An Honest Experience & Review of G Adventures Tours

In this post, I review my vacation in Costa Rica on a G Adventures trip, and the pros and cons of taking an organised tour vs. planning a trip yourself.

I don’t know at what point you can start calling yourself an “experienced traveller” (if there even is such a thing?) but I’ve spent a fair amount of my twenties so far living out of a backpack. My favourite way to travel is solo and plan as I go (I think, although that could be changing as I get older!), so I’ve only ever done one trip with an organised tour company: G Adventures.

G Adventures is a tour company that organises your travel, accommodation, tour guide and some included meals and activities for a set price. It’s not all-inclusive (there are generally additional meals and activities that you will want to budget for), but you can tailor it to your own budget and priorities.

I took a trip with G Adventures in 2021 (how time flies!) through Costa Rica. Yes, if you’re doing the maths in your head, that was the year after Covid, which is actually how I ended up in Costa Rica (and on a G Adventures tour). I’d been travelling for two months in Mexico and burned myself out. I needed a break from the constant scheduling and planning and, honestly, I wanted a break from Mexico, too.

At the time, Costa Rica was the only other country nearby that was open to tourists. So, I booked myself onto a last-minute G Adventures trip and hopped on a flight. I don’t remember reading many G Adventures reviews before I went, mostly because my sister had taken a six-week G Adventures trip through South America a few years before and loved it. (This is largely why I chose G Adventures over other tour companies.)

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A view of a small island in the ocean in Costa Rica during my G Adventures trip

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About G Adventures and Their Travel Styles

G Adventures have a bunch of different “travel styles” to suit each person’s needs and budget. For most travel styles you can choose to share a room or upgrade to have your own room (although you can’t on some more budget options). Every travel style comes with a local guide who usually stays with you for the duration of your tour, unless you’re doing an especially long trip or moving through a lot of countries.

G Adventures pride themselves on responsible travel, which mostly seems to mean offsetting carbon emissions, supporting local businesses, and maintaining awareness of the cultures you travel through.

No matter which tour style you’re on, you will be given a starting point to arrive at on your first day, and there will be an introduction/orientation talk on your first night, usually accompanied by dinner with your tour group.

Here’s a quick rundown of each tour style.

Classic

G Adventures describes their Classic tours as “the sweet spot between independent backpacking and organized group tours.” It’s their original, most popular style, with over 300 tours available. You stay in private rooms, shared with one person (this is the default option of the trip), or you can pay to upgrade to your own room.

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Local Living

More for travelers who want to immerse themselves in a destination, Local Living tours offer the chance to stay with local families and experience daily life in some of the world’s most interesting places. With only six tours in this style, it’s a unique offering from G Adventures.

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Active

Active tours are centred around activities like hiking, biking or water sports. These G Adventure trips include famous routes like Everest Base Camp and the Camino de Santiago, as well as other tours that include a lot of physical activity but aren’t centred around one main route or goal.

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Wellness

Wellness tours revolve around rejuvenating activities and healthy food experiences, kind of like a retreat, but you get to move around and see new places at the same time.

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18 to Thirty-Something

These G Adventures tours are designed for younger travellers, and generally attract the kind of crowd that enjoy lower-budget options and late nights. I haven’t tried one myself, but I’d be interested to compare what the groups of travellers are like, and what the tours themselves are like, too. It’s another really popular travel style with 161 tours available.

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Family

Family tours are designed for those traveling with children from around six upwards, offering age-appropriate activities in exciting locations around the world.

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Sailing & Cruises

For those who love the water, these tours explore coastal destinations and island archipelagos. Basically like a boat trip, but better.

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The Geluxe Collection

This is a new, premium collection by G Adventures that offers luxury accommodations and curated experiences for those seeking a more upscale travel experience.

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National Geographic Journeys

A collaboration with National Geographic, these tours offer deeper exploration of cultures and habitats, often attracting a slightly older crowd. They do come with an extra cost – they are expensive tours, but are worth the money by all accounts.

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Roamies by Hostelworld

A collaboration with Hostelworld, Roamies offer even more affordable trips for 18 to 35-year-old travellers, staying in hostels rather than shared hotel rooms. (Honestly, I don’t really “get” this style – in my opinion, if you’re going to go hostelling, the whole point is to meet new people at every stop, not do it in a group!)

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Which Tour I Took With G Adventures

I took the Costa Rica Adventure tour in late 2021. Covid was still having a huge impact on travel at this time, and although Costa Rica had is borders open to tourists (something I think has hugely contributed to their booming tourism industry today), it was still fairly quiet. The tour itinerary is still the same, except it was in reverse when we did it to make it easier for people to get pre-departure Covid tests in the final destination. I do think the tour makes much more sense in this original format, although it didn’t take too much away from our trip!

A map of the tour I took that this G Adventures review is about

This tour is in the Classic style, and I was the youngest person on the tour, having just turned 26 at the time.

Every person in our group was a solo traveller, which I discovered later is quite rare – usually on tours you do get a few people travelling in groups, pairs or couples.

Our group was a whole range of ages all the way up to people in their seventies!

Are All G Adventures Tours and Guides the Same?

Unfortunately, absolutely not.

I am in a couple of Facebook groups specifically for people discussing and reviewing G Adventures tours and itineraries, and whilst it seems like most tour leaders (Or CEOs, as they’re called by G Adventures) are held to a really high standard, there is a chance that you could get a bad one.

The tour guide we had was really good, very knowledgable, and went the extra mile to make sure everybody on the tour was happy and having the experience they wanted to have. There was a sort of “difficult” passenger on our tour, and he dealt with their constant complaining with the patience of a saint.

As a traveller, you come to understand that there are common routes and stops in each country (I like to call them “tourist trails” but I’m not sure if that’s a real thing or if I made it up). This happens for various reasons, but they tend to be made up of the best sights in that country, as well as the towns and cities most welcome and most well-prepared for tourists, and the safety of the routes you have to take to get from one place to the next.

Most G Adventures trips follow these routes, presumably because they’re both the safest and hit all of the spots that most of their customers want to see. It does mean that you can easily predict what you’re going to get and how the tour will go, but it does remove an element of spontaneity that you get from independent travel.

My Experience & Review of G Adventures

Overall, I had a great experience with G Adventures, and that was down to a combination of many factors:

  • Our CEO (tour guide) was great
  • The itinerary was a great balance of travelling, activities and rest
  • The group I was with was great
  • Costa Rica is amazing!

Our G Adventures CEO

CEO stands for “chief experience officer” which is, of course, just a fancy way to say “tour guide”. Your CEO will always be bilingual in English and the native language of the country you’re travelling, and will usually be from the country (or one of the countries) you are travelling in.

Our guide had a lot of knowledge about Costa Rica, its general history, and the backgrounds of the places we visited. He suggested activities and ways to arrange our day that went beyond what was suggested by G Adventures so that we could get the most out of our trip.

The only thing that seemed a little strange was that it was clear he was taking us to restaurants that would give him his meal for free. Personally I think G Adventures should be expensing CEOs meals on tours, at least partially, to avoid them needing to do this. I don’t know how many restaurants we went to because they were good vs how many were giving him a kickback!

The Costa Rica Adventure Itinerary

I loved the itinerary of this trip, and the amount of different things and places we got to see within 2.5 weeks was incredible! We had a great balance between activities that were included in the trip, free time to choose what we wanted to do, and group dinners and activities together.

However, having been back to Costa Rica since, I do feel that Costa Rica is a really easy country to travel independently. Given that Costa Rica is already an expensive country, I’d recommend travelling independently and, if you are on a budget, use your G Adventures budget or time to explore somewhere less accessible.

(More on when and when not to take an organised tour below.)

Your Tour Group Experience

As you can imagine, the people in your tour group have the chance to make or break your experience on a trip like this, because you spend so much time together. The group I was with were really great, and I think you would have to be unlucky to get a whole group full of people that aren’t your vibe. I think the majority of people taking the same trip are likely to be on the same wavelength!

It does seem there’s usually one or two peculiar people on any given trip, as there was on mine, but it absolutely doesn’t ruin the vibe. Often either doesn’t bother you, or gives you something to gossip about.

What Situations and Circumstances Are Best for Taking a G Adventures Tour?

So, this tour was the only G Adventures tour I’ve taken myself, however over the past few years of travelling I have met a lot of people who have taken G Adventures tours or similar. Based on my own experience, other peoples experiences, and the solo trips I’ve taken, I’ve sort of deduced that G Adventures tours (or similar) are best for the following situations:

  • When you’ve been travelling for a while and you want to keep going, but you want to take a break from the constant planning, researching, booking, etc (this was me)
  • When you want to travel somewhere, but it feels too dangerous to go alone (it’s especially useful to have a tour guide if there are some border crossings that feel a bit iffy to you)
  • If it’s your first time travelling or solo travelling, and you don’t quite feel ready to do it completely independently – it’s a great intro to solo travel
  • If you’re on a limited time frame and really want to fit in as much as possible

The blend of convenience, safety, and really well thought-out itineraries would make me 100% recommend a G Adventures tour in any of these circumstances, however, they do come with quite a hefty price tag!

FAQs About G Adventures

Is G Adventures sustainable?

Yes, I’d say so. In terms of the environment, you generally travel on a private bus or local transport, so your carbon footprint is limited. In terms of travel, there is always at least one experience during the tour that’s designed to give back to the community in some way.

What is G Adventures cancellation or refund policy?

Depending on how far in advance you cancel, you may be able to get a full or partial refund. In these situations you don’t get your deposit back, but it is held as credit for you to use on a future tour! If in doubt always refer to the terms and conditions sent to you with your booking. Read their full cancellation policy here.

Can I do a G Adventures tour with dietary restrictions or allergies?

Yes! Whilst it can make travelling and eating a bit more difficult, it can be done (but make sure you inform G Adventures in advance). I was vegetarian when I did this G Adventures tour and the CEO made sure there was always an option for me.

Is there flexibility in the daily itinerary, or are activities strictly scheduled?

It completely depends on the tour you’re doing. For example, on active tours, the schedule is more rigid, especially if you are doing a hike together! On the tour I was on, almost everything was optional – after all, it’s your vacation!

Does G Adventures offer any loyalty programs or discounts for returning customers?

If you go on more than 4 G Adventures tours, you qualify to join the The Great Adventurers Club for exclusive perks, rewards and access.

Are there any guidelines or expectations around tipping the CEO or local guides?

Yes, but as usual, they will differ in every country. You’ll get a guide to tipping before you go, and usually the whole group will chip in to give a tip to the CEO at the end of the tour.

What level of physical fitness is required for different types of G Adventures tours?

Each tour comes with a physical rating from 1-5, so you can make sure you have the right fitness level for your tour:

Physical Grading — 1 – Easy

Light walking, few climbs more challenging than a flight of stairs. Easy does it.

Physical Grading — 2 – Light

Light walking and hiking suitable for most fitness levels. Nothing too challenging.

Physical Grading — 3 – Average

Some tours may include light hiking, biking, rafting, or kayaking in addition to walking.

Physical Grading — 4 – Demanding

Some high-altitude hikes or more strenuous activities, but accessible to most healthy travellers.

Physical Grading — 5 – Challenging

Serious high-altitude hikes, cycling, or other instances of heavy exercise. Come prepared to sweat a bit.

How does G Adventures accommodate solo travellers who want a private room?

On most tours, you can pay extra to upgrade to your own room, however it isn’t available on some of the more budget options if you’re staying in hostels or with more than two people to a room!

Are there any options for extending the trip or adding extra days before or after the tour?

Yes, you can add days in the starting or ending hotel, but that doesn’t include any more tour activities. On the trip I took, a lot of people had booked their flight home for a few days later with no plans, and then made plans with the other people they’d made on the trip.

How can I communicate with my tour group or CEO before the trip begins?

It’s not usually possible to communicate with your tour group or CEO before the trip. There is a chat function in the G Adventures app, but it doesn’t work. Usually you’ll be told what time the welcome meeting is on the first day of your arrival, and that’s when you’ll meet your CEO and fellow travellers.

Conclusion

Overall, I had a great time exploring Costa Rica with G Adventures. Besides the fact that it was a lot more expensive than independent travel (and the loss of spontaneity, too, I guess), I don’t really have anything negative to say about them at all.

The convenience, safety, and always having a tour guide at your disposal really made for an easy trip. I do think that causes you to miss out on some cultural aspects of an experience, however, and it feels more like a really cool holiday or vacation compared to completely independent travel, which feels like a true adventure.

There are pros and cons to both and I’d really recommend giving it a go to see whether or not it’s your style!

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