It is funny how, once you get past the age of about 27 or 28, you start to get worried about whether you might be a lot older than everyone else on a group tour.
That is certainly how I felt when I travelled around New Zealand on the Kiwi Experience years ago.
And I was only 30 at the time!
So I am going to do my best to look at G Adventures’ age range on its tours, and consider if it is for seniors or if G Adventures does have an age limit.
Ok, let’s get started.
Does G Adventures Have An Age Limit?
The only age limit G Adventures has is the fact you must be at least 18 to travel independently. The company has a wide variety of tours tailored to different age groups and Managing Director Ben Perlo recently revealed the average age across all G Adventures tours is 44 years old. The company should also be able to tell you the demographics of any tour you are considering booking on.
My Own Experience
As I alluded to in my introduction, when I travelled around New Zealand with the Kiwi Experience I was a bit worried before I set off as I was 30 and had heard all the stories about it being a party bus.
Now I certainly wasn’t averse to partying (and I am still not a decade on!), but I didn’t want to spend my entire time in such a beautiful country in a drunken stupor.
I recall that I was the oldest on the trip, the majority of the group was around 20 to 23, but the age difference certainly wasn’t noticeable.
That is because I think, largely, that people who travel are all the same at heart, so everyone usually gets on regardless of age.
And I was lucky enough to be able to experience the wonder of New Zealand, and also enjoy some good nights out.
In fact, when we got to Queenstown, which was the last stop on the trip, there was one night out so good that I got so drunk I lost my room key and had to climb in through the window.
I am glad I am passed that now, I think…
G Adventures Age Range: My Take
The only age rule in place for a G Adventures tour is that to travel independently you must be at least 18 years old.
If you are, then you are good to go wherever you want.
The truth is that the age range of the people you go on any tour with will depend largely upon the destination and to a lesser extent the time of year your travel.
For instance, I would hazard a guess and say that, despite the fact they both fall in the G Adventures Classic Tours category, that its Thailand Island Hopping – West Coast tour attracts a much younger clientele than its Best of Egypt, Jordan and Israel tour.
Younger travellers will tend to lean towards the trending destinations that offer a mix of exploring, excitement and party.
As you get older you begin to want something with a bit more cultural value.
Also when you are younger, money is usually more of an issue, so the more expensive luxury tours will have an older crowd.
Now of course, this is just my take on the matter from travelling for an extensive period of time and booking people onto tours when I worked for STA Travel.
How about hearing directly from the horse’s mouth?
G Adventures Age Range: The Word from the Company
It isn’t often you get a detailed insight into the demographics of a company from the company itself, but an interview between Travel Weekly and G Adventures Managing Director Ben Perlo provided some interesting nuggets of information.
The interview was in 2019 and focused on how G Adventures had just been approached by National Geographic to establish a more ‘upscale product’.
That has now developed into the company’s popular National Geographic Journeys line of tours.
Ben Perlo called them “adventure for the person who wants to learn more, do more and share more of themselves with the world.”
Interestingly he said that the average age of those who go on the National Geographic Journeys tours was 59.
Equally interestingly, the average age of all G Adventure products is 44 or, if you take out the National Geographic Journeys line, it is 40.
I bet that is older than you expected?
It certainly was older than I expected.
So that begs the question…
Is G Adventures For Seniors?
Most definitely!
It also depends on your definition of what senior is, because I think most people don’t feel their age.
To an 18 year old I will probably be considered ‘Senior’ at 43, too my dad who is 81 I am just a youngster.
However, I don’t consider anyone who is still young enough at heart to want to get out and travel the world as ‘Senior’ no matter how old they are!
In fact when I was researching this article I found a huge amount of feedback from people who had been on G Adventures tours well into their 60s and 70s and had an amazing time!
One of these reviews had probably my favourite quote which I thinks sums things up very aptly:
“To my mind age difference doesn’t matter. It all depends upon your personality and willingness to meet new people.”
G Adventures By Travel Style
I thought I would round this up by giving an overview of the different kind of tours G Adventures offer and what you can expect:
- Classic Tours: A halfway house between backpacking and an organized group tour gives you the security blanket of an outlined itinerary, but the freedom to go off-piste when you want. Mix of age ranges.
- National Geographic Journeys: Upscale experiences, with higher comfort levels and greater hands-on exploration and interactions. Average age of 59 as revealed by Ben Perlo.
- 18 to Thirtysomethings Tours: An introduction to travelling. Expect more basic levels of accommodation, lots of fun and lots of nights out if you want them. A younger age range (well 18 to 39 to be precise!).
- Wellness Tours: Tours focused on mindfulness and rejuvenation. Think healthy food, yoga, meditation and the opportunity to restore the body and mind. Mixed age range from mid-20s up.
- Active Tours: Hiking, biking, trekking, ziplining and whitewater rafting could all be on the menu. Standard accommodation. Mixed age range from mid-20s up.
- Rail Tours: Travel through a continent rather than travel over it. Take in the changing landscape from the comfort of a train. Age range from 30s up.
- Marine Tours: Anything from sailing around the Greek islands to cruising down the Nile to venturing into the unchartered areas of Antarctica. An older age range.
- Local Living Tours: Get a real experience of different cultures and do what the locals do, but maintain a level of comfort with upgraded accommodation levels. Age range from 30s up.
- Family Tours: Introduce your children to other cultures and ways of life, a mix of education and adventure, with good comfort levels. Age range from 30s up.
- National Geographic Family Journeys: Get an even richer and more diverse experience of a destination’s characteristics with a more upscale tour. Age range from 30s up.
- The Jane Goodall Collection: A selection of wildlife-focused tours endorsed by the world-renowned ethologist, Dr. Jane Goodall. An older age range.
And don’t forget you can always give G Adventures a call and they should be able to tell you the basic demographics for each tour, including like age, gender and whether people are travelling solo or in couples, etc.
Final Thoughts
G Adventures doesn’t have an age limit aside from the fact that if you want to travel independently you must be at least 18.
That said I am hazarding a guess that most of you who have stumbled upon this article have found your way here because you might be worried that you are ‘too old’ to go on a G Adventures tour.
A quick word of advice, you must probably aren’t.
The company has its own set of 18 to Thirtysomethings tours that will obviously attract a younger crowd, and then there are certain other itineraries that might appeal more to a younger demographic.
Certain tours in areas like South East Asia and parts of Central America and South America might attract more of a party crowd, but if you are worried about that just check with G Adventures themselves before booking up.
Finally it is time for a bit more feedback:
You can never guarantee what you will get, but the chances of you booking a tour and not enjoying it because of age differences in the group is very unlikely.
Attitude bonds people more than age every day of the week, and most travellers have the same attitude!