
Evelyn A.Our tour manager, Mie, was amazing, excellent, professional & fun! She's THE BEST! She loves people and her job. Mie provided maps for cities - what a nice surprise! at the end of the trip, she summarized all we did on a map of Japan! What a delight! She put a lot of time & effort to the maps. Mie did so much more to make sure we were comfortable & have a great time. Soo lucky we had Mie for Japan. I hope all my future trips will have a Tour Manager like Mie! (Maybe you can train all to be Mie!) Thank you Gate1 for Mie.
Emma F.The trip to China was wonderful. We had an excellent Tour Manager Susan. Her leadership skills are superior and she is very attentive to the various needs of the tour participants. She kept a solid team harmony with tour group and always look out for our safety. The vacation experience was excellent because of the help and guidance from Susan.
Chap P.We just finished our 14-day Japan w/ Hiroshima trip. It was fantastic and one of the top trips we have taken. Our guide Nobuko was attentive, though and went out of her way to make our trip exceptional. Nobuko had extra evening city walks, not schedules on the agenda, to give us the full flavor of Japan. We got a chance to see the stores, city life, restaurants and hidden eating establishments that had the best food smells. One of our guest travelers was looking for a certain doll to bring home and Nobuko called around the city to locate it. Nobuko handed out pamphlets and marked maps showing our activities and walking routes for the day. They were very much appreciated and helped us to stay on task. She strived to make all of our wishes come true... I recommend everyone put this trip on your bucket list. You will not regret it.
Julie B.I wanted to highlight that while our Japan vacation was exceptional, what truly made it unforgettable was our tour guide, Akane. I hardly know where to begin-she was warm, kind, respectful, thoughtful, incredibly organized, and made us feel as though we were part of her own family. She was absolutely outstanding and has likely set our expectations far too high for any future tours. Simply amazing.
Joseph L.This is my 16th Gate1 tour and I have always experienced wonderful tour directors. However, the tour director, Gloria, for this 15 Day Amazing China tour is by far the BEST tour director I have ever had. Her competence, positive spirit and timely follow-through skills are exceptional. Every detail was perfectly administered. Just wanted you to know your tour directors are very good but Gloria is GREAT!
Joanne G.The trip to China was more than what I had expected. It was great to see the Great Wall of China and the Terra Cotta soldiers, and the many other historical sites we visited. But China was so much more. I was impressed with how modern and clean the cities were. Shanghai by night was wonderful to see. The food was excellent - in the hotels and the restaurants. The number one compliment I have to give is our tour guide Melinda. She called us her family, and she treated us like one. She was very informative, very helpful, and very fun to be around!
Donald G.This was our 13th Gate 1 Travel trip. We had a wonderful time visiting South Korea! We saw many of its important sites and learned about the country's history. We enjoyed meeting many Koreans and eating the Korean food. Darren, our Tour Manager, was excellent, as have been all the other Gate 1 tour managers in the past.
Robert S.I would like to add that Dovran was a wonderful tour manager. He was extremely knowledgeable and expressed that information beautifully. He was always attentive and cared for the safety and concerns of every member of our group. We were very happy to have him as our tour manager!
Cheryl D.We had a fabulous trip, exceeded our expectations!! We absolutely loved China and now with a 10 yr visa we plan to visit again. I would love to see G1 introduce more different China itineraries in the near future. China is a fascinating country of history, culture, and huge cities both old and very new. There is so much to learn there. Our TM , Juliet, was fantastic! She was extremely organized, efficient, knowledgeable, warm , friendly , and caring. It was so much fun to be in her "family". We lucked out with her as our TM. We enjoyed a very nice group of travelers to share experiences with. All parts of our trip went flawlessly and the local guides were all excellent. The hotels were all beautiful and we enjoyed so much delicious and varied food typical of the different regions. Hiking on the Great Wall , the Forbidden city in Beijing, viewing the Terracotta warriors, and seeing the pandas chopping on bamboo were definitely highlights. The Yangtze River cruise was great to relax after busy days of travel and sightseeing. My husband, an engineer, was especially excited to see the three gorges dam, largest in the world. Finishing with Shanghai was like an encore! Amazing city of mixing old and new. Definitely a showpiece of China and a wonderful finale to an unbelievable journey! Thank you G1!!
Ann M.It was a wonderful trip, with a well-informed guide, by the name of Kei. Japan is a beautiful country with very gracious\, accommodating, kind and courteous people.
Tirun G.Thank you! As always our South Korea trip was awesome! Everything went very well! This is our 40+ trip with Gate1 Travel.
Maria P.Our tour guide, Maggie, was exceptional. She was detailed and very accommodating. Helpful in every way and thoughtful to our needs and going out of her way in accommodating us. She was absolutely an excellent guide and I felt safe and cared for in every way. Very punctual and clear in all of her directions and knowledgeable of her country. The love she has for her country was evident and she took extra initiative in giving us an amazing experience. Her English was excellent and easily understood and she had a good sense of humor. She met us at the airport and made sure we were cared for at pick up and also in going back to the airport, as an assistant helped us navigate where we needed to go once at the airport. The service she provided is exactly what I deeply appreciated. I highly rate her as top in her position. We all become very fond of her and she will be missed by all of us.
Juli F.We just finished the China Discovery Tour. We have been on several Gate 1 Travel tours and they have all been very good. This China tour, we have to say, ranks at the top. It was the best tour we have been on and, in no small part, to our fantastic tour guide "Joe." Without a doubt he is the best we've ever had. His language skills were excellent. He was attentive, thorough and always generous with his time. He was always calm even in the most stressful situations. And he had wonderful sense of humor and just a joy to spend time with. We hope he gets this feedback and is told he is the best. Overall the trip was wonderful but "Joe" our guide was excellent.
John M.I loved this trip to China and it changed my feeling about China! I did not know what to expect and was very pleasantly surprised finding the Country beautiful and the people nice. It is crowded but that did not affect the outcome. Great bus drivers. Scotty was very informative and pleasant, he really kept the group entertained! The local guides were also very good - I learned a lot about the country and its history. I felt very safe the whole time. The hotels were fantastic, clean, and the breakfast buffets were the best. The lunches and dinners out were great. Overall - a fantastic trip and I would do it again. Gate 1 is the best!!
Louise J.Our guide Kami was amazing, her youth and exuberance were contagious along with her impressive knowledge of Uzbeki history. She's a keeper! Also one of the most autonomous group of travelers I have had the pleasure of going on a journey with. Enjoyed the whole trip very much!
Pamela B.We have completed Discovery Gate 1 tour in Uzbekistan. It was amazing from start to finish. All we wanted was just to stay longer in this beautiful country. Our hotels were very good and exceeded our expectations. The food was great in variety and full of local flavors. Our tour manager Davron was simply the best. He was well organized and so helpful in every way possible. His English language and communication skills were excellent. Besides being a perfect tour manager, he acted as a guide throughout the whole journey. He is very well educated and professional tour guide. His knowledge of the history and culture of Uzbekistan and the surrounding countries of the South Asia region is outstanding. We also had an excellent very professional driver who provided a great service all the way through our journey. Thank you Gate 1 for organizing this wonderful tour.
Olga S.The Tour Manager Rose, exceeded my expectations. She did above and beyond her duty as our tour manager. Unbelievable patience, knowledge and she's the best so far of all my Gate 1 travels. She has the right attitude for an excellent Tour Manager.
Gilda P.My Gate 1 Travel trip to Uzbekistan has been a wonderful experience. The people are very welcoming to visitors. The country is clean & safe. Uzbekistan is truly a melting pot of many cultures. The food is good. Several languages are spoken here. Traveling with Gate 1 exposes visitors to the beauty of the land, people, & their religion. The history of Central Asia goes beyond the Silk Road. Visiting Tashkent, Khiva, Bukhara, & Samarkand feels like stepping back through time portals to the ancient world. I will remember Uzbekistan as the land of beautiful blue tiles. When night falls, the lights come on, and these places become magical palaces against the dark sky. Our tour guide Davron is friendly & cordial, hard worker, & immediately attentive to any of our needs. I especially appreciate his descriptions & explanations of historical events. Although he gives the tour in English, I was impressed by his ability to speak in & out of several languages. I would highly recommend visiting Uzbekistan in October. Good weather, friendly people, good food & the country has an amazing history!
Carolyn L.After 13 trips with Gate 1, we believe Mei was our best-ever tour manager. They all have been very good to excellent but Mei took the extra step to be superlative! She was super organized, very friendly, humorous at the right times and extremely knowledgeable. She went above and beyond at every stop to make the whole group comfortable. She is one of a kind! Also, the tour was excellent and the hotels were amazing. The itinerary was thorough and covered all the "must-sees." The immersion into the culture was fantastic and more than we had hoped for. This is a trip of a lifetime! Thank you, Gate 1!
Mary M.It was amazing. So well organized and everything taken care of. Stone as the Tour Manager was exceptional. The best we have ever had. He was fun, hardworking and kept everything on track. My Wife and I both had Birthdays during the schedule and Stone went out of his was to help us celebrate in a very special way. All the local guides were also brilliant including Vicky in Shanghai.
Robert S.This trip to Japan was awesome! Our Tour manager Fumi absolutely made this trip fantastic! She was so well organized and full of knowledge about her home country. Fumi gave out terrific maps and also a printed copy of our daily itinerary along with a spreadsheet for the entire trip. Never before has a Tour Manager given out such vital and helpful information! We hope to return to Japan with your new south Japan tour maybe next year. As always Gate 1 you exceeded our expectations. Thank you to all of you at Gate 1 and especially to Fumi.
Emma F.My trip to China was absolutely amazing! Our tour manager Maggie was so professional, kind, generous and such a great advocate for her country and people. I was impressed with how much the itinerary covered and the logistics of the transportation. The cruise was a real highlight - the ship was super modern with excellent food, accommodation, service and activities. All of the restaurants and food experiences were also incredible, and I loved getting to sample the authentic cuisine of each region, like the famous hot pot in Sichuan! From pandas, to skyscrapers, the Wall, and Forbidden City, this trip afforded me the opportunity to experience a country and culture I never thought I would. Thank you to everyone at Gate1 for putting together this excellent tour!
Dana S.Everything was amazing! The places, the people, the food. We were a good group, always on time. And we had good weather. Our host, Nobu, took really good care of us, she kept us entertained on our bus rides, and gave us a lot of information about the places we visited. I would definitely go again on a gate 1 travel adventure.
Teresa G.Our tour guide, Sharon was excellent, one of the best tour operators we've ever had, whether it was Gate1 or any of our other trips. She was full of energy, passionate about her job, very caring and a wealth of knowledge about her country and its history. Every day was more exciting than the last. She took us to fabulous sites and wonderful restaurants for our meals. On our downtime, she suggested places to visit and made sure we had precise directions. We loved every minute of this trip!
Susan S.The tour in Uzbekistan was excellent! We had a very good group of experienced travelers and the tour manager/guide (Jalol) was excellent. He was very knowledgeable, upbeat/enthusiastic, patient, and always willing to help. The weather was great, the sites were superb in a variety of locations. What a great trip!
Jacques B.Rose was our tour manager was outstanding. She made the trip very special and went beyond expectations to make everyone happy safe and enjoying the tour. She is a treasure. Hope to be on her tour again. Also guide in Shanghai was amazing. Vicky was terrific. So was Victoria our cruise director. She made cruise special and amazing.
Charles B.I cant say enough good things about our tour manager. Stone was outstanding and the best tour manager we have had on our six Gate1 tours. He was so funny, kind, considerate, and caring. He made the trip an absolute delight. The trip was great too. The hotels were great! The individual tour guides were great as well.
Joanne E.We just returned from our first Gate One experience, the 9-day Japan trip. My friends had highly recommended Gate One, and they were right. During the 9 days everything went as planned with absolutely no issues. Our group leader, Marika, was superb. She was knowledgeable, very informative and always professional. Her sense of humor was certainly appreciated by the entire group, and she was always available for us. Because of this very positive experience, especially because of the caliber of staff such as Marika, we will definitely use Gate One for our next travel experience.
Donald F.The experience we had on this trip was spectacular. From the transportation provided to the sights visited, everything was perfect. Our guide Kamie was absolutely wonderful! She had whole trip planned out perfectly! Everything was clear and concise; both my wife and I were very impressed during our entire time in Uzbekistan. Being this was my first Gate 1 discovery tour; I did not know what to expect at the time I booked the vacation. But she was very knowledgeable, and I was able to learn from her about the history and culture, also see the famous landmarks about Uzbekistan. I want to give special thanks to Kamie and our bus driver Johnny. This trip really exceeded my expectations. I will never forget this vacation, and I only had font memories about Uzbekistan.
Jimmy C.This was my 19th trip with Gate 1. Susan was one of the best tour managers I have had the pleasure of traveling with, Her professionalism, friendliness, and ability to form a cohesive group are outstanding. I would travel on any tor that she leads! Please pass my comments to her leadership and my appreciation to her.
Dennis C.Komala was very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful throughout the tour. She made each of us feel important. Enriched our understanding of Uzbekistan and its culture. She was very conscientious, making sure all our concerns were addressed properly and promptly. I would recommend her for all your tours in Uzbekistan and elsewhere
Alejandro A.My sister and I had a fantastic time in China. We were impressed with the logistics, the excellent choice of hotels, restaurants and we were most impressed with Jason and the team in China. We got to see all the highlights of the country and the most remarkable temples, historical places and were treated so very kindly and politely by everyone. We will highly recommend this tour.
Moanikeala R.Just got back from the Discovery 15 Day China trip. Jerry was an outstanding guide from start to finish. Special thanks to Jenny, the local tour guide in Xian, for helping me get on a street food tour I had booked. The food & hotels were wonderful. Seeing the Great Wall brought tears to my eyes. I have now visited all 7 Wonders of the World using Gate 1 by myself. It was huge for me. This was my 20th Gate 1 Tour & I have a few more trips planned. The places we visited, and the group, are now wonderful memories that I can have forever.
Melissa M.From the moment we watched the video of the Armenia and Georgia tour, we knew we wanted to experience it for ourselves, and the tour did not disappoint. Both Tour Managers, Ani in Armenia and Nino in Georgia, were friendly, knowledgeable, helpful and passionate about their country and heritage. All the aspects of the trip went smoothly. The hotels were excellent, and the food was exceptional. Our favorite meals in Armenia were at Sergy's Place, Susian Ceramics (both had such a family ambiance) and Rigi, which was truly an amazing meal. In Georgia, the two winery meals, Pheasant's Tears and Karseladze Cellar, were delicious too but being in such lovely surroundings added to the experience. The last dinner at Barbarestan blew us away! All the historic sites were fascinating, and we learned so much from our TMs, but a suggestion I would like to add is that the Georgia portion f the trip seemed heavy on monasteries and churches, and less on what I call cultural experiences, like visiting a craft workshop. This was our second Gate 1 tour, and it won't be our last. Thanks for all the wonderful memories
Sandi L.Thank you Gate1! As always it was wonderful. That was our 3rd trip with you and there was not a single thing that was not perfect starting with Sam, our guide. He was very kind and knowledgeable. The best guide ever. Thanks to him, we were able to see and understand as much as possible a different world. Thank you again!!
Zhivka K.Awesome... we had a great trip. Our greatest highlight was we had a very clear day & were able to view Mt Fuji. Our tour guide Ichiro was great, very knowledgeable & patient. He guided us very well & had answers to all our questions. He individually answered and helped all the tourists in our group. At our farewell dinner he also sang for us with his beautiful voice. We also appreciated the manner in which he rotated the seating in the bus every day.
Alpa P.My trip to Kyrgyzstan was wonderful! It is an amazing country with spectacular scenery. The Gate1 itinerary for this trip allowed me to see so many different aspects of this beautiful country. Hiking in nature, spending the night in a yurt, visiting home hosted dinners, boat ride on Issyk Kol Lake, the snow on the mountains and horses, sheep, cattle, and camels all added to the adventure of this trip. Our tour guide, Sergei and driver, Alex, were wonderful and made this trip very special. Thank you Gate 1 for giving us another wonderful trip and experience.
Penny H.Fantastic!!! We loved Kyrgyzstan! Exceptional tour manager! Ivan is the very best guide we have had in our many Gate 1 trips. Knowledgeable, caring, organized.
Michele S.Ivan, our tour guide and manager, was excellent--one of the best I've ever had. He was attentive, did a lot of extras that were over and beyond what was expected--far more than any other tour guide/manager I've ever had. Our group felt that he truly wanted to welcome us to his country of Kyrgyzstan and make our experience of it special and memorable. Throughout the tour he was patient and had an even temperament -- very professional. Ivan is a keeper!
Linda C.This was our 4th trip with Gate One and we have had many trips with other companies. However, through all our travels, we have never had a tour guide as good as Mie. She was so knowledgeable and sincere, and you could tell that she truly enjoys what she does. She was thorough when letting us know what to expect so there were no surprises. Even with such a large group, she made sure everyone was included and you could tell that she genuinely cared that everyone enjoyed the tour. Her positive attitude, her sense of humor and ability to build connections with people were some of the highlights of our tour. My wife was literally crying when we said goodbye to her. We would probably book another Japan tour if we could ensure that Mie was our guide. We can't thank her enough for bringing Japan to life for us in way that wouldn't have been possible without her. She is an awesome ambassador for Gate One and for Japan.
Lance S.It was amazing and our tour manager Akane was special and made our trip unforgettable memories. She's a keeper! You did it again Gate1. Thank you!
Hav S.


