G Adventures, Intrepid? Cycle holidays and supported long walks?

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BarbWire

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I am finally giving in and NOT planning all of my travels on my own -- time to do some organized travel in addition to my global solo wandering in the next few years.

G Adventures and Intrepid have been on my radar for a while, and I'd like feedback:
  • Thoughts on either? What trips have you done? (I'm particularly looking for trips in Africa with a wildlife focus)
  • What about overlanding in Africa? G skews to the much younger set for this; Intrepid seems to be mixed ages. Others?
    ​
I also want to do
  • cycle touring (e-bike!) in Europe (perhaps barge & bike or sail & bike).
  • supported long walks (eg, long walks in the UK, the Pieterpad in NL, and long walks in Italy, Austria, etc. For the UK I've read of MacAdventures and HF Holidays, and for Europe Slo-ways.
I've never dug into supported/organized travel before (other than a trip to the USSR in 1979), so any information will help!

Thanks!
 
Both have been mentioned a number of times here, so while you're waiting for responses you could use the search function to get started.
 
Our son has used G-Adventure and had a great time hiking to Machu Picchu. I get the impression that they cater to a younger set, but that may be because of the strenuous trip he booked.

For supported ebike trips in Europe we've used Inntravel. A UK company that did a really good job when we biked in Austria. They have very competitive rates and good support. They are very clear on the degree of difficulty involved and we will use them again in the future.
 
I've traveled with Rick Steves tour groups, OAT, and Road Scholar. I did OAT's Ultimate Africa trip last summer and highly recommend it. I've also traveled with OAT to Sicily and Patagonia. Hiked Mont Blanc area with Road Scholar. Nothing but good things to say about all the groups I mentioned. I've heard good things about Backroads for active vacations.
 
If you are a fairly experienced cyclist, Santana Adventures does cruise/bike tours ll over the world on small, chartered ships. They will rent you a bike or ebike and they have lot of great features for couples where one person rides and the other doesn't. You need to get on their mailing list and be ready to jump when they announce a cruise, they generally sell out very quickly.
 
I'm also in a similar situation. I have been doing my travel on my own. But the Kenya Camping Safari by G Adventures looks inexpensive， 9 days for about $2,000. I don't know if camping in Kenya safari is comfortable or bearable.
 
We've done quite a few Intrepid/G Adventures tours and have 4 booked in 2026 including a walking tour through Tuscany in May. Group sizes are small - usually 12 or less, guides are usually local and very good, and accommodations are adequate although certainly not luxurious. Both operators usually try to book locally owned hotels/inns/bnbs and that can lead to some inconsistency. They also both originally catered to backpacker type travelers and still do, but each has added more mainstream and premium-ish tours. Intrepid Travel is based in Melbourne and I think G Adventures is Canadian and as a result groups are a bit more diverse than say a Rick Steves tour.

I'd suggest that you look very carefully online at each individual tour. The trip notes or trip details will give you a very good idea of what's included and when you might have free time to explore on your own. We've had some people book through travel agents and were clueless with respect to inclusions and itinerary.

We did safari tours in Kenya and South Africa/Botswana/Namibia/Zambia and they were outstanding as was a 16 pax Galapagos cruise.

We used Mac's Adventures for a West Highland Way trip in May 2022 and a walk through the Cotswolds in May 2024. The WHW was just at the edge of our comfort zone and the Cotswolds were absolutely delightful. Mac's arranged accommodations and luggage transfer and all we had to do was walk with a day pack.

Tours are almost always part of a longer trip for us. On our Italy trip in May, for example, we'll spend a night in London, 3 days in Bologna (AirBnB) before joining the G Adventures walking tour, then fly to Sicily for a 10 day Intrepid tour, then a week in an AirBnB near Lake Como. Can't wait.
 
flyingaway said:
I'm also in a similar situation. I have been doing my travel on my own. But the Kenya Camping Safari by G Adventures looks inexpensive， 9 days for about $2,000. I don't know if camping in Kenya safari is comfortable or bearable.
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Crossed paths with several of these groups on both our safaris and they looked like something I would have jumped at the chance to experience - 30 years ago. Our guide said that these were his favorite trips, especially sitting around the fire in the evenings.
 
We have used Backroads and VBT/Country Walkers for cycling and walking tours. We also worked directly with Walk in France.
I would recommend all three hands down.
 
I’m also mostly done for handling all overseas details, so no more independent travel except that some companies provide all the arrangements for you with some customization in some cases, so that it’s still private, you just don’t have to do the work.

But we usually enjoy small group travel if well organized. Besides awesome itineraries and access to some great nature areas, Nat Geo does a great job because they prearrange all meals so they don’t get drawn out, food is catered and preordered, no sitting around at the venue and ordering. Also they stay in wonderful hotels. This last group of 15 participants in Costa Rica was particularly fun to travel with.

I’ve been eyeing some of the G Adventures trips done for Nat Geo. Not as upscale as the Nat Geo Signature Land tours, but more options and areas visited. So I’m interested in people’s comments.
 
audreyh1 said:
But we usually enjoy small group travel if well organized. Besides awesome itineraries and access to some great nature areas, Nat Geo does a great job
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IMHO, NatGeo is the absolute best for expedition travel, and I would give Hurtigruten second place, since I've done multiple trips with both.

The key for me is that small group really should mean small. I booked an overland European trip once, and was assured over the phone that the group would never be more than 16. When I showed up on Day 1, there were 24 of us, which kind of ruined it for me.

As OldConch said, you have to read the itinerary of advertised trips very carefully and not make too many assumptions.
 
I’ve been on Nat Geo signature land trips that were 20-22 people and it was still OK and super well run, just not as nice and cosy as the last trip. I think 24 is not unusual.

They’ve also changed. When we traveled on the fabulous Human Origins tour in 2019, in addition to the tour leader we had a country expert traveling with us, a science expert - a paleontologist for this tour and she was awesome, and someone else handling all the logistics. So four individuals. Now the tour leader, country expert and logistics person are all wrapped into a local guide, and a token Nat Geo designated “expert” is thrown in which might bring very little expertise to the tour, but at least helps the very busy tour leader manage the group. Our tour leaders have been great, and clearly the experts in both cases. They were still wonderful tours.
 
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Those Nat Geo trips look wonderful.

Just looked at a Nat Geo Signature trip in Egypt and it's about $1,000/day. Our Intrepid Premium Egypt and Jordan in Depth was about $500/day. The starting hotel for Nat Geo is the Ritz on the Nile and the starting hotel for Intrepid was a Hyatt. Google AI says that Nat Geo small group signature tours have 30 people or less. We had 6 in Egypt and it was just us in Jordan.

If/when we're down to one or two trips a year we might be ready for Nat Geo. Currently looking at 4 to 6 multi-week trips per year and Intrepid and G Adventures fit well with our travel style and budget.

Great to have options.
 
audreyh1 said:
I’ve been on Nat Geo signature land trips that were 20-22 people and it was still OK and super well run, just not as nice and cosy as the last trip. I think 24 is not unusual.
Click to expand...
Yes, sorry -- I should have mentioned that the trip I referred to was not NatGeo, just a small outfit.
 
Better hotels for more money. That is not a surprise. But $2,000 per night (for two persons) is too much for us. For that kind of price, I would expect something else, no matter how nice the room is.
 
flyingaway said:
Better hotels for more money. That is not a surprise. But $2,000 per night (for two persons) is too much for us. For that kind of price, I would expect something else, no matter how nice the room is.
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Yes, $2K seems excessive - especially if one primarily sleeps there. Of course, YMMV as always when it comes to travel luxury.
 
A big highlight for us was the hotels we stayed at in Costa Rica. All out in the countryside with extensive grounds. We didn’t just sleep, but had meals, presentations, and even wildlife watching and walking at the facilities in addition to being good bases for our daily excursions.

We’re definitely weren’t spending anywhere near $2000 a night either.
 
flyingaway said:
Better hotels for more money. That is not a surprise. But $2,000 per night (for two persons) is too much for us. For that kind of price, I would expect something else, no matter how nice the room is.
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To be fair, it's not just about the hotels. Intrepid's "Premium" trips do have nicer accommodations than their original trips. They also have many more quality activities and inclusions, incrementally nicer transportation, more included meals, and often a local guide. The quality of the group leader is subjective but it's been our experience that premium trips get very good leaders. Edited to add that I just looked back at our calendar and our Premium China trip in October will be Intrepid/G Adventures tour #28 since 2019.

My expectation is that the more expensive tour operators like Nat Geo, Tauck, and Abercrombie & Kent are incrementally better in all the areas I listed above. Probably one of these days for us but not yet.
 
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audreyh1 said:
A big highlight for us was the hotels we stayed at in Costa Rica. All out in the countryside with extensive grounds. We didn’t just sleep, but had meals, presentations, and even wildlife watching and walking at the facilities in addition to being good bases for our daily excursions.

We’re definitely weren’t spending anywhere near $2000 a night either.
Click to expand...
I'm seeing about $1,000/night for Nat Geo Costa Rica tours in early 2027 and about $500/night for G Adventures G Luxe tours. Keep in mind that a 12 day tour ends on the morning after the 11th night.

I'm actually thinking about the G Luxe trip but DW isn't too enthusiastic about CR in general. I've been and would love to go back. Might have to play the "I'd like to do it for my birthday" card.

www.nationalgeographic.com

Signature: Costa Rica's Tortuguero, Arenal & Cloud Forests

12 Days / 11 Nights
www.nationalgeographic.com www.nationalgeographic.com

 
flyingaway said:
I'm also in a similar situation. I have been doing my travel on my own. But the Kenya Camping Safari by G Adventures looks inexpensive， 9 days for about $2,000. I don't know if camping in Kenya safari is comfortable or bearable.
Click to expand...

I've been looking at overloading/camping trips in Africa. G, Intrepid, Nomad, Oasis. G definitely skews younger; it looks like Intrepid has a really good range of ages (or so it seems from some YouTube videos I've glanced at). Nomad was recommended by global traveling friends in their mid-60s.

The key for all of these seems to be to look at how many hours a day are spent in the truck (day after day of 8-10 hours?) vs shorter days or even 2+nights in the same place.
 
OldConch said:
We've done quite a few Intrepid/G Adventures tours and have 4 booked in 2026 including a walking tour through Tuscany in May. Group sizes are small - usually 12 or less, guides are usually local and very good, and accommodations are adequate although certainly not luxurious. Both operators usually try to book locally owned hotels/inns/bnbs and that can lead to some inconsistency. They also both originally catered to backpacker type travelers and still do, but each has added more mainstream and premium-ish tours. Intrepid Travel is based in Melbourne and I think G Adventures is Canadian and as a result groups are a bit more diverse than say a Rick Steves tour.

I'd suggest that you look very carefully online at each individual tour. The trip notes or trip details will give you a very good idea of what's included and when you might have free time to explore on your own. We've had some people book through travel agents and were clueless with respect to inclusions and itinerary.

We did safari tours in Kenya and South Africa/Botswana/Namibia/Zambia and they were outstanding as was a 16 pax Galapagos cruise.

We used Mac's Adventures for a West Highland Way trip in May 2022 and a walk through the Cotswolds in May 2024. The WHW was just at the edge of our comfort zone and the Cotswolds were absolutely delightful. Mac's arranged accommodations and luggage transfer and all we had to do was walk with a day pack.

Tours are almost always part of a longer trip for us. On our Italy trip in May, for example, we'll spend a night in London, 3 days in Bologna (AirBnB) before joining the G Adventures walking tour, then fly to Sicily for a 10 day Intrepid tour, then a week in an AirBnB near Lake Como. Can't wait.
Click to expand...

Thanks, OldConch: I was hoping you'd reply. Your endorsement of G and Intrepid is good (I did an Intrepid tour of Morocco in 2018; the group of folks was excellent -- mixed ages and nationalities -- but the tour director ..meh. Folks who had been on other Intrepid tours says the low quality was atypical).

Reading trip notes is key -- in particular to find out how many hours a day are spent driving! If you can share which G/Intrepid tours you did in Africa as well as Galapagos, that would be lovely, as those are all on my wish list.

I like to travel for 2-4 months at a time, so I will be interspersing group travel with my own independent wandering.
 
audreyh1 said:
I’m also mostly done for handling all overseas details, so no more independent travel except that some companies provide all the arrangements for you with some customization in some cases, so that it’s still private, you just don’t have to do the work.

But we usually enjoy small group travel if well organized. Besides awesome itineraries and access to some great nature areas, Nat Geo does a great job because they prearrange all meals so they don’t get drawn out, food is catered and preordered, no sitting around at the venue and ordering. Also they stay in wonderful hotels. This last group of 15 participants in Costa Rica was particularly fun to travel with.

I’ve been eyeing some of the G Adventures trips done for Nat Geo. Not as upscale as the Nat Geo Signature Land tours, but more options and areas visited. So I’m interested in people’s comments.
Click to expand...

I'm eyeing a G Adventures NatGeo-branded SilkRoad tour for 2027. I didn't know that NatGeo does its own tours. Thanks!
 
braumeister said:
IMHO, NatGeo is the absolute best for expedition travel, and I would give Hurtigruten second place, since I've done multiple trips with both.

The key for me is that small group really should mean small. I booked an overland European trip once, and was assured over the phone that the group would never be more than 16. When I showed up on Day 1, there were 24 of us, which kind of ruined it for me.

As OldConch said, you have to read the itinerary of advertised trips very carefully and not make too many assumptions.
Click to expand...
Yes, the devil is in the details -- the daily itinerary. And I certainly would be irked of the group size was advertised as max 16 and 24 showed up.

Looking at Hurtigruten for Svalbard (I gather that Hurtigruten has now split and rebranded their expedition travel as HX?)
 
OldConch said:
To be fair, it's not just about the hotels. Intrepid's "Premium" trips do have nicer accommodations than their original trips. They also have many more quality activities and inclusions, incrementally nicer transportation, more included meals, and often a local guide.
Click to expand...
I went on a "regular" Intrepid trip in Morocco in 2018. There was a premium Intrepid tour group doing roughly the same itinerary at the same time, we we kept encountering them at the same restaurants, sights, and occasionally at the same 2*/3* hotels. I am sure they got more inclusions -- tours and meals -- but it made me wonder about the value of the premium trips.
 
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