“First of all, I would like to sau that pur tour guide, Patrick, was incredible. He really did make the tour what it was. He is very friendly, and took the time to get to know everyone individually. He deserves all the recognition in the world for his work. 10/10.
The people I met were also amazing and without them i really dont think id have stayed (im not the only one who has said this either, and some members did infact leave early).
Now for the tour itself and gap360 mpre broadly... the activities and accomodation were significantly below the standard I (and many others in the group) expected for the cost of the tour.
Many of the hostels had ants in the beds, the rooms often had mosquitos with no nets and we often had no hot water to shower in. In one hostel, we had large towels as blankets. There is no excuse for this whatsoever, backpacking or not.
The "home stay" led to a number of group members wanting to leave the tour early. It was muddy, with no flushing toilets, no drinking water and no toilet paper available. There was a bird in our room, a stray dog that came in, and we were not even provided with a pillow. We spent the day there with nothing to do other than "explore the village", but there was really nothing to see other than animals sadly tied up unable to move freely.
The trip's included activities were often free if not very cheap and whilst I understand gap360 need to make a profit, the tour in no way reflects the cost.
Other group members who had done tours with other well known companies stated that this tour and the accomodation/activities provided were by far the worst they had ever experienced despite this tour costing substantially more than others.
When we raised concerns with gap360 during the tour, they did not make any changes in order to make people feel better or provide any support whatsoever. Their response stated that it was a backpacking trip and hence, consisted of hostels but there are many hostels that are of much better standard than many of those we stayed in.
It is also worth mentioning that whilst some lunches and breakfasts were included, these were often extremly limited, basic and ridden with flies meaning we had to buy our own.
We did of course visit some beautiful places, and made memories to last a lifetime, but sadly much of the accomodation and lack of included quality activities meant that lots of us were left feeling disappointed and like we had not got to explore the places we visited properly.
There were some good activity options, provided by our tour guide, which we were grateful for but these were not included and tended to be the more pricey ones.
All in all, I would not recommend gap360 for this tour. I really wish I could I say it was an incredible experience but quite frankly it was substandard. I'll be going with other well known companies in future”
Hi,
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your feedback with us. We’re thrilled to hear that Patrick had such a positive impact on your experience. He truly is a standout member of our team, and we’ll be sure to pass along your kind words to him!
We understand that everyone’s experience can vary, and we truly value your feedback. Our Thailand tour is one of our most popular, and the trip has 100's five-star reviews from Gap 360 travellers who enjoyed the authentic experiences and beautiful locations Thailand has to offer. We always aim to provide a balance of adventure, comfort, and cultural immersion on our trips.
As a trusted and reputable tour agency, we continuously review our tours, health and safety protocols, and overall customer experience. We are committed to putting our customers at the forefront of all decisions to ensure the highest standards of service and safety.
We were surprised to hear your comments about the value for money for the trip as the tour is competitively priced with all accommodation, transport and listed inclusions available on the website.
We are pleased to hear that you enjoyed the beautiful places you visited and the meaningful memories you created. We’re committed to continuing to enhance the experiences we offer, and we hope to have the opportunity to welcome you on another Gap 360 adventure in the future.
Thank you again for your feedback, and we wish you all the best on your future travels.
Best wishes,
The Gap 360 Team
Hi,
Thank you for your feedback regarding private room upgrades. We run group tours where you travel with like-minded people, and most customers are in shared rooms such as twin accommodations or dorms. For certain trips, we do have private room upgrades which are a set price and arranged through local suppliers, and we recommend enquiring about these options before booking. This allows us to confirm availability and quote your trip with your additional request before you decide to go ahead.
These prices are set by accommodation suppliers and as private room upgrades are not done by many customers, you'll find with most travel companies there is a higher price for private rooms. If you are utilising this private room upgrade with a travel companion, the cost is shared but if you choose to upgrade to a private room as a solo traveller you will still need to pay the upgrade cost, and this is often called a single supplement. This single supplement private upgrade can also be higher in certain countries such as the USA, Japan, Australia, etc.
If you’d like to discuss a specific booking or quote, please let us know, and we’ll of course be happy to assist or explain further.
Best wishes,
The Gap 360 Team
“My experience with Gap360 has been mixed the customer support was great and everyone was quick to respond and the tour itself was amazing. However the tour was not run by Gap360 but instead Intro Travel, which isn’t a problem in itself but would have been nice to be made aware of before booking.
My main complaint is that the Work/Travel New Zealand tour was proposed as if everyone on the tour was planning to work in NZ afterwards and therefore everyone could group together with accommodation and job hunting, etc. In reality very few in my group were planning on working (after the south tour only 2 out of 18), I was lucky as this didn’t hinder my experience on the tour as my group was amazing. But I think Gap360 should rethink how they portray this tour to travellers as it is very misleading. The itinerary Gap360 gave me before booking didn’t fully match that of Intro Travel (the correct one). A few activities such as kayaking to Ruby Island didn’t happen as well as interview practice and NZ CV building not going ahead. Some activities said to be included within the tour also then turned out we had to pay for.
My advice is don’t book through Gap360 and go straight to intro travel!”
Hey Will,
Thank you for sharing your feedback and for highlighting the positives of your experience, including our customer support and the amazing tour itself! We’re so glad our team was quick to respond and that you enjoyed your group and your adventures in New Zealand.
Gap 360 is a travel agency that partners with outstanding local teams to deliver unforgettable travel experiences. By booking with us, you gain access to not only these amazing tours but also the added benefit of our dedicated support team here in the UK before, during, and after your trip.
We genuinely appreciate your feedback about the Work/Travel New Zealand tour and have shared your comments with our product team for review. Customer feedback is incredibly valuable to us, and we are committed to addressing your comments fairly. If you’d like to discuss this further, please contact our bookings team at hello@gap360.com so we can review the itinerary based on your feedback.
Thank you again for your insights, and we look forward to hearing from you.
Best wishes,
The Gap 360 Team
“I only have a problem with the company “Gap360” not “one life” as the hostel was “shown” I wasn’t informed that I would be sharing a room with 8 other girls, with 2 plug (we would have to unplug our lights just to charge our phones) only 1 shower door closed it wasn’t good, the place was very clean (ofc for Japan) but as I was informed they don’t recommend “suitcases” I wasn’t informed that we would be taking public transport everywhere, and I brought two suitcases along with me and I’m not use to dragging my suitcases around, I also had to send my suitcase as it was too heavy for me to lift (23kg) as I had put a small one in there, Beth had to help me with them and the people on the tour, but my other big suitcase couldn’t be sent, the company should inform people that you will have to pay or you might not be able to send a suitcase, but Thankfully Beth informed me before. I don’t personally think that’s fair, I think there’s should be more information about why you definitely shouldn’t bring a suitcase. Overall the hostels we was in after the first one was lovely I’m so happy I got to experience so many places, but as a company I think there’s should be more information about if you have mental heath (that maybe they shouldn’t recommend certain places to go or do) I saw there was an information box about it but noting more, I had an interesting time with the “tour” but I’m happy I done it, Beth got me through it, without her I probably would have gone home (because of my mental health) but Beth thank you once again for just being you❤️you was everything I needed and could of asked for an angel in disguise you went above and beyond, thank you Beth❤️🫰🏻”
Hey Shannon,
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We are sorry to hear that some aspects of the trip didn’t meet your expectations. At Gap 360, we strive to provide detailed pre-departure information, including suggested packing lists and helpful guidebooks to ensure everyone feels fully prepared for their travels.
As a responsible travel agency, customer health and well-being are our top priorities. We provide ample opportunities for customers to inform us of any medical conditions before departure, so we can offer the necessary support.
I’m really happy to hear that Beth was such a great support to you during your travels and that you enjoyed exploring the amazing places on your tour. Please do reach out to us at hello@gap360.com if you want to discuss your experience in more detail. We truly appreciate your feedback.
Best wishes,
The Gap 360 Team
““My trip was awful. From start to finish there were constant issues and lack of information regarding extra fees or the schedule ahead of time. The food included were money off vouchers. My items got ruined on a boat tour of the Whitsundays where 30 people were crammed onto a tiny unsafe boat. Was offered £50 compensation for all my stuff being ruined. Personally I would never book a tour again from the amount extra I then had to pay and the lack of any nice accommodation. They also never mentioned that INTRO were actually the ones running the tour not 360.”
Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us. We understand how important it is for our travellers to have a seamless and enjoyable trip, and we appreciate you bringing your comments to our attention.
At Gap 360, we take pride in curating exceptional itineraries in collaboration with local teams worldwide to cater to various travel styles and preferences. Transparency and flexibility are paramount to us, which is why we ensure that detailed information about our in-country partners is available throughout the booking and pre-departure experience with Gap 360.
To review your comments further, please do not hesitate to contact our team at hello@gap360.com. We are committed to addressing any matters you may have encountered and ensuring that your concerns are thoroughly investigated. Your satisfaction is our top priority, and we would welcome the opportunity to discuss your feedback further.
Once again, we apologize for any inconvenience caused during your tour, and we appreciate your feedback as it helps us improve our services for future travellers.
Best regards,
The Gap 360 Team
Hello,
Thank you for your feedback. We truly understand the importance of prompt service.
I can see your booking has been confirmed with our local teams, so you can now begin the preparations for your trip. 😊
Do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions; our experienced travel coordinators will assist you every step of the way.
Best wishes,
The Gap 360 Team
“Wouldn’t recommend the Thai adventure tour, very very poor accommodation which I usually wouldn’t mind if they were in a good location but nearly every place we stayed was very far from civilisation. Would highly recommend just booking yourself as the price you pay through gap 360 is probably double what you would pay if you booked yourself and would be in much better location and much better standards. A few members of the group did contact gap 360 about this but with extremely unhelpful and rude reply’s. Would not book again with this company.”
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We are really surprised to hear this feedback about the accommodation, as many customers say this is one of the highlights of their trip. Our Thai Adventure has hundreds of 5* reviews, and is one of our most popular trips, so this feedback is really rare to hear. We are always on hand to help with any issues on your trip, either via our bookings team or 24/7 emergency line for urgent matters. If you would like to discuss your points in further detail we'd be happy to arrange to speak to you, please email hello@gap360.com.
“The trip I had booked (Ultimate Oz) was extraordinarily overpriced for what you got. Almost all of the activities we took part in were free for a regular person to do like walking tours and nights out, you were lucky to get a free drink at the bars. They simply took advantage of the regular deals hostels and bars were offering but made it look like you were getting a great deal. You were paying mainly for the social side of it, having the same group do the activities with you which was good or bad depending on the people in your group. They said they would help with accommodation once the first week was up but they simply put you in contact with an estate agent anyone else would find with a quick google search. Overall, not worth it, organize it yourself and save yourself a load of money. Finally I couldn't find anywhere on their website where I could review the trip I went on”
Hi Finn, sorry to hear you didn’t think this package was good value for money. This is our most popular jobs package and that is a big part of the service (guaranteed jobs and the CV/application support, etc). The socialising and nights out are indeed there to get you all mingling and feeling at ease but they are not a big cost to this trip, more an added bonus. As well as the job finding services you also get 7 days accommodation, food, airport pick up and transfers, catamaran trip, 4X4 trip, dolphin cruise, sand boarding, and lots more. It’s an action packed itinerary that we normally get rave reviews for. We are sorry that this doesn’t seem to have been your experience though. Please email us at info@gap360.com and we can discuss further.
“When seeking help from Gap360 this is the response I get. I am half way across the world in need of some help and for a company that claims to help their customers when in need at all times, this is extremely disappointing and upsetting.”
Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback. The phone number you contacted was our general enquiry WhatsApp, and the message you received was an out of hours auto-response. For urgent assistance, every customer has access to a 24/7 emergency line in their online account.
“I was having lots of fun on the trip, up until I was on an island where we got a lovely text from gap 360 saying if we don’t leave the country now we will be “stranded at our own cost” - therefore the last few days of our trip was cancelled. Gap 360 changed their terms and conditions after we booked our trip so that they are not obliged to give refunds! This company is a joke and they’re only interested in making money. It was also a great having to try find my way back to Bangkok without any help! #STAforthewin”
Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback. You were contacted during your trip in regards to your safety, and the trip was cut short early due to Force Majeure. In-line with our terms and conditions you will have been contacted directly by one of our travel coordinators about the unused portion of your trip. In addition, the local team were on hand to help with any onwards travel arrangments.
Thanks for getting in touch James. Unfortunately the date you chose became fully booked just after you selected it online. We tried our best to squeeze you on but sometimes this is not possible. We've offered to switch you to another date - our trips which leave the week before and after the 16th June still have spaces and are currently on offer too. If there's anything else we can do to help you to decide then please do let us know :)
“I did the 25 day Thai adventure tour.
Gap 360 are good when it comes to bringing travellers together who are interested in seeing the same places so that part is done well.
When it comes to the tour I feel there are a few things GAP 360 could do better. On this tour I feel I was left in the dark about a lot of things as the information was not provided upfront eg. where we would be staying and different people got information at different stages. When we first started out it would have been nice to have a hard copy of the itenary our guide told us the information but this was done over a 30 min speech and lets be honest how much of that can anyone take in! When it came to the tour it seems there was something in the itenary that was not actually happening namely the total wipe out adventure course, as i was really looking forward to this i was quite disappointing which meant we had a LOT of free time especially after the 18 day trip. It seems the itenary was generally thin when visiting the islands and i feel the guide did not provide any help or share her knowledge on what we can do on the island (other than what we knew already e.g water sports) it seems we were left to our own devices so i often googled the area to see what we can do.
Given I paid a lot of money for this I expected a lot more when it came to the orientation, the itenary and the no of meals that were included (which seemed to be less than advertised)
When it comes to the standard of hotels we stayed in it wasnt great and they were often in the middle of nowhere without much interaction with other travellers. Some of the hotels weren't at a good standard we found ourselves at a hotel in Koh Samui where all the water outlets has brown water coming out for one day :(. Basically i was not impressed. I understand we are backpacking and cant expect a 5* hotel but some of these places didn't even reach 2* due to cleanliness no of dead bugs in the rooms and hotel amenities.
The greatest experience was probably the Elephant sanctuary this was without a doubt a highlight - it was an all inclusive stay and the owners were great they really looked after us and made us feel at home.
After Gap 360 work on a few things and review their price to reflect what they offer then this trip is not to be missed but make sure you read into it and ask questions so your not left disappointed.
To be fair the people on my tour really made up for a lot of the negatives but it was not all bad it just reflecting on the trip now i expected a lot more.”
Hi there. It's great to hear that you enjoyed your time in Thailand but we're sorry that some aspects of the itinerary did not meet your expectations. We'd love to discuss this further with you. Are you able to pop us an email to info@gap360.com so that we can speak to you directly?
“Have done three trips now with gap 360 but my last trip on the Thai experience was a massive let down. It wasn’t a Thai experience, the guide didn’t provide us with information about Thailand, he took us to western and expensive restaurants every night (Mexican, pizza, burgers). We didn’t do all of the activities on the itinerary and the accommodation was so far away from everything!”
We are sorry to hear that you found some aspects of the Thai Adventure disappointing. We can see that the Operations team have already been in touch with you about your feedback but thank you for taking the time to leave a review, we want to assure you this has been passed on to our local team.
“Last year I went on the Thai Adventure and had an absolutely brilliant time and therefore felt gap360 were a great company to stick with. This year I did the Bali Turtle Conservation Project and was extremely disappointed. The introduction week was fun and interesting and a good chance to get to know the people I would be volunteering with. However, in the second week we moved to Nusa Penida for the turtle conservation project to begin. We were made aware the living conditions would be extremely basic and that was fine. However, they were not just basic but also unstable, horrendously dirty and generally felt quite unsafe. There was a big earthquake the day we got there, causing large cracks in the dorms walls and bamboo bunk beds that did not feel particularly safe as they were so insecure they were wobbly even without the earthquake threat. So much so, myself and a friend I made on the trip booked ourselves into a hotel for the remainder of the time we were there. I know the earthquake obviously couldn't be helped but afterwards there was no kind of measures taken to ensure the safety of all the volunteers there. Plus, gap360 themselves were uncontactable at this time when we had queries and problems that we needed help with. I understand at this point we may have been under the jurisdiction of Green Lion but when we were very scared from the earthquake and wanted to talk to someone that could help us, it was very difficult to be taken seriously by the staff of Green Lion and we wanted to talk to gap360 to find out what we needed to do if a tsunami had happened (because there was a tsunami warning put in place by the government and we had to run to the hills) in terms of worrying our passports would be damaged etc. and we needed advice from British contacts. Following the earthquake, we started our volunteering project the next day. Considering the price of this trip, I had expected to learn a lot about turtles, their habitats, their lives and the problems they face which we are trying to combat. Instead, all week, we simply took the turtles out the tank, cleaned and feed them and put them back. It was of course lovely for us to be hands on with the turtles but felt very pointless and rather than helping their cause, if anything we were hindering them from gaining survival skills because they are constantly being played with therefore in the wild it seems like they would not be able to fend for themselves. Due to the disappointment this week caused, myself and quite a few other members of the group decided to just do one week with the turtles and switch the second week to teaching or construction where we could really see we were actually making a difference rather than doing something for our own fun. I also then discovered through someone who stayed for the second week that 26 out of 30 people booked a hotel for their stay after seeing the appalling accommodation. Overall, the trip was extremely disappointing, especially considering how impressed I had been by gap360 last year with the Thai Adventure trip. The need for us at the volunteer projects very much felt more for our benefit than the animals. Or perhaps maybe just a way to get our money. I met some great people and made some great memories but as a student anyway this trip was a real treat for me and I had been saving up for a long while to be able to do it, just to be let down. I would like to know of some way I can look for some form of compensation or refund because quite frankly the trip was not worth the price we had to pay. I am so disappointed by this experience that I would now reconsider when recommending gap360 to friends compared to before when I would sing their praises”
Hi Hannah, thank you for your review. It's great to know that you had a brilliant time on our Thai Adventure last year and we are sorry to hear that you felt that this trip with us was a disappointment. Our Assistant Operations Manager will be in contact with you and we will be in contact with our in country team to get to the bottom of this.
“Although I had the most amazing time and did some incredible things, I genuinely think that was down to our group rep and the group I was in. However, I feel that once you are out of the company Gap360 do not care about you, it's all about the money for them. Also, whoever wrote the itinary need to actually do the trip and maybe then they will get the information right. I am glad I did it and have made memories that I will cherish forever but I do not recommend Gap360 as a company.”
Hi Stevie-Jo, thank you for your review - we are glad to hear that you had an amazing time in Thailand! Your personal Trip Coordinator will be reaching out to you for more information regarding your additional comments, please look out for an email :)
“The experience I had in Bali is not one that I would take back, however I wish it could have gone so much differently!
As I was doing turtle conservation, I expected to feel as though I had done some good. However when I got there, there was no turtle expert only interns from Thailand that spoke no English and a ton of mistreated dying turtles. It became clear to me that my fellow volunteers were more keen to take pictures than work as they had signed up to do. This company, green lion, takes your money to spend a fraction of it on turtle eggs so you as the consumer can abuse it before returning it to the sea dooming it- that is if it survived that long.
Other problems I had include:
Not having enough drinking water provided; not enough food prepared; expensive taxi services; no hot water; no clear information; no contact to coordinators; not being able to do construction as the school was closed; not ever beening able to do teaching.
All in all I would not recommend this trip to anyone and in future I will personally steer clear of any booking company and sort it out my self as that seems to be the only way of getting the real experience and at the cheapest price.”
Hi Ella, thank you for your feedback. This is something that we are immediately addressing with the in-country team as we are surprised to hear this. One of our Trip Coordinators will be in contact with you to discuss further.
“The agency I went through were not very clear in the orientation session on how a few things worked so there was a confusion when I didn't get the FULL bonus I assumed I was entitled too as they never told us otherwise. And when I confronted them about this, they weren't very helpful or sympathetic, which wasn't comforting considering my circumstance.”
“I had an incredible experience and absolutely loved it - both the volunteering and tour! However, I don't think I would go through gap 360 again as essentially all they did was book two seperate things for me - 2 weeks volunteering and an 8 day garden route tour (NOT 2 weeks as i was told) and probably added extra fees for their service. I also had little information beforehand, I didn't even know what organisations the parts of my trip were through so went into it very blind. Also, before going I asked how many people would be on the tour and was told 8. There were 9 of us, but the other 8 people only booked the day before the tour so the information I was given was clearly wrong! I did have the best month ever, and gap 360 were great at booking and organising, but I don't really see the point in going through a large company like this in the future as it would be so much easier and cheaper to just book myself!”
Hi Fiona
Thank you for your feedback on your recent South Africa trip. We're sorry to hear that you were unaware of the names of our in country team and that there was some confusion regarding your group size. This feedback is very important to us and has been passed to the appropriate teams. It is great to hear you that you found Gap 360's pre-departure service good and that you had an amazing time in South Africa!
“Tour guides were friendly.
However, the tour group was far larger than advertised on the website (max group of 36 with 2 tour leaders). Group was actually over 40 which made the experience less enjoyable and didn't get to know the whole group as well.”
