Intrepid Travel Reviews

Easy booking and fantastic on the ground. Amazing local tour leaders, can’t recommend enough!

My husband and I did the Cycle Sri Lanka Tour. It was fantastic. Everything about it was great. Our Tour Guide was wonderful and looked after us really well. He was so knowledgeable and made our trip very interesting and fun. He took the time to give us extra experiences (eg. sunrise meditation) and we all loved his stories and historical explanations. The hotels were really good; there was only one that could do with a few changes but we were in an isolated area so the choice was limited. Our food was fantastic as the restaurants has been chosen carefully by Intrepid and our guide. Sri Lanka is such an amazing country; beautiful, interesting and the people are wonderful. The bikes were great (7/10 of us on the tour had ebikes) and the route chosen was challenging but quite doable.) From my experience, I highly recommend Intrepid. I will definitely plan another trip with them-probably another bike tour. Loved it!

I’m glad I joined Intrepid as a solo traveler. Our guide Wira was funny he made us all laugh and was very knowledgeable. The trip was well organised, however I’d prefer more time relaxing instead of some of the actives, a day of doing nothing would be a nice option to have. We got to see and do a lot. I enjoyed the local Homestay experience and seen a bit of “everything” that I probably wouldn’t have seen if I went by myself. It was a fun trip, creating great memories. Had a nice group of people. Glad I booked my own room for some me time. I also like we went to the Global Village Cafe and Intrepid do their bit to give back to the community.

My second trip with Intrepid, and just like the first one it was a great experience. A good group and a fantastic local leader, plenty of good adventures. Thoroughly recommended!

we have done quite a few trips with intrepid travel, and they have been so much fun with fantastic guides across Myanmar Thailand Vietnam and Laos and of course India, the last one was southern India wow

The leader's knowledge was first class and he was very personable. The main tourist attraction visits were very well organised. The other people on the tour were very easy to get on with

I've used Intrepid many times. Their trips are well-organized and fun, the guides are mostly terrific, the people are friendly and ready to go, the accommodations are sometimes not so great but if you like adventure vacations then this will not be any different than you expect. I'm here though to write about their customers service, which is incredibly inefficient and unreliable. They are very hard to reach by ordinary means, and any communication that is at all imperfect - say, a guy is supposed to send you an email with information some trips after a 72-minute phone call covering 2 separate vacations - can never be recovered or revisited. If you try to add an extra night's stay or an extra mini-trip or book a transfer using their usual request and website tools, they will FAIL 100% OF THE TIME. I have booked 8 trips with Intrepid, and they have never, ever contacted me or followed through with flight requests, extra bookings, etc. Even getting them to record my height, which they requested and I sent for a bike fitting, can take 5 or 6 different customer interactions. One guy a couple of weeks ago gave me his direct phone number so I could call him back - it was Intrepid's usual call line with a long, long wait. Soon after a call to the Intrepid line was never answered - I submitted my number for a call back, and never got a call back. Also 2 weeks ago an Intrepid rep said he'd said me an email of trips we discussed, but never did. Other Intrepid employees I followed up with were unable to contact him or find my records he had entered in the computer. Currently I am trying, desperately, to book an INCLUDED airport transfer for my upcoming trip - the first time they forwarded my message to someone and never got back to me, and the second time they said the transfer was still on quote, implying I would have to REQUEST the transfer that was included in my trip price and then pay for it if I even got it. G Adventures has a profile for me that I click into and they immediately know exactly who I am and all my relevant details. To Intrepid, I remain a stranger every trip and have to fight just to submit my height (which they already took for my previous trip). It's weird and sad and diminishes the value of the otherwise incredible product the company offers. I will waste more time later today on their chat line, chatting about my airport transfer with an Intrepid employee who will not know how much it costs (nothing, it's included) or how to contact my trip leader or get me my reserved space.

The Classic Costa Rica trip was an absolute dream come true! I am a keen solo traveller, so this was my first proper group trip and I was a little apprehensive, but I needn't have worried. I shared the experience with seven other wonderful people (3 other solos and 2 couples), and Leo Araya was the most amazing tour leader - he truly went above and beyond to ensure we all had a great time and his knowledge was phenomenal! Everything ran really smoothly and we saw loads of wildlife (a highlight being the quetzal we spotted in Monteverde) and also enjoyed some more cultural experiences, such as a home stay where we helped to prepare dinner and a visit to an indigenous community where we painted our own souvenirs. I felt very safe and comfortable at all times as a solo female. Intrepid and Leo in particular have set the bar very high for any future group tours!

I've travelled with Intrepid in Vietnam, Morocco, Nepal and Egypt and had a brilliant time every time. The experience is better than most tours as you are in a small group that goes a bit more 'off the beaten track', and you don't get taken to endless shopping opportunites (i.e. a cousin's carpet shop). They also have higher ethics than most travel companies, they contribute to local charities and they avoid animal use (donkeys etc) where possible. The tour leaders we have had have all been wonderful, knowledgable and relaxed, with good english.

My son and I had the holiday of a lifetime with Intrepid in Vietnam. So many things could have gone wrong but they all went right! Intrepid had thought about every detail of the trip before I had a chance to: activities we would enjoy, great restaurants to eat in, most convenient mode of travel...the list goes on...and on. We learned so much about the country we were travelling in as well. We were given fascinating accounts of history, geography, economy. But it was the tiny details which peppered the briefings that made the country come alive. Our guide was fantastic. The whole experience was perfectly balanced and so much fun!

I have been on four different trips with Intrepid in diffrent countries and they have all been great. They are well organized, the tour leaders are considerate of the group and you get too see much more things than you would have been able to do on your own. On two of the trips there where some thing that did not go as planned, but in both cases the tour leader did the best they could to resolve the problem. Housing is genrelly simple and transports can be rough, so if you like comfort and luxury select another travel agency. But if you are up for a little adventure Intrepid is the way to go. (Review is based on trips to Peru, Mexico, Croatia and Morocco).

We did an Intrepid trip to Cambodia and to Thailand- both were excellent. All the activities were wonderful, the staff were helpful, kind and informative at each attraction. We highly recommend Intrepid travel for their quality of service and taking off any stress from the holiday.

I’ve just had the most amazing holiday ever with Intrepid. I was so impressed with how organised the trip to Vietnam was. Our tour leader made everything happen effortlessly. The accommodations provided exceeded my expectations, the food was stunning and the experiences will last a life time. Whether your travelling solo like I was, or with family, friends or a partner, I can highly recommend choosing Intrepid. I plan on booking another trip with them soon.

My trip to Peru was fabulous. It was not just that Peru has many stand out scenic spots and places like Machu Picchu and Lk Titicaca that made it so wonderful. What really sealed it for me was the best tour guide ever in Holger. He was not only well organised and an expert on his home country but very kind and considerate to all our group.

We booked the Sapa Adventure trip that started in Hanoi. The local Intrepid Hanoi guide was disorganised and took us to a local restaurant with rats in it, and we had a problem at the train station as our bookings hadn't been properly confirmed. The train cabin was dirty and disgusting and Intrepid were not able to help change cabins. The other people in our party were able to upgrade their cabin to first class, which we were not given the option to. We eventually got off the train due to the very poor standards and no support, even though our guide said the train would be international standard, which it was not. When we got off the train Intrepid were again not able to help and so we couldn't join any of the trip. We organised to go to Sapa ourselves in the end which was much better and cheaper, as this trip is very over priced. I wouldn't recommend anyone to use this trip. Intrepid refused to take accountability of the situation or pay any compensation. It's a shame as I've used Intrepid a few times before and had good trips, but this one was very poor, and so I won't use them ever again.

Easy to book with, very helpful and quick to answer any questions that I had. The tour group was nice and small which I enjoyed, it was a maximum of 12 people.

It was a well organised professional set up, all the sites and important history well delivered by the team, nice hotels nice beaches, great safari (although had to mis the one i really wanted to do cuz of the place being flooded) really really really enjoyed "The Best of Sri-Lanka" if you like the Adventure, you like this trip

Our recent Food adventure of Sri Lanka was excellent. The tour included a good mix of experiencing the different types of food from Sri Lanka and seeing and enjoying the sights the country has to offer. Our guide was very accomodating and flexible, catering to the different needs of our group. We had a range of transportation from a mini bus to a scenic journey through tea plantations. This was a trip I would recommend.

There is a common theme on this site many people from different trips have expressed their disappointment about “Premium” I am adding to the number. So, if you’re thinking of booking a Premium trip with Intrepid do your research and read the reviews in this section. Premium is a price paid for above and beyond some basic or intrinsic value. This trip was not on any level above and beyond basic. Intrepid Response from Jacky “Value can be a difficult topic to address, as people's perceptions of value will differ.” It was an awful experience of eating in the must basic of cafes. We were not even allowed to order our food!!! The establishments could not even offer alcoholic beverages. What’s Premium about that? I came on a Premium holiday and expected premium food premium establishments with wine lists etc. I would have been better off booking a standard trip and we could decide where we ate. And order our own choice of dishes! We were on holiday and eating in these places was just plain awful and miserable. Intrepid response from Jacky "Our guides prioritize the safety and well-being of the entire group, which may sometimes limit dining options. " “It's disappointing to hear that the quality of meals and dining establishments did not meet your expectations. Our Premium style of travel is indeed designed to offer a higher standard of service and provide travellers with memorable experiences.” “Disappointing”? They were in back streets I would not venture to walk down on my own. Dietary restrictions, hygiene and health would be more likely to be compromised in establishments like these. “Our Premium style” did not offer a higher standard of service, your “design” is flawed. Premium China offers “first class” travel around China. So misleading it was ordinary minibus that on some days you could smell the cigarette smoke of the driver who had been waiting for us. I wrote to Intrepid to ask what was Premium about this trip. Intrepid Jacky response “As part of our Premium tours – while you state that intrinsic value is not accounted for- the experience of your guide does”. Our guide badgered us to rate her for 5 stars as she wouldn’t get her bonus. This was not an exceptional guide. She was a nice lady but that’s it. When we challenged her that we would like to order our own food she said she was afraid we would go over budget. I said tell us the budget and we will pay the difference. She refused. “Handpicked accommodation”, including Scaffolding and maintenance working going on so we had to use back entrance? I have travelled a lot in Asia the hotels were just run of the mill nothing premium. Intrepid Jacky response “We understand that the trip did not meet your expectations, and we sincerely apologize for any disappointment this may have caused. Your feedback is appreciated, and we will use it to make necessary improvements for future travellers.” How does that compensate me? The holiday was nearly £4000 and they offerd me a derisory £175.00 in compensation, so they accepet it wasn’t Premium but that’s all they were prepared to pay in recognition of that! I was so angry how bad this trip was I really want my money back as I was mis sold a holiday on a flawed and misleading concept of Premium quality. "We can see that you have been in communication with our Customer Care team who have been addressing your concerns. Should you wish to discuss anything further, they are available to assist" They closed the case!!! they never addressed my concerns largely ignored them.

The whole team work ethic