Our trip was awesome. Gate 1 exceeded my expectations in every way--start to finish. And kudos to our tour manager Peter. We will definitely book with Gate 1 from now on. You guys are obviously a value-driven organization. Thanks so much for everything.

FABULOUS!!!!! EVERYTHING was absolutely perfect---GATE ONE does it again!! From the moment we arrived in Madrid, we knew we had "no cares in the world" but to enjoy our well-deserved getaway and let Gate One do what they do better than NO OTHER! Carmen was the quintessential tour guide - charming and delightful, professional, knowledgeable, and capable in every way. She let nothing "slip through the cracks." From the drivers to the tour guides, the tours and hotels and restaurants and all the places we visited - I cannot imagine it could have been ANY better. Can't wait for my next Gate One adventure! Thank you, Nicole, for your assistance in making this all happen. :-) THANK YOU GATE ONE!!!!!

What an enjoyable Portugal vacation. Our Tour Manager, Americo was amazing in keeping the group and schedules in line. He is extremely knowledgeable and made sure that everybody is comfortable and having the best time. Our driver, Jose was excellent in navigating the narrow roads of Portugal and you felt safe the entire time when he's behind the wheels. The local tour guide also contributed in making our vacation amazing. We look forward to another vacation with Gate 1.

Just returned from the 11-day Affordable Spain Trip with Raquel as the tour manager. This tour had a great itinerary allowing one to get a good taste of major cities in Spain. Loved it and want to return. This was our 10th trip with Gate1 and Raquel was one of the best tour managers we have had. Not only does she have a great personality and sense of humor, expert organizational skills and general regard for each tour member, her knowledge and love of her country was infectious. We enjoyed the extra information that she provided with handouts of Spanish phrases, definitions of Spanish dishes and suggestions about what to do in each city. She assisted in helping with clear directions when we needed to visit sites on our own. She managed the group very well, from suggestions for ice breakers to get to know your fellow travelers to keeping you safe on streets to managing small emergencies that occurred within the group during the trip. She is a top professional in her field and a pleasure to spend a week with. We miss her!

We had a wonderful trip! Ruí was a fantastic guide. He was very knowledgeable and helpful. Every city was amazing and we fully enjoyed all the optional trips. I love how Gate1 always puts an interesting stop during travel days. Évora, Ronda and Caiscas were wonderful stops. We were very pleased with all the hotels especially their locations. Having a balcony room in Torremolinos was a pleasant surprise. I can't wait to travel with Gate1 again!

Our tour guide, Silvia, was excellent! She was always on time, easy to talk to, always have a smile on face, she handled problems very well especially dealing with 40 different personalities!!!! always looking for our safety, very informative and knows what she is talking about, and I can go on and on. All the other tour guides were very good! This is probably our best trip ever! We have used Gate One several times but this Portugal/Spain is my favorite! Will highly recommend to family and friends. Thank you Gate One!

Ercilia, our tour manager, was absolutely amazing. This is the first guided Gate 1 tour that we took, (all others were independent) and me and my family enjoyed and loved it so much. You get to know and visit so much; we are in love with Portugal. Ercilia was absolutely professional, knowledgeable, respectful, sweet and kind. This experience was so fantastic that from now on we will book guided tours. Thank you Gate 1 for your excellent service, we love Gate 1.

Every tour I take from gate 1 travel amazes me. It gets better and better. Spain hotels and food are excellent. Javier, our tour guide, was very informative, courteous, funny, helpful, and attentive to our needs. Specially mention to Riu hotel in Madrid , excellent addition to gate 1 hotel accommodation. I hope you add more Riu hotels for another destinations. We enjoyed and so much fun from Spain trip (Madrid, corpus, Seville, Granada, Valencia & Barcelona) I'm already looking/planning the next one to take!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Gate 1, for another memorable trip. We thoroughly enjoyed our tour of Spain, led by Estefi (the best!!) and driven by Ximo (so professional!!). Spain is a beautiful country, loaded with historic sights and cultural heritage...and incredible food! We learn so much on your tours and are introduced to very interesting places. We traveled from beautiful Madrid to Seville, Granada, Valencia, and Barcelona, with side trips to Toledo, Cordoba, Alicante and Montserrat. To see so much of the country in 8 days without having to drive ourselves is a great way to travel and explore...and there's still plenty of free time to wander on your own. We enjoyed our group very much, and we can't say enough great things about our tour guide Estefi. There were several situations that arose, and Estefi handled everything with ease and humor. She is a true professional, and she makes everyone feel like family. The hotels were beautiful, in great locations, with delicious breakfasts. There were several "wow" moments built in - lunch at Alhambra, the gondola ride, and of course Fallas! This was our 11th trip with Gate 1, and we have two more booked. Can't wait to travel again!

Thank you Gate1 we had a marvelous trip , Luis our tour manager was excellent he made sure everyone in the group had everything we needed making sure everyone is having a great time, answering all our questions and even to our departure day waking up at 3am to see that everyone that have early flight have our packed breakfast from the hotel and see us off to catch our flight back home and our wonderful driver Alex the best driver he make sure we get to our destination safely and water is ready when we get back from visiting all the beautiful places that Gate1 prepared for us to visit. Thank you and we are looking forward with our next trip with Gate1.

It was great. Our tour manager was Olga and there are not enough wonderful adjectives to describe her. She made an otherwise great trip, wonderful. Friendly, attentive, knowledgeable, timely, informative, caring, and proud of her country are just some of the adjectives that come to mind. Gate 1 is lucky to have her as a tour manager. The accommodations were great and the optional tours just awesome. The schedule can be a bit hectic, but it is completely understandable under the circumstances. As tourists, we want to see everything and also rest. Both are mutually exclusive, and a compromise has to be made. Your excursions are planned perfectly and on top of that add Olga expertise and experience made our trip one wonderful and pleasurable vacation. Onwards to our next trip with Gate 1!

Overall my experience with Gate1 was phenomenal, may it be independent tour or escorted. I already told my friends about it and Gate 1 didn't disappoint and 100%recommended. I was very impressed how seamless were my vacations were. And I will be going again the next few months with Gate 1...that speaks how very satisfied I am!

Trip was amazing! Jose manager tour guide was so professional, kind and amazing too!! The driver is wonderful! Overall it's much more than I expected... I'm so thrilled with hotels and their breakfast. My first time with escorted trip. Last 10 years I have told to ppl so much about gate one..my friends and family are very very pleased after they have tried. Thank you for doing that. Best of best.

This is the second time I traveled with Gate 1. This time I traveled to Spain with my husband and 10 of my friends who had never traveled with Gate 1 before. Some of them were first time travelers to Europe. Gate 1 went above and beyond their expectation. First, we have a knowledgeable, friendly and professional tour guide, Andrea. He made sure that we are all safe. He was kind and patient enough with us. He made sure too that we have fun in every destination that we visited. The hotels are clean, accessible to transportation if we need to go to places that we love to see during our own leisure time. We had sumptuous breakfast everyday and the dinner provided for us was also world class. We were even surprised with a free lunch. That was a great experience indeed. Spain is an amazing place to visit indeed, especially with Gate 1. My friends would love to travel with Gate 1 again. Thanks to Gate 1 for the excellent service!

Just wanted to let you know how pleased we were with our travel to Portugal and Spain the end of Feb. March. It was fabulous!! Alex, our tour manager, made us feel welcome and safe throughout our time. Our bus driver Marco, was also great! We enjoyed all the tour guides and their information in every city we visited. Everything was so organized and well planned. I've been telling everyone what a wonderful time we had and to use Gate 1. I had read some of the reviews beforehand and wasn't sure, but this trip changed my mind and I hope to travel again soon. We met so many wonderful people in our group. Terrific experience!!!

My wife Jennifer and I just returned from our trip to Portugal and Spain. Our guide Lisa was amazing! In fact, all of the guides and drivers were wonderful. I have already recommended Gate1 to friends who were looking to travel to Spain. This was our second trip with your company, and I am so impressed. We are planning many more tours with Gate1!

My trip was fabulous. Our tour guide, Rui facilitated a flawless tour of Portugal. I cannot say enough good things about the planning, preparing and implementing of this magical journey. Ruiz's knowledge was beyond impressive; he was kind, personable, thorough and humble. Because of this, I can highly recommend Gate One travel without equivocation, and I look forward to more travel with your organization.

Rui was an extraordinary tour guide he was knowledgeable about everything we visited. He provided context, and history. He was very engaging and our time together was really fun and interesting. We all got along well and Rui helped make our time in Portugal both welcoming and memorable. We will definitely travel Gate 1 again. Well done. Our driver Philippe was incredible. He navigated a large coach bus through terrain with ear and grace. He did it well and he did it safely.

Had an amazing 10 day Affordable Spain trip! Gate 1 does an awesome job with all of the travel arrangements. The hotels were all extremely nice and centrally located within walking distance to many of the local sites, restaurants and shopping. The itinerary was great as it allowed us to visit many of the beautiful sites from Madrid to Barcelona and everything in between. Carmen, our tour guide, and Pedro, the bus driver, were absolutely wonderful. Carmen is extremely knowledgeable and kept the tour on schedule. I absolutely loved having Carmen as our tour guide. This was my 4th Gate 1 tour and I'm certain it will not be my last.

Our guide Adriana was a history professor, BBC documentary host, and cruise director all in one. The driver Thiago was made us feel safe cruising the narrow, hilly pathways of the medieval towns. The food and the wine was excellent. An overall unforgettable trip.

Affordable Spain was great - first time of my now 54 G1 trips that I have taken the Affordable option (but really they all are!), but it was a winner - all the benefits and inclusions of a Classic tour just taken in the off-season, with fewer crowds and so great to escape the frigid NE winter with warmer temperatures for a week. A circle tour that starts and ends in the capital Madrid, which makes for easy flight connections. I have been to Spain several times, but loved revisiting places like Toledo and the Alhambra in Granada, without the high season hordes of people. And the one new place for me on this tour, Cordoba, I just loved - the Mezquita de Cordoba is amazing to see. A very well paced tour with a visit and walking tour of a major city or sight each day, and then also enough free time to be able to explore more and to find interesting places for lunch and dinner on days they are not included. The hotels were all excellent and well located, and rooms were spacious and modern - breakfasts were buffet style and delicious and plentiful and loved the added Spanish touches like hot chocolate and churros! Finally - our group of 31 was driven safely and courteously by the very personable Manuel and led with style and perfect organization by our tour manager Ana, who was lovely and helped make everything run flawlessly. Thanks as always and for me now a January Affordable trip will become a regular occurrence!

This was my first complete vacation tour. It was amazing and Alex , our tour guide was beyond fantastic. We had a fabulous time, learned a lot and had tons of fun. The group was amazing and we felt safe, attended to and it could not have been a better experience. I have told many friends about this tour and that they should experience the same with Gate one. Please give Alex a huge thank you and if possible a huge bonus - he was the best person and tour guide I have ever experienced. He is a gem.

This was my first Gate 1 trip and I didn't know what to expect. Our tour manager was fantastic (César) and our bus driver was very punctual and professional (Alex or Alejandro). César went out of his way to ensure the entire group was comfortable and got along well together. This was truly an outstanding first-time experience. Looking forward to future travel opportunities and will let others know about my wonderful trip because of Gate 1. The ability to add hotel days at the start and end of the trip were a huge bonus to explore the city independently.

It was great! Our tour manager, Catia, was 5 star all the way. She was so knowledgeable and organized everything beautifully. The drivers and additional site guides were so fun and made the trip exceptional. All the hotels and meals were wonderful. I especially liked that the hotels were all so centrally located so walking was convenient. The "on our own time" was perfect. Thanks, and hope to go on another trip with Travel Zone again.

I just wanted to sing the praises our tour manager and driver for my recent trip to Spain. I feel like I hit the jackpot with this dynamic duo. I know I'm misspelling their names, Ai-maya and Timo, but I just want to make sure they get credit for being so wonderful. Both have fantastic personalities that make you feel part of a family and not just part of a tour. I've taken quite a few group tours over the years (with Gate 1 and other companies) and this one is favorite because of all of their hard work ... so I want to make sure I recognize both for being so amazing. Cheers to these two ... and of course, beautiful Spain!

Estefania was the absolute best travel guide for our entire tour. She was organized, friendly, very knowledgeable and took EXCELLENT care of our group. We hand some schedule changes and she handled everything efficiently and smoothly. She added some "WOW" moments for our group (pastries, tapas and an aerial gondola ride down Montserrat) that made us feel special and very lucky indeed. We all became great friends and by the time the trip was over, it was hard to say goodbye to everyone, and most especially Estefi. She is just such a wonderful person and guide, we LOVED HER. Let me know what other tours she will be in charge of in the future and we will be sure to sign up. Gate1 Travel, you've got a rare diamond in Estefi!! She is nothing short of amazing!

Optimo!! Very organized. The tour guide, Francisco, was excellent. Responsive to every inquiry and went above and beyond. Our driver, Ugo, was courteous, professional and extremely skilled driving in very narrow streets. Our guide in Porto, Marta, was very knowledgeable and friendly. Her passion for sharing her beautiful hometown with us came across as she pointed out landmarks and attractions. The optional tour of Sintra was great. A beautiful town of castles and spectacular scenery. The accommodations were very comfortable and convenient for exploring on our own. Above and beyond the sights and attractions we visited, surprises like our stop at the Christ the King statue and Ugo getting us natas in Belem, hot out of the oven, were special moments that enhanced my experience with Gate1. This was my first time in Europe and my first time talking a tour of any kind. At the recommendation of one of my sisters who has used Gate1, I looked into this trip. I am extremely satisfied with the experience and value that Gate1 provides. I would not hesitate to recommend Gate1 travel to friends and family.

just a quick note about our recent trip to Portugal. Carla was our tour guide and she was exceptional!! Her knowledge, communication, sense of humor and just caring about every traveler went way beyond! This is our 3rd trip with Gate1 ( we had always used other tour companies on previous trips, Viking, Grand Circle etc) but Gate1 far exceeds all these tour companies. We recommend to all our family and friends! Basically what sets you apart are your tour guides!! We can't wait for our next trip with Gate 1!!

We loved Portugal. Our guide, Adrianna, was so welcoming and very well versed in every aspect of the the history, politics, education and economics of Portugal. My husband and I love really learning about the places that we visit and Adrianna did a fantastic job of explaining the history and background of everything we viewed. We would also like to compliment, Vincent, our bus driver. Gate 1 seems to have a way of finding bus drivers who can make the buses bend around corners and operate like much smaller vehicles. This 8 day tour was more of an appetizer than a longer trip would have been. We went in 4 days early and stayed 2 days after the end. It allowed us to arrange a few more in depth tours of Lisbon and Porto. All in all we thing that we got a great deal of insight into Portugal. Both of us oved every minute of our trip.

Our Portugal Gate 1 Tour was fantastic. Miquel was endearing, super organized, super knowledgeable, and super engaging. He kept the whole group upbeat and fascinated with Portugal, its history and culture, it's folkways and food. Miquel's "mojo" kept the rain away, too! That's why our Douro River cruise was so remarkable and memorable. Louie was a skillful bus driver. Portugal is beautiful and Miguel, as well as local guides in Lisbon and Porto, made its history come alive. This was a lovely, compatible, friendly group of fellow travelers, led and inspired by Miquel and that always makes a Gate 1 tour special.

They were 13 unforgettable days, full of history and culture of the Iberian Peninsula. From Lisbon to Barcelona, every day was an experience and a journey through time. Portugal is beautiful and its people are friendly and hospitable. Spain is full of culture and history, with monuments, parks and museums that describe the passage of time. The landscapes, buildings, and places we visited transported us back in time, and everything was masterfully presented by each tour guide. Eva, Isabela, Monse, Juan, Egui and José, all of them, in an excellent and professional manner, presented relevant details of the facts and historical details of each area we visited. The performance of the tour manager, Daniel, was exceptional, and not forgetting the bus drivers, who diligently took us to different places and took care of us in safe manner. The hotels were in perfect locations, close to everything, easy access, and good quality service. I can't put into words how much we learned and fun we had, the places we visited, the people we met and shared, and the atmosphere we had. Everything was beautiful and exceeded all our expectations. We left Spain and Portugal, with a sweet taste in our mouths, and dreaming of returning, because Spain and Portugal are beautiful. Thank you Gate 1 and Daniel, for designing such a spectacular tour with high quality service.

I want to tell you that Rui was one OUTSTANDING guide. He was friendly, knowledgeable, funny, passionate about his country and very professional. Communication was efficient & reinforced verbally & written with daily schedules. I just can't say enough about him! He made me love Portugal & want to return!

Our trip to Portugal and Spain was beyond expectations. The architecture, history and scenery were spectacular. I am a Gaudi fan and was in awe of Sagrada Familia while in Barcelona. Our tour manager, Victor kept everything running smoothly and on time. He went out of his way to accommodate everyone and kept us laughing.

I want to say that the walking tour in Portugal/Spain was INCREDIBLE. It exceeded my expectations in every way, and was one of the most unique agency-run trips I've ever taken. The guides were so knowledgeable and full of positive energy. The activities were also unique -- tour of artist's studio, boat tour of the Camino de Santiago, etc. It rained the entire time and even that didn't detract from this amazing experience. I can see how this trip might not be right for a lot of the, say, typical Gate 1 consumers; I do hope that Gate 1 continues to offer more active/adventurous trips in the future, despite it not being the right fit for some of your clientele. I think this type of tour can attract a younger, more adventure-seeking crowd and I know? my same-age friends (40-somethings) will be interested in these types of trips.

This was our 11th Gate 1 trip, and I must say that it exceeded our expectations. Our first walking tour took us from Portugal to Santiago de Compostela and was an unforgettable journey filled with incredible sights and experiences. The guides, Rosana and Clara, were absolutely wonderful, offering insightful knowledge, genuine warmth, and unwavering support throughout the walking tour, which I also consider to also be a pilgrimage as we walked along some of the same paths as are walked by pilgrims doing El Camino Portuguese ending at the amazing Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Their passion for the route and dedication to ensuring everyone had a meaningful experience truly made the trip extraordinary. We encountered some bad weather along the way, but Rosana and Clara went the extra mile to ensure that we were safe and enjoyed our journey notwithstanding the weather. The breathtaking landscapes, the cultural immersion, and the camaraderie among fellow travelers made this walk/pilgrimage an enriching and soul-nourishing adventure. Thank you for an incredible journey of discovery and personal growth! We highly recommend this walking tour, and plan to do other walking tours with Gate 1 in the very near future.

I wanted to acknowledge our tour manager Caetano. He went above and beyond, always went the extra step and gestures. He was the best at providing assistance, suggestions, solving challenges, finding answers and was truly interested in his passengers and their wellbeing. His English was superb and he was so funny!!! Coach driver Paulo was also outstanding, polite, funny and very professional. They made us all feel comfortable, safe and that we got our money's worth. Actually I feel I more than did. I would so recommend this tour, although it should be mentioned that walking, hills and steps can be an issue for some. This was probably my favorite tour so far.

I want to express my sincere gratitude for the best experience of my life! Carmen our tour guide was a wealth of knowledge and made our trip an absolute joy. She has the charisma and detail oriented attitude that made our trip so enjoyable the time flew and we were sad to part ways!! Jose our driver was also a wonderful host and we appreciate so much his patience and willingness to accommodate our every whim! We will be looking to book another trip soon with carmen as our guide! We made wonderful friendships you can't find a better tour guide in the world. Thank you!

Our trip thru Spain and Portugal was outstanding. We started in Madrid, traveled west to Portugal. Visited Porto then headed south to see the Miracle of Fatima and continued to Lisbon while stopping to see other places as we traveled. We traveled back to Spain and visited Granada, Seville, Valencia, and Barcelona among other places. Both countries were filled with interesting places and the city guides did a great job. Our primary tour manager Cesar was excellent and it was obvious he was an experienced travel guide as he handled any concerns or issues with professional courtesy while offering a reasonable resolution to the situation. During the bus rides the information he offered on each country and places we visited was comprehensive. His command of the English language allowed him to make nuance and colloquial references that resonated very well with the group. Many of the members of our group were bi-lingual and he was able to converse with them in Spanish if necessary. His humor was the highlight of his way of managing the group and presenting information. Hats off to Cesar he is a wonderful ambassador for Gate 1 and for the countries of Spain and Portugal.

The itinerary of 8 Day Affordable Portugal is well designed. It covers the essential cities and places in a short time. I have done the 10 day Classic Portugal before and it is also a gem. Our tour manager Francisco was outstanding in managing the trip and providing in depth analysis. His passion for Portugal was very evident. He planned a surprised side trip for us which made the trip even more memorable. We came away with an appreciation of all things: the history, the beauty, the culture, the language, and most of all, the wine and the food. I would recommend this trip to anyone who is interested seeing Portugal. I could not accomplish seeing all these if I was doing on my own in 8 or 10 days.

Let me start with the forecast of rain all week. Thought I could stay home as I had insurance. What a silly thought! Sonia, the cruise director, made sure we all had a good time. Loved that she announced "dear passengers of the Douro Cruiser;" made me feel special and part of the family. Her chant of We Choose to be Happy, helped get that positive spirit going. And then, she was excellent in all she did! She loved her boat and the crew. The river was high and Captain Jesus made sure we were all safe. All the other crew members did their jobs and made us welcome. The passengers on the boat banded together with the positive spirit to ensure a good time. Best trip!

The most amazing of ALL my 30+ Gate One trips! Guide was very informative and itinerary was well designed to see Portugal! Hotels were excellent and location perfect!

THIS TRIP WAS FANTASTIC! I LOVED ALL THE HOTELS! THE MEALS WERE GREAT ALFONSO WAS BY FAR A GREAT GUIDE! THE WALKING THRU THE COUNTRYSIDE AND THRU THE VINEYARDS WAS WONDERFUL. MY TRANSFERS WERE RIGHT ON TIME!! IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY SO I WAS SERENADED IN SPANISH AND PORTUGEESE TO 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' OUR PLAN B ON THE ONE DAY IT RAINED VERY HARD..CLARA ARRANGED FOR US A TRAIN RIDE AROUND THE ISLAND! THAT WAS FUN! THIS WAS MY '47' TRIP WITH GATE 1 AND THEY JUST KEEP GETTING BETTER!! AND I HAVE 9 MORE BOOKED!!!!

Another great Gate 1 independent vacation. There were 3 couples in this party. The hotel & it's location in the middle of all the action was great in downtown Ponta Delgada. Steps from restaurants, bars, shopping and the ocean front. The costs of meals & entertainment were very reasonable. Flights and Airport-Hotel transfers worked like a charm. Would highly recommend this vacation.

I am a travel agent and have traveled to over 40+ countries and have had many tour guides throughout my years. But I was VERY IMPRESSED with Jaoquin! He is one of the best I have ever had! I want to let Gate 1 know that he is top notch and I hope he is being well taken care of. Not only is he personal, and knows English very well, but was so willing to help everyone in our group with anything they needed. He would even go above and beyond the normal protocol to help us! He is super impressive! I am excited to bring more groups to Gate 1! Thanks!

We had a fantastic trip and I must say that our tour leader, Aline, was a delight. I call her "the Amazing Aline"! She gave us so much history and shared all her knowledge of the area and the beautiful buildings, architecture, culture, agriculture while also managing all 38 of us which was no easy task, especially with all of the other crowds of tourists. I likened it to "herding cats". We had marvelous experiences with her. Our group was especially cohesive and we have kept in touch after the tour ended. I don't know how she had the time to keep us so organized, but she did, and with great humor and patience. She even provided us with a lovely snack when she was aware that we would have little time for an actual lunch stop, and even after reminding us that we should pick up our own snacks for this portion of the trip. It was a tasty treat of local foods. On those occasions when we were on our own for lunch or dinner, Aline gave us very good suggestions of where to find good restaurants - there were so many good establishments close to our hotels. Our bus driver, Jose, was an excellent driver. Between Jose and Aline they must have been in very close communications because he was always exactly where he needed to be to pick us up. Thank you, Gate 1, for one more excellent and memorable vacation!