Overseas Adventure Travel Reviews 

Two weeks prior to take off, OAT shortened the itinerary by one day. Since I bought my own airfare, it was too late to change. This left me in a scramble to find a hotel to cover their lapse. Two of the meals were cheap buffets. Never again. Very poor communication with Boston Headquarters. Guides can't help with any problems you might have with the headquarters.

I just came back from the "Japan Cultural Treasures" trip on August 31st. 2025. I'm very happy I listened to one of my friends who is a seasoned traveler with OAT. She was right; everything during the trip was better than expected. The hotels chosen were excellent. Super clean, with a lot of amenities, great professional personnel offering impeccable
service. The transportation used during the entire trip was very comfortable
limo-type vehicles with good air conditioning and polite drivers. Japan is heaven for vegetarians like me. Our experienced leader went out of his way to make sure my requests were met. The pace and daily itinerary were exactly as specified in the Itinerary Booklet. The highlight excursions were super interesting and full of cultural information. Our experienced leader was perfect in all aspects. He was energetic, professional, very flexible, and concerned about the well-being of all the participants. Always providing the best information about the sites visited. Always giving the best suggestions for free-time adventures. On more than one occasion, he used his personal time to go with us on the free activity chosen by the group.
This was my first international experience with OAT. I am extremely pleased with my Japanese trip. I'm booking my next "Egypt, Jordan, Israel adventure" with OAT. I know I won't be disappointed.

I decided to book my airfare through OAT because the travel agent assured me that seats on all 4 legs were included in the price - this made their pricing competitive, although higher-cost than booking the airfare directly. I received a written confirmation showing all 4 seat assignments. When I viewed my reservation on the airline website, 2 of the seat assignments were missing and I was required to pay the airline to secure them. OAT refused to acknowledge their responsibility for misinforming me and would not issue a future service credit for the amount of the seat charges. The customer service agents claimed there was no "proof" that the original agent had assured that seats were included, even though I had written documentation. They stated that OAT had no control over carrier seat transactions even though I was assured that their price included these seats. Agents are poorly trained and provide misinformation; they are condescending when one calls with a problem.

A trip to Uzbekistan. The guide was excellent and I loved the country. But Overseas Adventure Travel chose some subpar hotels and offered me no option except use of Turkish Air, which has a notorious and ongoing problems with bedbug infestation. My business-class ticket DC to Tashkent return was outrageous at more than $6000 and I did indeed get bitten by a bedbug on my right hand on the return trip. As a travel agency OATS had to have known of the problem. I can only think they must have a hell of a deal going with the airline.

I booked a trip with OATS in December 2024.
When I booked with OATS their operator assured me that I could cancel the trip and obtain a full refund as long as i cancelled 90 days prior to departure.
I sent a letter no response, so I called, then I filed a complaint with better business bureau.

Update. I received a partial refund but they never did accept any responsibility for not helping the day of the issue. I will travel with OAT again. The tour was amazing but I will never use them for airfare. I agree my issue was unique but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

Don’t book airfare with them. I never left the airport despite getting there three hours early. United couldn’t check my luggage through to Palermo. Lufthansa couldn’t see an issue. OAT said deal with the airlines. When I finally missed my flight the airlines said only OAT could fix it but OAT said there wasn’t a problem and I would have to pay another $3500 to rebook. They said to use them for airfare that they would stand behind it but no luck. Book through the airlines.

I was so looking forward to the trip but I can’t risk more money only to know I’m on my own if there is a problem.

I recently booked a trip with Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT), a subsidiary of the Grand Circle Corporation, and my experience was nothing short of a nightmare. This company engages in deceptive pricing practices, refuses to take accountability for their mistakes, and has an absurdly slow refund process—all while taking your money in record time.

Here’s what happened: I booked a trip with OAT and was assured by their representative that it included everything I requested, including Business Class airfare. Just two days later, I was informed that, in fact, Business Class was not included, and that if I wanted it, the price would increase by a staggering $7,800. This was a clear case of bait-and-switch. When I pushed back, OAT refused to take any responsibility for the misinformation their own representative provided.

Naturally, I requested an immediate refund. Their representative initially told me it would take 30–45 days. Yet, when I booked the trip, they had no problem charging my credit card within six hours. This is completely unacceptable and raises serious questions about their business ethics.

How is a company like this still in business? They mislead customers, refuse to acknowledge their own mistakes, and hold onto refunds for an unreasonable amount of time. If this is how they treat customers before the trip even begins, I shudder to think what would happen once you’re actually traveling with them.

I strongly advise anyone considering Overseas Adventure Travel to think twice before booking. Do your research, and don’t fall for their misleading sales tactics. I certainly won’t be booking with them again.

My trip with OAT to Vietnam was exceptional. I booked on fairly short notice and they handled my airfare booking as well. Almost all of the hotels were good (one wasn't and our tour guide said they'd look into other options for the future). The experiences were phenomenal; we met a lot of every day people, learned about people's lives, were in their homes and also saw the main tourist sites. The itinerary was great and our guide was fabulous.

We booked an Eastern Europe to the Black Sea River Cruise with GCT on 26 Nov 2024 during their Black Friday Special. The deal on their special has cruise fare "with airfare". When we spoke with Sales (Breault), she stated that we are "getting free airfare" and kept pestering us for upgrading to Premium Economy with more upselling for Pre- and Post-Cruise to which we said "NO" several times in the conversation. She provided a lot of false information and misrepresentation. What she did NOT discuss was the information in the invoice especially about the airfare.

I sent my issues to OAT support as they own GCT. Never heard from them -- no response to the email. Called them up, CS Agent Gabby said that there is no supervisor and that they can't do anything about the complaint. I raised the issue through Better Business Bureau in 04 Dec 2024. Travel Relations French said that Sales was correct.

GCT was charging the airfare from Boston for $1,250 per person. Their Black Friday Special Ad stated "FLY FOR FREE -- a savings up to $1,600 per person -- on March and May-June departures". Yet, GCT only gave a $1,100 discount per person leaving us to pay a total of $300 for airfare.

How is that FLY FOR FREE (free airfare) as claimed by their Sales (Breault) and their promotional Ad? We have screenshots to prove our assertions.

After reading reviews about OAT, it seemed that most of their issues are about the integrity of their Sales. Their Customer Service and Travel Relations is a joke. At best, their Sales agent was deceptive and their Travel Relations are dishonest.

I would NEVER recommend this company. DO NOT TRUST Grand Circle Travel or Overseas Adventure Travel.

This was our first experience using OAT but the Galapagos was always a bucket list stop and our tour didn’t disappoint. Booked all airfare with OAT out of Chicago and arrived into Quito a couple days early to adjust to the altitude. Was met at the airport at 11:30pm by an OAT guide that helped us through security and baggage and took us to the hotel for the night. Toured Quito for a couple days on our own before meeting our TL Delphin and then it was off to the Amazon. What a great experience. Our TL was local and had grown up in the jungles and was a wizard with a spotting scope. The lodge where we stayed was perfect for the area, with great food every day. Daily treks and boat rides were amazing. Following our Amazon trip it was back to Quito for another couple days, with a beautiful optional trip to a hot springs up in the mountains at about 10,000ft. Heavenly. Then off to the Galapagos with our next TL Daniel. Air travel to the island, transfer to our ship and away we went. Hit 6 islands over 7 days aboard a 16 passenger catamaran. We were able to snorkel pretty much every day, with walking treks and city tours included. Meals each night aboard the ship were fantastic. Bar was available but extra expense. Have snorkeled many locations in the Caribbean and Hawaii and this was by far the best. Looking forward to our next trip with OAT in May 2026.

I had originally booked my second tour with OAT in Oct 2019. Covid happened, then Russia invaded Ukraine (not far from our destination), so I was able to change my date several times. In a nutshell, I found out yesterday after hours on the phone that my money had been transferred to a non refundable certificate which had expired, and $500 had been deducted. At no time was I notified of this. OAT has agreed to renew the certificate but my $500 is gone. And my promise of a refund does not exist. After reading other reviews here maybe my experience is not so bad, but I am a single senior and really didnt want to travel anymore.

Waiting $25,000 refund. Same as many below. More excuses every time I call. It's been almost 2 months and now they say another 3 weeks.

I doubt I will see the money.

The two trips I have taken went well, and I have prepaid for the third one (to replace the cancelled one) but I will never trust them again.

OAT gives a good travel experience, and I would travel with them again. However, while onboard ship in the Greek Islands, it came time to settle our onboard bill on the last day before departure. Consider you and your partner having a daily drink during happy hour for 6 Euro each for 7 days. Then you purchase your partner a jewelry trinket from the ship store for 200 Euro. Now, the morning of the departure date you are settling up with a credit card. They DEMAND to change the currency from Euro to US Dollars and use an exchange rate that is about 5% lower than the current rate. Your 284 Euro bill should be $304.39 but instead they DEMAND $319.61 due to using their mandatory low exchange rate. The only option is to go off ship at the last minute, find a bank and get Euros. The ship's purser, Mr. Damir Arbanas on the ship Arethusa, either could not or would not bill my CC in Euros and let my bank do the conversion at current rates as all other venues on the islands did. OAT rips off all their shipboard clients for many US dollars each. I do not understand why a good travel company like OAT resorts to stealing from their customers.
REPLY TO RESPONSE:
Currency conversion should not be necessary. We were in Europe, all charges on board ship were in Euros, why demand payment in US Dollars? If you do demand payment in Dollars, then use that day’s exchange rate, as the banks do and not just some rate that you make up that takes advantage of your clients/travelers.

Pricing scam. . Changed price after I booked. Had everything written down. Added $400 for no reason. Said they cannot reconnect me with my representative. Said call was recorded but all prices were beeped out for security purposes. But somehow some number that I never heard and is not written in my notes was not beeped out? Complete liars.

After making a reservation and submitting a deposit for a tour, I thought I had locked in the quoted price. They offer deep discounts for advanced payment, but I opted to wait until the payment due date, understanding that there would be no pre-payment discounts. The final payment due date is in late October 2024 for a trip commencing in January 2025. I received a letter in early August advising that the price of our trip had increased by $200 per person. The letter went on to say that I we paid in full by August 30, 2024, they would waive the price increase. This seems to me to be a breach of trust. The reason a deposit is required in advance is to protect the company, but I would think also to protect the consumer by locking in the quoted price. At no time did the agent who took my reservation mention that the price was subject to change. This sort of thing has never happened to us on Rick Steves Tours, or on Wilderness Adventure Travel tours. It did not happen on any of the three previous OAT tours we took. But OAT is doing this now. They have a new CEO who seems to be more financially oriented than customer oriented. Bottom line: don't trust the price they quote. They feel entitled to change the price and terms at will.

OAT’s service has declined post-covid. It no longer supports the plane tickets OAT purchases for YOU. In our case, they failed to help with our Business Class tickets they had purchased for us and no one was available to help for 3 days via phone. The tour guide was more interested in meeting her schedule and her family than in assisting guests and failed to provide “included services”. The Mercedes bus skylight leaked on our seats during the frequent rains. The stairs in the back of the bus were dangerous and lacked a handrail. Two of the hotels did not offer “take out” porter service for bags.

I have a major complaint on the pricing system of the tour. On Jul 17, 2024, after speaking with an agent, he prepared a trip summary for me with the exact tour dates and prices (web pricing). On Jul 18, 2024, I called OAT early in morning as I had some questions, after all the questions were answered, I agreed to make the $500 deposit. I verbally confirmed a few times with the agent using the pricing in my trip summary, he confirmed the pricing, and told me that an email confirmation would be sent to me. However, when I checked the email that night, the Pre-Trip, Main trip and Post-trip were all increased by $100 (Tour package increased by $300), I tried to call OAT but the office was closed. On 7/19/24 morning, I called OAT to find out why the prices were increased and spent an hour on the phone with agent and later a supervisor. I am VERY disappointed when the supervisor told me that there was Web system issue which caused the pricing different from the Booking system, and the option I was given was to change to a different cheaper tour, take it or leave it, there is no attempt to honor the verbally confirmed price even it is OAT's internal system issue. I decide to cancel the tour. I am new to OAT, and this is a terrible first experience. I feel the arrogance in OAT's policy, I have traveled with many different tour companies before, and never have experienced price change on tour packages from day to day. There are so many other good adventure tour companies out there.

June 8-July 2, 2024. Lima, Machu Picchu, Amazon, Galapagos. OAT has not concept of timelines nor do they care about efficiency. The pretrip from Lima to Iquitos then off to the Amazon was okay, because I was able to obtain better airlne seats. But then, we met the rest of the so called group for the remainder back in Lima. When we could have gone directly to Cusco instead of wasting two days with a bunch of people with eating disorders or sorely out of shape. Clearly, the bold print said what the physical requirements were. The guide for Ecuador, Alberto Zambrano, and Galapagos had his own agenda. We had to suffer through his briefing which most of the OAT stuff was covered previously then there was the optional Spa day at the tune of $110. Alberto handed out a flyer for he spa and said one should pick out what one wants. Then the ball dropped. Reservations were supposed to have been made but since they weren't we missed out. And on it went. Communications was lacking and surprises constantly as to the schedule, such as 0300 wake up for a joke of a flight. We made a two leg stop to the Galapagos when there was a direct flight. What is the buffoon at OAT thinking?

I applied as a tour guide for this company. Once I scheduled and arranged an interview I was available to have it via Zoom. However, nobody was available to interview me. Left waiting for 30 minutes I contacted the company about this issue. Apparently I wasn't logged in. It didn't make sense. There was no apology or decision to arrange the interview again. Just unacceptable.

I have traveled 4 times with Oat, it seems the quantity of Oat sponsored excursions is decreasing, but not the cost. Less included meals and tours.
My recent issue is for an upcoming trip in October. We are staying an extra night in Paris at the conclusion of the tour. In the past Oat would book the extra night at the same hotel providing us with the negotiated hotel rate, which we would pay to Oat. Oat has recently changed the policy and will no longer book for us. They will book on the front end but not the back end. I’ve called 3 different people, written 3 emails to support and they will not budge. The hotel even told us that Oat had to make the arrangements. Seems customer service is not a priority once the trip is paid for. Very sad since I had enjoyed touring with them.