Intrepid Travel Reviews

This trip was basix, which means not much included, i.e. much flexibility. The hotels were good, clean, good beds. The guide was excellent, - one of the best I have ever had.

I was an fill-in for this trip having never had any desire to travel to India but always open for anything. This trip taught be so much about the country, the history & the people & I returned with a completely different opinion on it. I am so glad I went. There were some downs but mainly ups and although I wouldn't rush back, I think the trip was hugely interesting & worthwhile & would definitely travel with this company again.

I have travelled with Intrepid three times: Northern India, Southern India, Thailand and Laos. Each of the tours were uniquely wonderful with knowledgeable, fun and caring guides.

Intrepid is a great company to travel with small groups and great guides who are very professional , i have never had a bad experience travelling with intrepid and with small groups i have made friends i have kept in contact with years after my trip something that is a added bonus ,already planning my next trip with Intrepid cant wait

This was one of the most amazing experiences and we would highly recommend this to anyone. It was very cold but that is to be expected as were interested in the northern lights however it was made up for by the natural spectacular beauty of Iceland. Our tour guide Ari was knowledgeable & superb; nothing was too much trouble for him and he went out of his way to assist in every way. The pace was just right for this tour, the accommodation good, the sights surpassed expectation and the bus was comfortable.

A great way to immerse yourself in the beauty and culture of Morocco. Highly recommend Intrepid for excellent tour.

Another fabulous Intrepid adventure. The Mountains and Mystics tour was filled with a wonderful variety of scenery, transportation, cultural insights. Pramod, our leader, ensured all went well and his calm manner was a welcome balance to the enthralling ‘noisy chaos’ of much of India.

Our problem was not with the tour we were thrown off, or the staff but with Intrepid Travel administrators. We were booted off the tour for ill-health but were refused a refund. There was little communication at the time of this no refund policy and our Travel Insurance were expected to give the refund but refused.

This company completely abandon their customers thousands of miles from home if they become iunwell. Do not book with Intrepid! My 20 yr old son booked a trip to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand and became seriously ill whilst in Vietnam. He was then left fighting for his life in a hospital where nobody spoke English with no means of communication except for Google Translate. If it hadn't made several phone calls to the British Embassy in Hanoi and repeatedly contacted Intrepid raising my concerns we would never have heard from them again. As a result I flew out there to be with him as Intrepid left him thousands of miles from home with no follow up. This company shows no duty of care towards it's customers and the group leader merely told him to "Be a man" before leaving for a jolly with the rest of the group (my son was also the youngest member of the group). Absolutely disgraceful company who have now tried to deny all responsibility for their actions and refused to refund any of the cost. My son had to stay in hospital for two weeks and was in serious risk of heart failure. Intrepid couldn't care less! Please please avoid them! He would never have made it back if I'd left it in their hands. Do not believe the glossy veneer and fake reviews. They don't even deserve a one star rating, I would give them zero if I could.

Due to the death of my father I could not take my scheduled trip and wished to postpone. Intrepid would not allow this and showed no compassion nor customer care in their callous decision. I lost my trip money paid including a single supplement. My airline refunded my ticket, no questions. Note that I have travelled with them and an affiliated company, Imaginative Traveller, to Thailand, India, Cambodia, Cuba, Costa Rica and Egypt. I do not recommend them. Rescheduling two weeks in advance due to a death should not be an issue.

I went in the Galapagos trip with this company in January 2024. I was asked to private review the trip after in an automated email , which I did in detail. I had a few issues I wanted to address but they did not even bother to respond to my review which they had solicited. A few issues: The hotel room on one of the islands was absolutely disgusting with dirt and hair and crumbs in every corner including the room and bathroom and millions of tiny little bugs got into cough candies, toothpaste and snacks if left out for more than 3 mins. They were in our bed sheets at night. The other hotels were very basic but perfectly fine for staying in on a trip like this. There was an issue with one of the travellers coming arriving very ill and no effort to even try to keep him isolated or masked in small quarters like the bus or at dinners or touching communal shared items, informing us etc , resulting in 80% of our group becoming ill and missing excursions of a lifetime. We realize people get sick but no effort was made by our guide to at least try to manage the ground zero guest or inform us to allow us to try and protect ourselves. The tour guide was amazing, she really did a wonderful job on the tour with the exception of the sick traveller and the below state of emergency. She really was very well educated and trained and was very entertaining. Intrepid does have a gem in her. We also had ZERO communication from Intrepid or our guide about the major events happening on the mainland of Ecuador while we were in Galapagos with plans to return to the mainland a couple of days later. The entire country was shut down for a state of emergency and as travellers we only found out about it when family from home contacted me and I brought it to the other travellers attention and I had to ask the group leader to address what is going on during breakfast. She didn’t bring it up and no emails or calls from intrepid for those travelling with them in the region. It’s like they wanted to ignore it and were very dismissive of it. We didn’t get any info from them for at least the first 24 hours (well after I asked questions) and even then they just copied and pasted what the government put out on their website. There were no offers to help anyone get home, help with changing flights/plans or to avoid travelling back through the mainland that was under a state of emergency and under lockdown due to riots etc. This should have been handled much better than it was. I wouldn’t travel with intrepid again just for the fact that they couldn’t do me the courtesy of a response to my private review. And they really didn’t address health and safety concerns between the state of emergency, the poor cleanliness and health of the group with a sick group member. Galapagos and Ecuador were both an amazing experience and I would certainly recommend travellers go and experience the wonders themselves.

My husband and I went on the classics 10 day trip in Vietnam with an Intrepid group. This was the most interesting and incredible experience I have had. It covered all of Vietnams must sees and sight seeing. The group of people in our team were all lovely and felt like family/ friends by the end of the trip. The tour guide ‘Duc’ was professional, knowledgeable and always helpful. We continued on the to start another intrepid trip in Cambodia. I would highly recommend this trip for anyone wanting to see Vietnams highlights. 10/10 for our tour guide Duc.

Our tour guide Anh Voung made all the difference. She was extremely well organized, disciplined and was able to make a cohesive group among the small group tour participants. Also, she knew thoroughly the history of the places we visited. We were able to see Vietnam through her eyes. That made all the difference.

Great experience on our Intrepid trip. Customer service is always available and usually able to deal with requests.

Our first trip with Intrepid did not disappoint. We had a great guide who was both informative and helpful. He fitted into the group and nothing was too much trouble. Would highly recommend

Myself and my partner done our first trip with Intrepid in August 2023 from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls with Okavango Delta highlight. Everything was very well organised. The guides were very knowledgeable and friendly. The other guests were all very friendly. We would have found it difficult to put together a trip like this by ourselves. We will definitely consider doing another trip Intrepid and we would highly recommend them.

I have now done four trips with Intrepid and can generally recommend them. Most guides are enthusiastic and speak good English, and the level of organisation is good. However, if your trip involves long distances to travel by bus be aware that Intrepid, in general, provides very poor quality in this department. I recently returned from a trip to Mexico, where the travel style was decribed as "comfort". Our bus was, however, the very definition of UNcomfortable. They mention in the trip notes that the bus may feel cramped, but not that it is old, has very limited suspension, and that a vast majority of seats will not accomodate people over 180 cm. I am 183 cm and returned from Mexico with knees that still ache from the experience. The quality of the bus was outrageous, and all travelers agreed on this. We saw buses of the same size, but of better quality, on the way so they do exist. That Intepid does not feel the need to renew its fleet of buses can only be described as stingy.

Intrepid south east Asia discovered in 22 days tour is good itinerary with keeping diverse age group and and their various interests and activities in mind but what makes it great is their tour leaders. Hubby and I started our trip from Bangkok on Feb 24 where we met Yanika( Kung) ; our first tour leader. She was knowledgeable, helpful and great company to hang out with. After Thailand also met local guide in Laos as well. Sac and one more person forget his name were also very professional and helpful but what took our amazing trip to another level was the last leg of our journey which was Vietnam that’s where met new group of wonderful people along with our new tour leader Duc. Duc is full of all those qualities which other team leaders did plus whole lot more. Much much more than any company or an employer expects from any employee. Intrepid is truly lucky to have him. He was not only thoroughly professional, extremely knowledgeable ever so polite and helpful but he took care of all of us (we were 16) nearly like a loving and caring parent. He took care of each and everyone’s filling of water bottles, making reservations for taxis, dinner plans, laundry information just very few come to mind right now. Few times even paid when we didn’t have enough local currency so that we continue with our activities and can change later which he said we could pay later. Always kept an eye on all of us where and how we were going and stayed in contact till every one returned. He never cared if he ate on time or even sat when we would be eating and enjoying. He was available to all of us at all the hours of the day and beyond. God knows when he got some sleep because later on will always see him with paper work and stuff getting all organized for next day for us. Even on the overnight boat trip, took care of everyone’s dietary restrictions with the meals and hot water for me for my sinus issues just to name a few. He is great tour leader who goes over and above many extra miles and a great asset to any organization. Our Vietnam leg started from Hanoi possibly 7 or may be 8 march ( sorry jet lagged)😊

Terrible company to deal with, slow customer service and when I had my flights cancelled for my trip. I mentioned that I could no longer go on my trip I was notified that they do not do refunds. I now have lost out on over $1000 that I will never be able to access again for a trip that I had given over 6 months notice.

I wanted to write something about my trip to New Zealand. Unfortunately, it never happened. I found Intrepid very unprofessional all the way through. I had to transfer the entire amount (a huge sum) before they even started an inquiry. My request for a single room could not be accommodated and I was offered the trip on a twin-share basis. I confirmed this within a day. Three days later I received the first email saying that the trip was no longer available. What could I do but accept? So I gave them my bank details to transfer the money back. Nothing happened for another three days and I received a similar email saying that the trip was no longer available a second time. I was offered a later date. After waiting five working days for any sign of the transfer, I tried live chat again. I was assured that the transfer would be initiated, but that it could take up to two weeks!!!! These are absolutely impossible and customer unfriendly business practices. While Intrepid is keeping my money back, I am now unable to organise the trip myself. I feel quite betrayed and will not consider or recommend Intrepid again.