The older I get, the extra I am prepared to pay a bit extra for issues like consolation, comfort, and actually distinctive experiences after I journey. Gone are my days of attempting to save lots of pennies by staying in hostel dorm rooms and skipping guided excursions in favor of solely what I might do free of charge.
I am guessing a few of you’ll be able to relate! Journey kinds change as we age, and I’ve positively developed from a price range traveler to a consolation traveler, with perhaps some gentle luxurious thrown in after I can afford it.
As of late, I discover myself contemplating locations, excursions, and experiences that I actually most likely would not have even glanced twice at in my 20s. Flights in Premium Economic system? An expedition trip to the Arctic? A luxury London hotel stay that value greater than my month-to-month mortgage fee? These are all issues I’ve really booked within the final couple years!
And as I’ve made this transition to my “new” journey type, I’ve additionally began branching out within the kinds of guided journeys I am taking. For instance, I’ve traveled on small group excursions with Intrepid Journey for greater than a decade (my first one with them was in 2012!). After I first was reserving with them, I used to be reserving their budget-friendly journeys. However in recent times, I’ve booked extra of their “Consolation” and now even “Premium” excursions.
Intrepid launched its vary of Premium Excursions inside the previous couple of years. And as quickly as they did, I discovered myself questioning in the event that they had been actually value it. So I made a decision to take one to seek out out!
Intrepid Journey tour kinds
Intrepid Journey now gives 4 totally different “travel styles” for his or her excursions. These kinds are:
- Basix – The best, most cost-effective excursions. They use extra primary (however nonetheless completely nice) lodging, make the most of public transport, and embrace fewer extras to permit vacationers extra free time. A few of these Basix excursions are geared particularly for the 18-29 age bracket.
- Unique – The basic Intrepid tour. These excursions use native lodging (normally 2-3 star) and a few public transport, however embrace just a few extra issues like actions and a pair meals. The steadiness of included actions and free time is normally fairly good.
- Consolation – This was once Intrepid’s highest degree of tour. It makes use of extra comfy lodging (normally 3-4 star) and normally a personal van or mini bus for transport. The tempo of the tour is normally just a little extra relaxed, however there are extra inclusions of actions and meals.
- Premium – The latest Intrepid tour kind, which options the very best lodging choices, non-public transport, and essentially the most quantity of inclusions.
ALL of Intrepid’s tour kinds concentrate on cultural immersion and native experiences, and all include a tour chief from the nation you are touring in. I have been on each type of Intrepid journey, they usually’re all stable choices!
However what precisely makes their Premium excursions totally different?
What’s a Premium tour with Intrepid Journey?
Like I discussed above, Premium tours are the most recent providing from Intrepid Journey. They’re supplied in a number of the hottest locations that Intrepid travels to, and supply the very best and most original lodging choices that Intrepid gives, together with essentially the most inclusions (mainly every thing is included, even most meals).
Intrepid additionally assigns their best guides to those Premium excursions, that means you’ll be in extremely succesful and educated arms. (Although, after 10+ excursions with Intrepid through the years, I’ve solely had ONE tour chief that I’d give a poor ranking to. The remaining have been glorious.)
Premium excursions in some nations additionally provide itineraries you’ll be able to’t do with every other tour type, together with distinctive actions and lodging. Every Premium tour with Intrepid contains one “Function Keep,” which is all the time particular and memorable.*
*It is value noting, although, that Premium lodging does NOT essentially imply 5-star accommodations. Intrepid nonetheless tries to make use of locally-owned lodging choices when attainable, and generally these lean extra in direction of distinctive and memorable than your typical “luxurious” lodge.
Intrepid’s Premium excursions are additionally the most costly excursions they provide; generally the costs could be double the worth of the most costly Consolation tour in the identical nation.
So I suppose the query then turns into… what are you *really* getting for that Premium value, and is it actually value it?
Morocco tour Consolation vs Premium
Fortunately for you, I’ve really taken nearly similar Intrepid excursions to check! The excursions had been in Morocco, one Consolation and one Premium. So I am uniquely positioned to provide you an trustworthy have a look at how these excursions differ, and whether or not I feel it is value it to e book the Premium one.
The precise excursions I took had been the 13-day Morocco Uncovered Consolation journey (learn my full tour review here), and the 15-day Premium Morocco In Depth journey. I took one in all these excursions in 2019, and the opposite in 2023.
My Consolation Morocco journey value me just a little over $2000 (the record value on the time was normally round $1700, however I paid further to have my very own room), and the Premium Morocco journey value about $4000 after I booked it. (Word that the costs have since gone up just a little bit, however you get the concept!)
Let us take a look at the foremost similarities and variations between these two excursions!
The itinerary
The explanation it is a nice technique to examine these excursions is that the itineraries are nearly similar! Each excursions begin in Casablanca and finish in Marrakech, and embrace stops in Meknes, Fes, Chefchaouen, the Sahara Desert, the Excessive Atlas Mountains, and Ait Benhaddou.
A few the in-between stops differ, however the main variations within the Premium tour itinerary was that it was 2 days longer. We spent a kind of further nights in Ouirgane, and the opposite in Chefchaouen (that means we spent 2 nights in Chefchaouen as a substitute of 1, which was nice).
Price it? Apart from the additional night time in Chefchaouen (which was a lot better than having simply 1 night time there), nothing in regards to the Premium tour actually stands out itinerary-wise.
The information
Intrepid says it assigns its best guides to its Premium excursions. Intrepid employes glorious native guides on all its excursions, although, and each my Morocco guides had been nice! (Although the information on my Premium tour, Mohammed, was positively top-of-the-line tour guides I’ve ever had!)
Price it? You are assured a superb information who will go above and past to make your journey particular. So which will certainly be value it for some individuals.
The transport
Each the Consolation and Premium excursions embrace arrival airport transfers, in addition to a personal mini bus simply in your group to journey round Morocco. The buses are pretty comfy for the lengthy drives you will have.
Price it? This one is just about the identical for each excursions! (Although I’ll say our driver on my Premium tour was superb. Shoutout to Sayid!)
The lodging
Here is the place there’s extra of a noticeable distinction between the Consolation and Premium excursions in Morocco.
The Consolation tour stays in a variety of properties throughout Morocco, from accommodations to riads to gites (guesthouses). You additionally keep at a desert camp on the sting of the Sahara Desert for one night time.
These lodging are most likely a 3-star equal; they’re completely nice, however usually fairly easy and never overly memorable. The desert camp is fancier than common tenting, however not fairly glamping (the one I stayed at had mattresses on the bottom in every tent, in addition to a block of Western bathrooms a brief stroll away).
The Premium tour additionally stays in quite a lot of totally different lodging varieties, however these are usually just a little fancier/memorable, like a palatial riad in Fes and a elaborate desert lodge. These are usually a 4-star equal, however can differ quite a bit (which isn’t unusual in Morocco).
All of Intrepid’s Premium excursions embrace one “Function Keep,” and in Morocco it was the desert camp. We stayed at a luxurious Sahara camp on the Premium tour, which included actual beds within the tents and ensuite loos with bathrooms and even scorching water showers. It positively felt upgraded!
Price it? The lodging on the Premium tour was positively extra distinctive and memorable. A number of locations did not actually really feel “Premium,” however Intrepid is continually updating the place they keep based mostly on visitor suggestions.
The inclusions
One other factor that is noticeably totally different are the quantity of issues included on the Premium tour (which is spectacular, as there are already a ton of inclusions on the Consolation tour).
For instance, the Consolation tour at present contains 12 breakfast and 5 dinners. The Premium tour, in the meantime, contains 14 breakfasts, 4 lunches, and eight dinners – and the meals are all so good.
Each excursions embrace in-depth strolling excursions in every city/metropolis you go to, together with a go to to the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, a tour of the ruins of Volubilis, a full day with a information within the Fes medina, an non-compulsory camel trip within the Sahara Desert, a stroll by means of the Todra Gorge, and a go to to the ksar of Ait Benhaddou.
The Premium tour additionally included a pair different memorable stops, like a go to to the village of Khemliya to study Gnawa music and tradition, and a Moroccan tagine cooking class in Tahnaout.
The Premium tour additionally covers small ideas for baggage porters, native metropolis guides, and anybody else whom you’d normally tip a small quantity for serving to you out. It was good to not have to hold round small change on a regular basis.
Price it? The Consolation journey already features a lot, however the Premium journey contains much more. The additional meals had been principally very memorable, as had been the extra experiences just like the Gnawa village go to and the cooking class.
Why would you e book a Premium Intrepid tour?
So why would you wish to e book one in all Intrepid Journey’s Premium excursions over one in all their different (inexpensive) journeys? A number of causes might embrace:
- Distinctive lodging / characteristic stays – I can verify from private expertise that Intrepid makes use of essentially the most distinctive and memorable lodging on its Premium journeys. These could not all the time be *luxurious* properties (although they often could be), however they are going to be stand-outs. And the characteristic stays are sometimes bucket-list-type stays!
- The perfect guides – If you wish to be assured to have one in all Intrepid’s greatest and highest-rated guides (they name them tour leaders) working your journey, then e book a Premium tour.
- Extra inclusions – Premium excursions embrace essentially the most; essentially the most meals, essentially the most guided walks, essentially the most further actions. Whenever you e book a Premium tour with Intrepid, you will not have to convey a lot further money with you, besides what you may want to buy and tip your predominant information/driver with.
- The perfect itineraries – And regardless that the itineraries of the 2 Morocco excursions I in contrast aren’t all that totally different, in another circumstances Intrepid’s Premium excursions have the very best and most diverse itineraries. For instance, when planning a visit to Peru, I had a wishlist of all of the issues I needed to see/do there, and Intrepid’s Premium Peru In Depth was the one one which included each single factor!
Is an Intrepid Premium tour value it?
I have to reiterate yet one more time that “Premium” does not imply 5-star. You continue to could also be staying in quirky accommodations, going through lengthy drives on bumpy roads, and consuming in locals’ properties as a substitute of Michelin starred eating places.
However so long as we’re clear on that, my reply to the “is it value it?” query is… perhaps.
That is going to be a really subjective factor, based mostly on the way you usually journey, what your definition of an “costly” journey is, and the way a lot worth you placed on the additional inclusions and upgrades that you simply get with a Premium tour.
Within the case of the Morocco Intrepid excursions I in contrast, I am unsure you actually need to e book the Premium journey until the accommodations actually, actually matter to you. I had simply as unbelievable a time on the Consolation model of the identical journey (although the Premium Function Keep was actually particular, as had been a number of the native meals we had).
In different components of the world, although, the Premium itinerary is perhaps totally different sufficient to what else Intrepid gives to actually warrant the upper value level.
My recommendation is to fastidiously examine the choices you are contemplating after which make the choice that feels the very best for you!
Have you ever ever tried an Intrepid Premium tour? If not, do you suppose you’ll?
Amanda Williams is the award-winning blogger behind A Harmful Enterprise Journey Weblog. She has traveled to greater than 60 nations on 6 continents from her house base in Ohio, specializing in experiential and considerate journey by means of the US, Europe, and remainder of the world. Amanda solely shares ideas based mostly on her private experiences and locations she’s really traveled!
