You’re ready for the adventure of a lifetime but you aren’t sure who can make it happen – Intrepid or Topdeck. You love the look and sound of both operators but how do you know which one is best for you? Time for a quick compare and contrast!
Group size, age requirements and travel styles
Both operators offer a variety of trips that adhere to different travel styles.
Topdeck offers tours for travellers up to 39 years old. Topdeck’s average group size ranges between 20-48 individuals depending on the tour. Their travel styles differ slightly based on the accommodation style, destination and tour highlights.
The different styles vary from hotel or festival focused trips to camping, sailing and skiing trips.
Intrepid also allows travellers under the age of 18 on their tours. Intrepid offers Family Adventure styles of travel that have a range of minimum ages depending on the destination and level of difficulty.
While most trips are available to travellers 15 years old and up, all travellers under the age of 18 must have an adult accompany them. Intrepid does have a youth-orientated range of trips specifically for 18 to 29s. Other than those 18 to 29s trips, there is no maximum age limit on most tours.
The average Intrepid tour has 10 travellers but allows up to 16 on overland trips but most max out at 12 people. They have some trips that allow up to 24 travellers. Intrepid’s offers a premium travel style called Peregrine for travellers who aren’t restricted by a budget.
Physical requirements
Both operators offer tours that have stricter physical demands than a typical trip.
Most Topdeck tours don’t require any specific level of physical fitness but if you sign up for the skiing tours then you’ll definitely want to be in decent shape — and also know how to ski (or be willing to learn).
Intrepid has their Cycling and Walking & Trekking travel styles that offer tours that require you to be in good physical shape. You can expect to be working your muscles every day on one of these tours!
While Intrepid’s Overland trips don’t focus as heavily on constant physical activity, they do recommend that you are reasonably fit in order to fully participate in this trip style.
Accommodation
The standard of accommodation will vary with both companies depending on the type of trip you decide to take. For example, most tours will include air-conditioning and heating but if you’re travelling to a rural destination, camping or a homestay you should adjust your expectations for the facilities.
Something worth noting is that neither Intrepid nor Topdeck ever charge mandatory single supplements for individual travellers. You will be paired with a traveller of the same gender to share a room with, otherwise, if you would like to request a room to yourself, then you may be able to at an extra cost (tour and space dependant).
Transportation
Both operators provide a variety of transportation options based on the trips.
Topdeck and Intrepid use a combination of private buses and public transit to get you where you need to go.
Most of Intrepid’s Overland trips have vehicles that come with their own power supply so that you able to recharge your devices on board.
Destinations
Both Topdeck and Intrepid have tours to North America, Asia, Europe, Oceania, Africa and the Middle East.
Intrepid does offer a wide range of tours to destinations in Central and South America as well.
Cost
Topdeck is slightly more affordable for budget travellers with their average price sitting at roughly USD $163/day. They keep costs low with the use of exclusions.
While their trips always include the highlights of a destination they also leave out some activities you’d considered “can’t miss.” You’ll pay for that separately in addition to the listed tour price but you will get free time.
Intrepid can be considered slightly more expensive as their average price is approximately USD $242/per day. Why the slight spike in pricing you ask? Intrepid’s accommodations tend to be on the more comfortable side which can easily increase overall trip prices.
There are many factors that affect the price of accommodations, which either increase or decrease the price of the overall trip. You’ll likely find more affordable rates with Intrepid’s Southeast Asia trips. Travellers should always compare individual trips to ensure the best price.
Looking for more info? Find reviews for Topdeck tours here and reviews for Intrepid tours here.
