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I'm looking at booking Nat Geo for an Alaska trip in early June 2020. I know Nat Geo has been discussed in this thread (I went back and read some of the posts), but I thought I'd ask for some recent feedback.

Specifically, I am looking at the Denali to Kenai Fjords expedition (although, I've also requested info on one of the cruises with a Denali extension). The MAIN reason I'm looking at Nat Geo is because the dates work for us. I also really like that it includes a trip on the Denali Star train, too, though.

Nat Geo is significantly more expensive than ABD...$7k per person, vs $6k (which is the 2019 ABD rate, 2020 dates aren't up). I looked at some other tour providers, and they just don't have dates that will work for us. Also, it seems like recent trip reports on the Alaska ABD have noted the extensive time on a bus.

The Nat Geo trip I am looking at is not one of the "family journey" trips, so I am a little curious about demographics. I just don't have it in me to try to plan an Alaska trip on my own.

Also looked at A&K for Machu Picchu, as those dates also work for us. The kiddo wasn't so interested in that trip, but it sure did look amazing to me.
 
I'm looking at booking Nat Geo for an Alaska trip in early June 2020. I know Nat Geo has been discussed in this thread (I went back and read some of the posts), but I thought I'd ask for some recent feedback.

Specifically, I am looking at the Denali to Kenai Fjords expedition (although, I've also requested info on one of the cruises with a Denali extension). The MAIN reason I'm looking at Nat Geo is because the dates work for us. I also really like that it includes a trip on the Denali Star train, too, though.

Nat Geo is significantly more expensive than ABD...$7k per person, vs $6k (which is the 2019 ABD rate, 2020 dates aren't up). I looked at some other tour providers, and they just don't have dates that will work for us. Also, it seems like recent trip reports on the Alaska ABD have noted the extensive time on a bus.

The Nat Geo trip I am looking at is not one of the "family journey" trips, so I am a little curious about demographics. I just don't have it in me to try to plan an Alaska trip on my own.

Also looked at A&K for Machu Picchu, as those dates also work for us. The kiddo wasn't so interested in that trip, but it sure did look amazing to me.

My last Nat Geo trip was summer 2018, so not sure if that is recent enough for you. And it was a family trip, to Peru. (But it was my fourth overall Nat Geo trip, having done England Coast to Coast hiking in 2015, Emerald Isle hiking in 2016 and Patagonia hiking in 2017.) I think Nat Geo is a phenomenal group trip provider. The guides on our Peru trip were fantastic, and our guide to guest ratio was about 1 guide for 3 guests. I love Nat Geo's smaller group sizes, and we found the accommodations top-notch. I also like that there seems to be less down time and fewer OYO meals on Nat Geo trips than on the ABDs we have done To me, the smaller group size, likely more included meals and, for your trip, less bus time would make Nat Geo absolutely worth the higher trip cost.
 


My last Nat Geo trip was summer 2018, so not sure if that is recent enough for you. And it was a family trip, to Peru. (But it was my fourth overall Nat Geo trip, having done England Coast to Coast hiking in 2015, Emerald Isle hiking in 2016 and Patagonia hiking in 2017.) I think Nat Geo is a phenomenal group trip provider. The guides on our Peru trip were fantastic, and our guide to guest ratio was about 1 guide for 3 guests. I love Nat Geo's smaller group sizes, and we found the accommodations top-notch. I also like that there seems to be less down time and fewer OYO meals on Nat Geo trips than on the ABDs we have done To me, the smaller group size, likely more included meals and, for your trip, less bus time would make Nat Geo absolutely worth the higher trip cost.

Exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for. And I also noticed that Nat Geo seems to include more meals. Thanks!
 
The Nat Geo Alaska trip that you are considering - I've spent a lot of time looking at Alaska tour itineraries. This Nat Geo trip is a little different from others. It includes a few days staying inside Denali park. All of those meals are included because once you are that far into the park, there really isn't any where else to eat.

And note, pretty much any trip to Alaska is going to include a lot of coach time. It is a big state. I think that the ride from the Denali park entrance to the hotel on this trip will take 6+ hours, I think. (And again on the way out). I personally think that it would be cool to stay inside the park like this, but I don't think that it would work for my family.
 
We've done both, Nat Geo and ABD and we've had good and bad experiences with both. Yes, the Nat Geo price is higher but what we did was we broke it down on a day by day basis as to how much guided touring we did vs how much on our own time. In the end, Nat Geo game out ahead as being a lower per day cost based on what was being offered. Also, Nat Geo's trips tend to have a lower max guest limit. Max 25 guests as to ABD's 40. Also, you won't find children or teens on a Nat Geo trip unless it's a family expedition. I believe the age limit is 18. When we did South East Asia, the youngest was 25 but most people were late 30s and up. We've done 2 Nat Geo trips so far, one active expedition with 16 people (that's the limit on the active trips) and 1 private where it was just the two of us. We are getting ready to head on our third Nat Geo trip which is custom private trip for 2 people.
 
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We've done both, Nat Geo and ABD and we've had good and bad experiences with both. Yes, the Nat Geo price is higher but what we did was we broke it down on a day by day basis as to how much guided touring we did vs how much on our own time. In the end, Nat Geo game out ahead as being a lower per day cost based on what was being offered. Also, Nat Geo's trips tend to have a lower max guest limit. Max 25 guests as to ABD's 40. Also, you won't find children or teens on a Nat Geo trip unless it's a family expedition. I believe the age limit is 18. When we did South East Asia, the youngest was 25 but most people were late 30s and up. We've done 2 Nat Geo trips so far, one active expedition with 18 people (that's the limit on the active trips) and 1 private where it was just the two of us. We are getting ready to head on our third Nat Geo trip which is custom private trip for 2 people.

Are you saying that, if the Nat Geo isn't specifically a family trip that children aren't allowed? Or just that we shouldn't expect any other children on a trip that isn't a family journey? I have not asked this specific question to the Nat Geo travel specialists, yet.

ABD dates are up for Alaska 2020...wouldn't you know it, the only date that would work for us is an Adult Only trip.
 
Are you saying that, if the Nat Geo isn't specifically a family trip that children aren't allowed? Or just that we shouldn't expect any other children on a trip that isn't a family journey? I have not asked this specific question to the Nat Geo travel specialists, yet.

ABD dates are up for Alaska 2020...wouldn't you know it, the only date that would work for us is an Adult Only trip.

If you look at the pricing information for a regular Nat Geo expedition or active expedition, you will notice they only list prices per person. No mention of children's pricing. If you look at a family expedition, it lists a child price for those under 17, alongside the per person price. So on the regular expeditions, like the one you're looking at, and the more active expeditions, the lowest age limit is 18. This does not account for the private expeditions. Private expeditions can be for families with children or a group of adults.
 
@TXTransplant you should also look at Backroads trips for Alaska. Not sure their 2020 dates are up yet, but they have a lot of family departures, and depending on how old your kid is they break it down by age group e.g, older teens, younger kids, etc.
 
Nat Geo is now a Disney company acquired during the Fox Merger.

If expect it to fall under ABD control soon.
 
If you look at the pricing information for a regular Nat Geo expedition or active expedition, you will notice they only list prices per person. No mention of children's pricing. If you look at a family expedition, it lists a child price for those under 17, alongside the per person price. So on the regular expeditions, like the one you're looking at, and the more active expeditions, the lowest age limit is 18. This does not account for the private expeditions. Private expeditions can be for families with children or a group of adults.

I'm not sure this is true...I tried to do an online reservation for one of the 2019 versions of the trip we are interested in, and in the process, it specifically asked if a traveler was under 18. It only specified that there had to be a traveler over 18 accompanying. There was no stipulation that everyone had to be over 18. And the child's pricing is only good up to age 12 (my son will be 15), so paying a higher price isn't an issue.

They are also currently offering a promotion of "bring one kid for 50% off, bring the other free with two paying adults" on select Alaska trips that are NOT designated as "family" trips.

But, I've got an email out to Nat Geo to confirm.
 
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@TXTransplant you should also look at Backroads trips for Alaska. Not sure their 2020 dates are up yet, but they have a lot of family departures, and depending on how old your kid is they break it down by age group e.g, older teens, younger kids, etc.

I did look at Backroads...they only have one trip that has a "family/kids" version that also includes Denali National Park. No 2020 dates are up, yet, but the earliest travel date in 2019 is 6/25. We pretty much have to travel in late May/early June. I'm also not a fan that their trips are only 6 days/5 nights. If I'm going all the way to Alaska, I want the trip to be 8-10 days.

Our travel dates issue is REALLY limiting our options.
 
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Nat Geo is now a Disney company acquired during the Fox Merger.

If expect it to fall under ABD control soon.

They have 2020 intineraries posted and are taking reservations. I can't imagine they will be able to change much between now and then without having to refund deposits/cancel reservations.
 
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I'm not sure this is true...I tried to do an online reservation for one of the 2019 versions of the trip we are interested in, and in the process, it specifically asked if a traveler was under 18. It only specified that there had to be a traveler over 18 accompanying. There was no stipulation that everyone had to be over 18. And the child's pricing is only good up to age 12 (my son will be 15), so paying a higher price isn't an issue.

They are also currently offering a promotion of "bring one kid for 50% off, bring the other free with two paying adults" on select Alaska trips that are NOT designated as "family" trips.

But, I've got an email out to Nat Geo to confirm.

Called to confirm...the minimum age to travel is 8. The specific "family" trips offer reduced pricing for kids. The non-"family" trips DO allow kids, you just don't get the discounted price.

Update because I don’t want to post inaccurate info: in a follow-up conversation with another/different Nat Geo rep, I was told that the minimum age of 8 is incorrect. The age limits actually vary from trip to trip. In our case, the rep contacted the local tour operator and they confirmed that they will accept a 15 year old (he also has extensive travel experience).

So, we are good to go on this trip (which does involve some significant bus time, but I think the train trip makes up for it). But, if you want to book a non-family trip, you should call to confirm age limits.

There are unlikely to be any other kids on this trip, but that’s ok.
 
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Called to confirm...the minimum age to travel is 8. The specific "family" trips offer reduced pricing for kids. The non-"family" trips DO allow kids, you just don't get the discounted price.

Update because I don’t want to post inaccurate info: in a follow-up conversation with another/different Nat Geo rep, I was told that the minimum age of 8 is incorrect. The age limits actually vary from trip to trip. In our case, the rep contacted the local tour operator and they confirmed that they will accept a 15 year old (he also has extensive travel experience).

So, we are good to go on this trip (which does involve some significant bus time, but I think the train trip makes up for it). But, if you want to book a non-family trip, you should call to confirm age limits.

There are unlikely to be any other kids on this trip, but that’s ok.


When we did the Nat Geo Galapagos trip, it wasn't designated a family trip, but I did get 50% off the adult price for my son. It's been a few years, so that may have changed. It was in March (spring break for us) and there were a lot of kids between 10 and 16 on the trip.
 
When we did the Nat Geo Galapagos trip, it wasn't designated a family trip, but I did get 50% off the adult price for my son. It's been a few years, so that may have changed. It was in March (spring break for us) and there were a lot of kids between 10 and 16 on the trip.

50% off?!? Wow!!! The family version of the trip we want to take only offers a $200 discount for kids, so that's why I'm not worried about it too much. $200 isn't going to make or break whether or not we take the trip. And my kid is 15, 6' tall, and 200 lbs - he will probably eat more than the $200 difference in price!

To further elaborate on the age requirements, I was also looking at a 10 day “journeys” trip (the journeys trips offer more modest accommodations and more on your own time and meals at a lower cost). That trip also does not have a “family” version or child-pricing, but the PDF itinerary does say the minimum age is 12. So, you really do have to inquire about each trip individually. Just because a trip doesn’t say “family” or have child-pricing does not mean kids aren’t allowed.
 
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All the Nat Geo Journeys trips I've looked at have a minimum age of 12 stated on the website. Now they also have a line of "Family Journeys" trips, minimum age for those is 7 and there's a $200 discount for children 7-12. The consistent age requirement seems to be a feature of G Adventures (who Nat Geo partners with for the Journeys trips); all of the G Adventures Classic trips have a minimum age of 12, and all of their Family trips have a minimum age of 6.

Speaking of, I'm really interested in some of the new Family Journeys trips. Their Costa Rica itinerary is different from any I've seen offered by other companies. When they first started announcing the destinations for the Family Journeys and some of them overlapped with destinations already covered by G Adventures for family trips, I was curious if they'd be different itineraries or just upgraded accommodations/more included meals. The Costa Rica trip is completely different; Peru seems to be a similar itinerary, just one day longer and done in reverse. The only other overlap is Vietnam, but Journeys combines it with Cambodia whereas G Adv is just Vietnam.
 
Does anyone know of any comparable options for Australia? The ABD date I wanted/needed is already in waitlist status for summer 2020, I was on hold for 4 hours today and didn't get it :-( Seems like Thomson and Tauck don't have Australia Family options. Is Nat Geo a good option, or Butterfield? I will have a 9 year old and an 11 year old then, so I don't want something that's too adult... Anything other companies I'm not thinking of? We could also go custom, but we've done that before and I feel like there's more pressure on us to be "on" all the time when we are 1:1 with our guides all day.
 
Does anyone know of any comparable options for Australia? The ABD date I wanted/needed is already in waitlist status for summer 2020, I was on hold for 4 hours today and didn't get it :-( Seems like Thomson and Tauck don't have Australia Family options. Is Nat Geo a good option, or Butterfield? I will have a 9 year old and an 11 year old then, so I don't want something that's too adult... Anything other companies I'm not thinking of? We could also go custom, but we've done that before and I feel like there's more pressure on us to be "on" all the time when we are 1:1 with our guides all day.
I would look at Abercrombie & Kent, although their dates for the next year don't usually come out until later in the summer. But you can see the 2019 Australia family trip and see if it looks like something that would work.
 

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