Gate 1 vs RS tour?

I've not done any Gate 1 tours but I've read some of the threads on this company over on Trip Advisor. My impression is that it's more on the budget range of tours and the groups are larger. I don't know if that is correct or not, but you can consider those questions as you research.

Here are links to a couple of long-standing threads on TA if you've not run on to them yet. There are lots of one-time posters on both threads so I read those posts with a grain of salt. If they are gushing or critical I want to see facts on what was good and what was not!

Senior Forum:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g1-i13626-k5613513-Gate1_Travel-Senior_Travel.html

Bargain Travel Forum:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g1-i12290-k4105561-o1380-Gate1_Travel-Bargain_Travel.html

When I saw your thread, I had to laugh because I had their website up as someone else was mentioning Gate 1 on another thread. I just took a look at the 8 day Venice/Florence/Rome tour because I've been to those cities on Rick's tours so it was easier to compare. There are a couple of optional tours within the tour so be sure to check that to see how much extra that will run you. There are fewer meals included than the RS tour model. They do provide airport transportation to/from. Check the hotel locations. The "Venice" hotel is actually on the island of Murano. The Florence and Rome hotels on this particular tour are better located with the Rome hotel being in the same neighborhood as some of Rick's tour hotels.

If you are looking to do a tour that is on par with Rick's tours, I'd suggest you also look at Road Scholar. They do more than Europe so you might find something of interest. Their tours are educationally focused as are Rick's. I've done 10 of those along with 10 of Rick's and generally choose Rick's first. I'll go with a Road Scholar if their itinerary is not one that Rick offers. If you want to try their model out, I'd maybe see if they have something of interest near your home and give it a try. Of the 10 I've done, 5 were in Europe and 5 were domestic.

do a Search (gray box at top of page), and you should pop up at least one recent thread with similar question.

I have not done a RS tour but took a Gate 1 tour to Lisbon and Spain in 2017. One thing that I'm sure is different is that Gate 1 uses hotels with elevators and reliable AC. Location was good. No ambience(except our room in Torremolinos that had a balcony with partial ocean view) but better for anyone with any mobility issues and probably more reliably comfortable(based on some of the comments on this forum about RS tours). We loved our guide, our group was only 30 people, the bus was very comfortable. I was not aware of there being any grumps on the tour. Like RS, there were NONE of those annoying shopping stops. We are booked on another Europe tour with them for Sept 2019. Gate 1 is significantly less expensive, even with tips and optional tours. Some of the people on our tour had done their Machu Pichu tour and loved it.

I have done one RS but I haven't yet done a Gate 1 - although I am doing one in June. However, I have done two Smartours and they are almost exactly like Gate 1. They have fewer departures than Gate 1 but many similar activities, itineraries and prices. I feel like Smartours and Gate 1 are a pretty good value when I want to do a tour. I've compared them both a lot as I choose my tours and Smartours won out for Turkey and China because their dates matched mine and I like their hotels a little better. There are some itineraries...Japan, for one...where I like the Gate 1 hotels better.

There's larger groups, sometimes. I had 48 on Turkey but only 18 in China. Gate 1 also has smaller group tours (separate from their bigger tours)...max is 22, I think. Slightly pricier but not bad at all. And those ones are more all inclusive...many meals and all activities are included.

There's a frequent poster on RS...Frances, maybe? That person has done a lot of Gate 1...maybe they will chime in.

I have completed 2RS tours, 2 Gate one tours and Smartours. While I enjoyed the RS tours and the itin. Andknowledeale guides, I did not particularly care for the extra free days and”character lodging”. PAfter all as a couple we were paying for character lodging no elevators and self service luggage hauling and
Days without a guide or transport. That made for a pricey per day rate when compared to Gate one with full service and tours everyday. I will not address Smartours (since your quiry was not of Smartours) other than to say they are very comparable to gate one.
The guides were all excellent imo. The group number maybe a little larger with Gate one but find it really makes little difference. Tips are not included but a guideline is suggested which still does not reach the total price of RS tours. All the guides are licensed and qualified and buses are equal.
So for me It is a clear choice, now that I have a comparison. i do buy RS guidebks as I use them for any xtra days bef and aftera tour, they are excellent. I am a seasoned traveler that has been traveling my entire life mostly independent. Now retired I thought I would start the guided tours as a relaxing option it has worked out well.
Hope this helps alittle.

I have done one Gate 1 tour (SE Asia), one tour with GAdventures, and four RS tours. For Gate 1, their regular line of tours are "big bus" types - they can have up to a full bus load of people (40 ish?). Gate 1 does have a small group format that I have not used, but it looks more like the RS model. Other thoughts:

• Gate 1 uses western business style hotels (comfortable, large rooms, plenty of amenities) and on my SE Asia trip were generally not centrally located (in a hot climate, it would have been so much better to be close to things).
• Unlike RS tours, the Gate 1 itineraries are often segmented - so you may have one group of people for part, then you switch locations and add/subtract people for the next segment. in SE Asia, I had one tour mate for the first part, five for the next, and 35 for the last part. The latter part of the tour had been a Groupon deal, and so the bulk of the travelers in the group were either first time travelers (very nervous) or budget minded (unwilling to do anything outside the tour because it wasn't paid for). Not good or bad, just a different group dynamic.
• With RS tours there is no extra tipping (it was expected on Gate 1 and my GAdventures tours, for the main guide and any local guides or drivers) and there are more included activities in the base cost of the trip. RS is more up front about what is included, though the other tours you can figure it out, it just takes more time
• Other tour companies will arrange your flights for you, RS will not.
• The tour guides on all of my tours have been good to excellent.

I would say that if I added up all the extras I paid for the non-RS tours, the cost would have been slightly less than a RS tour, but not much.

If you are looking for a tour company that does small group tours, nice hotels, no shopping and no optionals but offers tours worldwide, check out Odysses Unlimited. The prices they show on their website include air but you can contact them for land only prices.

I've taken three RS tours and just booked my second Odysses tour.

Thanks all to the quick responses! DH and I thoroughly enjoyed the RS Best of Ireland and are looking forward to Best of Scotland in the spring. I did notice a significant price difference with Gate 1 being lower BUT I know that could come at a cost to some of the things we enjoyed with RS. As we get closer to retirement i just like to look at options when we have the time to travel more.

Consider OAT, Overseas Adventure Travel. We've done two RS tours, & nine or ten with OAT. Max group size is 16, & the guides & experiences are superlative.