Beware of G Adventures Galapagos tour guides!
Nov 16th, 2011, 04:35 PM
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Beware of G Adventures Galapagos tour guides!
I'm posting this information on multiple message boards. I don't want anyone else to have to a similarly horrific experience on vacation. This is essentially an edited version of the report that I sent to them... (G Adventures recently changed its name from Gap Adventures.)
I recently embarked upon G Adventures’ Galapagos on a Shoestring trip between October 22 and October 30, 2011. On the night of Wednesday, October 26, I experienced a very disturbing side of your tour guide, Daniel, who took advantage of the fact that I was sick by drunkenly molesting and harassing me.
Earlier that day, the group traveled by boat from Santa Cruz to Isabella Island. Despite taking a motion sickness tablet, I was seasick six times during this particular boat ride, plus the tablet made me extremely drowsy. By the time we reached our camping site, I felt terribly sick and could barely keep my eyes open. I fell asleep right away on one of the extra beds in the cabin while everyone else made dinner, drank, and socialized through the night.
Late that night, I was startled awake by Daniel suddenly “massaging” me. He had apparently lifted up my shirt in the back, and I backed away and told him that I just wanted to sleep. He went back outside to the rest of the group and I fell asleep again.
Later, in the middle of the night after everyone else had gone to sleep, I was awakened again by Daniel’s ominous “massage,” but this time he was clearly drunk – his breath reeked of rum. A bit terrified, I told him that I wanted to sleep and moved away, but he moved in closer. He lifted my shirt away from my back and started doing some sort of perverted biting/breathing on my back and neck. I made it clear that I wanted him to stop. I tried everything from telling him that he was hurting my sunburn to physically moving away from him. It was very dark, I was still feeling sick, we were in the middle of the highlands on Isabella, and I wouldn’t have been able to find my way to the rest of the group without a flashlight, so I was trapped and scared and he knew it.
I’m not sure exactly how much time passed, but over the next hour or so, Daniel reached into the back of my pants/underwear, continued with his disturbing biting/breathing, and climbed into bed with me, wrapping his arms around me despite my protests. I clenched the covers around me to try to keep him away from my body as much as possible. At one point, I heard what I believe was him unzipping his pants, and at another point he climbed on top of me and forced me to open my fist and touch his chest. All this time, he was verbally harassing me, asking me very personal questions about my phyical relationship with my ex-boyfriend, making inappropriate sexual comments, and breathing heavily. He was also essentially criticizing me, implying that I’m too sexually conservative and I should open up and do things like his “people,” and other such nonsense.
Clearly, this was the most uncomfortable, terrifying situation of my entire life. I tried to keep a calm, brave attitude throughout, but inside I was devastated, humiliated, tortured.
Finally, I decided I would try to go outside and find the others in the pitch black of the night – anything to get out of this situation. I got out of the bed (upon which I had moved all the way to the edge while trying to get away from him) and told him that I was going to sleep elsewhere and then he finally got up and backed off. Because it was so dark, I decided it might actually be (barely) safer to stay there, so I laid awake in terror for hours while he slept in his own bed. Eventually, under the influence of the motion sickness tablets, I fell asleep.
The next morning, upon checking into the next hotel with my trip roommate, I told her everything that had happened. She said that she had been verbally sexually harassed by Daniel several nights previous on the beach, and we decided it would be best to tell all of the other girls on the trip about what had happened so that they could avoid being in a compromising situation with our perverted guide. After I told another tour companion about the incident, she revealed that she was also physically and verbally assaulted by Daniel on the second day of the trip. Some of the other girls mentioned that they, too, were the recipients of Daniel’s inappropriate and uncomfortable sexual comments.
This trip to the Galapagos was supposed to be my dream trip. I had wanted to see these islands for years. I work hard for my modest salary, and I saved for a very long time to afford to this trip. Now, thanks to our disgusting guide, my memories of the Galapagos will always be tarnished by humiliation, terror, and embarrassment. I felt that I could not trust the one person who we had paid to guide us around a foreign country. This ought to be the person that we should be able to rely on for help, questions, and assistance. I was too humiliated to ask him questions, and couldn’t even look him in the eye. It was clear that everyone was extremely uncomfortable with him by the middle of the trip, and we spent much of the trip trying to avoid him (although he consistently kept turning up near the group).
My most important concern is that G Adventures should do everything possible to ensure that this will not happen to others in my situation. No one should have to experience this sort of humiliating treatment ever, and especially not while on vacation, inflicted by the person that we are supposed to trust, the person that is paid to lead the group but instead takes advantage of the travelers. The behavior of the guides that G Adventures hires reflects upon the company very poorly.
I reported Daniel’s actions to a G Adventures representative immediately upon returning to our hotel in Quito. He asked me to leave my contact information at the front desk and to send a written report of the incident. I have not yet heard from him. I have also been in communication with a G Adventures "Customer Service and Quality Assurance Representative" representative via email, but so far have only been told, "We are currently reviewing your letter and have taken Daniel off any upcoming tours until we can determine exactly what happened." So far, I have not heard back from the company in almost 2 weeks and this last reply was sent only after sending an additional follow up email after I had heard nothing in response to my report after several days. I feel like they are not taking this seriously enough and need to accept more responsibility for what has happened.
I am currently speaking with my attorney to see if there is any legal action that I can take against Daniel. I am also consulting my therapist to see how deeply this has affected me emotionally, and she suggested that I post on travel forums to help with the healing process and to encourage G Adventures to take further action more quickly. I feel that I deserve some sort of compensation, but have not asked directly for a refund and they have not offered. No one should be expected to pay for an experience with the lack of protection against physical and psychological harm to which I was exposed.
I urge everyone to avoid booking a Galapagos trip (or any trip) with G Adventures for the sake of your own safety. If they have employed one guide with a warped sense of professionalism and a total lack of respect for travelers, especially women, it goes without saying that there must be others like him.
Good luck in your travels.
I recently embarked upon G Adventures’ Galapagos on a Shoestring trip between October 22 and October 30, 2011. On the night of Wednesday, October 26, I experienced a very disturbing side of your tour guide, Daniel, who took advantage of the fact that I was sick by drunkenly molesting and harassing me.
Earlier that day, the group traveled by boat from Santa Cruz to Isabella Island. Despite taking a motion sickness tablet, I was seasick six times during this particular boat ride, plus the tablet made me extremely drowsy. By the time we reached our camping site, I felt terribly sick and could barely keep my eyes open. I fell asleep right away on one of the extra beds in the cabin while everyone else made dinner, drank, and socialized through the night.
Late that night, I was startled awake by Daniel suddenly “massaging” me. He had apparently lifted up my shirt in the back, and I backed away and told him that I just wanted to sleep. He went back outside to the rest of the group and I fell asleep again.
Later, in the middle of the night after everyone else had gone to sleep, I was awakened again by Daniel’s ominous “massage,” but this time he was clearly drunk – his breath reeked of rum. A bit terrified, I told him that I wanted to sleep and moved away, but he moved in closer. He lifted my shirt away from my back and started doing some sort of perverted biting/breathing on my back and neck. I made it clear that I wanted him to stop. I tried everything from telling him that he was hurting my sunburn to physically moving away from him. It was very dark, I was still feeling sick, we were in the middle of the highlands on Isabella, and I wouldn’t have been able to find my way to the rest of the group without a flashlight, so I was trapped and scared and he knew it.
I’m not sure exactly how much time passed, but over the next hour or so, Daniel reached into the back of my pants/underwear, continued with his disturbing biting/breathing, and climbed into bed with me, wrapping his arms around me despite my protests. I clenched the covers around me to try to keep him away from my body as much as possible. At one point, I heard what I believe was him unzipping his pants, and at another point he climbed on top of me and forced me to open my fist and touch his chest. All this time, he was verbally harassing me, asking me very personal questions about my phyical relationship with my ex-boyfriend, making inappropriate sexual comments, and breathing heavily. He was also essentially criticizing me, implying that I’m too sexually conservative and I should open up and do things like his “people,” and other such nonsense.
Clearly, this was the most uncomfortable, terrifying situation of my entire life. I tried to keep a calm, brave attitude throughout, but inside I was devastated, humiliated, tortured.
Finally, I decided I would try to go outside and find the others in the pitch black of the night – anything to get out of this situation. I got out of the bed (upon which I had moved all the way to the edge while trying to get away from him) and told him that I was going to sleep elsewhere and then he finally got up and backed off. Because it was so dark, I decided it might actually be (barely) safer to stay there, so I laid awake in terror for hours while he slept in his own bed. Eventually, under the influence of the motion sickness tablets, I fell asleep.
The next morning, upon checking into the next hotel with my trip roommate, I told her everything that had happened. She said that she had been verbally sexually harassed by Daniel several nights previous on the beach, and we decided it would be best to tell all of the other girls on the trip about what had happened so that they could avoid being in a compromising situation with our perverted guide. After I told another tour companion about the incident, she revealed that she was also physically and verbally assaulted by Daniel on the second day of the trip. Some of the other girls mentioned that they, too, were the recipients of Daniel’s inappropriate and uncomfortable sexual comments.
This trip to the Galapagos was supposed to be my dream trip. I had wanted to see these islands for years. I work hard for my modest salary, and I saved for a very long time to afford to this trip. Now, thanks to our disgusting guide, my memories of the Galapagos will always be tarnished by humiliation, terror, and embarrassment. I felt that I could not trust the one person who we had paid to guide us around a foreign country. This ought to be the person that we should be able to rely on for help, questions, and assistance. I was too humiliated to ask him questions, and couldn’t even look him in the eye. It was clear that everyone was extremely uncomfortable with him by the middle of the trip, and we spent much of the trip trying to avoid him (although he consistently kept turning up near the group).
My most important concern is that G Adventures should do everything possible to ensure that this will not happen to others in my situation. No one should have to experience this sort of humiliating treatment ever, and especially not while on vacation, inflicted by the person that we are supposed to trust, the person that is paid to lead the group but instead takes advantage of the travelers. The behavior of the guides that G Adventures hires reflects upon the company very poorly.
I reported Daniel’s actions to a G Adventures representative immediately upon returning to our hotel in Quito. He asked me to leave my contact information at the front desk and to send a written report of the incident. I have not yet heard from him. I have also been in communication with a G Adventures "Customer Service and Quality Assurance Representative" representative via email, but so far have only been told, "We are currently reviewing your letter and have taken Daniel off any upcoming tours until we can determine exactly what happened." So far, I have not heard back from the company in almost 2 weeks and this last reply was sent only after sending an additional follow up email after I had heard nothing in response to my report after several days. I feel like they are not taking this seriously enough and need to accept more responsibility for what has happened.
I am currently speaking with my attorney to see if there is any legal action that I can take against Daniel. I am also consulting my therapist to see how deeply this has affected me emotionally, and she suggested that I post on travel forums to help with the healing process and to encourage G Adventures to take further action more quickly. I feel that I deserve some sort of compensation, but have not asked directly for a refund and they have not offered. No one should be expected to pay for an experience with the lack of protection against physical and psychological harm to which I was exposed.
I urge everyone to avoid booking a Galapagos trip (or any trip) with G Adventures for the sake of your own safety. If they have employed one guide with a warped sense of professionalism and a total lack of respect for travelers, especially women, it goes without saying that there must be others like him.
Good luck in your travels.
Nov 16th, 2011, 07:04 PM
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Read your post on Virtual Tourist - but of course they deleted it because it wasn't in line with their particular policies .. if you posted your experience in their Misc Forum and ASKED A QUESTION either in the title and/or at the end of your post, it would probably remain, e.g. "has anything like this ever happened to you or a friend?" - along those lines.
Use a different user name ... if that doesn't work, contact them and ask them what you should do to remain as a member .. or perhaps you already are a member (?) good luck tho, they are 'delete crazy' unfortunately.
Sorry to hear what happened to you though. I hope you talked to the police on the mainland. Also, post a pic of this criminal, creepy guy!
As for Virtual Tourist (VT) - if you join again, set some up some travel pages and put your experience on one as a travel tip or a review - it is more likely be remain public and be seen that way when others research that location.
I hope you will feel better soon after such a horrible experience.
twinkles
Use a different user name ... if that doesn't work, contact them and ask them what you should do to remain as a member .. or perhaps you already are a member (?) good luck tho, they are 'delete crazy' unfortunately.
Sorry to hear what happened to you though. I hope you talked to the police on the mainland. Also, post a pic of this criminal, creepy guy!
As for Virtual Tourist (VT) - if you join again, set some up some travel pages and put your experience on one as a travel tip or a review - it is more likely be remain public and be seen that way when others research that location.
I hope you will feel better soon after such a horrible experience.
twinkles
Nov 17th, 2011, 11:19 AM
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Thank you for taking the time to speak with us directly. At G Adventures the safety and security of our travelers is an upmost priority for us. We take the allegations in your letter very seriously and as we mentioned we are currently conducting a thorough investigation. We guarantee that appropriate action will be taken.
G Adventures
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Jul 14th, 2012, 06:42 PM
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I just had the worst expience trying to deal with G aventures as well!! Thier service for customers once they have thier money is spectaculary non existent i have called and been told some one would get back to m ewith no response, have emailed twice now and they still have not replied to either!! They are more than happy to take payment but once its done then you no longer exist :/
I have paid a chunck on money for a 23 day tour through america and when I asked basic questions like
* Clothing requirements for the months i was doing the tour with them
* number of stops where laundry serivces/and or laundry mats are available to clean clothes while on trip
* Luggage size or weight limitations for trip?
* Do you cater for vegetarians?
I was told they did not know (I kid you not) and that someone would get back to me. So this was over 3 weeks ago and since then I have emailed twice with no response but I can not do anything about it as they have my money :/
They have no customer service/no understanding of the tours they are supposedly providing and no inclination to find out even when you specifically ask them to!!
I have traveled extensively and used tour companies before and have had better travel customer service for tours around developing countries than I have had with gap and this is a tour of the US?!?
The whole point of using a tour agency is that they have an understanding of the region you are traveling in!! Not being able to answer these questions (which are basic if you are traveling for 23 days with them) is a major FAIL
AVOID AT ALL COSTS
I have paid a chunck on money for a 23 day tour through america and when I asked basic questions like
* Clothing requirements for the months i was doing the tour with them
* number of stops where laundry serivces/and or laundry mats are available to clean clothes while on trip
* Luggage size or weight limitations for trip?
* Do you cater for vegetarians?
I was told they did not know (I kid you not) and that someone would get back to me. So this was over 3 weeks ago and since then I have emailed twice with no response but I can not do anything about it as they have my money :/
They have no customer service/no understanding of the tours they are supposedly providing and no inclination to find out even when you specifically ask them to!!
I have traveled extensively and used tour companies before and have had better travel customer service for tours around developing countries than I have had with gap and this is a tour of the US?!?
The whole point of using a tour agency is that they have an understanding of the region you are traveling in!! Not being able to answer these questions (which are basic if you are traveling for 23 days with them) is a major FAIL
AVOID AT ALL COSTS
Jul 24th, 2012, 02:54 PM
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Hi There,
I am very concerned about what I have just read in regards to G adventures. Was there ever an outcome esny631 from G Adventures?
I have just booked a tour with them and this worries me greatly.
I am very concerned about what I have just read in regards to G adventures. Was there ever an outcome esny631 from G Adventures?
I have just booked a tour with them and this worries me greatly.
Jan 13th, 2013, 09:36 AM
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I just found this forum topic and am sorry to hear about the G Adventures guide in the Galapagos.
I am also concerned about the solvency of G Adventures and thought I'd add my comment here. I am on a trip in Central America and two of the hotels so far told our guide that G Adventures is not paying their bills and our guide told us he hasn't been paid his wages in months. It seems like we're not very welcomed where we go and our guide has had to pay for things with his own credit card.
Does anyone know if G Adventures is having financial problems? We paid a lot of money for this vacation and we don't feel comfortable about this situation. I just read on other sites that G Adventures has a bad reputation paying their providers. I wonder if this will affect our travels in Central America. Has anyone heard anything. I hope there are no surprises for us along the way.
I am also concerned about the solvency of G Adventures and thought I'd add my comment here. I am on a trip in Central America and two of the hotels so far told our guide that G Adventures is not paying their bills and our guide told us he hasn't been paid his wages in months. It seems like we're not very welcomed where we go and our guide has had to pay for things with his own credit card.
Does anyone know if G Adventures is having financial problems? We paid a lot of money for this vacation and we don't feel comfortable about this situation. I just read on other sites that G Adventures has a bad reputation paying their providers. I wonder if this will affect our travels in Central America. Has anyone heard anything. I hope there are no surprises for us along the way.
Jan 13th, 2013, 05:31 PM
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Hi lust4wander,
I saw your post and wanted to answer directly. Please do not worry about your tour, it is not in jeopardy in any way. I am not certain of the details of the hotels that you are staying in, but there is no issue from the overall company health perspective.
If you can email us at [email protected] and give us your name and your booking number, we can get a closer look at the issue with relation to the specific hotels you are referring to. It could be something as innocuous as an invoicing error, or perhaps an issue with the specific vendor. I ask for your help to get to the bottom of it.
Thank you for giving is the opportunity to respond. We will work diligently to make sure that your trip continues in a positive manner.
Regards,
Neil
G Adventures Customer Service
I saw your post and wanted to answer directly. Please do not worry about your tour, it is not in jeopardy in any way. I am not certain of the details of the hotels that you are staying in, but there is no issue from the overall company health perspective.
If you can email us at [email protected] and give us your name and your booking number, we can get a closer look at the issue with relation to the specific hotels you are referring to. It could be something as innocuous as an invoicing error, or perhaps an issue with the specific vendor. I ask for your help to get to the bottom of it.
Thank you for giving is the opportunity to respond. We will work diligently to make sure that your trip continues in a positive manner.
Regards,
Neil
G Adventures Customer Service
Mar 20th, 2013, 01:53 AM
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...seems this is very serious also in Mexico&Belize tours...
Before travelling I read strange situations with G adventures in Mexico..but I did not take it in mind...
when I travelled with them...the guide we got seems he had problems with alcohol, when we arrived to playa del carmen he starting to act very strange with the girls and touching more than normal. At belize island he was asking for massage to any girl of the group. When we were in the boat for snorkeling was embarrassing, he did not stop to look my vagina.. I hope there are not more bad stories of angry clients.
I know its a great travel company but they better chose other tour guides and more respectful. Maybe is a problem of the administration or managment, becouse we also meet the groups coordinator in Belize and she was also drunk.. I think the kind of hotels they manage are not very good. skip Gadventures !!
Before travelling I read strange situations with G adventures in Mexico..but I did not take it in mind...
when I travelled with them...the guide we got seems he had problems with alcohol, when we arrived to playa del carmen he starting to act very strange with the girls and touching more than normal. At belize island he was asking for massage to any girl of the group. When we were in the boat for snorkeling was embarrassing, he did not stop to look my vagina.. I hope there are not more bad stories of angry clients.
I know its a great travel company but they better chose other tour guides and more respectful. Maybe is a problem of the administration or managment, becouse we also meet the groups coordinator in Belize and she was also drunk.. I think the kind of hotels they manage are not very good. skip Gadventures !!
Mar 20th, 2013, 12:01 PM
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Hi emmaus,
It is not a custom or acceptable in anyway for something like this to occur. I am sorry this happened. I can assure you we will look into this, and we will not allow this to happen to other travelers.
If you can email us at [email protected] and give us your name and your booking number, we can get a closer look at the details here.
Thank you for giving is the opportunity to respond. Our lead with service culture will be all over this, and we will be better because you took the time to mention this. Thank you.
Regards,
Lyndon
G Adventures Customer Service
It is not a custom or acceptable in anyway for something like this to occur. I am sorry this happened. I can assure you we will look into this, and we will not allow this to happen to other travelers.
If you can email us at [email protected] and give us your name and your booking number, we can get a closer look at the details here.
Thank you for giving is the opportunity to respond. Our lead with service culture will be all over this, and we will be better because you took the time to mention this. Thank you.
Regards,
Lyndon
G Adventures Customer Service
Oct 22nd, 2014, 12:49 AM
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North America tour guides are the same. All our guide wanted to do was split up our group so he could flirt with the girls. On our tour he was having sex with one young girl the whole time and ignoring the rest of us. She was about half his age. Your guide was ken. I don't think they do background check on their guides. Good reason to use another company. No wonder they went out of business once.
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