Overseas Adventure Travel

It is difficult to review OAT. The trip we recently took was fine. Nothing unique, but we had a very good guide. I have, however, been a victim of their unorthodox refund practices. What you are told by the sales or customer service rep is not what many people have experienced. Refunds take much longer than their policy states. I suggest doing research on the company before committing to a trip. I've looked at the BBB Massachusetts and Elliot.org, TripAdvisor, the New York Times, Fodors, the Seattle Times, and Rick Steves.
I wish I would have done the research before I booked. OAT overcharged me on the final invoice. As soon as I noticed the error, I emailed and phoned them. The corporate documents on file state a refund will be issued in 30 days, the customer service rep told me 45 days (maybe) and I would be on a queue to receive the refund. I finally received a refund 10 weeks later after numerous calls, emails and finally a letter to the executives.
Hmmm.

I took my first trip with Overseas Adventure Travel in November. My destination was the Amazon, Machu Picchu and the Galapagos Islands. It was a trip of a lifetime! I've been fortunate to travel the world over the last forty-five years and have only recently started taking group travel tours. My O.A.T. experience far exceeding my expectation. Every part was topnotch including the guides, our itinerary, accommodations and our many activities. Our O.A.T. itinerary that included "A Day in the Life" and "Controversial Topics" added unique and especially memorable experiences to our itinerary. I would highly recommend O.A.T. to anyone.

After planning 10 trips w this company, I can NO longer recommended this company. In Feb, we booked a trip to Africa, paying an addtnl $3890 for business class upgrade, AS WE ALWAYS DID WITH INTERNATIONAL FLTS. When OAT went to finally purchase the air fare in Aug, (after keeping my money for 6 mos) they erred in purchasing coach seats and sent me a refund for $3890 without any explanation. I NOTICED we were in coach, called them and was told we would now have to pay $12k to sit in business class. Therefore this trip is now costing me an addtnl $8k that we never expected to pay!! If I had known this in Feb, we may not have taken this trip. NO ONE AT OAT HAS APOLOGIZED OR ADMITTED TO THIS ERROR. I too have been getting continued poor customer service as of late, since the pandemic.

wonderful tour company! This was our 8th trip with OAT, and they are all first rate. highly recommend!

We have gone on 3 trips with them. Love their tours with 16 max people. We've been to some great places with them: Machu Pichu, Galapagos, Iceland and Sicily.

Our recent Costa Rica O.A.T. trip was terrific! Our Trip Experience Leader, Catarina, or Cata as she preferred, was a wealth of diverse knowledge and pulled together relationships in the environment and development of the countyr, which, although the word has become trite from misuse, is unique in Central America, with its working democracy. She organzed many little side treats for us including visiting a fisherman's coop, taking us to a marvelous chocolate shop in La Fortuna, and so much else. Our driver, Lolli, was so helpful, carefully slowing down over the innumerable and sometimes almost invisible speed bumps and helping everyone as needed off and on the bus in the most polite way. This was my 3rd trip to Costa Rica, the first 2 on my own. I learned a lot about the country this time. Although my 2nd trip centered in Heredia, where I spent most of my time with locals, so had developed a perspective. Ticos have much to be proud of in their country, and it seems that there is a general sense of "community," "security," and satisfaction with their government, with the exception of corruption in the Supreme Court and among some rural police.

My only recommendation to O.A.T. is that 2 nights everywhere is too fast! At least one and possibly two 3-night stays should be built in, even if it means something else is canceled. One of those 3 nights should be at La Quinta Sarapiqui, which has wonderful birding opportunities and lots of walks. Bosques de Chachagua had a lot to offer, but not enough time to enjoy it. However, it came right after Sarapiqui, so doesn't make sense. I also would have liked to spend a little more time in La Fortuna.

I highly recommend O.A.T. trips! This was my second.

Fantastic tour in Egypt! OAT is great at communication and planning, they hire amazing and knowledgeable tour guides, and the bring you beautiful locations. They also help you interact with local families to get a deeper look at the culture.

I've had 10 trips with OAT and I won't travel with any other company. I am a single traveler and appreciate not having to pay a single supplement. I love the adventures that we have on every trip - the discovery - the interaction with locals and learning about the country we are visiting.
My last trip was Sicily and it was amazing! Our trip leader made each day fun and interesting. Any company can lead us through museums and give us the history, but having special experiences is what's so special.
I love OAT!

This was an excellent trip!!! I loved seeing and experiencing all the different layers of Moroccan culture.
"Hassan"was an excellent tour guide and worked hard to insure we were given opportunities to immerse ourselves into the culture and beauty of Morraco. Everyday was a wonderful new adventure and learning experience.
Hassan took good care of all of us and was extremely knowledgeable regarding this country and the culture. His English was good and he was always eager to help, answer questions, provide support etc. I felt very safe in Morocco and would highly recommend this tour and tour guide to friends. .

Just finished our second trip on OAT, this one to New Zealand.
Pros: Our guide was excellent, knowledgeable, energetic, informative and very good in accommodating all the needs and issues of the group of 16 geriatric travelers. The experience included a detailed overview of, and direct exposure to, Maori culture, visits to the major cities and exploration of the beautiful scenery. There was a good mix of free and group time.
The hotels, including breakfasts at all, were good, but two (Rotorua and Queenstown) required a bit of a trek or bus to get to the center of town for restaurants, etc.
Cons: They do not pay their trip leader well, so that the trip leader is dependent on tips to make ends meet. OAT should choose trip leaders that they trust to be of high quality and pay them generously so that tipping is not only unnecessary, but not permitted. Retaining a trip leader should be based on reviews of that person.
There are at least a few optional excursions at cost, which almost everyone does. Expecting tips for the trip leader and having optional excursions at cost essentially low-balls the advertised cost of the trip. It begins to feel like making an airline reservation, which OAT will also do for you, but not necessarily from your preferred airport.
OAT does not require travelers with "colds" to be tested for Covid. A traveler in our group had a "cold" and decided not to be tested, possibly leading to test positive Covid in at least one member of the group, me.
If you need to file a travel insurance claim because of missing part of the trip, OAT is unwilling to provide accurate costs for the days missed (in our case 3 of the longest bus days), only the average cost per day based on the total amount paid for the trip.