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
471
No. of Departures
10,039
Avg. Trip Length
12 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$307
Accommodation
Mixed
Budget
Affordable
Trip Styles Coach Tours18-to-30'sSailing TripsFestivals & EventsShort Breaks
No. of Trips
1,147
No. of Departures
29,519
Avg. Trip Length
12 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$400
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
4.7
Global journeys are great to deal with and this Contiki tour was awesome! The trip manager and driver were both great.
The Vietnam highlights trip was such an amazing experience and definitely a great way to start travelling. Going to another country is daunting, going alone even more so, so to arrive and meet around 20 great people is such a good way to kick off a holiday. The trip manager was amazing and made the experience so much better, offering a range of extra ...read more activities or alternatives that allowed me to make the best of my time there. Would definitely recommend :)
Where do I even begin??? This tour was beyond good, it was extraordinary… I loved every minute of it and getting to know and be a part of my Contiki family. Have made some really awesome friends out of this and would strongly recommend this to anyone who has the chance! I was lucky enough to have Jodie and Peter as my trip manager and coach driver and ...read more they went above and beyond to make this experience the best it could be. They were knowledgeable, kind, fun to party with, and excellent at what they do.
Booking through Global Journeys was the most stress free booking of my life! It was easy and great communication with staff! I felt safe at all times! My Contiki was the greatest experience of my life! Will definitely be booking with Global Journeys again!
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!
4.3
Thanks Intrepid. Booking with a company we had never used before we were slightly concerned at the lack of (tiny) details (prior to the trip), but true to our agent at Global Journeys, Hannah and Intrepid made it all look easy. I know what it's like wrangling parties of 10 or more (like herding fleas), but our group was always on time for meet ups, ...read more and our guide, Valentina Lorrasu was absolutely brilliant. It was her first tour with Intrepid, but she had researched our trip in great detail and was not only great at 'mothering us' along, but she handled some out-of-left-field issues with great aplomb. This was also our first overseas trip since 2019 (COVID), and we came home feeling we had received outstanding value for money, great hotels, terrific food and the sights around Sicily were a treat. Thanks Global Journeys, Intrepid and Valentina - terrific combination of professionals.
Our trip to the Galapagos Islands was one that was long planned and eagerly awaited, and proved to be everything we had hoped. We had decided that, since we were only going to be there once in our lives, we should spend as much time as we could. I wondered whether the 10 nights on the Grand Queen Beatrix might prove too much, but it was fantastic, ...read more and every day brought a new experience. The wildlife was spectacular and much of it incredibly tame. The opportunity to snorkel every day had us swimming with sea lions, penguins, white-tipped sharks and a huge variety of colourful fish. The unique land and marine iguanas were impressive and birdlife was prolific. Every island was somewhat different and beautiful in its own way.
Intrepid’s Grand Queen Beatrix was a lovely small ship and we were pleased that we had booked one of the balcony rooms. It allowed more air into the cabin and a place to dry wet clothes. The rooms did not have a lot of storage and we ended up with one of us living out of a suitcase, but that worked fine and was not a problem. The crew were wonderful and the guides excellent, food was delicious, healthy and plentiful, which we needed because the high level of activity every day meant increased appetites. We were only filled to capacity (16 pax) for a few days of the trip and our fellow passengers were great company.
The tour included one additional night both before and after the Islands in Quito at Le Parc Hotel. We also booked 2 further nights before and 3 after at Le Parc and made good use of them doing the hop-on/hop-off bus and day trips with to the Mindo Cloud Forest to see hummingbirds and tucans, and Mitad Del Mundo where the equator passes through the outskirts of Quito. We did all these tours with the Quito Tour Bus (quitotourbus.com) which proved good value for money. We also went up the Telerifico Cable Car with expansive views down over Quito and spent a couple of hours in the wonderful Botanic Gardens just one block from the hotel.
I had originally thought I might book a different hotel in the “old town”, but was very glad I had not. Although Le Parc was some distance from the old centre of Quito, it was a comparatively safe area and very cheap to get anywhere by taxi.
For anyone contemplating going to Galapagos Islands and Ecuador, my advice is to do an Intrepid cruise for as many nights as you can afford, and add a couple of extra nights in Quito, where there is much to see and do.
Intrepid’s Grand Queen Beatrix was a lovely small ship and we were pleased that we had booked one of the balcony rooms. It allowed more air into the cabin and a place to dry wet clothes. The rooms did not have a lot of storage and we ended up with one of us living out of a suitcase, but that worked fine and was not a problem. The crew were wonderful and the guides excellent, food was delicious, healthy and plentiful, which we needed because the high level of activity every day meant increased appetites. We were only filled to capacity (16 pax) for a few days of the trip and our fellow passengers were great company.
The tour included one additional night both before and after the Islands in Quito at Le Parc Hotel. We also booked 2 further nights before and 3 after at Le Parc and made good use of them doing the hop-on/hop-off bus and day trips with to the Mindo Cloud Forest to see hummingbirds and tucans, and Mitad Del Mundo where the equator passes through the outskirts of Quito. We did all these tours with the Quito Tour Bus (quitotourbus.com) which proved good value for money. We also went up the Telerifico Cable Car with expansive views down over Quito and spent a couple of hours in the wonderful Botanic Gardens just one block from the hotel.
I had originally thought I might book a different hotel in the “old town”, but was very glad I had not. Although Le Parc was some distance from the old centre of Quito, it was a comparatively safe area and very cheap to get anywhere by taxi.
For anyone contemplating going to Galapagos Islands and Ecuador, my advice is to do an Intrepid cruise for as many nights as you can afford, and add a couple of extra nights in Quito, where there is much to see and do.
Booking through Global Journeys was a smooth process. This tour gave me new experiences and adventure. My room in Nick's Pension Hotel, Ubud, had ants and cockroaches! The remaining hotels are of average standard. Our tour guide was helpful and approachable.
In India anything is possible. If you go with an open mind and just enjoy the differences from your home country, you will love this glimpse into India. Accommodation was clean and comfortable more so than premium but locations usually close to sights. Plenty of food available and options for those who didn’t want the local delicacies all the time. ...read more India is organised chaos at times but throughly enjoyable. If you are unsure, just book this trip and go. Embrace it.
This turned out to be a fantastic trip. Although I had some initial doubts after we landed in Mumbai. Mumbai is a very busy place and as such quite dirty but well worth seeing. The trip got better the more we explored. The red forts, the Taj Mahal and the many lakes were amazing. The food took a little bit of getting used to but over all was good. Nice ...read more to have some authentic Indian curries.
We enjoyed a wonderful holiday on our Intrepid premium tour of India arranged by Global Journeys. The indian people are so friendly, happy and content. Our guide Yaddu was amazing, his wealth of knowledge on the history of the towns we visited and the architecture was unlimited. Thoughly recommend this wonderful country.
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