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There’s nothing sexier than a well-traveled American. That’s what one of my college professors told me freshman year when I chose to travel abroad. But, why not try it for yourself. Ignite your travel bug by taking an epic trip with other like-minded adventurers. Explore another culture, taste different cuisines, meet new people and dive into a new adventure. These travel companies are sure to help you find the best adventure vacations.
Things To Know Before You Book Your Adventure Travel
Before you choose your destination, let alone one of the adventure travel companies, you’ll want to know a few things.
Talk to Your Doctor
Consult your physician before booking your travel adventures to make sure you’re fit to travel. Also, ask if there are any vaccines you’ll need ahead of time so you are completely prepared. Lastly, be sure to get any prescriptions refilled so you’ll have all the medications you need while on your trip.
Heed the Age Restrictions
We know that the urge to travel starts and ends at no specific age. But please be aware that some of these companies have age restrictions (minimum and maximum ages). So, before you search for a trip on their website, make sure you fit their age requirements.
Travel to and From Destination Not Included
None of these adventure travel companies cover the cost of your airfare to and from the start/end destinations or airport transfers. So, if you’re going to Thailand, and the starting city is Bangkok, but you’re ending in Chiang Mai, you’ll first have to find and pay for your travel to get to Bangkok (to start the trip). Then you can schedule your travel arrangements home from you endpoint in Chiang Mai. Some of the companies will help you find flights but know that the cost of air travel is not included in the prices listed on the adventure trip sites.
Antarctica Excursions are Rare
If you are looking to go to Antarctica, of the companies we reviewed only G Adventures offers this icy destination.
Pricing Guidelines for Comparison
We created some guidelines to give you an idea of what trip prices were like for each company. The trips we compared had to meet these two criteria unless not available (if not, we picked something very similar):
- The trip had to take place in Thailand for a portion of it and
- It had to be 14 days long
Note: Excursion package prices are not locked in and have been used as examples from the time when this article was written.
Best Adventure Travel Companies
Find yourself consumed by wanderlust? You’re not alone! Below you’ll find our top three companies for adventure travel. You can’t go wrong with any of them, and you’re sure to have the experience of a lifetime.
G Adventures Review
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G Adventures offers nine different types of trips to choose from: Classic, National Geographic, Active, Yolo, Cruising, Family, Local Living, Rail and Private Groups (Family adventure vacations are restricted for families with children, ages 5 to 17). Trip destinations include stops in Africa, Asia, South America, Europe, Oceania, Polar and North America. We like that G Adventures doesn’t restrict your age (for most trips) so you can still go on an adventure trip whether you are 20, 60 or even 100.
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Pricing (Per Guidelines Above)
- $1,399
- 14 days
- Thailand and Cambodia (start and end in Bangkok)
- 10 breakfasts, 2 dinners included
- 13 nights in hotels
- Transportation throughout trip but not international airfare
Promo Code
G Adventures often has time sensitive coupons, visit our dedicated G Adventures coupon page to discuss current offers.
Read our in-depth G Adventures Review
Contiki Review
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Contiki offers more than 300 trips to places all over the world including Europe, Asia, Latin America, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Before booking a trip you can see the full itinerary, so you know exactly what you’ll be doing and if it’s something you think you’d enjoy. Their group sizes can be 20-50 people, and they only accept people 18 to 35 years old. The average traveler’s age is 26 so you’ll most likely be traveling with other young adults (only 30% are college students so you can avoid feeling like you’re on Spring Break). The Contiki app event lets you get to know the people you’ll be going on your trip with, view your itinerary, stay up to date on the weather and more.
Choosing our #2 was not easy because we think Intrepid (our #3) pick is just as good. So depending on your age and the type of trip you are looking for, either Contiki or Intrepid are good options.
Pros | Cons |
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Pricing (Per Guidelines Above)
- $1,985
- 14 days
- Thailand, Laos, Cambodia (start in Bangkok, end in Siem Reap)
- 17 meals
- 13 nights
- Pricing for Contiki trips does not include transportation to and from the start/end cities
Promo Code
Contiki often has time sensitive coupons, visit our dedicated Contiki coupon page to discuss current offers.
Read our in-depth Contiki Review
Intrepid Review
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Intrepid offers three trip styles: Basix, Original and Comfort. So if you’re on a smaller budget, you may like Basix. If you want nearly everything covered, then Comfort may be a good option. Original is a happy medium of the two trip styles combined. We like that Intrepid allows most ages on their travel adventures and there are special family adventure vacations. They do ask that once you are 70 years young that you fill out a self-assessment form.
Pros | Cons |
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Pricing (Per Guidelines Above)
- $1,024
- 14 days
- Thailand and Laos (Bangkok to Vientiane)
- 6 breakfasts
- Guesthouse (9 nights), Hotel (3 nights), Overnight Sleeper Train (1 night)
- Transportation throughout trip but not international airfare
Promo Code
Intrepid often has time sensitive coupons, visit our dedicated Intrepid coupon page to discuss current offers.
Get in the Mood to Travel
Need some help getting in the mood to travel? Follow a travel blog, watch YouTube videos, surf the web or talk with others about their travel experiences. This short clip gave me the itch to travel immediately!
Other Great Adventure Travel Companies
If you don’t see a good fit for you above, take a look at these other companies. Just because they didn’t make our top three doesn’t mean they don’t have a trip that may be a perfect fit for you!
The Clymb | Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) | Topdeck | Trafalgar Travel
The Clymb Review
The Clymb offers adventure trips as well as clothing and gear at discounted prices. Their trip locations vary and are not consistently offered based on destination, so be sure to check regularly to see if a trip you are interested in is offered. They don’t state the group size limits, so we’re unsure of how many people may be in your tour group. They offer fewer trips than competitors since it is not their primary business, but if they offer a trip you are interested in, they may be a good choice.
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Pricing (Per Guidelines Above)
Trips through The Clymb change quickly and there are fewer to choose from. This made it difficult to compare pricing since there was no Thailand trip offered at the time.
- $999
- 13 days
- Himalayas
- No meals
- 12 nights
- Transportation throughout trip but not international airfare
Overseas Adventure Travel Review
Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) offers trips to all continents except Antarctica, Australia and North America. Not offering trips to Antarctica is no biggy since the majority of these adventure trip sites don’t offer excursions there. However, the majority of them do offer trips to North America for intercontinental travel. But, if you’re looking for a trip to one of the other four continents there are some great ones available. So don’t write OAT off completely. In fact, they pride themselves on a full cultural experience by way of small group sizes, so if you are looking for a small group to travel with, OAT may be the best choice. Plus, occasionally OAT offers discounted rates on adventure vacations for couples.
Pros | Cons |
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Pricing (Per Guidelines Above)
- $1,795
- 15 days
- Thailand (Bangkok to Chiang Mai)
- 34 meals
- 14 nights
- Transportation throughout trip but not international airfare
TopDeck Review
Topdeck offers trips to five continents: Europe, Africa, Australia, Asia and North America. This actually is a big “con” in our book because South America is a common destination for this kind of trip. Group sizes can be a bit bigger as well but are determined by the type of trip you’re going on. There are also age limitations, but they do offer more than 300 trips. So, if you fit within the guidelines, feel free to take a look at their offerings. Maybe you’ll find a perfect fit for you.
Pros | Cons |
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Pricing (Per Guidelines Above)
- $2,335
- 14 days
- Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore
- 21 meals
- 12 nights in hotels, 1 night aboard overnight train
Trafalgar Travel Review
Trafalgar Travel offers trips to Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Australia. Group sizes can be rather large with 40 to 45 people, so if big groups aren’t your thing, you’ll want to look elsewhere. People must be at least 5 years old to travel with Trafalgar Travel. The example trip we listed below is more expensive than competitors, but it may be an anomaly (check for your specific dates and destination). However, if these guidelines don’t deter you, be sure to check out the available trips to see if one might tempt you to book your next trip.
Pros | Cons |
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Pricing (Per Guidelines Above)
- $3,325.50
- 14 days
- Thailand
- 28 meals
- 13 nights
Why Aren’t Americans Traveling?
The Expeditioner reported that only 46% of Americans have a valid passport. Why aren’t Americans traveling more? Maybe it’s the cost, maybe we like to travel more domestically or maybe it’s because we spend our money on other things like big houses or fancy cars. We challenge you to be sexy this year and travel abroad!
If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
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1 Comment on "Best Adventure Vacations: Contiki vs Topdeck vs G Adventures vs Intrepid"
Has anyone done a Contiki tour? I’m thinking about doing one of their trips while I’m still young enough!