Home > Compare Tour & Adventure Operators > Contiki vs Intrepid
Contiki vs Intrepid
Compare the travel styles, pricing, destinations and popularity of Contiki and Intrepid.The Low Down
Over 35? Then Contiki is not for you. With tours and adventures designed for the 18-35's through Asia, Africa, North and South America and Europe, you'll need lots of energy for the good times ahead. Traditionally Contiki trips have been known for their late nights, lots of sleeping on the coach, and some sightseeing on the side. Contiki's philosophy of #NOREGRETS is about changing your perspective on the world, walking in others shoes, witnessing different cultures, religions, and ways of living. But most of all, it’s about living life out loud, unashamedly and completely, loving every single second of being young! 
Intrepid specialise in small group adventure tours, and feature trips around the globe. With over 700 tours and 50,000 departures, Intrepid's itineraries are designed for the budget conscious adventurer, families and even adventures for those that prefer a bit of comfort at the end of each day. Like G Adventures, Intrepid also have a myriad of trips through South and Central America & Asia and operate dynamic pricing so prices can change daily - upwards if the trip is filling up, and down if they need to fill some spaces.Recommending the best Operator for small group adventures is a tough one. It's very subjective and we think a lot depends on the region, the itinerary and the trip leader you get. This will have a huge sway on whether your trip is good, great or average. Our advice is to choose the Operator which has the itinerary and departures dates that suit you best. Look at things like inclusions, group size and other details to help make your decision.
Stats
No. of Trips
448
No. of Departures
11,406
Avg. Trip Length
12 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$293
Accommodation
Mixed
Budget
Affordable
Trip Styles Coach Tours18-to-30'sSailing TripsFestivals & EventsShort Breaks
No. of Trips
1,102
No. of Departures
51,281
Avg. Trip Length
12 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$440
Accommodation
Mixed
Budget
Affordable & Premium
In Their Own Words We asked the travel companies themselves why you should travel with them
Contiki are the world leaders in travel experiences for 18-35’s. We exist to connect young travellers to the time of their lives. We believe in real experiences and we care about making sure these experiences contribute positively to the people and places we visit. We are focused on discovery, once-in-a-lifetime moments, human connections, and making every second of being young count.
For over 55 years we’ve been perfecting the secret formula to the perfect trip - we know you’re after unique experiences, local insight and accommodation that’s more than a place to sleep. We run over 350 trips across 6 continents, each one designed to get to the beating heart of a destination, understanding the local way of life, unearthing unforgettable experiences and creating lifelong memories. Real experiences, unique accommodation, local food, the best team and awesome people all deliver Contiki’s no regrets experience.
Intrepid Travel has been taking travellers off the beaten track to discover the world's most amazing places for 30 years. Every trip is designed to truly experience local culture - to meet local people, try local food, take local transport and stay in local accommodation. Led by a local leader, our small group tours offer a sustainable way to travel off the beaten track, while giving back to the places and people that travellers visit.
Recent Reviews
4.6
This was a great trip visiting some beautiful natural wonders. Contiki again did a great job and the Tour Leader was friendly and able to give useful local knowledge. Croatia was such a great country to finish this tour in!
This was the perfect base for exploring London at your own pace. Outside of the organised activities, it gave us plenty of time to ramble through this amazing city .... London!
This European Discovery Tour was just the perfect length for visiting Europe for the first time. Contiki were a great, organised company and our Tour Leader, Dan was organised and friendly. Global Journeys experienced staff allowed for a carefree and wonderful trip. Many thanks Hannah!
Can’t wait for the next Contiki. Only have one more year. 0 Darryl Rogers, Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Canada, Feb 2022
Everything about this Contiki was amazing. The guide was amazing and we will continue to be friends long after! The people were amazing, the extras and most importantly Ecuador blew me away with its beauty! I loved everything about this trip. Can’t wait for the next Contiki!
It was just great, I liked everything, the hotel, food, people, the activities. We had great weather too (lots of snow). The only downside was that there were no parties due to COVID restrictions in Austria.
4.4
I will continue to use Global Journeys as their booking platform as it's easy and efficient to source for the right type of travel objective. Their agent Tracey is helpful and prompt in addressing my querys and concern,s thanks very much. So Global Journeys did well and deserve 5 stars for this.
Using the platform, I went along with Intrepid for ...read more a 18 days Premium Peru, Chile and Argentina. We (75 yo mum and myself) had great company (in Peru and only ourselves in Chile and Argentina) and guides for each of the countries. Generally, the itinerary was well paced and planned. But the elderly like my 75 yo mum and other fellow travellers may find the trekking up Machu Picchu challenging. However some of accommodation were below expectation for a premium tiered travel hence the 3 stars given.
The below par accommodation included San Augustine Plaza in Cusco where we had stayed for a total of 3 nights where night temperature is at between 2-5 degree celsius in mid May. We slept the first night without heater and not aware there was one until the next morning when we learnt from other travellers. Some travellers caught a cold as a result. Hence we requested for one. Because It’s a very old and dated 4 stared hotel, there is no sound proofing to speak off as a result, besides the bitter cold, our rest were constantly disrupted by noise from closing doors and dragging of chairs from above. The towel smelled musky from inadequate drying too. The breakfast looked like a bed and breakfast. This hotel made us wonder if there is a mistake in the type of package that we had signed up. The only saving grace was the staff who are accommodative and helpful in general.
The next accommodation in Ollantaytambo where we spent 1 night was similarly dungeon style, no heater and no kettle. There was only bottled mineral water and single used shampoo and gel bottles which I feel Intrepid has room to work towards a sustainable tourism. El Mapi accommodation were too near the bar and the music was too loud to allow a restful evening after a 3 hour trek.
Accommodation at Pullman Miraflores at Lima and Hacienda at Maldonado were brilliant.
In Chile, Hotel Altiplanici in Santiago old downtown has no kettle and no lift except for luggages. The check in staff was understanding and reallocated a room on the first floor. In Mendoza, Huentala Hotel is also very old hotel. There is no sound proofing and we can’t get a good rest as we can hear the constant corridor talk and closing of doors. The bed also sag and there is no quilt on the narrow single bed.
Intrepid should select hotels based on substance rather than form. Old hotels may look good and have charm but doesn’t meet the basic requirement of a accommodation which beside being clean is to offer guest a restful and comfortable stay. If we don’t mind such uncomfortable accommodation, we would have chosen backpacker style of travel instead of premium.
Using the platform, I went along with Intrepid for ...read more a 18 days Premium Peru, Chile and Argentina. We (75 yo mum and myself) had great company (in Peru and only ourselves in Chile and Argentina) and guides for each of the countries. Generally, the itinerary was well paced and planned. But the elderly like my 75 yo mum and other fellow travellers may find the trekking up Machu Picchu challenging. However some of accommodation were below expectation for a premium tiered travel hence the 3 stars given.
The below par accommodation included San Augustine Plaza in Cusco where we had stayed for a total of 3 nights where night temperature is at between 2-5 degree celsius in mid May. We slept the first night without heater and not aware there was one until the next morning when we learnt from other travellers. Some travellers caught a cold as a result. Hence we requested for one. Because It’s a very old and dated 4 stared hotel, there is no sound proofing to speak off as a result, besides the bitter cold, our rest were constantly disrupted by noise from closing doors and dragging of chairs from above. The towel smelled musky from inadequate drying too. The breakfast looked like a bed and breakfast. This hotel made us wonder if there is a mistake in the type of package that we had signed up. The only saving grace was the staff who are accommodative and helpful in general.
The next accommodation in Ollantaytambo where we spent 1 night was similarly dungeon style, no heater and no kettle. There was only bottled mineral water and single used shampoo and gel bottles which I feel Intrepid has room to work towards a sustainable tourism. El Mapi accommodation were too near the bar and the music was too loud to allow a restful evening after a 3 hour trek.
Accommodation at Pullman Miraflores at Lima and Hacienda at Maldonado were brilliant.
In Chile, Hotel Altiplanici in Santiago old downtown has no kettle and no lift except for luggages. The check in staff was understanding and reallocated a room on the first floor. In Mendoza, Huentala Hotel is also very old hotel. There is no sound proofing and we can’t get a good rest as we can hear the constant corridor talk and closing of doors. The bed also sag and there is no quilt on the narrow single bed.
Intrepid should select hotels based on substance rather than form. Old hotels may look good and have charm but doesn’t meet the basic requirement of a accommodation which beside being clean is to offer guest a restful and comfortable stay. If we don’t mind such uncomfortable accommodation, we would have chosen backpacker style of travel instead of premium.
Usually independent travellers, this was our first experience of small group travel. First leg of tour group was through Jordan. Great group of 11 people who were led by well organised tour leader. Had plenty of time to see the sights. Border crossing to Israel was unorganized. No representative from Intrepid arrived to do the formalities of the crossing ...read more as promised. Second part of tour through Israel was with a different group of people and a different tour leader. Not as well organised. Food options and accommodation was not of premium level. The quality of tour leader can make a huge difference to your experience. There was a fair amount of walking in this tour and whilst we are over 55, some older members of the group struggled to keep up and be on time at sights which caused frustration for the group. If you’re not up to walking varied terrains and keeping on time then reconsider your ability for small group travel. Overall it was a good trip with plenty to see. Communication provided by your leaders is critical to enjoying the experiences of small group travel.
We were so looking forward to these two tours by Intrepid, "Premium Jordan" and "Israel & The Palestinian Territories".
The first tour "Premium Jordan" was all as expected we had a great Tour Director, great crew of tourists and amazing sites. There were 3 main highlights in this tour, Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea. There were also many other attractions ...read more but we thought these 3 were the pick. Petra was amazing, unbelievable on just how the tombs were actually constructed. The trek up to the Monastery is well worth the effort. Spending the night in luxury accommodation in the desert (Wadi Rum) was also memorable and floating in the Dead Sea is a memory that will last forever.
Only negative was the land crossing from Jordan to Israel for the "Israel & The Palestinian Territories". We were not provided with any documentation to confirm that we had paid for a VIP service. This led to much angst and confusion. This process will need to be reviewed and better explained on just how this process should work.
The "Israel & The Palestinian Territories" was well below expectations, while the sites we visited were amazing and the religious aspect of Jerusalem and Bethlehem were also very enlightening the Tour Director was not very good. I felt that he was complacent in his guiding (I have done this more than 20 times). In my opinion the Tour Director will either make or break the tour. Get a good guide and you will have a great tour. If the guide is not up to standard then the tour will be less enjoyable. Our guide was below standard. He did not provide us with any details to contact him if things went wrong. He did not stay in the same hotels as the members on tour, but elected to travel some distance back to his home.
We booked a Premium tour expecting the service to be above the standard tour but this was not the case. In one case we had been booked into a different hotel than was normally used but the Driver was not told of the change and we actually got lost and after driving around for more than an hour had to wait for someone from the hotel to find us and direct us to the hotel. This hotel did not have a kitchen and breakfast had to be brought in. Both these tours were Intrepid tours but the difference between the two was huge. I would recommend the Jordan Tour but would not recommend Intrepid for the "Israel & The Palestinian Territories". If you want to tour Israel look for another company.
The first tour "Premium Jordan" was all as expected we had a great Tour Director, great crew of tourists and amazing sites. There were 3 main highlights in this tour, Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea. There were also many other attractions ...read more but we thought these 3 were the pick. Petra was amazing, unbelievable on just how the tombs were actually constructed. The trek up to the Monastery is well worth the effort. Spending the night in luxury accommodation in the desert (Wadi Rum) was also memorable and floating in the Dead Sea is a memory that will last forever.
Only negative was the land crossing from Jordan to Israel for the "Israel & The Palestinian Territories". We were not provided with any documentation to confirm that we had paid for a VIP service. This led to much angst and confusion. This process will need to be reviewed and better explained on just how this process should work.
The "Israel & The Palestinian Territories" was well below expectations, while the sites we visited were amazing and the religious aspect of Jerusalem and Bethlehem were also very enlightening the Tour Director was not very good. I felt that he was complacent in his guiding (I have done this more than 20 times). In my opinion the Tour Director will either make or break the tour. Get a good guide and you will have a great tour. If the guide is not up to standard then the tour will be less enjoyable. Our guide was below standard. He did not provide us with any details to contact him if things went wrong. He did not stay in the same hotels as the members on tour, but elected to travel some distance back to his home.
We booked a Premium tour expecting the service to be above the standard tour but this was not the case. In one case we had been booked into a different hotel than was normally used but the Driver was not told of the change and we actually got lost and after driving around for more than an hour had to wait for someone from the hotel to find us and direct us to the hotel. This hotel did not have a kitchen and breakfast had to be brought in. Both these tours were Intrepid tours but the difference between the two was huge. I would recommend the Jordan Tour but would not recommend Intrepid for the "Israel & The Palestinian Territories". If you want to tour Israel look for another company.
There were 2 sections to this trip. Both were interesting perspectives of Mexico. I'm glad I did both but I much preferred the first half the best. Mexico City and all it had to offer culturally, historically, and it's accommodations was a pleasant surprise. The city is huge and for the most part seems to handle all our tourist needs. Our tour guide ...read more and cultural ambassador, Karla, was a wonderful, energetic human being. She knew so much about the country, you could tell we were only getting a small percentage of her total knowledge. Hotel accommodations were much better on the first half of the tour than the second half. The last hotel in Tulum should have never been.
The trip lived up to our expectations. We did the comfort level tour and it was very comfortable. The small tour group size is a real bonus. You get to know everybody, and there’s not too many people to wrangle onto a bus. We loved all the bucket list moments, the pyramids, the valley of the kings and Petra. The 2 L where fantastic and the organisation ...read more was excellent. Would highly recommend.
The size of the group was perfect. The two guides were great - quite different but a good mix. They were informative, flexible and friendly. The activities were a good range of difficulty, and you could do as much as you were comfortable with. My favourite spots were the more remote areas, which I wouldn't have attempted if I was doing my own trip.
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