An in-depth comparison between Topdeck and G Adventures based on price, destination, payment and deals.
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.
Topdeck vs G Adventures
| 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. |
Who offers the best price?
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.
Which offers a wider range of tours?
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.
Any other differences worth noting?
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
Percentage cancellation fee with Topdeck
| 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% |
Percentage cancellation fee with G Adventures
| 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.
What are the deals like?
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.
Top Topdeck and G Adventures deals
Topdeck
Up to $899 off 2019 Europe tours
Valid on 2019 Europe summer tours, with destinations including Spain, Croatia, Italy, Turkey, Greece, France, Netherlands and more.
Last verified
Deal expires
Topdeck
Up to $700 Europe and North Africa flight credit with tours
Valid for travel on select dates. Destinations include Mykonos, Greece, Dubrovnik and Plitvice Lakes, Croatia, Russia and Scandinavia, Morocco, Amsterdam and more. Flight credit amount varies based on length of package booked. T&C's apply.
Last verified
G Adventures
Up to $680 Southeast Asia tours
Valid for travel from 25 August - 25 December 2018. Destinations include Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Chiang Mai and more. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Deal expires
G Adventures
Up to $520 off Bhutan and Nepal tours
Valid for travel from 5 October - 26 November 2018. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Deal expires
G Adventures
Up to $460 off India tours
Valid for travel from 2 October - 2 December 2018. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Deal expires
G Adventures
Up to $860 off Europe tours
Valid for travel from 12 October 2018 - 6 January 2019. Destinations include Rome, Naples, London, Venice, Barcelona and more. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Deal expires
G Adventures
Up to $800 off Japan tours
Valid for travel from 21 August - 12 December 2018. Destinations include Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and more. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Deal expires
G Adventures
Up to $1,080 off Amazon riverboats
Valid for travel from 21 October - 25 November 2018. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Deal expires
G Adventures
Up to $380 off Colombia and Ecuador tours
Valid for travel from 20 September - 3 November 2018. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Deal expires
G Adventures
Up to $430 off Sri Lanka and Maldives tours
Valid for travel from 29 September - 28 November 2018. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Deal expires
G Adventures
Up to $660 off Burgundy riverboat adventures
Valid for travel from 20 September - 20 October 2018. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Deal expires
G Adventures
Up to $700 off Philippines tours
Valid for travel from 15 November - 9 December 2018. Destinations include Manila, Palawan and more. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Deal expires
G Adventures
Up to $300 off Turkey tours
Valid for travel from 6-15 September 2018. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Deal expires
G Adventures
Up to $370 off North Africa and Middle East tours
Valid for travel from 9 September - 22 October 2018. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Deal expires
G Adventures
20% off Australia and New Zealand tours
Valid for travel from 21 August - 27 November 2018. Destinations include Wellington, Cairns, Melbourne, Auckland, Adelaide, Darwin, Alice Springs, Brisbane, Sydney, Queenstown and more.
Last verified
Deal expires
G Adventures
20% off North America tours
Valid for travel from 18 August - 18 November 2018. Destinations include San Francisco, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Seattle, Canada, Hawaii and more.
Last verified
Deal expires
G Adventures
15% off Africa tours
Valid for travel from 15 September - 2 December 2018. Destinations include Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, South Africa and more.
Last verified
Deal expires
G Adventures
10% off Mexico and Central America tours
Valid for travel from 14 September - 4 November 2018. Destinations include Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and more.
Last verified
Deal expires
G Adventures
15% off South America tours
Valid for travel from 5 October - 16 December 2018. Destinations include Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia and more. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Deal expires
G Adventures
15% off China tours
Valid for travel from 14 September - 2 December 2018. Destinations include Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and more.
Last verified
Deal expires
G Adventures
10% off Galapagos tours
Valid for travel from 2 November - 23 December 2018. Includes accommodation, meals and transportation. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Deal expires
G Adventures
3-day Transylvania Halloween party tour from $389
Valid for travel on 31 October 2018. Includes guided tour of Bran castle, Halloween tent party on the castle grounds and return transportation. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Topdeck
Up to 15% off trips
Valid for use on select deals. Just book and combine any two Topdeck tours to give you a total of up to 15% off. T&C's apply.
Last verified
G Adventures
Up to 20% off 13-day Baltic adventure
Valid for travel on select dates from May-August 2018. Destinations include Tallinn, Helsinki and more. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Topdeck
Extra 10% off festival trips
Valid for use on select deals. Just book any subsequent festival trips with Topdeck to redeem offer. T&C's apply.
Last verified
Topdeck
Extra 5% off multi-trips
Valid for use on select deals. Minimum booking of two trips to redeem offer. T&C's apply.
Last verified
Topdeck
Extra 10% off booking for two
Valid for use on select deals. Minimum booking of two persons to redeem offer. T&C's apply.
Last verified
Topdeck
Extra 5% off for past passengers
Valid for use on select deals, must be a repeat customer to redeem offer just click 'repeat' upon check out. T&C's apply.
Last verified
Topdeck
10% off North America trips
Valid for travel on select dates. Destinations include Miami, Canada, Manhattan, Alaska, Hawaii and more. T&C's apply.
Last verified
Topdeck
Up to 7.5% off Europe tours
Valid for travel on select dates. Destinations include Mykonos, Greece, Dubrovnik and Plitvice Lakes, Croatia, Russia and Scandinavia, Morocco, Amsterdam and more. T&C's apply.
Last verified
Topdeck
Up to 20% off Sydney and New South Wales tours
Valid for travel on select dates. Experiences include sandboarding, wine tasting, surfing and hiking. T&C's apply.
Last verified
Topdeck
Up to 30% off last-minute deals
Valid on select last-minute departures. Destinations vary, but include China, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Bali. T&C's apply.
Last verified
Topdeck
Oktoberfest Prostmeister tours from $699
Valid on select departures from 21 September - 8 October 2018. Destinations are London, England and Munich. Includes accommodation, meals and more. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Deal expires
Topdeck
Oktoberfest Festmeister tours from $379
Valid on select departures from 21 September - 7 October 2018. Includes accommodation, meals and more. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Deal expires
Topdeck
Oktoberfest Braumeister tours from $579
Valid on select departures from 21 September - 7 October 2018. Includes accommodation, meals and more. T&Cs apply.
Last verified
Deal expires
Feature image: G Adventures
