G Adventures Review: What to Know & My Honest Thoughts

If you’re considering booking a tour with G Adventures, I’m here to help.

With tours in almost every corner of the world, G Adventures is an industry leader in small-group travel. They know what they’re doing, and they know how to do it well. However, trusting a company with your trip of a lifetime can feel like a big risk. But I’m here to help!

I’ve now travelled with G Adventures over ten times, and they’ve never let me down. They’re a leader in small-group adventures, sustainable travel, and authentic experiences. Whether you’re a solo traveller who is nervous about travelling alone or simply want everything planned for you, G Adventures is a fantastic option.

Why travel with G? Small-group tours are an excellent way to travel for several reasons. Perhaps you want to travel to an off-the-beaten-path destination? Perhaps you’re nervous about travelling solo? Perhaps you just want everything planned and sorted for you?

Whatever your reason, G is a fantastic choice.

For the most part, all of their tours include a local guide (or Chief Experience Officer/CEO as they’re known within the company), accommodation, transport, some activities and even meals.

This will vary depending on the tour you choose, but some are designed to allow more flexibility than others.

My experience with G Adventures

I’ve travelled with G Adventures more than ten times now, including an overland tour across Africa, hiking in the Himalayas, and exploring the jungles of Costa Rica.

Honestly, I genuinely love travelling with G Adventures. I’ve never had a single bad experience, and I’ve always been impressed by their guides, the itinerary and the general running of the trips.

They hire local guides | The more I travel, the more I educate myself on travelling sustainably and choosing local operators. While G Adventures isn’t exactly local, it employs only local guides and offers opportunities to local people within small communities.

They fund local projects | G Adventures focuses on responsible travel. They do their best to ensure that all their tours give back to the communities and create a positive impact. They’ve also partnered with Planeterra, a non-profit organisation that ensures tourism provides benefits to small communities. On most tours, you will visit community projects funded by G Adventures.

If something goes wrong, you don’t need to worry | G look after everything for you. If you’re on a tour and something goes wrong, they will help to get it sorted. This is especially good for solo travellers who might be nervous about travelling alone. On one tour, our tour leader was worried about flash flooding. G sent a van to pick us up and take us somewhere safe.

It’s a small group | G Adventures focuses on small group tours, meaning you won’t need to worry about being shoved on a coach with 80 other people. Most tours have 12-16 people, but you can double-check this on the tour information page.

You can meet like-minded people | I’ve met some of my closest friends on G Adventures trips. Almost half of travellers with G Adventures are solo, and everyone is there for one reason: they love travel. I think worrying about others is one of the biggest reasons people are nervous about booking group tours. However, they tend to attract like-minded people who all want to have a great time.

You travel to more local places | One of my favourite things about G Adventures is travelling to less-visited destinations. This includes less-explored countries and going off the beaten tourist track within popular countries. Many of their tours include places that are tricky to get to without a car, so they can be an excellent option for those who want to avoid the tourist traps.

There’s no single supplement | Have you ever gone to book a tour or hotel and found you need to pay more as a solo person? Well, that’s not the case with G Adventures. There’s no single supplement for solo travellers. If there’s an even number of people on the tour, you’ll likely be sharing a room with someone else of the same gender. However, they have the option to upgrade to private rooms if you prefer that (for an extra cost).

Lifetime deposits | One of the best parts of booking with G Adventures is their lifetime deposit scheme. If you pay to do a tour but then change your mind, your deposit can be used on any other trip in the future. Of course, there are understandably a few conditions with this. Most tours need to be cancelled at least sixty days before the tour, but you can check this in the terms and conditions as it varies.

They have a range of travel styles to choose from | G Adventures offers so many different styles of tours. Seriously, there is a tour for everyone: luxury tours, cheap tours, tours for solo travellers, hiking tours, food tours, and cruises. The list goes on and on.

👉 Check out all the G Adventures tours on offer

Disadvantages

While there are many advantages to travelling with G Adventures, this wouldn’t be an honest review of G Adventures if I didn’t also share the disadvantages.

Most of these are general downsides of group tours and not specific to G Adventures, but they’re still important to know.

It can be more expensive | Group tours can be more expensive than exploring independently. However, I do think G Adventures is on the cheaper side of tour operators (especially their basic tours). 15 days in India for less than $1000, including all of your accommodation, transport, some meals and many activities?! YES PLEASE.

It’s not entirely local | While G Adventures (alongside Intrepid) arguably leads the way in responsible group tour operators, they’re not *fully* local. They’re still owned by a foreign company, and not all the money stays in the countries they operate in. Even so, they’re an industry leader in responsible tourism, and they strive to give back to the communities they visit.

You have less flexibility | Group tours come with a set itinerary, which means you won’t have the flexibility to stay somewhere longer or change your plans. However, all the G trips I’ve been on have given me the right amount of time in each place. In places with lots to do, you tend to have sufficient free time to go off and explore, and you can do your own thing.

You might not get on with everyone | While this is rare, it is possible that you won’t get on with everyone in your group. G’s tour guides (or CEOs) do their best to encourage socialising amongst the group, but now and again, a group doesn’t click. G Adventures allows you to get the ages and genders of others travelling in advance; this gives you a good idea of who you’ll be travelling with.

Accommodation can be basic | You get what you pay for with G. If you pay for one of their basic tours, you can expect basic accommodation. This is how they keep the cost of their tours low. They also have a range of more expensive tours offering better accommodations. You can decide what’s right for you. For what it’s worth, I’ve always found their accommodation to be of the standard I expected, if not better.

How does G Adventures compare to other companies?

There are various group tour operators to choose from when planning your trips. I’ve already shared some of these in my group tour guide, but here’s a bit more on how they compare with G Adventures.

G Adventures vs Intrepid | G Adventures and Intrepid are arguably each other’s biggest competitors. I would say G Adventures caters slightly more to a younger crowd than Intrepid, but they’re both brilliant. If you’re torn between which to choose, I would choose the one that suits your dates, budget, and itinerary better. They are both fantastic companies, and I love travelling with them.

G Adventures vs Contiki | Contiki has a reputation for being a bit more of a party experience than anything else. The tours cater to young backpackers and travellers, and the maximum age limit is 35. I think the level of partying will depend on the country you’re in, but it’s something to be aware of. G Adventures also focuses much more on travelling locally and supporting local communities.

G Adventures vs Much Better Adventures | I LOVE Much Better Adventures. If you enjoy active adventures in lesser-known places, MBA is the answer. They offer active tours like hiking, kayaking and rafting all over the world. While they cover popular destinations, they also focus on lesser-visited destinations to encourage sustainable travel. I’ve travelled with them twice, including hiking in Guatemala for a week. The tours are very different from G Adventures, focusing more on active adventures. G also offers a range of hiking tours, but I would say Much Better Adventures attracts a generally more active crowd.

G Adventures vs Flashpack | I’ve never travelled with Flashpack, so I can’t speak to their quality, but I’ve only heard good things. The company aims its tours to solo travellers in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, so it’s a very niche clientele. Their tours are generally more expensive than G Adventures’, but they’re tailored towards specific age groups, so you can choose to travel with people of similar ages.

There are also companies such as One Life Adventures that cater to a much younger customer base.

Travelling solo with G

Travelling solo can sometimes be scary, but I genuinely believe group tours are one of the best ways to overcome these fears (and yes, it’s still solo travel).

You have nothing to worry about when it comes to solo travel with G Adventures. I’ve done over ten tours with them, and aside from the occasional couple, most people are solo travellers.

In fact, G Adventures says that around 50% of its customers are solo travellers. It has also recently launched tours specifically for people travelling by themselves.

Yes, you read that right. Tours that are specifically designed for solo travellers. This means that everyone else on the tour will also be a solo traveller. Amazing, right?! But, you don’t have to travel on a solo tour. Their wider tours are still a fantastic choice for solo travellers.

As I mentioned before, there’s also no single supplement with G Adventures, so you don’t need to worry about paying more money for travelling alone (which is literally the worst thing).

On most tours, you’ll share a room with someone of the same gender. However, you can usually upgrade to have your own room for an additional cost.

If it’s your first time travelling solo, a group tour with G is an excellent option.

Tips for travelling with G Adventures

Ask about your group | If you’re nervous about booking a group tour, G can share the demographics of others doing the tour. I was so anxious about being the only solo traveller on my first tour with G (how I laugh now). I asked them if that would be the case, and they were happy to share the info of others on the trip.

Download the app | Once you’ve booked your tour, remember to download the app. You’ll be added to a group chat with the rest of your group so you can get to know others on the tour.

Consider booking optional activities ahead of time | On some tours, additional activities can be booked ahead of time. It’s not always necessary, but it’s worth checking as some things can sell out.

Check visa requirements | It’s your responsibility to check for visa requirements to the destination country. If you book the tour but can’t get into the country, you’ll still have to pay.

Research the accommodation | Before booking your trip, I recommend researching the accommodation. The itinerary pages usually list the names of the hotels, allowing you to check if it’s the type of thing you want. I was on a tour once where there was someone constantly complaining about the accommodation as it wasn’t four or five stars. Firstly, it was a budget tour, so I’m not sure what they expected. Secondly, the accommodation was excellent. Thirdly, the information was there to check before they booked.

Read the fine print |All tours have a “tour details” page, which you should always read before booking. This is where you’ll find all the finer details about the tours, including limitations, potential weather restrictions, and packing essentials. On the overlanding Africa tour, one of the guys hadn’t read this and didn’t realise it was a camping trip or that they needed a sleeping bag…

Don’t miss the welcome meeting | The welcome meeting normally takes place on the first evening of the tour. This is when you’ll meet your tour leader and other group members. It’s a great time to ask any questions and get to know your fellow travellers.

Remember cash for tipping your guides | The tour cost doesn’t include any tips for the guides or drivers. Of course, this is entirely individual and down to personal preference, but in my experience, the guides and drivers work hard to give you the best experience. In most cases, the groups come together to provide a group tip.

Don’t forget travel insurance | G requires all of their customers to have travel insurance before beginning any tour. The guides will often ask for evidence of this at the welcome meeting.

Wait for sales | G Adventures has sales throughout the year when most tours are offered at a lower price. The main sales include Black Friday and New Year, but you can still grab a bargain during other periods. If you have your eye on a tour, see if there is a sale to wait for.

My favourite G Adventures tours

Where to even begin with my favourite G Adventures tours?!! I’ve done so many incredible tours, and there are still so many I want to do.

Here are a few of my favourites.

For solo travellers | G Adventures offers a range of tours specifically for solo travellers, including destinations like Vietnam, Ecuador and the Philippines. Their tour in Cambodia is especially fun.

For younger travellers | If you’re a younger traveller looking to travel with similar ages, G Adventures has an 18-to-thirtysomethings range of tours. I’ve done a few of these, and my favourites are this Costa Rica tour, overlanding Africa and their Southeast Asia tours.

The best active tours | G offers a range of active tours. One of my favourite group tour experiences was hiking to Annapurna Base Camp. They’re also one of the best tour companies for the Inca Trail, Everest Base Camp, and active hiking adventures in the USA, including many famous national parks.

Epic wildlife spotting tours | G Adventures has committed to offering responsible wildlife encounters, and there are several tours to choose from. One of my favourite wildlife encounters was trekking to see the Gorillas in Uganda; it was a great experience. There are also cruises to the Galapagos and Antarctica.

In my experience, G Adventures is one of the best tour operators. They look after their guests, offer exceptional services and strive to operate as sustainably as possible.

If this post isn’t enough to convince you, a quick search of ‘G Adventures Reviews’ should reassure you.

I can’t wait to travel with them again in the future.