GAP Adventures - experiences?

2nd April 2008 - GAP Adventures have contacted us informing that the complaints detailed in this post have been dealt with to the satisfaction of all parties. To maintain the integrity of the discussion we have not altered the original message - upon reading any complaints on forum - remember that there are always two sides to a story - detailed in the responses below.


I participated in GAP's "Dunes, Delta, & Falls Explorer" trip traveling from Cape Town, South Africa to Livingstone, Zambia during April 24, 2007 to May 15, 2007. It turned out to be one of the worst planned and executed tours I have ever been on, and after spending a lifetime traveling around the world through 75 countries and 7 continents and working for a time in the adventure travel industry, this is not an allegation I am making flippantly.

The tour was originally advertised as having a maximum of 12 participants; however three months before the departure date, GAP announced that the group size was being increased to 16. They eventually booked 18 people on the trip - 50%!m(MISSING)ore people than originally planned. One person missed the departure, so we ended up traveling with 17 participants, a guide and a driver for a total of 19 people.

The tour leader had never been on this trip before, and in fact had never been to many of the areas we visited. This completely limited his ability to function - he wasn't able to anticipate and respond to the many problems we had with lodging and the itinerary, and he wasn't able to provide much information about the areas visited. He attempted several times to assist the group with some of these problems but didn't have the resources to affect any changes and received little support from GAP. This was his first trip for GAP and vowed it would be his last. Indeed we later found out that GAP has a hard time getting and keeping trip leaders because of their maladroit business practices outlined below.

The travel time was seriously underestimated in the itinerary. It appears that someone extrapolated the travel time by pulling the distances from a map, which failed to allow for the fact that 70%!o(MISSING)f the roads were unpaved, and also didn't account for fuel, lunch and restroom breaks. Because the itinerary schedule was aggressive to begin with, underestimating the travel time greatly impacted the trip causing us to often leave early in the morning in the dark and arrive at our final destination at sun down or after dark. At many of our stops, we were supposed to be able to engage in optional activities; however, this was often disallowed because there was no time. Thus the trip evolved into an extended bus ride. At the few places where we had time to do optional activities, it was usually too late to make arrangements – the activities should have been planned ahead. However when we tried to plan something ahead, the tour guide was of little assistance as he had never been to any of these places before and didn't know who to contact or how to make the arrangements. We can only reminisce about all the interesting things we could have done.

Another impact of the poorly planned itinerary was that several times we didn't get lunch until 3 - 4 pm. After a week of that, the group loudly complained and the guide starting getting some lunches made and packed in the morning for us to take on the road. Even though we usually arrived late in the day, at some of the places we stayed the accommodations were not ready when we arrived. One hotel was even closed and locked when we arrived and we had to search around town for someone to open it and let us in. Once we had to stand around for 1 1/2 hours while maids made up the rooms. We also had to wait for three hours in the Maun airport while our Okavango Delta camp worked out its payment problem with the charter plane company. By the time we arrived at the camp, we had missed that morning's activities.

Poor planning and a poorly thought out itinerary might be the hallmarks of an amateurish organization. But omitting items from the itinerary due to an oversight on their part and refusing to compensate the customers for this are characteristics of a completely incompetent and abominable travel company.

According to some authorities, two of the top ten things to do in Africa are to visit Etosha's lighted water hole at night and do a night game drive in Etosha (one of the few game parks in Africa that allow it). To do both of these things, you need to stay inside the park since it is closed from sunset to sunrise. Our GAP itinerary included staying inside the park with a nighttime visit to the lighted water hole and allowed the option of a night game drive. These two activities formed the primary reason I chose to participate in this trip. Unfortunately, GAP failed to secure lodging inside the park and we ended up having to stay outside the park approximately 1.5 hours away. This precluded any night activities in the park. We were notified of this itinerary change two days before we were to arrive at Etosha. I was certainly upset by this news and immediately contacted Andrew at GAP headquarters in Toronto who referred me to Ben, the Director of African Field Operations in Nairobi. In my conversations with him, Ben made it clear that GAP was not interested in customer satisfaction and was not interested in GAP's reputation in the travel industry. He said that GAP could alter the itinerary without notice for whatever reason they chose even if it was due to an oversight or error on GAP's part. He further said that GAP felt no obligation to fulfill the promised itinerary and felt no obligation to compensate their customers for anything omitted in the itinerary. (Given that line of reasoning we can surmise that GAP could have told us in Cape Town that a bus wasn't available for the trip, we would have to stay in Cape Town for the entire 21 days, and that they didn't feel obligated to compensate us in any way.) The excuse that Ben gave was that Etosha was undergoing renovations and lodging wasn't available. After we arrived in the park, we investigated that assertion and discovered that the renovations had been going on for well over a year, most were complete and that only a few rooms were unavailable because of the renovation. There were many people staying in the park and several camps even had vacant accommodations available. What we discovered is that GAP waited to late to book the lodging and couldn't accommodate the increased number of travelers in our group. The fact that they wouldn’t admit to that or offer their customers any recompense is irreprehensible.

Because of the poor planning and the lack of preparation on this itinerary, omitting items from the itinerary because of an oversight on their part, and the complete unwillingness to work with their customers to resolve problems, I would certainly recommend that fellow travelers not book any trip of any kind with GAP. I know that GAP trips are sometimes less expensive than other operators, but as you can see there are definite reasons for that. Like most things in life: You get what you pay for. Spend your money with a more reputable travel company. GAP is not worth the hassle.
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Rcon you are right on that one. Fun thing, I found this link below about this experience and I think the gap people did a good job with it.
http://wateringhole.gapadventures.com/viewtopic.php?t=1607
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I just finished a GAP tour and I would agree with everything that Boatniks said. I felt as though I had an amazing experience in India despite GAP - instead of because of or with GAP. I still had a great experience but would say that GAP completely oversold our tour on everything... I won't be using them again. Reply to this

Here's something I just posted to GAP's Watering Hole forum. Quite honestly, it scares me that this info is missing and I would never travel with them again because of this HUGE oversight...



Dear Perspective Kili Klimbers,

Having guided for over half a decade and having watched GAP clients shell out significant amounts of additional money at the base of the mountain, I feel it it is my duty to every other person who goes up that hill with GAP to be as informed as possible; even if GAP chooses not to do so.

As you begin to wonder if "you can really do it" or you make that final click to submit your information (and first of many payments to GAP), please be aware of something that GAP shockingly (and possibly criminally) does not emphasize enough about this trip: it's cold up there.

Duh, right? Of course it's cold up there - 5,895 metres (19,341 ft), tallest free standing mountain in the world, highest point in Africa, etc etc. Snow generally begins to fall well below 8,000 ft so one should certainly expect it to be cold, right?

Then why is it that GAP doesn't recommend a *single* piece of warm clothing in their Marangu trip dossier? In fact, the word "cold" is only used ONCE in the ENTIRE dossier and that single instance describes the silly huts you sleep in.

How can it be that GAP would be so careless? Is GAP *assuming* its clients are going to know it's cold up there? It doesn't appear so because they certainly don't *assume* you're going to bring your kite! (You're reminded to bring this in the gear checklist). The fact of the matter is whoever wrote the gear checklist has never climbed Kili, which says VOLUMES of what type of organization this is.

I watched other GAP Adventurers have to pay more than just their "local payment" because they strictly adhered to the GAP equipment list and were caught at the base of the mountain COMPLETELY unprepared for the weather ahead of them.

So here it is, the list that GAP has failed to provide for you. You're going to need:
- a WARM, SYNTHETIC THREAD hat. It can be wool if you like, or a blend, but it must be warm and you should like wearing it while hiking because at 1 a.m. when your heart is pounding out of your chest and you are "pole poleing" your way up the summit, you are going to need a hat that will keep you warm

- warm GLOVES OR MITTENS. This one REALLY shocked me! How could you not put this on an equipment list? Women should especially be mindful of this due to the reduced profusion in the fingers. Bring little chemical HAND WARMERS if you like those.

- WATERPROOF BOOTS. Yes, they MUST be waterproof (it's not just a "recommendation" as GAP would have you believe). And they must be BOOTS. I don't know what moron thought "Sturdy, comfortable walking shoes" would work when during day 1 you're in a rain forest (wet) and by day 3 you're in a high altitude tundra (frozen). It's probably the same guy who recommends you bring a "rain racket" (see checklist). The fact is, if your shoes get wet they will certainly freeze (not dry) and your trip will be over. And even if your shoes don't freeze, waterproof boots will help keep your feet warm.

- a WARM JACKET and PANTS. Imagine you need to hike for 4 hours, in the dark, in the wind, on frozen skree - that's the summit hike from 12 a.m. to 4 a.m....until the sun comes out and you see the snow and ice fields. I'd recommend you wear something you'd have a snowball fight in.

Finally, be comfortable in wearing all this gear AT THE SAME TIME. Personally, I wore every piece of clothing I brought (which included all the above that were *not* on the GAP list) and I was *still* cold. One could say it's all personal preference, but YOU be the judge because YOU know your body best! I find it truly shocking that GAP makes the assumption you won't be cold up there.

Having guided for other outfitters before, this is a clear sign of unnecessary risk which quite honestly scares me about this organization. I would never guide for them, nor would I recommend anyone do this climb with them. This trip has clearly never been vetted by their senior guiding staff who would have CERTAINLY caught this omission. This is a pretty glaring oversight that I've never seen an outdoor company make. Reply to this

Hey all,

Interesting thread. I have previously had many, many fantastic experiences with GAP so it was certainly a shock for me to read this. I have checked out the same discussion on their message board, where there are many replies to the concerns raised from GAP customer service and other travelers on the same trip (link below).

http://wateringhole.gapadventures.com/viewtopic.php?t=2815

Seems like there were some issues on this tour, but as the saying goes, there are two sides to every story.

Cheers,
Tony. Reply to this

My husband and I just returned from a 15 day adventure in Egypt with GAP. I have been travelling internationally since 1969. I have traveled for business, pleasure and with the military, so I have had a wide range of travel experiences.

Our trip was THE BEST TRIP EVER!!! Even better than our honeymoon! I give a lot of credit to our guide, Adel. He was WONDERFUL!

I am sorry your trip wasn't as good as ours. Experience matters, When something came up, our guide knew what to do. Good support from the local office is essential.

I hope everyone doesn't judge GAP as a poor provider due to one bad trip.

May your next adventure be one that brings you fun and joy!!

MomfromRockledge Reply to this

I also have taken GAP tours in the past and I also will continue to use them. I have travelled a lot over the years (with many more trips to come) and, if nothing else, I've learned that any trip is BOUND to have a few wrinkles - some may be things the company has to sort out, and some may be entirely my own fault, but you can pretty much bet on something not going exactly according to plan.

I think it's therefore unfortunate that anyone would read Boatnik's piece and, based on that, write-off GAP as an option entirely. Keep in mind that GAP is a huge company and therefore an experience on one trip would not (and should not) be indicative of experiences on ALL trips. This is evidenced by the others on this thread who have indicated that they had excellent trips, myself included.

That said, everyone can of course make their own judgements, but I for one would not be swayed by someone else's negative experience (which, by the way, I think GAP handled masterfully). So I echo Herbaceous's comment:

I know that I will continue to use GAP. And more importantly, I will continue to recommend them as an adventure travel provider.

Ditto.

Happy travels everyone! 😊 Reply to this

It's really interesting to see that my own experience with GAP's organisational skills (or more accurately, lack thereof) isn't isolated. I did the Greek Islands Sailing Adventure in July 2006, and it was my first trip through GAP (I'd booked through Intrepid, which then was in partnership with GAP for some of their trips - not sure if this is still the case as the trip is no longer available through Intrepid).

When I arrived at the marina at Mykonos to meet the boat, it turned out that I was on the list of passengers for that boat, but it was already full. They'd allowed 16 passengers to book for a boat that is for a maximum of 8 people! After a bit of scrambling, the captain of that boat arranged for another boat to be chartered and sent to Mykonos, and then told us all initially that we would be put up in a hotel at GAP's expense, and the local payment of 100 euros would be refunded in full. He also said this had happened before and the same arrangements had been made then. About an hour later, he told me that we would have to pay for the hotel (arranged by somebody at the restaurant where we had dinner) out of the local payment, rather than GAP paying for it. This would have been fine - although if we had to pay for a hotel it would have been good to have some choice of location - but the problem was he did not tell all the other passengers who were in the same position that this would be the arrangement. So there was mass confusion, and some understandable resentment as a result.

A lesser issue was that I ended up with three couples and one other single traveller, who was male. The trip information stated at the time that the policy is that single travellers bunk in with another traveller of the same sex, however it did not occur to them to swap one of us so that we could share with a same-sex roommate. I had absolutely no problem with sharing with the male passenger, but they should organise things better - there are people for whom that would be a big problem.


Once the new boat arrived, the trip was mostly fine - I was really lucky with my fellow travellers, who were lovely people, and we were fortunate that our captain was a local and could give us plenty of suggestions re things to do, which was important as for four days we were stuck on an island due to gale force winds. The captain of the other boat seemed to have no idea, according to that group, and they all jumped ship on day 4.

I forwarded my feedback via my travel agent, and received a pretty off-hand response, although to their credit I was offered $100 off my next GAP trip. Would I travel with them again, though? Probably not. It could have been much worse, but having read the other experiences on here, I don't think I will risk my money on one of their trips again. Reply to this

I have never used GAP and so am unable to comment. However there are a lot of pro's and con's with all stories and some of these deffinatly make for interseting reading. The only way to find out is first hand and in this case I for one would unfortunatley shy away from this company.
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I went on a 2 week tour to Chile, Argentina & Brazil with GAP tours, and agree with much that has been said here. I've done a considerable amount of traveling, and consider myself a fairly seasoned traveler. But this was the first (and last) trip with GAP.
GAP did not provide what was promised in the trip dossier. The itinerary promises the Lakes Crossing between Chile & Argentina during certain months, but GAP did not provide us with it. Instead, they provided us a bus ticket. I wrote in a complaint about this after my trip, but no one responded.
The whole thing was very disorganized. We had tickets for a 1 day boat excursion which was included in the trip, but our guide did everything to try to convince the group not to go. Everyone except 1 person decided to go on the excursion nevertheless (why wouldn't we, it was one of the few things that was actually included in our trip). So then our guide sent us on our own because he said he didn't want to spend the day on the boat (he has done this trip 22 times, he said).
It was called a 'comfort level' trip, but the hotels in Chile & Argentina were quite dingy. No wonder they wouldn't tell us what hotels we were staying in until we got there! One person in our group said these hotels were worse than any of the hotels on the 4 GAP budget level trips she had been on before. For the price of the trip, I certainly don't think I got my money's worth.
The guide took us to expensive places for dinner where he was always getting free meals. There was a lot of pressure to eat dinners as a group (presumably so he brought in enough people to ensure his freebies). Some people in the group were ordering very light meals because of the expensive prices, and there was the guide eating his (free) steak and flambee dessert!
Every optional activity listed in the trip dossier was more expensive than they said, some activities as much as double the price listed in the 2008 dossier.
GAP also changed the itinerary of the second week. One extra day in Buenos Aires, and one less day at the end in Rio. It didnt affect me, but some others on the trip were really messed up by it. When they complained, GAP's attitude was that this was an adventure trip, so you should be flexible. Also, they lied and said the change had been made a month in advance, but I had downloaded the trip dossier a week before the trip and that change had not been made yet.
They seem to think that they don't have to be accountable for anything, as long as they say it's an adventure trip. Then everything becomes the customers fault because you are not flexible!
Maybe GAP tours built their reputation on their budget trips, but I certainly don't think they are going to cut it with their supposed 'comfort level' trips.
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