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
473
No. of Departures
11,179
Avg. Trip Length
12 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$305
Accommodation
Mixed
Budget
Affordable
Trip Styles Coach Tours18-to-30'sSailing TripsFestivals & EventsShort Breaks
No. of Trips
1,148
No. of Departures
32,953
Avg. Trip Length
12 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$410
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
Just returned from this fantastic cycling trip. Maisie was amazing, prompt, efficient, accurate and professional in making the booking for me. Some others who used different agents did not have final details of transfers communicated to them. The Global journeys website and Maisie's documentation meant my trip went without a hitch. I had done the same ...read more trip with a different company in 2014. The difference in population growth, motor bike numbers, scale of tourism development and the number of tourists in Vietnam was astounding.
On this trip the guide (and also his support crew) was fantastic, organised, super attentive to each persons needs, good fun, careful with clear instructions. The route was different to last time and although could have been challenging was very doable. Being a cyclist/tourer who has done many trips over the years I am finding people who ride electric bikes (because they think they can) can be challenging to a cyclists e.g. I have to wait till all the e-bike problems are sorted, trying to predict when they will turn their motor assist on so as to keep out of the way, not being aware of when to change gears (gears first THEN motor!!! NOT just turn up the motor) and when the electric bike riders get tired on a long day of say 80km they tend to ride faster which unnecessarily ups the pace. I will go to my grave with this complaint until all hire e-bikes are upgraded to torque sensors.
I thoroughly recommend the trip. NEVER be afraid to stop & take photos. March/April is the time of year to do this trip. Cool in the North and warms as you progress south. Accommodation was as expected great. Just don't expect every hotel to cater for the minority of Western tourists. Traffic looks like bedlam, but all over Asia & the subcontinent I feel safer riding than in Australia because traffic 'just works' without the need for regimented rules and each vehicle driver is considerate and mindful of other road users of ALL types. Friendly beeps to let you know there is traffic around is NOT aggressive like in Australia and road rage is never seen. Again thoroughly recommend Global Journeys, I thank Maisie and recommend this cycling trip with Intrepid. Just watch Intrepid's (in my opinion) 'unaustralian' way of increasing the price of the trip as it fills up - Dutch auction approach. Check Global Journeys website.
On this trip the guide (and also his support crew) was fantastic, organised, super attentive to each persons needs, good fun, careful with clear instructions. The route was different to last time and although could have been challenging was very doable. Being a cyclist/tourer who has done many trips over the years I am finding people who ride electric bikes (because they think they can) can be challenging to a cyclists e.g. I have to wait till all the e-bike problems are sorted, trying to predict when they will turn their motor assist on so as to keep out of the way, not being aware of when to change gears (gears first THEN motor!!! NOT just turn up the motor) and when the electric bike riders get tired on a long day of say 80km they tend to ride faster which unnecessarily ups the pace. I will go to my grave with this complaint until all hire e-bikes are upgraded to torque sensors.
I thoroughly recommend the trip. NEVER be afraid to stop & take photos. March/April is the time of year to do this trip. Cool in the North and warms as you progress south. Accommodation was as expected great. Just don't expect every hotel to cater for the minority of Western tourists. Traffic looks like bedlam, but all over Asia & the subcontinent I feel safer riding than in Australia because traffic 'just works' without the need for regimented rules and each vehicle driver is considerate and mindful of other road users of ALL types. Friendly beeps to let you know there is traffic around is NOT aggressive like in Australia and road rage is never seen. Again thoroughly recommend Global Journeys, I thank Maisie and recommend this cycling trip with Intrepid. Just watch Intrepid's (in my opinion) 'unaustralian' way of increasing the price of the trip as it fills up - Dutch auction approach. Check Global Journeys website.
I'd really rather you didn't go there and make it more "peopley" but - this tour, the tour guide we had and Iceland were epic, amazing, outstanding beautiful, absolutely awesome. This is a second to none destination in my opinion and this tour gives you a great starting glimpse of a wonderfully diverse country. The tour is perfect to get you started ...read more on an addiction to this country and it's people.
Our guide, Stefano, was one in a million......just enough care to keep you safe without smothering the life out of you, just enough running commentary that you're informed but not bored to death by a guide that won't shut up. Do the tour - you won't regret it. I will be back, I will be there for a lot longer and I'm very tempted to never come home!
Our guide, Stefano, was one in a million......just enough care to keep you safe without smothering the life out of you, just enough running commentary that you're informed but not bored to death by a guide that won't shut up. Do the tour - you won't regret it. I will be back, I will be there for a lot longer and I'm very tempted to never come home!
5 star for our communications with Hannah from Global Journeys. Hannah always responded quickly and comprehensively to our queries along the way for our booking on the Intrepid 18 day Best of Vietnam and Cambodia. We would have no hesitation in booking with Global Journeys and Hannah particularly in the future.
This was Intrepid at its best. Great tour leader Nova, well balanced itinerary and an excellent range of accommodation. I loved the blend of free time with included activities. It exceeded my expectations.
Such a great experience. I really enjoyed all aspects if the tour, it was all part of the adventure. Our Intrepid guides, Tuan in Vietnan and Ly in Cambodia went above and beyond to make sure every went smoothly.
I would highly recommend the Premium Northern Thailand tour - the accomodation was great. Our tour leader, Katie (Thai Name: Lalada) was very knowledgeable with a great sense of humour! I was originally hesitant, as I was travelling alone, but it was pretty safe and fun to travel with the small group of up to a maximum 12 people. Overall, I thoroughly ...read more enjoyed the trip with my tour mates and was impressed with the accommodation, the food, the places we visited and the tour dynamics. Would definitely recommend.
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