5 Best Sites for Booking Adventure Tours
Following in our footsteps of reviewing the best websites for booking tours, we take a look at Adventure Tours Booking Websites because they are a little different and require special consideration. Adventure Tours, or “Expeditions”, “Journeys”, “Outdoor Excursions” or any other form of multi-day trips are on a new level compared to the normal day tours. These adventure tours range from 3 to 30 days and come with a whole list of gear, medical and age requirements. This article focuses on reviewing the terms and conditions, like cancellation policies, age restrictions, guarantees, payment methods and pricing.
To compare the pricing, I’ve picked out the popular Inca Trail as an example to compare costs, but not value. It’s almost impossible to compare the value or quality of a tour because each tour is unique – some Inca Trail tours have tents, others like the National Geographic Tour has their own lodge. Guides can make an enormous difference too, their knowledge of the local culture and assistance on long trekks, or even medical first aid training. Some tours will even prepare vegan food or accommodate disabilities. We just look at rough starting price, special offers and last minute deals.
Adventure Tours Booking Sites
Adventure Tour Booking Standards
Adventure tours are a little different from our last article on Tour Bookings Websites. Adventure, Expedition and Outdoor Excursions, whatever you wish to call them are a next level travel experience. As such, most of the tours are vetted by the 3rd party tour companies and by the booking company like Contiki or National Geographic. They are All-Inclusive Tours, multi-day trips with fixed itineraries and activities.
Travel Packages
A tour that is a full on multi-day expedition costs from $2,000 to $10,000 USD, this kind of spending warrants some special privileges. Rather than a ‘voucher’ that can be redeemed at the start of the tour, these kinds of trips have huge large itineraries, requirements for medical clearance, and professional guides, as well as experts who you can call directly for assistance. If there are problems, make a call and you’ll be well taken care of.
Required Travel Documents
Some Adventure Tours require insurance: Medical, Evacuation (with the appropriate altitude covered), Trip Cancellation and possibly even Life Insurance. The level of coverage may be set by the booking company, like G Adventures that requires $200,000 USD in medical coverage, while most depend on each tour – meaning each operator can set their requirements. This can include medical clearance – a form signed off by a doctor. You can get a Free Quote – Visitors Coverage.
You may be asked for Government ID for proof you are over 18 for alcohol, gambling or other services with legal are requirements.
Fees Not Included
All inclusive vacation packages do not cover all the costs. For adventure booking websites, you may be required to pay additional fees for Airfare, Park Entry Fees, Customs, Local Taxes, Entry Visas, Travel Insurance, Tips to Local Guides, Cleaning Staff, Extra Food & Drinks, Transportation to the Event or Destination etc…Alcohol is almost never included in the packages and will be charged extra even if 3 meals a day are included in the tour. This is especially important on multi-day tour packages. Read the fine print!
Payment & Points
Most online booking platforms accept Visa, Mastercard and American Express. Some like Expedia even accept Unionpay from China, or Discovery card. Debit cards can be accepted as well, although credit cards are usually preferred. The rare booking site will even accept cheques or EFT (Electronic Fund Transfers).
A deposit is usually required at the time of reservation. Confirmation can take a few days as the booking website contacts the tour operator directly. The deposit is refundable at some websites, but not all should you need to cancel. Cancellations policies vary, so always check the fine print.
Collecting Points & Memberships is a popular loyalty program for booking websites. National Geographic and Wilderness Travel offer memberships you automatically quality for after your first trip booking. REI Co-op is unique because it’s also a major outdoor stores, so anyone can sign up for $20 and get special offers and perks.
Reviews
The companies on this list are extremely credible and personally vet the tours they offer travellers. Like I said, these aren’t tour listing websites like on Airbnb Experiences or Expedia, these companies offer a limited number of tours, all of which meet their high standards (usually less than 200 trips available in total). This is important because adventure tours are different, there is a real risk of injury so the tour guides are professionals with all the proper training: Rescue, First Aid, Mountaineering, High Altitude etc…
For National Geographic, you don’t need a review to tell you it will be amazing and of the highest possible quality.
Contiki offers all inclusive trips only to travellers aged 18 to 35. They call themselves the best tour company for young adventure travellers, they do this by only offering a select number of trips to popular destinations. If you book a trip, you’ll be guaranteed to join a small group of fellow travellers around your age.
Most of the all-inclusive trips from companies on this list are popular among travellers aged 45 to 60 simply because of the relatively high cost for multi-day tours, so Contiki guarantees that all members in your group are between 18 and 35 years old. Contiki trips require travel insurance that includes medical and evacuation. The Inca Trail 8 day trip starts at $1,554 USD with 4 days of trekking in the mountains to Machu Picchu.
- Price Rating: 9/10, discounts on feature trips
- Tours: All-Inclusive Trips
- No. Countries: 40+
- Regions: Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, Oceania & Africa
- Tourist Age: 18 to 35 only
- Deposit: $200 USD per person, full payment required 45 days before your trip.
- Guarantees: Price Guarantee. You’ll be notified of any errors on price and may cancel without penalty within 7 days.
- Cancellation Policy: Contiki reserves the right to cancel any trip with 6 weeks notice. Full refund only if a suitable alternative trip is not available
- Booking Requirements: Travel Insurance that includes cancellation, personal injury, medical expenses and evacuation expenses.
- Customer Support: Personal Trip Manager & Online Service
REI Co-op is a popular outdoor store chain in the United States, similar to MEC in Canada. They launched their own adventure tour service specializing in outdoor everything: Hiking, camping, biking, mountaineering, safaris, snowshoeing etc…
Let’s take a look at the Inca Trail, a 9 day trekking expedition that starts from $4,299 USD with a guided visit of Machu Picchu. Some gear like tents, sleeping bags and sleeping pads are provided by the tour operators but a lot is not. You need to bring your own packs, trekking apparel, hiking poles (rubber tips) and water bottles. This gear is required! You’ll get to meet your professional tour guide and everything from when the tour begins until it ends will be arranged for you: Food, Campsites, Hotels. REI Co-op ranks the trips on a difficulty level. The Inca Trail is ranked 4 – Vigorous.
- Price Rating: 7/10, expensive professional outdoor adventure tours, 5% discount for REI Co-op members
- Tours: All-Inclusive Adventure Tours – Multi-Day Trips
- No. Countries: 40+
- Regions: Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, Oceania & Africa
- Tourist Age: All Ages
- Payment: Deposit, Full-Payment required before the trip starts. Visa, Mastercard, American Express
- Guarantees: None
- Cancellation Policy: Deposit are non refundable. Cancellations requested 90+ days before the trip starts receive a full refund. From 90 to 61 days, there is a $400 USD cancellation fee. From 31 to 59 you’ll only receive a 50% refund on the remaining balance paid for the tour. 30 days or less, no refunds for cancellation.
- Booking Requirements: Travel Insurance is strongly recommended or mandatory depending on the tour provider and trip. You are required to bring your booking package to the meeting place and Government ID (passport). Bringing your own gear may be required.
- Customer Support: 1-800-622-2236 Mon – Fri 7am to 5pm PST, additional contact info for the tour operator is provided in the tour package after booking.
- Fewer than Minimum Participant Fee: if the tour you booked does not have the minimum number of people because of people dropping out last minute. You will be charged $300 USD for the tour to continue with fewer people.
G Adventures is very similar to Contiki, they operate their own tours with trusted guides and tour companies in over 30 countries. The tours are all-inclusive over multiple days. For G Adventures, many have the tours have their own unique terms and conditions because they are more like full-on expeditions – like the camping in Antarctica or the Inca Trail in Peru. Some trips are only for families, other are only for those aged 18 to 35.
You are required to provide proof of travel insurance with medical and evacuation coverage. You may also be required to have your medical form filled out by a doctor and sent to the tour operator. It’s the real deal for some of these adventure expeditions! The Inca Trail 9 day trip starts at $1,279 with 4 days of mountain trekking to Machu Picchu.
- Price Rating: 9/10, Big Discounts on Feature Trips
- Tours: All-Inclusive Trips – Multi-day tours
- No. Countries: 30+
- Regions: Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, Oceania & Africa
- Tourist Age: Family Trips, 18 to 35 only trips. Minimum age of 12 years old for all tours unless otherwise stated in the tour description.
- Payment:$250 to $1000 Deposit, Full Payment required 60 days before the trips starts (120 days for expedition trips) Visa, Mastercard, American Express
- Guarantees: Guaranteed Departure Date once the deposit is made. If a Tour Operator cannot deliver the tour on the booking date and it’s their fault (not weather related) a full refund will be issued.
- Cancellation Policy: Deposit are non refundable but are held as a Lifetime Deposit with the tour operator. You can use the deposit later or transfer the deposit to someone else. Cancellations requested 60+ days before the trip starts, full refund on the remaining balance paid, 31 to 59 you’ll only receive a 50% refund on the remaining balance paid for the tour. 30 days or less, no refunds for cancellation.
- Booking Requirements: Travel Insurance with medical and evacuation coverage of at least $200,000 USD. May be requested to provide Government ID (passport) and medical forms
- Customer Support: 24/7 Telephone and online customer support. Once a tour is booked, you’ll receive the emergency contact number of the organizer for all your needs.
Wilderness Travel is another great adventure, expedition and outdoor trip booking website. All the trips are organized with 3rd parties, so they aren’t just ‘listings’ of tours, but fully vetted travel experiences carefully selected by the Wilderness Travel team. Of course this comes with a high price-tag, while they do not offer any guarantees on price, they do reduce the price based on the trip group size. They are the only company I’ve found to explicitly state you can get a partial refund on the price difference once the trips has filled up past the minimum size. The bigger the group, the lower the price per person.
The Inca Trail 9 day trip starts at $5,195+ USD , with 5 days of trekking for 6 hours each day. The trip cost will be on top of all the gear required, airfare, visas, insurance etc… So don’t expect to be surrounded by only 20 something year old travellers. These are tours for all ages.
- Price Rating: 9/10 Big Discounts on “Special Offers”. Up to 10% discount for repeat bookings for Toucan Club members
- Tours: All-Inclusive Trips – Multi-day tours
- No. Countries: 30+
- Regions: Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, Oceania & Africa
- Tourist Age: All Ages
- Payment:$600 Deposit, Full-Payment required 75 days before trip start. Visa, Mastercard, American Express
- Guarantees: None
- Cancellation Policy: Full refund for cancellations 91+ days before the trip starts. 75% refund from 61 to 90 days before the trip starts. 50% refund from 46 to 60 days, no refund on cancellations 45 days or less before the trips starts.
- Booking Requirements: May be requested to provide Government ID (passport) and medical forms. Travel Insurance including trip cancellation, medical and evacuation coverage is strongly recommended
- Customer Support: An Area Manager to help with bookings and acts as a point of contact for your booking. Call 1-800-368-2794, Monday through Friday, 8:30am to 5:30pm Pacific Time for booking help
- Note: May receive a partial refund for Acts of God that result in trip cancellations.
- Pricing Policy: Trips prices are quoted for the smallest group size. Once booked the price may decrease as the group size increases leading up to the start date. A refund will be issued for the difference.
National Geographic is the Rolls Royce of adventure tours. These are some of the most expensive and luxurious tours around the world. There are Journeys, Cruises and Expeditions, each with their own special terms and conditions. With the name brand of National Geographic comes the high cost. There are special offers on feature trips but no price guarantees. National Geographic has a membership club where return customers can get big discounts, invitations to special member only tours and events and other special perks.
The Inca Trail 10 day trip to Machu Picchu starts at $6,295 USD. 6 days of trekking for 4 to 7 hours each day into the mountains of Peru. The tour includes a night stay at National Geographic’s own private lodge in the mountains. As a travel and adventure lover, my dream is to one day afford to take such a tour, perhaps in my old age. Most of the travellers in these tours are older, with the disposable income and free time to take on a 10 day Inca trekk. I wouldn’t expect many young people in your group.
- Price Rating: 7/10, 5 to 10% Discounts for Lifelong Explorer Programs Members
- Tours: All-Inclusive National Geographic Trips – Multi-day tours
- No. Countries: 50+
- Regions: Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, Oceania & Africa
- Tourist Age: All Ages, some trips have minimum age requirements
- Payment:$500 Deposit for trips 9 days or less, $750 Deposit for trips 10 to 15 days, $2,000 Deposit for trips 16+ days. Full-Payment required 90 days before the trip starts. Visa, Mastercard, American Express
- Guarantees: None
- Cancellation Policy: Must be cancelled in writing (mailed in). Cancellations requested 120+ days from trip start 50% of the deposit is refunded plus the full remaining cost of the trip. 91 to 119, deposit is non-refundable but remaining trip costs is refunded. 45 to 90 days, 50% of trip price is refunded except for the deposit. 44 days or less, no refunds on cancellations.
- Booking Requirements: May be requested to provide Government ID (passport) and medical forms. Travel Insurance including trip cancellation, medical and evacuation coverage is strongly recommended
- Customer Support: Trip expert as a point of contact. 1-888-966-8687 Monday through Friday 9:00 am to 9:00 pm ET.
Disclaimer: Contiki, G Adventures and Visitor Coverage are Affiliate Partners of Tallypack Travel. We make a small commission on bookings at no cost to you.
Booking Hostels
Researching a hostel for each destination on a trip is tedious. I’ve been there, so I put a master list of the best hostels for each country and highlight their best features they offer like location, air-con, English proficiency, social vibes (parties) and cost!
Click on the photo below to check out our article on the Best Hostel Booking Apps and the best hostels for each country.
Travel App Guides
Check out our extensive list of app articles, from the 15 Essential Travel Apps, to specific apps to use in each of our featured countries.
