Our Guide To G Adventures
Originally started by just one man in the 90s, G Adventures is today a large company which offers adventure, outdoor and cultural tours all over the globe, with a choice of 11 options in New Zealand and a further choice for a trip which takes in both New Zealand and Australia.
G Adventures New Zealand tour menu is broken down into categories called 'Classic Tours', 'National Geographic Journeys', Yolo and 'Active'. Some cover both islands while others concentrate on just one or even a more specific region of that island.
Classic/1 tour choice – These adventure tours are aimed at mixing up a range of activities and experiences which include the must-sees as well as lesser known secrets and provide some true insider access as well as offering cultural contact.
National Geographic Journeys/1 tour choice (NZ only) – These offer 'a greater hands-on exploration' and offer higher levels of comfort, upgraded accommodation and a greater number of free inclusions.
Yolo/6 tour choices - Aimed at budget-conscious 18 to 39-year-olds, these options are all about celebrating the you-re-only-young-once philosophy and tend to be fast-moving and fun-focused.
Active/3 tour choices – This category places greater emphasis on multi-sports which include hiking, biking, rafting and kayaking.
Accommodation varies considerably depending on which tour category you opt for. The Yolo, Classic and Active experiences are mostly simple hotels, lodges and hostels but have some unusual inclusions such as a floating boat hostel. The National Geographic Journeys are a higher standard of hotels and also sometimes include nights on a cruise boat.
Group sizes
G Adventures class themselves as a small-group company however it depends how you define small. Here it can mean up to 20 people.
Tour trip lengths
Trip lengths of between 4 and 24 days.
What is included
Each of the 11 trips offered by this company have rather different inclusions but as standard come breakfasts, accommodation, transport, guides and at least one freebie activity or experience. To give you some idea of what extra you might get here are a couple of examples:
National Geographic Journey/11 days – a couple of dinners and a lunch, higher standard accommodation, all transport which includes mini-bus, plane, train, boat, walking and heaps of freebies. These include such things as meeting a Maori elder, a dolphin and whale watching trip, harbour day cruise and overnight wilderness cruise, cave tours, TranzAlpine train journey, a traditional Maori hangi feast and more.
Yolo/16 days – some dinners and a couple of lunches and some freebies such as a big night out in Wellington, sea kayaking, visits to national parks, a cycling excursion, a seal colony visit and transportation by way of private vehicle, kayak, boat, ferry and bike.
Active/8 days – some lunches and dinners, transportation by way of private bus, canoe and bike and freebies such as a hangi dinner, hikes such as the Tongariro Crossing and some shorter options, cycling tours, jet-boating and canoeing.
Optional activities available
Each of the tour choices offer adventurers the opportunity for some add-on extras although in most cases these are limited to just one or two options.
Pros and Cons
- Age limits on the Yolo experiences.
- Large company.
- Small groups – if you define 20 as small.
- Limited choice for add-on activities.
- Chance for upgraded accommodation.
- Options aimed at the budget conscious.
- Opportunities for wilderness escape.
- Options aimed specifically at those interested in multi-sports trips.
- Some options have a good range of free inclusions.