1

Usually it's the other way round. Is your aim now to pay someone for what you could do by yourself?

2

Intrepid has been round for many years and caters to a wide range of traveller.

3

Both are very similar, have the same concept of trips and used to be sister companies. These days they are not friends, but 'who is better' is very subjective and I think a lot depends on the region, the trip and the leader you get... which is beyond your control, but will have a huge sway on whether your trip is good, great or average.

My advice, forget the concept of who is best. Choose which one has the trip, destinations, itinerary and dates that suits you best. Look at things like inclusions, group size and other details to make your decision.

Maybe you want to look at who 'owns' these companies now too... not so much small companies nowadays.

4

They are very similar companies. I went with both of them before. Intrepid in Vietnam was a great trip. G in Cuba sucked. Stick with Intrepid!

5

I work in the travel industry (I specialise in Eastern Europe, Russia etc) and I have been on many escorted tours to judge how they run/ what guides are like etc. I just got back from a personal holiday- 45day trip through Sth America with G Adventures, and I had the most AMAZING time! The hotels while basic, were clean & comfortable, and most importanly centrally located. The guides were excellent in dealing with the various ages in our group & I loved the style of tour G Adventures offered as well. You have freedom & flexibility with your time & budget in each city. LOVED IT! I also think the guides made our trip fantastic as well - I had a different guide for Brazil, Bolivia & Peru and there wasnt anything we couldnt ask or anything they wouldnt do for us throughout the 45days! Would recommend to anyone! Hope this helps! Good luck making your mind up! :)

6

aussiejen28
I'm curious how that compares to individual travel. I spent around US$ 2000 travelling around South Am for 45 days. I know, with G Adventures that would be much more, but how much?

7

I personally love Intrepid. I did a lot of research into which company I wanted to travel with before I went to India on my own. Since I was a little worried, I thought it would be best to travel with a company first, and then travel on my own. My experience with them was so amazing I’ve travelled with them again, and will do so in the future. There are so many things that drew me into Intrepid, such as what they do back for the communities, The Intrepid Foundation and their concern for the carbon footprints we leave.
I found that travelling with them, you get the most for your dollar while getting an amazing experience with the culture – very hands on, very personal. The leaders I have travelled with were phenomenal and really made the trip amazing. Their knowledge and genuine excitement about what they do was evident, and they spoke highly about working for Intrepid which, to me, makes a difference.
True, it is about which offers you the package you want, but to be honest, I walk into a lot of travel situations where there are a few things I definitely wanted to see, but being on the itineraries, I found I learned so much from the other things they exposed me to that I wouldn’t have chosen to do on my own.

8

The Intrepid Foundation and their concern for the carbon footprints we leave.

Ha... don't make me laugh. Great marketing campaign, that's about it!

9

Thanks for the good responses. I traveled in northern China on my own for 21 days in June - Beijing to the Pakistani border. It was interesting but to my surprise, much more difficult than traveling alone in Morocco and Tunisia. I'm ready for a break.

10

Both are great. As well are great Geckos Adventures, wich run mostly same kind of trip. I travelled with those 3, and all were great trips. Intrepid is number 1 in Southeast asia, and G in South America. When I research for a trip, I dont mind getting any in front of other, I just look for the one that is suitable for my dates. Please only consider that to me Intrepid trips seemed to have more stuff included on the trip, but thats all. What will make your trip good or not are you fellow travellers and your tour leader, but this is more luck than one or other company.