Solo Travel Blog

Great New NEWS from Intrepid

2010 brochures are hot off the press and now you can get your copy by either downloading a pdf version online or having a brochure mailed to you.

We are thrilled to launch our fantastic range of trips in 2010, because not only will you see exciting new Urban Adventures, Short Breaks, OUT Adventures and more, but we have now carbon offset 500 trips!

Intrepid has calculated the most significant carbon emission sources from all our trips, including carbon emissions of the ground transport, accommodation and waste. Wherever possible, efforts have been taken to reduce carbon emissions, although Intrepid has always travelled in a carbon-efficient style. Any remaining carbon emissions will be offset with carbon credits from energy efficiency and clean energy projects in Thailand, India and China.

“With the focus shifting away from the credit crunch and back to the green crunch, we hope our actions inspire others in the travel industry to start addressing the critical issue of climate change,” said CEO and Co-founder, Darrell Wade.

There is to be a new player in the solo travel adventure market.

The Discovery Channel has announced that it is getting into the solo travel industry by launching “Discovery Adventures” later this year, which will be geared to solo travelers . The intent is to offer adventure solo travelers the chance to visit the places that often are depicted on the channel’s many outdoor related television shows.

Discovery has joined forces with established adventure solo travel operator G.A.P. Adventures and will soon be offering 30 trips to destinations around the globe. The website for Discovery Adventures is expected to go online in July, allowing travelers to begin booking trips at that time.

Over the last twenty years Intrepid has tried just about everything. And we’re talking real life experiences you can really sink your teeth into! From cockroaches in Cambodia to Peru’s not-so-cute Cuy and the giant mud crabs of northern Australia. A personal favourite food memory was being offered yak butter tea and momos in a remote Tibetan village - I’ve never acquired a taste for the tea, but steamed momos are the best and I’d go back to Tibet in a heartbeat.

This week Express chows down on some sweet, and some hard to swallow, travel adventures in Italy, China and Mexico. To feast on our 20th anniversary specials before 20 April you will have to act fast, and if you want a tasty adventure that’s spiced with ancient temples and age-old traditions, enter our win-a-trip competition today! See intrepidtravel.com

If you are thinking of going on an adventure holiday then you will need good travel insurance for seniors cover too.

Shoestring travel used to have a feature on their website whereby when you were looking for a holiday online you could see who your fellow travellers were. This is particularly handy if you are travelling alone and you don’t want to end up with loads of couples.

For someone reason they have taken away this feature and now you are left not knowing.

No other operator in the US or UK offer this crucial feature that could mean the difference between a booking or a non sale.

So we at Solo Travel urge operators to think about including this feature, because as solo travelers we want to know who we are sharing our holiday with!

If you are taking a solo travel package you might well need adventure travel insurance too so bear this in mind.

Intrepid regularly offer 20% off the remaining places on a trip when the departure date is coming up soon. If you are ready to travel they have some great deals for you!

Some examples of their deals include…AFRICA

Vic Falls to Jo’burg
7 days Livingstone to Johannesburg 03 Mar 2009
Vic Falls to Cape Town
22 days Livingstone to Cape Town 17 Feb 2009
Road to Zanzibar
14 days Nairobi to Dar es Salaam 22 Feb 2009

For all these deals go to the Explore Website

Above the Arctic Circle
Ref: AA (2008 season)
Prices From: 885 GBP + Local Payment of 3500 NOK
We combine the Arctic lands of Sweden, Finland and Norway to see and enjoy some of the most spectacular scenery on earth.

Aegean Islands Hike
Ref: GH (2008 season)
Culture Walking Grade A-B Single Room Option Walking / Trekking - Greece
A one-week break offering a complete change of scene. Hike picturesque paths in the beautiful Cyclades, caressed by a cool breeze perfumed with the aroma of wild herbs.

Active Dalmatia 8 days - Croatia Tour ref: HR
From £879 per person
02 Aug 08 - 09 Aug 08 £879
16 Aug 08 - 23 Aug 08 £879
Canoeing, Rafting & Kayaking | Biking & canyoning | Unspoilt Croatian countryside
Watersports and fun activities in scenic countryside

More details here…

Kilimanjaro Trek – Machame Route - Tanzania Tour ref: KM
From £1,339 per person

15 Aug 08 - 24 Aug 08 £1,599
29 Aug 08 - 07 Sep 08 £1,339
Kilimanjaro trek | Sweeping views | Porter assisted camping | Diversity of scenery

Stunning camping trek to Kilimanjaro’s summit …

More details here…

Speedbreaks is the activity holiday company version of speedating and offers a number of exciting breaks for single and solos.

Their holidays for single travellers include skiing, snowboarding, tennis, sailing, diving, activity and adventure holidays. They know what it takes to arrange great singles holidays, weekends and days out.

The age range specified is 25 to 45 for most of their singles weekends and holidays. These age ranges are just guidelines so if you’re a few years outside these ranges you can still come along.

Check out speedbreaks here: www.speedbreaks.co.uk

The adventure holiday industry is becoming more and more niche and we would like to introduce a new company called Venus Adventures.

Venus is different as they specialise in women only tours.

Venus Adventures offers experiential holidays with the three main ingredients of these trips being culture, adventure and fun. And the destinations are also tantalizing – places like Morocco, Egypt, Vietnam, Tanzania or Ethiopia.

Most importantly Venus are solo traveler friendly!

If you would like more information then visit the Venus Adventures website.

It is possible with some online solo travel adventure companies to book online with any currency of your choosing regardless of where you are.

One such adventure holiday company is the very good Intrepid Travel based in Australia and offering solo holidays worldwide in a number of currencies.

So we looked at a holiday in Central America from Intrepid, named ‘The Way to San Jose’, to see the price difference if you change currency.

The price quoted in NZ$ is $1400. If you changed the currency the price quoted is UK pounds is £480 (which is NZ$1180 as of today’s exchange rate).

Thats a massive difference of over NZ$200 and there is noting stopping someone in New Zealand from buying this holiday online in pounds.

Even if your bank charges you a lot for buying in another currency you will still probably save quite a bit of money!

This is similar to the discrepancies exposed on trans-atlantic flights where it is much more expensive to pay for flights using Euro or Sterling compared to dollars.

It might well be worth looking at this if you are booking a holiday. Keeping an eye on exchange rates can help as well.

IntrepidTravel often have up to 15% of their trips that are not selling very well and it is well worth keeping an eye out for the adventure holidays.

Intrepid are based in Australia but cover the whoe planet and have offices in the UK and other locations.

Look at the specific holidays and then check out the costs and dates link. This is where you will find the 15% discounts.

The Solo Traveller friendly adventure holiday group Intrepid who are based from Australia have launched a new site recently.

Intrepid who do not include single supplements on their vacations offer single travelers a way of meeting other like minded folk in destinations across the globe.

If you want to check their website and vacation packages out the see visit Intrepid Travel.

Thelma and Louise is an exclusive travel network for women. Meet like-minded women, find a travel mate, and then plan that dream adventure. You can also enjoy great holidays, solo day trips, articles, and a great looking website!

So T and L network well worth looking up. They are based in London, England but their holidays and specially arranged trips go everywhere.

Anyway check out the T and L site here… Thelma and Louise.

The Africa Travel Co are an African based adventure company. They provide a wide range of trips from 7 day guided ascents up Mt Kilimanjaro to 56 Days Nairobi to Cape Town overland adventures.

Many of their guests join as solo travelers and what makes this outfit special is that, unlike other large adventure holiday companies, they are actually based in Africa and therefore know the continent as well as anyone.

We are hoping to send someone from Solo Travel to Africa to experience one of their shorter trips , so look out for a full report later in the year.

In the mean time you can access there site below.

The Africa Travel Co.