Explore Livingstone (TDZLVC)
Independence is a valuable commodity when you’re travelling. This exploration of Livingstone and its environs is perfect for the solo adventurer who craves flexibility and excitement, but appreciates the support of a CEO who can iron out on-trip snags. Freedom is paramount on this trip; we supply ample activities—wildlife tours, scenic flights over Victoria Falls, and more—and you supply… yourself. Because really, what more do you need?
Highlights: Enjoying an African sunset on Zambezi River boat cruise, feeling the thrill of white-water rafting along the Zambezi, marvelling at the Zambian side of the mighty Victoria Falls and much more!
Kakadu Adventure (OAKA)
Get remote and head into the last frontiers of Australia—Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks. Featuring lots of inclusions at a great price, this itinerary is geared towards budget-conscious travellers who want to make the most of their time in Kakadu. Take in the region’s ancient landscapes, spectacular waterfalls, pristine rock pools and magnificent gorges and meet some of the locals. Round out your experience with a guided exploration of the regions ancient art, gaining insight to Aboriginal culture.
Highlights: Exploring remote areas of the Northern Territory, discovering secret watering holes and waterfalls, spotting crocs by boat, viewing sites where Crocodile Dundee was filmed.
- Trip Style:
- Yolo
- Trip Type:
- Small Group
- Service Level:
- Camping
- Physical Grading:
- 3
Local Living Ecuador: Amazon Jungle (SEJL)
The Amazon rainforest is so full of life; embrace it for yourself during a week unlike any other. From Quito, you’ll travel to your new home in the jungle and meet the Quichua family who will host you in their home for the next four nights. Discover waterfalls on jungle walks and travel to an animal rescue centre by canoe. You’ll learn about medicinal plants and how to use a blowgun, experience a shaman ceremony, and visit a local school. Most importantly, you’ll befriend a people few outsiders have the honour to even meet.
Highlights: Living like a local in the Amazon rainforest, learning Quichua traditions by interacting with a local family, visiting an animal rescue centre, honing your blowgun skills, experiencing a shaman ceremony.
- Trip Style:
- Local Living
- Trip Type:
- Small Group
- Service Level:
- Basic
- Physical Grading:
- 2
Cuban Rhythms (CCCR)
For too many people, Cuba is nothing more than a beach resort. That’s crazy; the island practically buzzes with energy and you should do likewise—get moving. Journey through the culture-soaked streets of Trinidad and Old Havana for your fill of drinking and dancing. The music here pours out of open windows. Hit the beach and explore the outdoors then connect with the locals in homestays and make friends for life as you hit the sites with other young people like yourself. Boring? Impossible!
Highlights: Dancing the night away with other young travellers in Old Havana, mingling with the locals at overnight homestays, sampling the local rum and cigars, connecting to the salsa culture on the dance floor, moving those hips to incredible live music, exploring colonial Havana's alleyways, lazing under the Caribbean sun.
Local Living Mongolia: Nomadic Life (AMNL)
It was from Mongolia that Ghengis Khan set forth to conquer the world. This unique adventure is your chance to return to this heartland and let its people and scenery capture your heart. Leave Ulaanbaatar and the modern world behind and travel by horseback or oxcart to Terelj National Park for life with nomadic families. You'll live in a ger, take tea with your neighbours, ride horses and learn archery and garment-making skills. It's eight days like you never imagined. Participants should be comfortable around and on horses.
Highlights: Ride your horse across the Mongolian countryside, sleep in a traditional Mongolian ger, learn traditional crafts and skills from nomadic hosts, compete with Mongolian nomads in archery.
- Trip Style:
- Local Living
- Trip Type:
- Small Group
- Service Level:
- Basic
- Physical Grading:
- 3
Local Living Spain: Costa Blanca (ESCL)
The fertile soil and rich coastline of Costa Blanca have fed Spain for centuries on a steady diet of oranges, seafood and paella. Now, it’s your turn. This Local Living trip into the heart of Spanish foodie heaven exposes you to the lush farmlands, charming mountain towns, blissful landscapes and flavourful wines of the region with an intimate home as your base. Spend your week hiking and biking the picturesque hillsides, then refresh yourself with traditional organic fare and some of the most delicious wines you’ll ever taste. It’s all about balance in Costa Blanca. Come find yours.
Highlights: Enjoying a centre-based holiday with optional day trips and activities, hiking through beautiful landscapes, sampling local specialties like wine and chocolate, exploring picturesque towns of the Costa Blanca region, chilling out after a full day's activities in your home away from home.
- Trip Style:
- Local Living
- Trip Type:
- Small Group
- Service Level:
- Standard
- Physical Grading:
- 3
Local Living Costa Rica: Caribbean Coast (CRCL)
Break out of the ordinary and spend a week on the truly magnificent Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. Your house in Punta Uva, which you’ll share with a small group of other like-minded travellers, connects to a white sand beach and is in a pristine wilderness region teeming with exotic animals and the nesting grounds of sea turtles. With a CEO there offering local tips, you're free to craft a dream trip. A week is enough time to get settled—the danger is you may never want to leave.
Highlights: Sharing a rental property with optional day trips and activities, making new friends in your gorgeous Caribbean home, searching for wildlife in Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge, grabbing an included bicycle and cruising into town, chilling on picturesque beaches, sampling Caribbean food, dancing to reggae beats.
- Trip Style:
- Local Living
- Trip Type:
- Small Group
- Service Level:
- Standard
- Physical Grading:
- 2
Local Living Italy: Tuscany San Gimignano (EIGL)
If you’ve ever wanted to forge a deeper bond with a destination, this is your chance. Centred in San Gimignano, this Local Living adventure places you in the heart of Tuscany for eight days of exploring. After a chef-prepared lunch, you’re free to explore the town, visit vineyards, discover medieval highlights or embrace your inner artist wandering the Tuscan countryside. You’ll share the accommodation with like-minded travellers, and with a CEO there to point you in the right direction, prepare to fall in love with Italy.
Highlights: Sharing a rental property with optional day trips and activities, eating delicious Tuscan cuisine, making new friends at your home away from home, strolling the medieval lanes of beautiful San Gimignano, relaxing at your haven in the Tuscan countryside
- Trip Style:
- Local Living
- Trip Type:
- Small Group
- Service Level:
- Standard
- Physical Grading:
- 2
Thailand Family Adventure (ATFF)
Why do some families go all the way to Thailand just to lie on the beach? We don’t know either. Our family adventure mixes a whole lot of bona fide Thai experiences—everything from a longboat tour of Bangkok, a meeting with a hill tribe community, a cooking class in Chiang Mai and a somber visit to the infamous bridge over the River Kwai—with a little bit of sand and surf, too. Hey, even the Buddha reclined and relaxed once in a while, right?
Highlights: Getting caught up in the bustle of Bangkok, taking in the scenery at ancient Ayutthaya, wandering through colourful Chiang Mai, relaxing on the beach in Koh Chang.
- Trip Style:
- Family
- Trip Type:
- Small Group
- Service Level:
- Standard
- Physical Grading:
- 2
Kenya Overland Adventure (DKOA)
Beginning and ending in Nairobi, this 6-day adventure offers up wild Kenya on a budget. Track the Big Five across the legendary plains of Masai Mara and spot flamingos at Lake Nakuru National Park—you'll take game drives at both locations. You'll travel in our unique overland truck, camp under the stars and have plenty of extra activity time for independent exploring at Lake Naivasha—home to hippos and hundreds of species of birds. You'll always be in the heart of Africa's stunning wilderness. Make sure your camera’s charged because you're going to need it.
Highlights: Encountering the wildlife of the famous Masai Mara, camping in the great outdoors, walking among giraffes on Crescent Island at Lake Naivasha, learning traditional ways at a Masai settlement in the Loita Hills, photographing widlife at Lake Nakuru National Park, doing it all in less than a week.
- Trip Style:
- Yolo
- Trip Type:
- Small Group
- Service Level:
- Camping
- Physical Grading:
- 2
Tarangire Safari Experience (TDTTWC)
You’re heading out to see the best parks but you still want more. What to do? Don’t panic, this short trip offers a chance to visit incredible Tarangire National Park and get in some more wildlife viewing from open-top safari vehicles. Famed for its baobab trees and large elephant herds, Tarangire is just a short trip from Arusha. So rejoice nature lovers and photographers, you’re free to keep snapping.
Highlights: Searching out and photographing diverse wildlife in one of Tanzania's best game parks.
Northern Philippines Adventure (AQNP)
With over 6,000 islands contained within its borders, the Philippines are one of the largest archipelagos in the world. While we can’t possibly show you all of them in just eight days, this journey through the country’s northern half will feel more than comprehensive enough. Up here, you’ll discover the arresting inland beauty of Luzon, known for world-famous (and incredibly picturesque) terraced rice paddies. Elsewhere, you’ll be treated to a first-person encounter with the unique hilltribe culture that dominates the region, learning about witchcraft and healing arts from a bona fide medicine man. Looking for the road less travelled? It runs through here.
Highlights: Trekking through villages, visiting World Heritage rice terraces, visiting remote waterfalls and caves, savoring Filipino cuisine
Ecuador Multisport (SEEM)
Speed is the watchword for this high-adrenaline active tour around Ecuador. Across nine action-packed days, you’ll bike Cotopaxi (an Andean stratovolcano), raft down rushing rivers, trek the lush foothills of Baños and much, much more. Best of all, you’ll always travel with an experienced and passionate CEO who knows the quickest and most scenic routes to wherever you’re headed. Remember, you’re here for a great time, not a long time; slather on that sunscreen, strap on your helmet and hit the road/trail/surf!
Highlights: Whitewater rafting in the Amazon, trekking to an active volcano, soaking in mountain hot springs, speeding down Cotopaxi Volcano on a mountain bike.
Local Living Croatia: Krk Island (ECZL)
The wise traveller knows that the best way to get under the skin of a destination is to hunker down and stay awhile. This 8-day trip lets you dig deeper on the beautiful Croatian island of Krk. You'll share your base—a cluster of old stone homes with beautiful interiors and a big terrace with a barbecue—with other like-minded travellers but are free to explore any way you want. Witness wine-making and olive oil processing, cycle to Roman ruins, hit the beach or head out on day trips to nearby islands.
Highlights: Sharing a rental property with optional day trips and activities, chilling out at your new home in the picturesque village of Gostinjac, Exploring Krk's hidden gems by foot and bicycle, Discovering other islands on optional excursions, Daytripping to the beach, Dining with new friends—the locals.
- Trip Style:
- Local Living
- Trip Type:
- Small Group
- Service Level:
- Standard
- Physical Grading:
- 1
Costa Rica Family Experience (CRFS)
Nothing brings learning to life like real-world experience. This week-long trip’s engaging lesson plan gives your kids an education in biology and ecology they’ll never get in a textbook. Here, you’ll spend five life-changing days studying the flora and fauna that inhabit the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve and Manuel Antonio National Park. Elsewhere, you’ll get in touch with the land by rappelling, rafting, swimming, horseback-riding and even surfing all over it. Science + gym? You do the math.
Highlights: Learning to surf on Costa Rica's pristine beaches, visiting a local family to learn to make tortillas, Spotting nature in dense cloud forest, enjoying the natural beauty of Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge.
San Francisco to Los Angeles Adventure (NUFA)
Vegas, Frisco, LA and the quest for the perfect burger—all that’s missing from this quintessentially American experience is a ballgame and mom’s apple pie. Promising unfiltered fun from dawn to dusk in some of the West’s best locales, this trip mixes downtown excitement with all-natural, full-contact thrills exploring the Grand Canyon and camping under the stars in Yosemite National Park. All this in just one reasonably-priced week? This is America, the land of opportunity! Believe in the impossible.
Highlights: Experiencing the lights of San Francisco and Las Vegas, hiking Yosemite and the Grand Canyon, stargazing in Los Angeles, driving Route 66, camping in nature.
- Trip Style:
- Yolo
- Trip Type:
- Small Group
- Service Level:
- Camping
- Physical Grading:
- 2
Croatia Sailing Adventure - Split to Dubrovnik (ECVS)
Whether you're looking for relaxed afternoons lazing on the deck of a yacht or time to indulge in the nightlife, this Croatian cruise aims to please. Discover charming villages and stunning scenery as you sail from Split to Dubrovnik on a small yacht. The emphasis is on connecting with the country and culture and you'll fall in love with this region's beauty on hikes to castles and waterfalls. Toss in beach barbecues and snorkelling and you have an incredible and affordable island getaway.
Highlights: Connect with history at Diocletian's Palace in Split, discover secluded islands and deserted beaches, explore Korcula—the birthplace of Marco Polo, wander the forested paradise of Mljet National Park, sail into the ancient port of Dubrovnik—'the Pearl of the Adriatic'
- Trip Style:
- Small Ship Cruising & Sailing
- Trip Type:
- Small Group
- Service Level:
- Standard
- Physical Grading:
- 2
Southern Philippines Palawan Adventure (AQSP)
It would take several lifetimes to explore the 6,000+ islands that make up the Philippine archipelago, but if you’ve only got the one to spare, spend it in the South. A haven for sunbathers and spelunkers alike, the Southern Philippines are a thrill to discover—both above-ground and under. Blessed with miles of pristine, uncrowded beaches, intriguing caves and the two-tiered Puerto Princesa Subterranean River, the Palawan province is perfect for travellers eager to try their hand at a variety of experiences in an underexplored part of South East Asia. Looking for something different? You’ll find plenty of it here.
Highlights: Exploring the underwater caves, Travelling by boat to see limestone karsts emerge from the ocean, Venturing from island to island while snorkelling
Local Living France: Burgundy Canal Boat (EFBL)
Get a new perspective on France with this canal barge adventure. Each day you'll cruise for 4-5 hours, clearing locks and seeing the world at a pace you'll appreciate. Along the way stop for wine tastings and gastronomic indulgences, cycle along country lanes and hike green valleys. Your houseboat home has only four cabins, so you're sharing the deck and the views with like-minded travellers. With a CEO there to offer advice—and steer!—you'll quickly realize that getting there is half the adventure. Please note that the following is a sample itinerary only and may change due to canal conditions, traffic, weather and other factors. Some departures will run in the opposite direction.
Highlights: Sharing a canal boat with optional day trips and activities, cruising along the lush Saône River, hiking and cycling riverside trails, tasting French gastronomic delights, sampling world-famous Burgundy wines.
- Trip Style:
- Local Living
- Trip Type:
- Small Group
- Service Level:
- Standard
- Physical Grading:
- 2
Delhi to Kathmandu Yolo Adventure (AHDU)
India is less a place to see than a place to do and this fast-paced 15-day tour ensures you live every moment to the fullest. With other youthful travellers, you'll sail the Ganges, have the opportunity to take a jeep safari in Chitwan National Park and breathe deeply in the Himalayas of Nepal. It's a mix of classics like the Taj Majal, and backpacker faves like Pushkar wrapped up in a riot of colour. And we do the planning but leave the choice of excursions up to you. Don't explore South Asia—live it.
Highlights: Exploring the vibrant streets of urban India, sailing down the Ganges, getting a glimpse of a traditional life in tiny villages, experiencing a jeep safari in Chitwan National Park, marvelling at Nepal's mountain views.
