Here at TourScoop, we love sharing our all-human, real-life advice about tour companies. In this article, I’m delving into Overseas Adventure Travel (O.A.T.), an active tour company with a solo specialty that’s owned by Grand Circle. I’m also including the company’s new-for-2026 and 2027 tours.
Overseas Adventure Travel—casually referred to as O.A.T. (pronouncing each letter as opposed to naming the grain)—is a small-group tour specialist with tours on all continents.
As its name suggests, Overseas Adventure Travel tours tend to be fairly active, so participants should be comfortable with six to eight hours of activity each day, including walking distances ranging from three to six miles.
O.A.T. stands out with its solo guest focus (more on that below), and includes a generous number of no-additional-cost single spots on its tours. It also has women-exclusive departures on many itineraries.
BEST OF THE BEST: Best tour companies for guided tours
Overseas Adventure Travel itineraries tend to feature accommodations that favor authentic experiences over amenities. Another thing that sets O.A.T. apart is that airfare is often bundled into the up-front price of the tour (unless you specify that you want to book your own travel). O.A.T. is one of the family of Grand Circle Corp. companies, also including Grand Circle Travel and Grand Circle Cruise Line.
TourScoop takeaways
- Countries: Overseas Adventure Travel has tours on every continent.
- Tour size average: O.A.T. specializes in small-group trips of no more than 16 people. Its small-ship tours are aboard 50- to 98-passenger ships but max out at 25 travelers.
- Tour types: Coach, van, small ship, and rail
Credibility check
Overseas Adventure Travel is BBB accredited with a rating of A+. It’s an active member of the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA). The O.A.T. website posts verified guest reviews on each tour page (sometimes with hundreds of reviews) so it’s easy to see what past travelers think of each tour.
Tour destinations
O.A.T. has more than 80 itineraries that include tours on every continent. Some of the most popular tours are to destinations in Italy, Egypt, and multi-country tours in Africa and around the Adriatic.
New tours for 2026 and 2027
For 2026 and 2027, O.A.T. is seeing strong interest in both new destinations and new formats designed around how travelers want to explore today. New itineraries include a 12-day culture-forward journey through Switzerland’s lakes, mountains, and historic cities paired with time in Milan; a 10-day deep dive into central Mexico’s heritage; and a 15-day multi-country journey through the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Switzerland.
Tour types
Overseas Adventure Travel offers both land and small ship tours. It gives all its tours an Activity Level Rating that ranks tours from one (easy) to five (strenuous) to help travelers find the right fit. There are multi-country and single country tours, and O.A.T. has both women-only departures and many no-additional-cost single traveler spots on tours.
For 2027, O.A.T. is introducing its new Immersions collection, a new style of small-group adventure designed for travelers who want a shorter, more active, and more focused experience. The eight- to 12-day itineraries are designed for travelers with limited time and combine iconic highlights with authentic, hands-on cultural experiences and active exploration. New Immersions tours are being offered in destinations including Vietnam, Italy, and Egypt.
On many tours, O.A.T. creates spaces for discussion and learning with its Controversial Topics program that covers topics such as Scottish independence on its Scotland Revealed itinerary and female genital mutilation on its Safari Serengeti: Tanzania Lodge & Tented Safari tour.
Tour guides
Overseas Adventure Travel’s tour guides are called Trip Experience Leaders. All are fluent in English and have a range of skills, certifications, and experience specific to the tour destination and on-tour experience. Trip Experience Leaders focus on both the logistical and the experiential and help connect travelers with destinations by sharing firsthand insight that brings a destination to life.
Inclusions/extras
Inclusions are tour-specific (there’s a “What’s Included” section on each tour’s page), but generally include round-trip flights, many (but not all) meals, transportation, accommodations, activities, and gratuities for local guides, porters, etc. As with most tour companies, gratuities for Trip Experience Leaders are separate.
Typical travelers
O.A.T.’s guests are mostly American travelers aged 50 and older. In the last few years, Overseas Adventure Travel has seen a major jump in the number of solo travelers—more than half of all O.A.T. guests are now solo travelers, and 80% of these solo travelers are women.
WALK THE WORLD: This year’s top tour operators for guided walks, hikes, and treks
O.A.T. does right by its strong solo traveler base. The company is expanding its inventory of single spaces across departures in 2026 and 2027, with the majority continuing to be offered at no additional cost.
Communication
After booking, travelers have access to all trip details through the “My Planner” section on the O.A.T. website. The section includes details like flight information, destination weather, and itinerary information.
Two weeks before departure, travelers receive all their final documents and are also contacted by their Trip Experience Leader. Any additional questions can be directed to the customer service email or phone number.
Loyalty program
O.A.T.’s loyalty program is the Sir Edmund Hillary Club. Membership benefits kick in when travelers reserve their third trip and increase after traveling with Overseas Adventure Travel five and ten times. Benefits include credits to use on future trips, travel credits, exclusive gifts, and priority luggage service.
Private options
O.A.T. offers Personalized Private Adventures for groups of five to 10 people. These private departures are available using existing itineraries and include a dedicated Trip Experience Leader. The private group premium amount depends on the number of travelers in a group. Some of the most popular private tours include Ultimate Africa, Sicily’s Ancient Landscapes, and Japan’s Cultural Treasures.
Sustainability efforts
O.A.T. is part of Grand Circle and participates in the Grand Circle Foundation, which supports projects around the world focused on water and sanitation, education, community development, renewable energy, the protection of indigenous cultures, conservation, historic preservation, and disaster relief.
CULINARY ADVENTURES: Best tour companies for culinary tours
Health and safety practices
On Overseas Adventure Travel tours that include time onboard a ship, additional precautions include crew trained on the best health and hygiene practices to prevent onboard spread of illnesses, nightly electrostatic disinfection of public areas, and disinfection of high-efficiency air filtration systems before each sailing. The O.A.T. website is the place to go to read more about the current health and safety practices for land and ship tours.
Family companies
The Grand Circle family of companies includes Overseas Adventure Travel, Grand Circle Cruise Line, and Grand Circle Travel.
