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Topdeck and G Adventures are renowned travel companies that offer top-notch tours throughout the world. Although both companies are similar in many ways, there are a few differences between them that may make one company more desirable than the other for travellers with different travel styles and preferences.
We researched the prices, itineraries, destinations and deals offered by both to create this informative guide to help you make the best choice.
Features | Topdeck | G Adventures | Verdict |
---|---|---|---|
Where can I go? |
|
| G Adventures offers a wider range of destinations. |
International flights aren't included. | International flights aren't included. | Neither offers international airfares. | |
Can I price match? | No | No | You can’t match prices with either company. |
Are there payment plans? | A $255 deposit is required to confirm your booking. Full payment is due 42 days prior to departure. | A $250 deposit is required to confirm your booking. Full payment is due 60 days prior to the trip. You may reserve your place for 48 hours without deposit. | Both require a deposit. Topdeck gives you more time to make full payment. |
Are there booking/charge fees? | No | No | Neither have a booking fee. |
Is there online chat? | Yes | No | Only Topdeck offers live chat. |
Is there a loyalty scheme? | 5% off for returning travellers. | 5% discount on your next trip. | Same loyalty discount on both companies. |
What is the target age group? | Trips are designed for 18-39 year olds. You can request to join a trip if you're outside the age limit by a small margin. | For family tours, the minimum age requirement is 6 years. Independent travellers must be at least 18 years old. There is no upper age limit. Yolo tours are restricted to 18-39 year olds. | Topdeck offers youth-centric trips while G Adventures has trips for all. |
Is there a single supplement? | Available for an additional cost. | Available for an additional cost on some tours. You may be offered a room with a traveller of the same sex at no additional cost. | Topdeck has options between single supplement, twin-sharing and tri/quad sharing. G Adventures offers single supplements on select tours as well as twin-share. |
What are my payment options? |
|
| Topdeck offers a wider range of payment options. |
The tour price differences for both companies varies according to the region and travel style. However, we found that G Adventures’ tours typically cost more than Topdeck's. For instance, a 14-day tour from Sydney to Cairns starts from $2,870 on Topdeck while a 14-day tour with a comparable itinerary costs $4,199 on G Adventures.
The verdict: G Adventures tours are costlier than Topdeck but their groups are smaller.
Topdeck offers 335 trips while tours by G Adventures are double that number.
The verdict: G Adventures clearly stands out in the range of tours as it caters to all age groups.
Cancellation policy: G Adventures has a stricter cancellation policy than Topdeck.
The threshold for paying the full amount is within 42 days prior to the trip with Topdeck while G Adventures requires payment 60 days prior to departure.
If you cancel less than 30 days from departure, you can get a refund of at least 60% on Topdeck, but G Adventures offers no refunds
Days cancelled prior to departure | Cancellation fee based on your purchase price |
---|---|
42+ days | Deposit only |
42-29 days | 40% |
28-14 days | 60% |
13-0 days | 100% |
Days cancelled prior to departure | Cancellation fee based on your purchase price |
---|---|
60+ days | Deposit only |
59-31 days | 50% |
30-0 days | 100% |
Type of tours: Topdeck only provides group tours while G Adventures offers cruises, train trips and self-guided tours in addition to packaged group tours.
G Adventures’ tours have smaller group sizes of 10-15 travellers and Topdeck has relatively larger groups of 30-40 people. G Adventures offers more experiential voyages allowing travellers to explore a location’s culture in their own way. On the other hand, Topdeck offers a lot of inclusions like coach transport, ferry crossings, airport transfers and on-site chef, but these services are mostly pre-packaged.
Topdeck offers a range of deals including last-minute offers, early payment discounts, past-passenger discounts, discounts with friends, multi-trip discounts, festival discounts and more. These however are typically limited to tours across Europe and the Middle East.
On the other hand, G Adventures offers only last-minute deals and loyalty discounts.
Last-minute deals on both sites range from 10-30% and can be quite comparable, so do your research if you're price driven prior to booking.
For exampl, The Best of East Europe, a 15-day tour is available at 15% off on G Adventures while a similar 16-day Eastern Express tour is on sale at a 14% discount on Topdeck.
The verdict: Topdeck offers a varied range of discounts, unlike G Adventures but their last-minute deals are only available in Europe and the Middle East.
Last checked | Code description | Code |
---|---|---|
24 Dec 2020 | Up to 21% off Egypt and Jordan adventure | G21**** |
24 Dec 2020 | Up to 30% off Greenland and Spitsbergen tour | G21**** |
24 Dec 2020 | Up to 21% off 9-day Costa Rica trip | G21**** |
11 Jan 2021 | Up to 30% off Australia and New Zealand tours | ******** |
26 Dec 2020 | Up to 30% off tours + $1 deposits | ******** |
Feature image: G Adventures
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