Intrepid Travel Review | The Only Review You Need

Intrepid Travel is great for a more mature audience. I don’t mean antiques with canes but rather 12 to 49 year olds that don’t want to drink the night away. If you book with Intrepid expect to be mainly with 30 somethings and 40 somethings and perhaps a family as well. Intrepid has hundreds of tours operating all around the globe with destinations in Africa, Europe, Asia and South America. What makes them unique is what they offer. If you’re seeking cultural immersion, a food tour or perhaps you have something more in mind like active adventure, then Intrepid is right up your alley. Let us take a deeper dive into my Intrepid Travel Review and see if it’s the right fit for you.

What is Intrepid Travel?

Founded in 1989 by two college friends, Intrepid Travel is an Australian tour company operating over 1,000 tours worldwide. Intrepid Travel is known for its charitable donations in that it gives back to the people and places that it has toured in. I have to admit that is impressive for the founders of the company never sold out and kept their goal intact. Very cool if you ask me.

Intrepid Travel Expectations

Accommodations: Don’t worry with Intrepid you’ll be staying in 3 and 4 star hotels. I found that they also like to book with boutique-style hotels making the stay far more charming and pleasant. The hotels are very clean and always in very nice areas.

Hot Tip: If you want you can book your own room, that’s supplemental when you book the tour through Intrepid directly.

Group Size: Intrepid groups are much smaller than most other operators so you can expect no more than 15 people to be in your tour group. This makes it so much easier for everyone to interact and more importantly for the guides to offer us a more personal tour.

Intrepid Guides: For the most part you’ll always meet your guide along with the group at around 6 pm in the hotel lobby. There you get to know one another and off to an evening meal. All tour guides are chaperones for the most part showing you around the city. They also make use of local guides that have a more in-depth knowledge of the history of the area.

Food: Breakfast is provided in all the tours however lunch and dinner will be on you. To save money you can eye some street food that is delicious and cheap.

Cost: Totally depends on the tour and how many days. There are tours for as little as $800 and as much as $11,000. Traveling to Europe for 30 days will obviously cost north of $7k however that are so many tours to choose from that will fit your budget.

Don’t forget to bring some spending money with you when you arrive to your destination. Intrepid Tours offers many trips that are 8 to 12 days from $1200 to $1900 which is a great value!

Travel Themes: Perhaps you have an idea as to what you want to do or the type of trip. Intrepid has something for everyone; some these include 18 to 29 year olds, Cruises, Expeditions, Food, Festivals, Polar, Wildlife, Winter Tours and Women’s Expeditions.

Intrepid Travel Review:

My very first solo tour with Intrepid was a rail tour in Morocco with some local transport in between. How I came up with Morocco is anyone’s guess but I said “Why not just do it”. The tour started in Casablanca. You always think that the city will be majestic or something but it’s NOT. It’s the financial center of the country with nothing to see but the Mosque of Hassan II. One of the most charming places in Morocco is Moulay Idriss. I really don’t know how to explain it but it was simply beautiful. It was here when our tour guide handed us to a local guide who showed us around his hometown and was simply awesome.

Our next stop was the ancient Roman ruins of Volubilis which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The trick here is to go early in the morning so you don’t have to deal  with the tourists. As we were journeying on we visited Fez, as well-known visited site in Morocco. Fez is interesting because it was the capital until 1912, however today it’s still considered the country’s spiritual and cultural center. There’s so much to see, one site that stood out was the Chouara Tannery and Mosaique Et Poterie De Fes. Here you’ll see some of the finest leather works and mosaic tile work.

There is one thing about Morocco you’ll need to get used to, they eat a lot of sweets and bread. I mean the hotel breakfast options were very limited and it was loaded with cookies, bread, some pancake thing you eat with honey, olives and more bread. Of course, we can’t forget the mint tea!

We also went to Chefchaouen (the blue city) which is a must-see! It’s known for its striking blue painted walls in the old town. I absolutely loved Chefchaouen so much to see and very affordable (as with the rest of Morocco). Probably the best thing to do is get lost in the maze of streets and alleys that are very photogenic. There are loads of markets selling goods that you can peak your head in. Don’t expect a big nightlife in Chefchaouen, there’s maybe just a handful of bars.

One thing killed me! I can’t tell you how many times I was offered “Moroccan Chocolate” aka hashish. Yep, Moroccans may not drink alcohol but they will smoke some hash. To be 100% I really wanted to indulge hoping that it would take care of my jet lag but the last thing I needed was a situation where a foreigner is being held on drug charges in a foreign country.

Our last destination was Marrakesh which is also a must-see destination. It’s loaded with many great restaurants, spas to spoil yourself, gardens and of course palaces. I couldn’t get over the bazaar, I mean is gigantic and can be a little overwhelming. It’s insanely easy to get lost when walking around the bazaar but that’s probably half the fun. In Marrakesh alcohol is served in many of the restaurants however you CAN’T take your drink outside.

My only complaint about Morocco is that the food was well, a little lacking. I mean it’s mainly couscous and tagine – I won’t lie I got over it quick so when I was offered a camel burger, I gladly accepted! Also, the hotel breakfast was well just sweets and more sweets.

Final Thoughts On Intrepid Travel:

Should you go on an Intrepid tour? Absolutely YES, if

• You want to immerse yourself in the culture
• You want everything organized for you
• You prefer an adventure instead
• You prefer smaller groups
• You’re on a budget or not

Optional Add-Ons: These are excursions that Intrepid sets up that do cost extra. Depending on the country you’re in they can be just about anything but always check what the add-ons are and see which you want to do. Remember these are totally optional.

Transportation: My particular Intrepid tour involved rail and in some very short spots a local bus was used but it was a short easy ride. However, not all Intrepid tours will use rail so you may want to double-check your destination and modes of transportation. Keep in mind that Intrepid will use planes, rail, buses and other modes of public transportation.

Most Popular Intrepid Travel Tours:

I hope my experience with Intrepid has convinced you they are a solid company that you’ll consider traveling with. I know someone who literally booked a “Foodie” tour because it was offered on Intrepid….seriously who cool is that! Take a look below and see some of their more popular tours.

There are about 812 tours Intrepid Travel is operating that you can access here, so take a look and explore which trip you’d like to book. Many of which have specials ranging from 15% to 35% discounts on selected tours.