Intrepid Travel Reviews

I did a 3week Vic Falls to Cape Town camping tour with Intrepid and i loved every second of it. I was a bit nervous before, being a spoiled German who likes to feel safe on my travels, but oh my, was that unneccessary. Our team, consisting of Patrick the driver, Henry the cook and Benson the guide, went above and beyond to make this trip not only unforgettable, but also safe. Not for one minute did i feel like i wasn't safe. If there was an area known for pickpockets, Benson made sure we were aware. We did a safari or some other activity with potential dangers, he instructed us well on how to act/behave. We were also always able to leave stuff in the truck, which was being taken care of by Patrick and our safe "home away from home". The food (another concern of mine) was heavenly. It's impressive what Henry could create with 2 gas stoves and a few pots. The variety of dishes within one meal, both the vegetarians and the omnivores were always able to choose and eat well. And i mean WELL! Another thing i really like about Intrepid is their conscious view at the environment and animals. For example instead of making money off promoting it, they ask their travellers not to participate in touristy stuff like "walk with the lions", as it is against what they stand for. Another example is that we all got a tote bag on day one, so if we did some shopping, we wouldnt need to use plastic bags. Whenever we left a campsite, we left it spotless. No wrappers, no foodscraps, nothing. It's the little things that make a difference. The only negative part? Those 3 weeks went by way too quickly and now i have the worst case of post-vacation-blues ever, as i am now in love with a whole new continent!

We had the most amazing ; professional; and humorous Tour Leader ever . His attention to detail and choice of amazing home visits and stays made the difference .Hamid is very knowledgeable and has a very high customer service ethic and is a great listener and picks up what the group feels and needs and proactively provides better outcomes ! The Driver was also diligent and they were a great Team who made our adventures safe & enjoyable .They were always vigilant and made the group feel very comfortable. The specific home visits and Medina stays were delightful and made the itinerary even more enjoyable and fun . We would highly recommend Intrepid and you would be blessed to have Hamid as your Tour Leader .

We looked for an itinerary that included the cities and experiences we wanted, and chose our first-time trip with Intrepid. A great choice... Intrepid really knows Morocco. The itinerary was great, filled with experiences like a visit with a nomad in her tent, and camel rides to a from a night in tents in the desert. Our leader was outstanding and most of the local guides were great -- which made this a special trip.

Did a Premium Sicily tour. The guide was great but I think there was too much packed in and little free time. I would have rather had a choice about which guided tours we went on and not pay for these but have them as optional extras. Bus was a little uncomfortable and squishy in terms of the seats. Most accomodation was very good. For the price I wouldn’t recommend this to others.

Intrepid looked after all the organising; all we had to do was enjoy ourselves. Our Premium Sicily trip had mostly good accommodation - well located with good sized rooms and good breakfasts. There were lots of included activities making for fast oaced full days. The tour leader was very good. The city guides were also excellent, although perhaps a little wordy while standing in the hot sun. Lots of ancient Greek and Roman sites. A variety of other activities. Good quality food and plenty of it - perhaps too much. Some great wines. Bus was good but lacking in legroom for taller passengers. Driver excellent.

The Highlights of Andalusia trip was fabulous. Itinerary was a great mix of experiences and particularly loved our stay in Sierra Grazalema, a welcome break from the crowded cities. Our tour leader Ana could not do enough to make our trip memorable. A brilliant group, leader and tour.

Had a fabulous time in Morocco on our trip- Morocco Uncovered- with Abdellah E as our guide. He was knowledgeable, friendly and very accomodating. He wanted us to have the best experience of his country. We saw so much and that's what I love about an Intrepid trip.

I enjoyed the Inca Trail Express from Lima. However I have had the same problem as a previous review with Intrepid arranging the flights. The domestic flight from Cusco to Lima did not give me enough time to make the international flight to Madrid. I therefore missed the international flight with extra leg room seat booked. Neither Latam nor Iberia would take responsibility. I eventually got booked on to the next flight to Madrid, in a middle seat for 10 hours. It ruined the holiday. It was very very stressful. Also they would not honour the last leg to London so I was out of pocket a flight to London. Beware if they book your flights. I have made a complaint.

It is a month since I returned from an Intrepid Premium Uzbekistan trip. I had never been on a small group tour. My impressions are mixed. Uzbekistan is worth going to. You will find: good honest people, many interesting monuments, great countryside and decent weather (October). It’s cheap and has good local wines and beer, and some good food. Hotel staff were always friendly and helpful. On the downside Tashkent airport is pretty chaotic. However: I booked my trip through Trailfinders (TF) who made sure the flights, extra hotel and Uzbekistan trip all tied neatly together. A few weeks before departure I rang Intrepid with a question. I was non-plussed to be told to ring TF as I had booked through them. I rang TF who said the answer was on the Intrepid website and talked me through how to find it – click by click. Trailfinders 5 * Intrepid 0 * Our tour guide appeared to be new but actually had 13 years experience. To quote Intrepid, their Premium trips are ‘led by our most experienced and highest-rated local leaders’. Her style did not suit experienced travellers. She did not give us the desert walk to look for plants and animals which is listed in the detailed itinerary. On one occasion she suggested to one of the vegetarians that she could remove the meat from her food! Our group gelled well and, on the occasions where there was no meal arranged by Intrepid, we easily found good food and had a great evening. In contrast, Intrepid organised meals were perfunctory and not enjoyable. On 2 days I elected not to join the group on the route marches around sites, preferring to wander and enjoy the local area by myself, whilst still covering sites that interested me. On the final evening we had an Intrepid organised ‘celebratory’ meal in an empty restaurant with no atmosphere, no wine available and no choice of food. It was a 45 minute drive across Tashkent, when there were many decent restaurants local to the hotel. Perhaps the tour guide lived nearby. The evening was dismal. In summary, go to Uzbekistan but not with Intrepid.

Recently completed "Premium Jordan " Tour which was very enjoyable at a leisurely/manageable pace and offering many interesting attractions and good standard of accommodation. Tour Guide was very efficient, understanding and knowledgeable. Light lunch suggestion on occasions was a great idea from a time management perspective. It involved consuming take away snacks on the bus whilst travelling to the next stop. Location of hotels was generally good, except maybe in Amman which was not centrally located. Very pleased however with accommodation at Petra Moon Hotel was was in a great location. Some confusion with the Tour Guide as to number of provided dinners which conflicted with advertised number. Feedback provided at end of tour upon arrival home and quickly resolved with an apology and offered compensation of $26 per person for discrepancy of 1 meal. Out Tour group number was 16 which worked OK with transport, given that distance travelled varied from day to day and was not significant.

We recently undertook a holiday with Intrepid and whilst many aspects of this were excellent, there was a particular issue (the guide's expertise) that was disappointing and did impact the quality of the holiday. When we followed up with Intrepid, we were very pleased to find that they listened to our concerns, took them seriously and resolved the matter in what we believe was a very fair and satisfactory manner. Michelle (our contact in Intrepid) provided a very professional, courteous and customer focused approach. It is to her credit that we have been encouraged to use Intrepid again.

Great trip to Nepal and Bhutan. Such interesting and contrasting countries. Everything went smoothly. My tour leaders were fantastic. Definitely recommended!

Such a wonderful experience shared with a great group 11 Aussie's in total. We had Mikki as our guide and he went above and beyond to make everyone happy and contented. We were there during the earthquake but Mikki was exceptional during that time and making sure everything was safe for us. I will certainly look at taking another Intrepid trip in the near future.

I just finished my Everest base camp trek. Company doesn't have a good health and safety focus. They are focused on getting max numbers of hikers on a hike to make the most amount of money and provide poor, unsanitary accomodations and charge customers a lot higher than other companies. Cheap and unsafe company. If you care about your safety, stay away from this company.

Serena was an excellent guide who made the trip work so well. The group came together very quickly and we all had a fantastic experience. Serena ensured we went to authentic food outlets and we had some of the best meals ever in Italy. The structure of the trip suited us with train, private vehicles, path of the gods hike and lovely boat to Capri. Everyday was a great day and I would travel with Intrepid again based on this experience.

Had 2 decent trips, had to cancel last one which resulted in a $2,500 lost. Had paid for 3 extra nights which Intrepid put in their pockets when previously on a diferent trip I was reimbursed. Apparently they can change the rules as they see fit. Be sure to carry extra cash, if something goes wrong. i.e. a strike, civil unrest, earthquake, or some unforeseen disaster, you'll need to bail yourself out. Good luck.

Our guide Vahed Kenarang was extremely knowledgeable and organised the group really well. We always felt like we knew what was going in with timings and he was on hand to help with any hotel issues (usually just how to get hot water because we didn’t do it right) The experiences planned were amazing! They were so interesting and it was great to get so close to local people and traditions as well we doing some touristy things. We honestly loved it. The hotels were nice - some stunning! The food always delicious. All the excursions were well planned and we honestly believe we have had the honeymoon of a lifetime. We have made friends from every corner of the globe too!

Intrepid arranged an internal flight for us with insufficient time to make our international flight home. Multiple emails voicing our concerns went ignored for weeks, and only intervention by our local guide meant that we got to the airport in time. Trying to contact Intrepid was like speaking to a brick wall. Intrepid used to be a great helpful travel company, but nowadays they seem to be relying on reputation alone. To completely ignore a number of emails about such an important aspect of our journey is totally unforgiveable. In response to Intrepid's reply below, I'm not complaining about slow email replies - I'm annoyed about the complete lack of replies, even now three weeks later. Live chat and phone wasn't an option to us with the dodgy WiFi we had available to us in the Himalayas, hence email being the only option.

I have always had positive experiences with Intrepid before Covid. The recent journeys have been lower in value for sure. Worst one is now. I need to amend the dates of my upcoming trip and Intrepid applies a 400 eur cancellation fee - instead of a change fee. Customer service is slow in response and it is impossible to escalate the complaint. Booking conditions are not properly written as they mention cancellations and change differently. I would advise not to travel with Intrepid and this is my last trip. I tried to amend the Booking more than 30 days before departure but was asked still to pay a cancellation fee of 400 eur which is crazy and even the reply below is not the same customer care actually confirms to customers.

Vietnamese were very friendly -great sights -and in particular my group "jellied" extremely well. Couldn't have been happier😁