OAT/Grand Circle is a marketing company. That’s where their money goes. They send out sales catalogs that are the size of phone books. (I got two this week.) I’m told they have a huge phone staff under pressure to make sales. That’s where your travel dollars are spent – paying for that overhead. They also have a good marketing scheme that keeps their regulars coming back by perpetually offering financial credits for future trips. People keep taking their trips because they feel like they are losing money if they don’t. (Behavioral economists write papers about such strategies because they do work.)

Before I knew that (and at the request of a friend) l I took a trip with Grand Circle, OAT’s partner company. Worst trip ever.

One of the hotels was so bad it would not have gotten a license to operate in the US. (Exposed wires that sparked, for example.) Another hotel was just fine except the hotel staff didn’t want us there, per the tour director, although he didn’t need to tell us. Apparently tour members complained about a third hotel because the tour director announced to the group that it was all Grand Circle could afford.

Twice we were taken to the local version of 7-11 to have lunch. Never before on any tour have I had to spend lunch standing in the merchandise aisles munching on a sandwich of dubious nature. The Grand Circle regulars said it is standard procedure. Yikes. (I’ve been on tours that go to truck stops designed to handle hundreds of customers at a time. They are fine. I’m not looking for fancy, just a place to sit down while I eat.)

The optionals were very expensive compared to other tour companies and compared to what local tour groups offered. I and others skipped the optionals and used TA to find local guides at less than half the price Grand Circle charged.

The company and its employees really do not take responsibility for problems. The “whisperer” headsets did not work and we were told to not complain. “It’s not Grand Circle’s fault they don’t work.” There was occasion when several travelers almost suffered serious injury. The tour director saw what was happening and literally ran out of sight. Another time someone was trapped in a hotel elevator and the director didn’t care. “These things happen.”

I talked to regulars who said they have had trips cancelled at the last minute. They seemed to think it was normal. I certainly do not. I tried to ask the headquarters staff how to determine if the trip was a go or not; they changed the subject.

I love tour groups for anything other than a single-city trip. I don’t have the time to do the research, etc., for a multi-stop trip so I value greatly an organized tour. But I also want my money going toward the trip and there are tour companies that do that. And in this regard the larger the group the better because that means more people are sharing the overhead costs.

My partner and I booked and paid for a trip, obtained visas and upgraded our air travel with OAT. Two weeks prior to departure we received a call that we would not be permitted to participate in this trip as it was a Reuion trip. We attemped to negotiate with OAT for a future trip, but they were impossible and we subsequently cancelled this trip and a future trip. I would not ever suggest this company. They are not trustworthy and deserve to go out of business.

Be prepared to be disappointed. It is very frustrating to deal with them. I have never waited less than 15 minutes when I call. They say they will mail information by a certain date. They don't

I have taken five trips with OAT and have never had a bad trip. Have. Done Australia New Zealand , Vietnam, Thailand and Burma, Eastern Europe, and the Baltic states. I have been very satisfied. All of their guides must live in the country for which they are guides. They make a special effort to see both the sites and the real. Future of the country. The groups are never larger than 16 people. And as a single woman traveler I have lays felt very comfortable traveling with them. I have booked my next tour to India with them.

We took our first trip with OAT this past Nov/Dec - Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam and we had a wonderful experience. We ate in local restaurants (no 7-11 equivalents), hotels were not 5 star but they were average and since we were out touring/sightseeing most of the time that was fine with us. I did not take a trip to Asia for 20 plus days to sit in a hotel room. When considering some of the areas we visited, the hotels were clean, good service and quiet. We had an excellent guide; tipping of local guides was expected but we've also experienced this with other tour companies as well.

One of the greatest advantages is the small group experience with only 16 travelers, and all the visits to small villages/home experiences. We have traveled with many different tour companies and majority are minimum 30 people. We had approx 3 side trips offered on this tour and I thought they were reasonably priced....approx $65 each. One other consideration that I found to our liking was that we were not 'shopping' at every stop or had a lot of down time to go shopping. The Asia tour was very busy and active, and in looking back at our photos I consider this trip to be one that we will long remember.

As far as OAT, we are considering a trip to Iceland next spring with them but still researching other companies that offer a trip to compare itineraries.

My husband and I took a trip with OAT to India this last December. There was a 44 y.o. woman travelling with her 70+ yo mom, but aside from her my husband 63 and I 61, were the youngest travellers in our group of 13. There were a couple of obese women, and man with a bad knee and someone who was ill for a couple of days, but none of that slowed down the trip. We had a fabulous guide, Geetah Singh, stayed at great hotels, saw a ton of historic and cultural/religious sites, ate with host families, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We arranged our own flights and got to New Delhi 11/2 days early, which was great, so I can't comment on OAT's air travel portion

I am not a tour person, travelled in India by myself for 3 months in my twenties, post Peace Corps in SE Asia, and still think this was a great experience. I highly recommend them, although as the mailings are a bit oppressive.

well some groups have increased from16 to 25 inthelast year, example, Patagonia withthe costa australis cruise jsut toname one and long with that prices have increased .

hi

we are also from seattle and have booked oat india for aug 2013.

is oat good company to good with? do you have any suggestion. how did you do your own air.

thanks

I've done the Patagonia trip referenced above and 25 participants would not be a problem. A tour in Buenos Aires, a flight to Calafate and then a bus ride through the beautiful pampas, the glaciers and the ship cruise. There were several hundred folks on the ship and we always stayed within our tour group. A size larger than 16 was/is not a problem for that specific tour. Highly recommend it as well and consider it one of the of the ground tours that I've taken. Very active despite the bus ride with plenty of off bus opportunities!

My husband and I have reserved an O.A.T. "Route of the Maya" itinerary for early April 2013. To those who have taken this OAT trip, what are your suggestions regarding clothing; "on your own" meals; and information you wish you'd known BEFORE starting the trip? Can you recommend pertinent , pre-trip reading material or documentaries? Did you take a laptop? Is free internet available? Do you recommend our bringing gifts for students and/or for home visit hosts? Suggestions? We are seasoned O.A.T. and independent travelers. Thank you in advance!