3 Time Traveler with OAT
Written: Oct 23 '05
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Pros: Affordable price, small groups, AWESOME guides, did I mention price & great guides?
Cons: They don't mention about $200-250 additional fees in catalogs or website.
The Bottom Line: Overall great company for an organized trip on the "road less traveled". Trips are suited for singles, couples, & friends, but not children. Affordable price for all that's included.
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| conniecharlie's Full Review: Overseas Adventure Travel |
I’ve been to 26 countries with numerous companies. I’ve used OAT now on three trips: Galapagos Islands/Amazon, Peru, and Tanzania/safaris. The best tour company I’ve used yet.
Price
Almost everything is included on their listed price in their catalogs/online. They don’t include about $200-250 worth of fees in that price, along with all the tips for the guides and some of the drivers. All restaurant or porter tips are included or at least the 3 times I’ve used OAT. You have to call them to find out the total cost.
Food
Pros: If you starve, it’s your own fault. Food is excellent & plentiful. If you are on a special diet, a vegetarian or are allergic to certain foods, don’t worry. They will ask you ahead of time and then double check the first day in country of the trip. I was very surprised to see just how accommodating they were. There was a lady that only wanted omelets for breakfast and they were able to serve. They will feed you at least one native meal. On most of their trips, you will eat a meal in a local family’s home.
Cons: Both myself & my husband seem to gain a few pounds after ever trip.
Accommodations
If you are looking for 5 star hotels, this is not the company. Accommodations are wonderful, but not at the luxury 5 star level. All but 2 places I’ve stayed had great flushing toilets, hot shower water, and good shower water pressure in all but 2 places (3 items on how I rate good accommodations). Of the two, one was in a tent in the Serengeti (had hot water, pit toilets, and a bucket of water over the shower, so pressure wasn’t great, but wasn’t bad). The other was on a boat at the Galapagos Islands. If you were one of the last to shower, you didn't have much water pressure. Overall though, great accommodations.
Guides
ALL have been very friendly, organized and like a walking dictionary & encyclopedia! In Africa, our guides knew everything from gestation periods on every bird & animal to their scientific names! They give you handouts of information, gave good recommendations on where to shop & not to shop, kept the group on schedule, when and what to hand out to children/locals (candy vs school supplies), and know how to handle problems that arose and hard to deal with people! This is probably the most impressive part of the tour and can make or break your trip.
Itinerary/Miscel
Some tours are more fast pace than others. Read their catalog or website. They are pretty accurate. On every trip they try to give you a local home cooked dinner either at someone's house or prepared by a local. It seemed a little strange when they first mentioned it to us, that we would visit someone's house, but turns out that is one of our favorite parts in their tours! You meet a local family and interact with them. Also, OAT supports the preservation of the local culture, local community and the environment. Our Galapagos, Tanzania & Amazon accommodations had solar panels to warm our water, electricity, etc. My husband & I are in our early-mid 30s and are the "babies" of every trip. All the travelers' have been good and we have no complaints with the company.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Seniors
Tour type: Group
Tour format: Various
Tour length: Over a Week
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Epinions.com ID:
conniecharlie
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Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 0 members
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