Home > Compare Tour & Adventure Operators > Explore vs Intrepid
Explore vs Intrepid
Compare the travel styles, pricing, destinations and popularity of Explore and Intrepid.The Low Down
Explore Worldwide is a UK adventure travel company that has been around since 1981. They run over 500 small group tours in more than 100 countries around the world with an average of 12 guests. Accommodation is often family run lodgings and guides are passionate locals. Itineraries are a mix of must-sees and who-knews, and guests can choose from different trip styles to suit their interests.Explore recognises that adventure is different for everyone, and their trips range from classic discovery group tours to active adventures such as hiking and cycling. They also have dedicated family trips, themed journeys such as those that focus on wildlife or their limited edition Explore Beyond collection which showcases rare one-off events. Explore have an impressive track record with 96% of past travellers saying they would travel with them again.
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
549
No. of Departures
5,111
Avg. Trip Length
11 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$359
Accommodation
Mixed
Budget
Affordable & Premium
No. of Trips
1,102
No. of Departures
51,577
Avg. Trip Length
12 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$438
Accommodation
Mixed
Budget
Affordable & Premium
In Their Own Words We asked the travel companies themselves why you should travel with them
Explore has been taking small groups on adventure holidays all over the world for almost 40 years. The expert team, at home and overseas, works together to create itineraries that leave you feeling that you’ve really explored a destination rather than just visited. You’ll see the highlights, the must-sees, of course. But you’ll also get away from the beaten track, and get a different perspective on your destination. You’ll get closer to a place, its people and cultures.
Our small groups are typically 12 people – small enough to get right into the heart of your destination, but big enough to find like-minded people to share your experiences with. And the glue that holds these groups together is our local tour leaders, who are uniquely placed to add individual and spontaneous moments to each trips – moments that stay with you long after you return home. All sorts of people travel with Explore – our groups are usually a mix of solos, couples and friends. What unites them is their adventurous spirit and thirst for real travel experiences.
We provide authentic small-group travel, designed by experts and led by experts, with sustainability at its heart and a common desire for unforgettable experiences. Whether you’re on a cultural tour of Lebanon, cycling in Vietnam, walking in Italy or exploring Costa Rica with your family, when you’re travelling with Explore you know that you’re in good hands.
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
4.8
This was a fantastic trip and I could not recommend it highly enough! Good quality hotels, great and varied itinerary with the opportunity to have some free time as well. The highlights included a farm visit and luncheon, a visit to St Johns co-cathedral in Valetta, the coastal scenery and visits to neolithic temples! In addition to those highlights, ...read more the trip was memorable because of the opportunity to travel with like minded people and to be guided by a wonderful and enthusiastic guide (Lisa). We were also able to enjoy some high quality local seafood. You must put Malta and Gozo on your travel list!
Spain & Portugal - Morning walking tour with (most) afternoons free! 0 Keith and Jan, New Zealand, Apr 2023
Our guide Gabrielle was great - could rattle off most of the history & could answer most of the questions we asked & also looked after everyone equally! I would recommend that the amount of walking & at times quite steep should be emphasised more as a few people struggled - didn't cause any major issues but they were probably surprised at times.
Travelling through the Baltic countries was a great experience. The countries are rich in history and the cities of Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius are beautiful. The trip is well planned by Explore, but I would make the Curonian Spit excursion half day instead of a full day. The accommodation was on the whole good but in a few occasions the shared rooms ...read more were a bit small if you have to share with somebody you don't really know. Also being with a good group of people was fun. I booked the trip online with Global Journeys, as I have done a few times before, and it was easy as usual.
The scenery inland is quite outstanding with dozens of deep, chiseled valleys and gorges of extreme, austere beauty. If we had just 1 gorge of that quality anywhere in the UK, we'd have declared it a National Monument. No need to go further afield for some truly stunning hiking, with a nice dose of local culture and warming, winter sun as an added ...read morebonus!
I really enjoyed the trip , the walking, winter sun (interrupted by a couple of rainy days!), and a good group and tour leader - more than anything though, it was great just to travel abroad again after a gap of more than 2 years.
It was our first foreign trip for two years, and we enjoyed it overall. The Covid safety measures were affective, and we appreciated Cema arranging for tests at our hotel the day before departure. I would add that the New Year's Eve celebrations surpassed expectations - the food and the entertainment were excellent.
4.4
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.
We had a short break in Tasmania which was most enjoyable. As always Georgie had everything organized for us. Georgie at Global journeys has helped us organise a number of holidays over the years and we have never had any problems. Look forward to our next holiday.
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