Comparing Travel Styles

In an earlier post I described how I had found my perfect travel style in Intrepid’s Original style tours.  You might like some of the same things in a trip that I do but there may be other aspects that suit you better.  In the table below I compare a range of different tours that are available that should meet most needs whether you want an 18-30 age group, an independent tour, a family trip, or more comfort. Most of the styles cater to a range of different activities (e.g. trekking, cycling) or themes (e.g. food, wildlife). Below the table is more information on each of these travel styles and a link to their website.

Note: After people telling me they had booked an Intrepid Tour on my recommendation, I now have affiliate links with the Intrepid Travel group of companies and may receive a commission if you book a tour online within a couple of months after clicking through to these sites.  So if you are enjoying my tips and stories and finding them useful in choosing your own travel, please click on these links and help me to bring you more ☺.

	Geckos Adventures	Intrepid Basix	Intrepid Original	Intrepid Comfort	Peregrine Adventures
Small Group	√	√	√	√	√
No extra for solo	√	√	√	√	√
Local Leaders	√	√	√	√	√
Responsible travel	√	√	√	√	√
Transport/ Accom arranged	√	√	√	√	√
Accom Comfort	√	√	√√	√√√	√√√
Homestays	√	√	√
Transport Comfort	√	√	√√	√√√	√√√
18-30s focus	√
Cost conscious	√√√	√√√	√√	√	√
Level of Inclusions	√	√	√√	√√√	√√√
Free time	√√√	√√√	√√	√	√
Meals included			√	√√	√√
Adventure	√√√	√√√	√√	√	√
Single supplement available (some trips)	√	√	√	√	√
Independent travel options				√	√
Private Group options				√	√
Family Trips available		√	√
Range of travel themes available		√	√	√	√
Short Breaks/ Day trips available		√	√	√	√

 

Intrepid Travel has 3 main styles of travel:

• Basix style trips are designed for travellers who want exceptional value, plenty of free time and having the flexibility to choose where and how their time and money is spent. By working plenty of free time into the itineraries and keeping many of the activities optional, they aim to make travel possible for those on even the most slender of budgets. After all, why pay for an activity or excursion you wouldn’t otherwise be interested in? Or a level of comfort you don’t require? As a wise person probably once said, a bed’s just a bed when there’s exploring to be done. The way you travel is all part of the adventure. Depending on the destination and the itinerary, you could find yourself travelling on anything from a donkey to a bus or a private safari vehicle. On many of the itineraries, a homestay is included for a night or two to really get a feel for local life. While the facilities are often basic, what better way to get immersed into a culture than by sharing a roof and meal with a local family.  From time to time, you also get the chance to stay in some more unique accommodation – like a stay in a Borneo longhouse owned by former headhunters!

• Original style trips have a great balance of included activities with your group and free time to explore independently. They use a combination of local and private transport and mostly stay at tourist-class hotels (i.e. 2-3 stars) – though on many trips you’ll also get to experience a night with a local family on a homestay or something a little different like a Bedouin camp in the Sahara.  The locations ensures travellers stay firmly entrenched in a region’s people and culture, and provides them with unique local experiences that benefits the community too.  Original style trips come with all manner of transport modes and use a mixture of local and private transport. You might find yourself sailing in a dhow in Zanzibar, jumping on a rickshaw in Sri Lanka or sailing on a yacht through the Galapagos. No matter the mode, it’s all about minimising environmental impact and making getting around part of the adventure.

• Comfort: ‘Comfort travel’ means encountering all that the real world has to offer, but with an added degree of, well… comfort. They use more private transport, the travel pace more relaxed, the accommodation a touch nicer. And by paying more up front, you’ll be treated to more included meals, more leader-led activities and get a greater immersion in all things local.  They keep the philosophy of small group, responsible travel that benefits local communities, keeping travellers firmly entrenched in a region’s people and culture, and providing them with unique local experiences. In most locations you stay in comfortable hotels, though on most of the trips you also get to stay a night or two in some pretty special feature stays.  Intrepid Comfort trips are operated in conjunction with sister company Peregrine Adventures.

See also Choose from a wide range of Intrepid Travel Destinations and Choose from different Intrepid Travel trip themes

Peregrine Adventures‘ small group tours take you beyond the tourist must-sees and delve into the heart of a destination, guided by the knowledge of a born and bred local, with responsible travel that benefits local communities and provides a more immersive experience for you.  Peregrine provides the softer side of adventure travel. They’ve minimised the occasional discomforts, smoothed down the bumps and rough edges, but have kept the spirit of discovery intact.

Geckos Adventures cater for travellers in their 20s & 30s, with an open mind, a sense of adventure and willing to step outside their comfort zone. They’re for travellers who aren’t afraid to order off the local menu, jump in a tuk-tuk or take a punt on a new friend. They clamber aboard public transport, sleep in family run places, see stuff other tourists never knew existed and have plenty of free time along the way. They make sure their trips don’t cost the earth (literally and metaphorically).  The trips include a few main entrance fees, accommodation, all forms of transport, the occasional meal plus the expertise of a local guide.  In some areas the standards can be pretty basic (a felucca on the Nile, for example) but the experiences are epic. You’ll also get the chance to stay overnight with local families on a few of the trips, which involves tasty home cooking and maybe a bit of traditional entertainment.  It’s all about getting the lay of the land using local transport. This means you’ll get on and off everything from buses, bikes, boats, trains, ferries, gondolas, cable cars, horse-drawn carriages and the occasional camel.

Adventure Tours Australia is an award winning travel company specialising in small group tours. From the outback to the coast, they offer 3 unique tour styles designed to deliver an unforgettable, authentic taste of Australia and New Zealand… no matter what your budget is. They have a range of half and full day tours as well as short-breaks and some longer trips. Many of these are run in conjunction with Intrepid Travel.