Adventure travel with no hassle (Intrepid Travel)

Member Name: albacookie

Product:	Intrepid Travel
Date:	12/09/09 (243 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great choice of trips, chance to see something different.

Disadvantages: None for me.

Intrepid Travel is an Australian company based in Melbourne who specialise in adventure travel. The company was originally formed in 1989 when friends Darrell Wade and Geoff Manchester decided after travelling in overland through Africa to create a company which helped people get off the beaten track, interact with local people and experience local culture. The first trips were based in Asia but Intrepid now covers Africa, North and Latin America, Europe and Australia.

I have travelled with Intrepid 3 times in Thailand, Egypt and Morocco.

I normally try to travel independently as being rushed around from one tourist site to another in convoy is pretty much the opposite of my idea of a relaxing holiday! However in these cases time restrictions made it more practical to go with an organised group - it's all very well waiting for the bus that comes through town twice a week when you are travelling for 6 months but that 2 week break from work disappears much quicker! Intrepid offers a good compromise between the convenience of an organised tour and the freedom of travelling alone.

Their "Original" trips have a maximum of 12 travellers on each trip, mainly from the UK, Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand. The accommodation is usually 2 or 3 star type small hotels which are always clean and comfortable, travellers share twin rooms - if you are travelling alone you will be paired up with a roommate of the same gender. Some trips utilise more unusual accommodation - I have slept in a tent on the beach of an uninhabited island in Thailand, in bamboo huts floating on the lake in a National Park, on a felucca on the Nile and in a hut in the Atlas Mountains.

A typical Intrepid holiday will start and finish in a major city and take in three or four other towns or villages over 8 - 21 days. Longer trips can start and finish in different locations and it is possible to string several trips together to travel larger distances such as from Cairo to Cape Town. To get between places local transport is utilised as much as possible - be it train, bus or taxi. Sometimes a private minibus will be used if there isn't a local alternative. Occasional you may be riding a donkey or sailing down a river.

Some activities are included in the price of the trip - these will usually be the major sites such as the Pyramids in Egypt - others are left as optional to allow flexibility for individual travellers and there is free time scheduled to allow you to do your own thing. Food isn't included unless there is no choice available - we had a kitty for food on our Nile cruise for example - and some hotels include breakfast. Groups do usually try to eat at locally owned restaurants rather than big chains, in line with Intrepid's policy of supporting the local community. Each trip also provides the opportunity to meet local people and learn about their culture first hand.

There are other trip styles, all three of the trips I've done have been Original so this section is purely based on information from Intrepid's website.
Basix - have larger groups and multishare accommodation to keep the price as low as possible. There are less included activities and lots of flexibility.
Comfort - higher standard accommodation - average of 3 star - usually private transport and the option to pay a single supplement rather than share if you are travelling alone.
Family - for adults with children age 6 - 17. Maximum of 2 children per adult.
Active - based around a particular activity such as hiking, cycling or rock climbing.
Out Adventures - trips for gay and lesbian travellers and their family and friends.
Urban - one or two day trips exploring major cities.
Independent - you customise your own itinerary these can either be booked as an extension to another trip or as a separate holiday.
Volunteering - help build a school or work in a health clinic with plenty of free time to explore.

Each trip is accompanied by a group leader to organise hotels and transport, and to deal with any emergencies. They will also organise optional activities and suggest things to do with any free time. Leaders are locals where possible or have other experience of the local area. The three guides I have had on my trips were all very different but each was very professional and well organised and helped to make the experience memorable.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend travelling with Intrepid. On my trips I met a lot of very different interesting people, some of whom I am still in touch with now. Some of the places we went to would have been impossible to get to on your own - the island we stayed on in Thailand for example had no other visitors other than Intrepid trips, on that same trip our guide and her boyfriend took us to a Thai bar where there wasn't another westerner in sight. It was great not to have to worry about organising things such as train tickets and be able to enjoy the holiday. Group leaders don't work on any sort of commission so they aren't trying to push extra trips on you for the money unlike some conventional holiday reps.

It is very easy to use Intrepid's website (www.intrepidtravel.com) - the site clearly explains the philosophy of the company and the trip styles. To view what is available simply scroll over the area of the map you are interested in and click on the relevant country, trips will then be displayed in the various categories. You can add trips to a shortlist and then look at them side by side to compare features. Once you have decided where you want to go you can book online, by phone or by calling in to the Intrepid store in London. Prices for an 8 day Original trip are generally £350 - £450, this doesn't include the price of flights to your destination. Most trips will also have a local payment to be made to your guide which will then be used as a kitty to pay for food, tips for local drivers and guides and similar things.

Overall a great compromise for those who like to get off the beaten track but leave the organising to someone else.

Summary: How to see the world differently.