Considering booking an epic adventure but having trouble deciding between two operators who offer seemingly similar trips? You’ve come to the right place! Read on to learn more about G Adventures and Trek America to determine which operator is best suited to you.
Cost
G Adventures has tours in North America starting at roughly USD $115 per day, and in Latin America starting around USD $65 per day.
Trek America offers 54 tours in North and Central America, starting at approximately USD $110 per day.
For this price, both operators offer a guide, transport and a range of accommodation styles. Please see the accommodation and transport sections for the breakdown in differences of G Adventures and Trek America, as this can also be dependant on the individual tour.
Group size, age requirements and travel styles
Both G Adventures and Trek America run small group tours, with group sizes for both operators averaging 10-15 travellers.
Trek America has an age limit in place, while only some of the tours that G Adventures run have an age limit. Trek America also has an age limit for younger travellers in place. The groups of a Trek America tour are normally 10-12 people in size, and the age range for Trek America tours is 18-38 years old. This means you will be sharing experiences with travellers of a similar mindset to yourself.
G Adventures has a much larger selection of trips being a worldwide operator, and have divided their trips into different travel styles; Classic Tours, National Geographic (for more in-depth experiences), Active tours, Family (specifically for families travelling with kids), Rail (primary transport by train), Marine (primary transport by boat) and Local Living (local cultural focus), and more.
G Adventures has small group tours, so you can expect a maximum group size of 15, but often the average is just 10. While they accommodate specifically for adventure travellers on Active tours, and children with their Family tours, there is no upper age limit, although travellers with pre-existing medical conditions are required to complete a medical questionnaire.
Physical requirements
With both G Adventures and Trek America, you will need a reasonable level of fitness to be able to take part in exploring a destination, carrying your own luggage from transport to accommodation, etc.
As G Adventures primarily use public transport, you may also need to carry your luggage from accommodation to transport hubs etc. With both Trek America and G Adventures, generally, no strenuous activities are included, although some optional excursions, if you decide to do them, may involve swimming, bike riding or short hikes.
Depending on the tour you are wanting to do, this will be found in the detailed itinerary, as there may be times throughout specialty tours (hiking, diving etc) where a certain level of fitness will be required. This will be outlined in the itinerary of each tour.
Accommodation
G Adventures accommodation depends on the trip style you’ve chosen and can range from camping to hotels, to trains or even boats. You can share a room as a solo traveller at no extra cost or pay more to have your own room.
You will be sharing a room with another traveller of the same gender, but you also may have the option to pay extra for your own room (known as a single supplement).
Trek America offers camping tours, for the ‘all American outdoor experience’, as well as a range of Budget Lodging Tours, if you would prefer a bed and a roof at night. This often means that accommodation is away from large city centres and closer to nature. On camping tours, they provide all the equipment you’ll need apart from a sleeping bag! Regardless of the trip style chosen, accommodation and transport are included in the price of all tours.
Transportation and guides
G Adventures tours will in most cases use public transportation as well as local guides. This is done so that travellers can experience the local transportation system and cultures, and public transportation allows face-to-face interaction with local people.
Some G Adventures tours, including Superior, Comfort Class, and most adventures in Africa, will use private transportation. It is best to check the details of the tour to see which transportation style will be used, as it can vary from tour to tour, and different destinations.
The guides used are usually locals from the area or region that you are travelling. In the USA and Canada, Trek America has private vans to get you around, and their guides are all American guides, with a lifetime of local experience having grown up the region. The private transportation will be driven by your guide and will have WiFi on board.
For some tours operating in Central America (Mexico, Peru, Costa Rica) Trek America use BOLTS – Buses or Local Transport, which means on these tours you’ll get around using buses, water taxis and collectivos. These varied modes of transport mean you get around affordably and ensure you get to experience local life.
Destinations
G Adventures operates tours in Latin America, Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia/Oceania and North America.
Trek America has tours to North America (USA and Canada), as well as tours to Latin America.
Looking for more info? Find reviews for G Adventures here and reviews for Trek America here.
