“Experience Travel” is all the rage at the moment but what exactly is it?
Basically it’s an attitude - a willingness to take yourself away from home and open up to new experiences.
And it doesn’t have to mean sky diving or bungee jumping because for some people, Experience Travel is much more sedate than that, like trying street food for the first time, or sitting cross-legged on the floor and sharing a meal with a local family.
It’s about being curious, challenged, fearless and open. It’s about feeling alive and having authentic experiences. You’ll come away having learned something new, not only about the world in which we live, but also about yourself!
Sound good? So how do you experience “Experience Travel” for yourself?
Intrepid
We work closely with Intrepid Travel, who are world-leaders in Experience Travel. From humble beginnings at a kitchen table in Australia in 1988, they now operate small group tours in 150 countries, on 7 continents. With over 1500 itineraries to choose from, there’ll definitely be something to suit you! Just look at the huge range of trip themes they offer:
Food
Cycling
Family
Adventure
Cruising
Sailing
Active Expeditions
Short Breaks
Festivals
Overland
18 to 29s
They focus on Small Group Travel
Average group size: 10 people (max 12 on most, max 16 on the most popular ones)
Average age of our travellers: Is 45-50 years old, but some trips are geared towards 18-29 year olds
Solo-friendly: Many trips have low single supplements and some are geared towards single parents
Their Trip Styles
Each trip falls into one of three styles:
1. Basix: allows you to pick and choose inclusions to fit your budget, these trips include plenty of free time and you’ll stay in simple, but convenient accommodation.
2. Original: a mix of included activities and free time to explore by yourself. You’ll be staying in a less basic standard of accommodation too.
3. Comfort: a more relaxed pace, higher standard of accommodation and lots of included activities.
You can get physical, or not!
Each trip is rated 1-5 by how physically exerting it is, so you can tell how fit you need to be to enjoy it. 1 is easy and relaxing, 5 is full on active.
They try hard to be as sustainable as possible
Intrepid is a very environmentally aware tour company. They have been carbon-neutral since 2010 and have banned single-use plastics on many of their trips and reduced them heavily on others.
They use Local Leaders
The beauty of Intrepid is they use local tour leaders. Born and bred in the regions they visit, their tour leaders are passionate locals who do so much more than just show you the sights. They know the history of a place, as well as its shortcuts, and are full of insider info. They can lead you to cool backstreet bars and suggest the best way to make the most of free time. On top of that, they have had comprehensive training in first aid, driving, environmental awareness, local history and geology, and just generally make your journey as seamless as possible.
With Intrepid's local leaders, you don’t just see a destination, you experience it.
Browse Intrepip's website but book through us. It's the same price and we can add on flights, extra nights accommodation at the start or end of the tour, airport transfers, and whatever else you want to make the whole experience hassle-free!
Written by Samantha Gavigan