Curious about group travel – but perhaps you have some perceptions or *thoughts* that are holding you back? One of New Zealand’s most prolific travel writers, Anna King Shahab, shares her experiences, advice and stories from her three Intrepid Travel adventures (plus, her picks of the best Intrepid trips you can book right now).
Capsule x Intrepid Travel
Look, I’ll be honest – I was a bit of a snob about group travel in my younger days. I’d see those large contingents of tourists obediently traipsing along behind their Pied Piper holding an embarrassingly loud flag and crowding all the ‘must-visit’ spots. You fools, I’d smirk, content with my die-hard approach of winging-it travel – setting off with a bare minimum of research, thinking my go-with-flow approach was superior.
Now I realise I was also a fool (read that in Kath Day-Knight’s voice, it just sounds better). I probably missed out on a whole bunch of opportunities in places I was visiting. My career as a travel writer has now seen me tick off all the formats many times: rolling solo or as a couple; joining a small group, joining a large group (43 is the most I’ve travelled with!), and with or without a guide.
For me – and trust me on this one – small group adventures with a local-leader is the prime pick of the menu. I’ve clocked up three Intrepid tours myself – in Northern Spain, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia – and each has created memories to last me a lifetime. So, based on my own experiences here are some reasons why travelling in a small group can be so much more rewarding and fulfilling – and very different from what you might be thinking!
Everything, sorted
Everything is taken care of so all you have to do is get on a flight. I used to tell myself I liked planning travel and that I’d rather follow my own nose than go with a set itinerary. But really, we’re not Leonardo di Caprio with the dog-eared copy of Lonely Planet anymore. The hours researching online, pouring over booking sites and second-guessing your decisions? Pain that’s best avoided! It’s a rare thing when you can relax in the comfort of outsourcing your itinerary while still feeling, well, intrepid.
(Group) size matters
Intrepid’s group size for trip is 16 people, max – a well-rounded size that’s small enough that you’re not in sheep mode, big enough that there’s a mix of backgrounds and personalities and a buzz when you want it. There are enough people that if there’s a someone you’d rather avoid, you can. Although I’m yet to come across someone I didn’t likeon an Intrepid tour, honest! Plus let’s be real for a second – if you’re a solo female traveler, you want safety to factor into all of your travel choices, and having buddies around you (but also the freedom to enjoy your trip solo if/when you want to) is a game-changer.
Local guides
Having a guide fluent in the local language and au fait with the cultural intricacies is huge –t hey can communicate on your behalf if needed, and they’re endlessly sharing knowledge. All Intrepid tours are led by local leaders. It’s a vibe not having to rely on your questionable Duolingo streak to get around!
Local for local
‘Local experiences’ has become a bit of a buzz phrase in travel. The term ‘local’ is often used to describe an experience that’s curated to appear non-touristy. In Cambodia, where I recently joined an Intrepid Travel Real Food Adventure, if you see a signpost for a ‘local market’ you can guarantee it’s not where the locals shop but is set up to appear like it might be, for tourists. For some travellers, that’s good enough, but Intrepid leaders are adept at reading the room and if there’s a collective appetite to go truly local, they’ll ensure you get opportunities to do so – the group size allows nimbleness.
In Cambodia, this meant our leader Fila – who’d quickly worked out we were a bunch up for anything – walked us through a produce market on the outskirts of Siem Reap bustling with locals doing their daily shop, introducing us to the friendly stallholders and organising tastes of things we wanted to try. Crickets fried with garlic, lime leaf and chilli are delicious. Silkworms not so much… but hey, you might love them! On a trip in Sri Lanka, our leader Dodan made an ad hoc stop at a ramshackle roadside hut with no sign. A woman flipped roti on an iron griddle, her shy young daughter pulling on her apron strings, and served with strong black tea and a dark, delicious curry of wild boar.
Giving back
For the gals who want to make sure their tourism dollar is making a difference, I’ve got you. Tourism forms a significant portion of the GDP for some countries, but the money travellers spend often doesn’t benefit the grassroots economy much, and tourism can have a negative effect on the environment. Intrepid partners with more than 50 organisations around the globe to address social and environmental issues. One of my loveliest memories from my Cambodia tour was spending the afternoon with participants of one such partner, Cambodia Rural Students Trust (CRST), which aims to break the cycle of poverty through education. This is a country where an entire generation (or more) entirely missed out on an education under the tyrannical Pol Pot regime.
Immersive experiences
Many of my fondest memories from travels are experiences of daily life. In rural Sri Lanka, our group stood mesmerised as a woman stirred a boiling vat of liquid sugar over a smoky fire, a step in processing sugarcane into cubes. At a small factory on salt plains, we saw salt being refined then packaged into bags by a group of women and took a moment to enjoy chocolate biscuits with them during their morning tea break. In Preah Dak village in Cambodia, we watched a family make rice noodles from scratch using grains of rice grown nearby. We were then lucky enough to be invited to enjoy the fresh noodles for breakfast (okay, second breakfast!).
Good company
I do a lot of solo travel, and there are times I appreciate the quiet of that, but there’s something about sharing experiences with a like-minded bunch of you-min beings that is quite life-affirming. It’s more than the sum of its parts – the feelings of belonging, adventure, safety, freedom and excitement all wrapped into one experience that can change your life.
Courses for horses
Intrepid has a bunch of trip styles from basic to premium accommodation where things are a bit *fancier* (total myth that you’ll be travelling like a backpacker – unless that’s what you want!). There are a variety of themes – from cycling and sailing to food and wildlife, and dedicated women’s expeditions, too. So, you can mix and match from your wish list to land on a tour that’s going to suit you. Here is my pick of itineraries:
Imagine this – eight days with a group of like-minded women, exploring the lesser-travelled areas of Morocco that they don’t tell you about in the guidebooks. Morocco is one of the BEST countries in the world for a Kiwi traveller who wants to be immersed in another culture and find out what it means to be a woman in a culture that is so different to ours. On this adventure you’ll be welcomed into Moroccan family homes, hike between remote villages with a leader who knows everything about the region you’re in, take part in traditional cooking lessons, visit historic towns and experience local arts and culture. You’ll start in Marrakesh too, so you’ll be able to get your shopping fill at the famous markets!
Intrepid’s Premium style is for those who like the best of comfort, but also want experiences you can’t get anywhere else and, in my opinion, there’s nowhere better to do this than in Japan. Every trip includes a ‘feature stay’ like castles, eco-lodges or underground desert caves. For this Japan experience, you’ll stay in the hot springs town of Hakone that includes a PRIVATE ONSEN in each room (guys, I’ll see you there). Think sushi-making classes and meditation sessions led by a Zen Buddhist monk, half-day tours of Tokyo and all of Japan’s natural beauty and wonder.
There’s no denying that India can be an overwhelming place to visit, so if you’re planning to head over for the first time, a small group adventure most definitely is the way to go in terms of enjoyment-and wonder. This trip is one of Intrepid’s top-selling and based off my personal experience, I can see why. A perfect mix of leisure, food, adventure and iconic sights (Taj Mahal, anyone?!) and even a safari where you’ll go in search of tigers. This is a trip that’s as much about the journey as the destination, so it’s perfect for seeing heaps of India in one go, plus time to get to know your travel buddies.
This story has been produced with the support of our partner Intrepid Travel. Every click, like, share and comment supports Capsule’s work and our commitment to keeping our content free. Thank you for supporting independent, female-owned media! 💛
