Recommended G Adventures Tours

G Adventures review and tours we recommend from around the world.

Which G Adventures tours do you recommend? Where should I take a tour? Which style of tour should I take? What can I expect on a G Adventures tour? Which G Adventures tours have you taken? If I am usually an independent traveler, would I enjoy a G Adventures tour?

These are questions we get often, and the answers vary dramatically depending upon your travel goals, style, available time and budget. We've taken fourteen G Adventures tours over the ten years that we were part of their Wanderers program. These tours have been all around the world, in destinations as unique as Iran and Haiti, as well as to adventure and adrenaline-driven destinations like Antarctica, Tanzania and New Zealand.

G Adventures Black Friday Sale, up to 30% off on tours booked between 10 November – 9 December, 2022: If you have been considering booking a tour in 2022 now is the time to do so. Use this G Adventures Black Friday Sale link to get up to 30% off on many tours. The trips need to be booked by December 9, 2022 and take place before April 30, 2023.

Below are our recommended G Adventures tours that we've taken, organized by region. Below that is information about why choose a G Adventures small group tour and the different types and styles of tours available. If you have a question on G Adventures tours or if you wonder if they might be the right travel style and match for you, just drop us a line.

If you are new to small group tours, take a look at this article on how to get the most from your tour.

Recommended G Adventures Tours

Below are all the G Adventures tours that we've taken ourselves over the years and recommend. These have taken us around the world, introduced us to new cultures, taken us up mountains, immersed us in nature, and provided some incredibly unique experiences and memories. The recommended reading and articles below are what we've written here about the countries we've visited with G Adventures and the experiences we've had on their tours. You can find even more of our writing about these experiences on the G Adventures Blog.

Disclosure: With the exception of the Antarctica tour, all the other tours below were sponsored as part or our partnership with G Adventures as Wanderers. Most of the tour links are affiliate links meaning that if you book a tour by clicking on the tour link the price stays the same to you, but we earn a small commission to help support us and sharing stories from around the world on this website.

Recommended G Adventures Tours in South America and the Caribbean

We've taken and can recommend the following G Adventures tours in Colombia, Brazil and Haiti. These tours combine a bit of adventure, culture and history, local cuisine, active elements like hiking and some independent time to do what you want.

Recommended G Adventures Africa Tours

When many people think about traveling in Africa they first think of safaris and wild animals. There is certainly no shortage of safari opportunities in many eastern and southern African countries and we definitely recommend seeking this out for your first visit. However, there's a lot more to do and see on this continent -- from exploring the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela in Ethiopia to tracking lemurs in Madagascar to gorilla trekking in Uganda to climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Taking a small group tour means that you can focus on the experience at hand instead of worrying about logistics, transport breaking down, having a trusted guide and more. Here are a few of the remarkable and recommended G Adventures tours we've taken in Africa.

Recommended G Adventures Asia Tours

Asia is vast and diverse with so many countries, cultures and cuisines to explore. We've been fortunate to experience Bhutan, India, Japan and Bali on G Adventures tours where we've had great local tour leaders (CEOs) who provided us not only with background on history and sights, but who also served as a connection to local culture and people. Here are a few of the G Adventures tours in Asia that we've taken and recommend.

Recommended G Adventures Antarctica and Pacific Tours

The first tour we ever took with G Adventures was to Antarctica almost ten years ago and it introduced us to the values, ethos and quality of their tours, guides and attention to environment, culture and positive social impact. Since then we've enjoyed exploring the Australia and New Zealand on tours that included a good balance of outdoor adventure, culture and history, food and wine, and some down time as well.

Recommended G Adventures Middle East Tours

The Middle East is fascinating -- with a history that goes back millennia, incredible ancient sights, hospitable cultures and incredible cuisines. However, the Middle East can also be complicated so it's good to have a local to help put context and understanding around complex issues. A G Adventures small group tour in the Middle East does just that.

Why choose a G Adventures tour?

Here are the features and approaches that we appreciate and value most from G Adventures tours:

  • Shared values that travel can be a force for good, the social enterprise model and Planeterra Foundation. This means running tours that are respectful of local people, culture, environment and economy. In addition, the partnership with the Planeterra Foundation connects G tours and travelers to local community organizations, often with marginalized communities, around the world, providing unique and meaningful local experiences. In fact, you can check out all tours with a Planeterra project here.
  • Expertise of a local guide to provide insight and expertise. Not only does this provide context to understand what you are seeing, but some of our guides have also opened up experiences that would not have been possible if we were our own.
  • Focus on keeping tourism money local and in the communities. This means that G Adventures works with locally owned accommodation, restaurants, transportation, activities, etc. instead of foreign or big international companies. This not only benefits the local communities and economies, but also provides a more personal and better experience for travelers. You can see the percentage of money kept locally for each tour with the Ripple Score.
  • Getting to know other like-minded travelers. We're still friends with some people we've met on G Adventures trips years later.
  • Free time and independence. When many people think “tour” they think that every moment of their day will be planned and they will be running around constantly. Not so with G Adventures tours. While some days on the tour will have organized and included activities, there is usually ample free or independent time so that travelers can choose to do what interests them most.
  • Logistics and coordination. All the difficult juggling of logistics and itinerary is taken care of efficiently so you can experience and see a lot in a relatively short period of time.

How to choose the right G Adventures tour style

Not every G Adventures tours are the same as there are different quality levels of tours, as well as different styles of tours. So how do you know which tour type is right and a good fit for you?

We've taken a variety of G Adventure tour styles and types over the years – from Classic and National Geographic Journeys with G Adventures tours, as well as Active and 18-to-Thirtysomethings tours. There are even G Adventures Wellness tours now focused on the journey within, as well as the journey in the destination. So here's a bit of breakdown as to what you might expect and how to choose the tour type that's best for you.

Covid Safety and Health: G Adventures implemented new safety and hygiene measures with its Travel with Confidence policy that is certified by the WTTC Safe Travels protocols.

Note: If you still have concerns about traveling in a small group with people you don't know then consider getting some friends and family together and book a private tour with G Adventures (note: the 8th person gets 50% and the 12th person is free).

Classic G Adventures tours

If we're being completely honest, Classic Tours are our favorite type of G Adventures tour. Why? Because the tour groups are usually a diverse set of ages, nationalities and backgrounds, from 20-somethings just starting out with travel to mid-career professionals to active 70-year old retirees. Accommodation is usually pretty nice (think 3* hotels and guest houses) and located centrally. Transportation is usually a private bus, and often flights are included where it makes sense. While there are usually a few activities included in the tour, you have a lot of options to choose which activities you want to do (or not do) during the free or independent time.

National Geographic Journeys with G Adventures

A few years ago G Adventures partnered with National Geographic to create a tour style that included the higher end accommodation, transport (including flights), guides and activities of G's Comfort Tours with the research and conservation focus from National Geographic. What makes these National Geographic Journeys cool and unique is the opportunity to connect with a National Geographic Fellow (or similar) and really go deep into the wildlife, culture, or nature of a place. Usually these experiences are only offered and available through these National Geographic Journeys (i.e., you can't book them on TripAdvisor).

G Adventures 18-to-Thirtysomething Tours

Previously called YOLO tours, the G Adventures 18-to-30 Something tours are geared more towards younger travelers and are more of a backpacking style. Hence, the age limit on who can sign up for one of these tours. These tours are the cheapest of G Adventures' offerings and include basic accommodation like hostels or simple guest houses, and often only includes overland travel (i.e., no flights).

Family Tours

We don't have any experience with G Adventures family tours as we don't have children. But, I do know from personal experience how travel and immersing oneself into new cultures as a child can be an incredible education. These family tours have interactive activities, accommodation, transport and other logistics that are specifically suited for families, especially those with younger children.