Can someone please inform me if OAT tours (Overseas Adventure Travel)are strictly for the over 50 crowd? Someone on these message boards recommended them, but I'm unclear if there's an age limit. We'r
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Cat:Australia and the South PacificForum:0EEC8770
Cat:Australia and the South PacificForum:0EEC8770Discussion:0EF44CB7
Can someone please inform me if OAT tours (Overseas Adventure Travel)are strictly for the over 50 crowd? Someone on these message boards recommended them, but I'm unclear if there's an age limit. We're in our mid-30s. Thanks!
There is no age limit, but you will find that most people are over 50. We've done several tours with them and have had some people in their 40's also. However, OAT travelers are active people and they won't slow you down. We've sometimes had trouble keeping up with people who were 10 years older than us. Also most are experienced travelers and are knowledgeable and fun to travel with. The OAT trips we've taken have all been wonderful.
We have never traveled with OAT, but have traveled with their sister company, Grand Circle, which has larger groups, 8 times. They both have the same target audience, 50 and over. Many of our fellow travelers have also traveled with OAT. We would say that, for the most part, the OAT travelers are somewhat younger and more fit. We are in our early 60s and have been traveling with Grand Circle for 7 years. On only one occasions we we the youngest. Their have been occasions that three generations were traveling together. We had one girl that was 13 on the Egypt trip. We have also had college age girls traveling with parents and/or grand parents. So there does not seem to be any true age limit, although I don't think that they would allow children. The pace of the trips is more relaxed than most groups given their target age group. We are scheduled to go with OAT to Israel and Jordan in less than 4 weeks and to Africa with them in September. We would be glad to answer any questions.
The OAT tours are not "more relaxed". There are usually more stops and busier schedules than on GCT tours, and the pace is very active. GCT allows people with mobility aids, but OAT does not. As others have said, the average age of people on the OAT tours is 50s and early 60s. We have had people in their 40s on our OAT tours, though.
That being said, all of the people on our OAT tours are extremely active, and love to travel. The people that we have traveled with are fun, and experienced travelers.
Feel free to contact me if you have any other questions about OAT (or GCT).
We did not mean that the trips aren't active, but that they aren't "If this is Tuesday, it must be Belgium" type trips. Some tour operators seem to specialize in one night stays, living out of the suitcase and no time to appreciate where you are. OAT is more physically active and generally does more than OAT, but you do get time to understand the people and cultures that you're in.
OAT is great. If you want fast paced. There are optionals if you choose to skip, you can rest! You'd be better choosing Grand Circle if you want more time at each stop. OAT shows you places that large groups can never get to see and experiences of a lifetime.
Age has been from 17-81....we are in our 60s!!!
Retired folks do most of the traveling so the average age is generally in the 60s.
Lucky younger folks who manage to raise a family and travel too while the kids are growing.
I am a Sir Edmond Hillary member with OAT and an Inner Circle Member with GCT and I started traveling with them when I was 38 years old. I am 52 now and I LOVE both of them. I have traveled on OAT with others that bring their children as young as 12 and it was wonderful. I also love going with Grand Circle, but I am still the youngest member of those trips. I highly recommend both. OAT is much more active, but GCT is also so interesting and still get to see it all.
I'm glad that most people have had a good experience with OAT.
Our experience with them was absolutely terrible. Their staff were obstructive, unhelpful and at times treated us with contempt (we tried deal with them in a polite way, but this was clearly not productive).
Largely because of our pretrip experience we canceled our trip with them. It is the only time in m quarter century of travel I have ever done this. I certainly never will recommend them to a friend or travel with them. Having said that, most people I know have enjoyed their trips with OAT.
Just thought you should know there is a second side to the OAT story.
Sorry to hear about your bad experience with OAT, seems to happen every now and then in even the best of companies. Here are some trip reports by others who have been on safari with them in the past...
Unfortunately OAT , although it welcomes Canadians to join in on their trips, will not send information etc. to a Canadian address. Two years ago we booked a trip with them and everything had to be sent to the home of an American friend of our daughter's (whom we did not know well). Then that friend had to mail it to us. It became too inconvient and consequently we cancelled the trip. But I must say that their trips look very good and if they changed their policy about not mailing materials outside of the USA we would definitely book a trip with them again.
Unfortunately OAT , although it welcomes Canadians to join in on their trips, will not send information etc. to a Canadian address. Two years ago we booked a trip with them and everything had to be sent to the home of an American friend of our daughter's (whom we did not know well). Then that friend had to mail it to us. It became too inconvient and consequently we cancelled the trip. But I must say that their trips look very good and if they changed their policy about not mailing materials outside of the USA we would definitely book a trip with them again. Posted by canmal
Well, they have been sending full documentation to me in Canada since September 2010. Mythical Beast.
Obviously they have changed their policy in this regard since we originally booked with them in 2008, when we had to supply them with an American address.
Thank you for that information :)...I just called OAT and they do indeed FED EX materials to Canadian addresses now. The agent told me this is a very recent change in their policy.
This past month (November 2010), my mother treated my husband and I to a 3-week African safari. She booked the $25,000 trip through Overseas Adventure Travel. The trip included international airfare for each of us, however, since she lives in a different U.S. state than we, OAT booked her onto a different international flight than us. Since our trips were all booked and paid for at the same time as travelers on the same trip, I thought it was extremely cheap for OAT to put my 78-year-old mother on an international flight all alone. They obviously did it because the cost was less.
Then to make matters worse, the layover in London for my mother's flight from the United States was only 1 hour. Nowadays with the additional security checkpoints, it is absolutely impossible for anyone to make a connecting flight for international travel in 1 hour. So, as you would imagine, my mother did not make the connecting flight to Nairobi. The next flight out of London was 7 hours later, so my mother sat in the Heathrow Airport by herself for 7 hours, and by the time she arrived in Nairobi the next morning to begin our safari tour (which was leaving Nairobi at 9am), she was exhausted. Would you want your 78-year-old mother to begin an expensive excursion halfway across the world in a physical state like this? My husband and I were really upset about it.
Upon her return to the United States, my mother called OAT to complain about their huge error in booking her outbound flights. To truly show their indifference to the magnitude of the situation and their obvious lack of professional customer service, Overseas Adventure Travel responded to my mother by telling her that there was nothing they could do for her since that was "the only airline flight available at that time". You and I know that is a lie. If it were true, ALL of the U.S. travelers on our trip would have been on the same flight that she was on - but we weren't. I'm appalled at OAT for taking this stand, especially since the majority of their tour clients are over the age of 60. Do yourself a huge favor when booking your travel plans to foreign and exotic locations: do not use Overseas Adventure Travel. You'd be better off spending your hard-earned money with a tour company who is much more attentive to your travelling comfort and safety needs.
Concerned Daughter. The air arrangements are mailed out, and also posted on your online account, well before the tour. That gives you time to request a change. Just call OAT and request different routing. Complaining after the fact doesn't solve the problem.
Sandy, ordinarily I would agree, but my experience with OAT proved that requesting different routing was a waste of time and effort. They would not even try and referred me to their literature/contract for their air itinerary policy. They even changed my routing to worse flights after I had been told that my flights were confirmed and could go ahead and purchase the upgrade to "Economy Plus". Now I must fight to get the refund for the upgrade and OAT will not help.
I work in the adventure travel industry and find that the more expensive, comfortable and less active the trip then the older the group usually turns out to be. Of course this is a big generalisation and some of the older folks on our active adventures often leave the younger ones behind in the dust. We have a lady in her 80's camel trekking at the moment and she would be a joy to travel with. I find it's best to be open and flexible about the ages of people in the group. People with like interests find the same. I've made friends of all ages and persuasions and would encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and take a risk...the adventure starts there and if you can't do that then call and ask who is already booked on the trip
Many of our fellow travelers have also traveled with OAT. We would say that, for the most part, the OAT travelers are somewhat younger and more fit. We are in our early 60s and have been traveling with Grand Circle for 7 years......
