Intrepid Travel

A word from Daniel Pawlyn of Intrepid:

The Intrepid Travel story began in Africa in1988, as two friends crossed the Sahara and talked endlessly about creating a style of group travel that was out of the ordinary; a style of travel that would fully expose people to the good, the bad and the downright weird of the nations they travelled. Journeys that would have all the benefits of independent travel with none of the hassle; small groups travelling at the grassroots level, meeting local people, trying local food, staying anywhere and everywhere and travelling on anything that moved! These friends, Geoff Manchester and Darrell Wade, bought a second hand typewriter, borrowed a dining room table and Intrepid was born.

Now, 22 years later, Intrepid operates trips throughout the world and we are proud to present some of our favourite European journeys on Greentraveller.co.uk. How about a week traveling the Croatian coast, discovering ancient capitals of Russia or a longer journey from Paris to Marrakech, or Rome to Istanbul?

Travelling through Europe the Intrepid way means discovering Europe's hidden gems with a small group of like-minded international travelers. Travelling primarily by train, staying in locally owned hotels, guest houses, private homes and even monasteries, our travelers are of all ages, but they share a sense of fun and a wish to escape the humdrum of mainstream tourism.

Greentraveller is an ideal partner for Intrepid, as we share the desire to minimize our environmental and cultural impact as we travel and contribute directly to local economies. To ensure that our operational impact is in keeping with this philosophy, we employ a full time Responsible Travel Manager, Jane Crouch and a Sustainability Manager, Jelina Mitrovic. Their job is to monitor our current practices and develop sustainable tourism programmes so that we can all enjoy travelling for many years to come.

Carbon Offset trips - supporting renewable energy projects
To take our commitment to the environment one step further, we have conducted detailed assessments on all Intrepid operated trips in 2010, firstly to avoid, reduce and seek a less carbon intensive alternative where possible, and then balance the remaining emissions through a carbon offset activity, explained and included in the trip price. We realise 'carbon neutrality' is a sensitive subject for many, so we have been very transparent about the ways we have assessed our trips and very selective about the renewable energy projects our carbon credits support. In 2010 these projects are:

• A rice biomass project in north-east Thailand
• Macaohe hydro plant in Guizhou, China
• Baragaran hydro electric project in Himachel Pradesh, India

Full information will be available at our website www.intrepidtravel.com/carbon

Intrepid in London
For those travelers in striking distance of London, please visit us in our Islington store for a real Intrepid experience. We are at 76 Upper Street, London N1 0NU. 

Events held weekly in our store are free of charge and open to all. Past events have included African drumming circles, learn to salsa, learn Mandarin, travel photography and a range of destination slide nights. Visit www.intrepidtravel.com/london for details.