-Have you ever traveled using a Groupon?
There are a lot of ways that people find this kind of travel,
and one of them happens to be traveling using a Groupon.
Would you ever use a Groupon for your trip?
I'm going to tell you about my experience
with a Groupon Getaway to Iceland,
which included airfare and accommodation.
-#WorkHardTravelWell.
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-What's up you all. It's Kim.
I am the creator of workhardtravelwell.com
and the creator of the #WorkHardTravelWell.
On this channel, I talk about business travel and wellness
and how you can travel well with a full-time job.
I'm going to tell you
about my experiences in Groupon for a trip to Iceland.
-Iceland.
-When my friend approached me about going on a trip,
they told me about a Groupon to Iceland
and I'm like, "What is there to do in Iceland?"
Also, "What in the world I'm I doing with Groupon?"
I usually book my flights direct with the airline.
At the time of this trip, the package was roughly $800
and it included airfare from DC to Reykjavik,
which was on Icelandair and also included a hotel stay
for three nights at the Radisson Blu Saga Hotel,
which is a three-star hotel.
It included daily breakfast.
It was supposed to include the Northern Lights Tour
and also Blue Lagoon.
Here are some things to pay attention to
when you're booking a Groupon Getaway.
The Groupon was actually through Gate 1 Travel.
That's something you have to be mindful of
when you're booking these trips.
The experience is not going to be directly tied to Groupon.
It's going to be tied to the company that is affiliated with that Groupon.
With that Groupon, we had the opportunity to book
additional tourists through Gate 1 Travel and we did so.
We booked the Golden Circle Tour,
which you can see in my Black Girls in Iceland video.
-Black girls in Iceland.
-The trip was in February and that's supposed to be one
of the months that's good to see the Northern Lights.
The flight on Icelandair was interesting.
The flight did not include us the ability to be able
to pick seats, but we were all together.
The flight left from DC
and I was able to use Southwest air to get to DC
because I have a lot of points with Southwest air using some
of the travel hacks that I've mentioned in previous videos.
Iceland air did not have
meal service at the time for the six-hour flight.
You would have to pay extra for that.
There was regular beverages included.
Once we arrived at the airport,
ground transportation was included in our package,
but what we did not is-- We did see the fine print
that says the buses depart every so often after flights land.
We went into a duty-free store to get some things before
and also freshen up before we got on the bus.
What we did not know is
that there were not that many flights arriving.
We missed our ground transportation because
we were more than the time allowed after our flight landed,
and the next flight wasn't going to land until the afternoon.
We got there early in the morning.
We ended up having to pay for a taxi.
The ride from the airport is about 45 minutes away.
To the hotel, the Radisson Blu Saga.
It's a no-frills hotel.
It's not in the city center.
We were put in two rooms with twin beds.
The hotel staff was nice. The breakfast was okay.
I would probably give that a three-star for the hotel
and it's just something to get the job done while you're there.
At the time of this,
that hotel was ranked 44 out of 56 in Reykjavik.
To walk from the hotel to the city center,
it's about 15 to 20 minutes.
Our review on Gate 1 Travel.
Everything was fine until it wasn't fine,
until we had an actual issue
and we needed to get in touch with someone.
We were supposed to see the Northern Lights.
Only able to see the Northern Lights based on the weather.
Every night they would tell us,
"Oh, we'd have to check every evening to see
if we'd be able to go to see the Northern Lights."
We were not because of the weather.
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-Everyone that went after us was able to see it.
We just happened to get there on a bad week.
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They told us in the fine print
that they would replace that tour with something else
if we weren't able to go on Northern Lights.
No one ever contacted us about that.
Also, when I tried to call, they don't have any international
toll free numbers, but you're selling international trips.
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-It was hard to get a hold of anyone.
I was using minutes.
I'm trying to call back to the States to get
in touch with Gate 1 Travel.
We didn't get an answer until we got back to the States.
Even then, we were able to email and I think they refunded us
about $45 to $50 for this tour, for the Northern Lights,
since we didn't get a chance to do it,
but it just would've been nice for some communication.
The issue is you're purchasing this from Groupon
and they are contracting, it's a Groupon through Gate 1 Travel,
but Gate 1 Travel
relies on tour operators and these destinations.
Now, what I know now for the future, for especially
international trips, I look at travel insurance.
Here are some things to consider
when you're looking at purchasing a Groupon Getaway.
Look at the companies that are associated with that Groupon,
and do research.
Like I said, ours was through Gate 1 Travel.
It would have been in our best interest
to research Gate 1 Travel a little more before purchasing.
I'm not saying that Gate 1 is terrible,
but it's just,
now that I know to research the companies involved,
I need to do that just to see
what any complaints that are involved.
Then you can also look at the hotel that's associated
with the Groupon to see what your thoughts are on that.
Usually, they have two options on there,
and it just depends on the time of year.
Compare the weather for these destinations.
A lot of times,
these cheap travel deals are during off-peak times.
Yes, that was the best time to see the Northern Lights,
but it was actually very cold.
In Iceland, they say that you never know the weather.
It could change every five minutes.
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I use things like the US News and Travel website to see
when the best time of year is to visit,
to know if that's a Groupon that I want to consider
traveling during those dates that are specified.
Pay attention to the dates that are specified
and then check for additional coupon codes.
We were able to take money off of the Groupon we used
because there is actually a Groupon coupon code.
Check the distance of the hotel from all of the attractions,
just to make sure
they're not putting you up in who knows where.
I always read the fine print.
There are some that say you must book by this date
so the Groupon is valid, or you must book immediately.
Just make sure you read that fine print before you purchase it.
I know it could be exciting to see cheap fares,
but make sure you read that fine print.
Also, check the cost that's going to take you to get
to the airport that the Groupon is from.
Compare it if you have points and miles,
and you'd rather travel on points and miles.
That's something to compare.
Identify if this Groupon has really a good deal.
That's my experience using a Groupon to travel to Iceland.
Thanks for watching.
If you found this video helpful, be sure to subscribe.
You can see more of
my information about my Iceland trip on workhardtravelwell.com,
as well as there are related videos
that will show at the end of this for Iceland.
Have you purchased a Groupon Getaway?
What are your experiences with traveling with Groupon?
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