The older I become, the more I value enhanced comfort, seamless convenience, and truly immersive experiences when I travel. My backpacking days of penny-pinching in hostel dorms and skipping guided tours to explore solely on a shoestring are definitely behind me.
I imagine many of you can relate! Travel preferences evolve as we mature, and I’ve certainly transitioned from a budget-conscious traveler to one who prioritizes comfort, perhaps even indulging in a touch of luxury when feasible.
Nowadays, I find myself drawn to destinations, tours, and experiences that younger me likely wouldn’t have given a second thought. Premium Economy flights? An unforgettable expedition to the Arctic? A luxury hotel stay in London exceeding my monthly mortgage payment? These are all travel choices I’ve enthusiastically made in recent years!
And let’s be honest, I will always, ALWAYS justify spending extra on a fancy afternoon tea.
This shift in my travel style has also led me to explore different types of guided adventures. For over a decade, I’ve journeyed on small group tours with Intrepid Travel (my first experience with them dates back to 2012!). Initially, I opted for their budget-friendly options. However, more recently, I’ve been drawn to their “Comfort” and now even “Premium” tour offerings.
Intrepid introduced their Premium Tours a few years ago, and immediately, I questioned whether the elevated experience justified the higher price point. So, naturally, I booked one to find out firsthand!
Hello! Let’s delve into the world of Intrepid Premium tours!
Exploring Intrepid Travel Tour Styles: Finding Your Perfect Fit
Intrepid Travel currently presents four distinct “travel styles” to cater to diverse preferences and budgets. These styles are:
- Basix: These are your most affordable and straightforward tours. Accommodation is basic yet comfortable, public transportation is utilized, and fewer inclusions allow for greater flexibility and free time. Some Basix tours are specifically designed for travelers aged 18-29.
- Original: The quintessential Intrepid experience. These tours balance local charm with comfortable 2-3 star accommodations, incorporating some public transport alongside included activities and select meals. It’s a great blend of structure and independence.
- Comfort: Previously Intrepid’s top-tier offering, Comfort tours emphasize more refined accommodations (typically 3-4 star) and often feature private vans or minibuses for transportation. The pace is generally more relaxed, with a greater number of included activities and meals.
- Premium: Intrepid’s newest and most luxurious style. Premium tours boast the finest available accommodations, private transportation, and the most comprehensive inclusions – essentially encompassing most aspects of your trip, including a majority of meals.
Crucially, all Intrepid tour styles prioritize authentic cultural immersion and meaningful local encounters, and each tour is led by a knowledgeable local guide from your destination country. Having experienced every Intrepid tour style, I can attest to their consistent quality and appeal!
But what specific elements truly distinguish the Premium tour experience?
Posing with a friendly camel in Morocco back in 2019 during a Comfort tour.
Camel snapshots from my 2023 Premium tour in Morocco.
Unpacking the Intrepid Travel Premium Tour Experience
As mentioned, Premium tours represent Intrepid Travel’s most recent and highest-end offering. Available in many of Intrepid’s most sought-after destinations, these tours promise exceptional and unique accommodation options alongside extensive inclusions – practically covering all expenses, even the majority of meals.
Intrepid also prides itself on assigning their most experienced and highly-rated tour leaders to Premium tours, ensuring you’re in the hands of incredibly skilled and insightful guides. (In my extensive experience with over 10 Intrepid tours, I’ve only encountered one tour leader who didn’t meet expectations. The vast majority have been truly outstanding.)
Furthermore, Premium tours in select countries feature exclusive itineraries not available in other tour styles, along with distinctive activities and accommodations. Every Intrepid Premium tour includes a designated “Feature Stay,” which is always designed to be a particularly special and memorable highlight.*
Feature Stay experience at the “Golden Camp” in the Sahara Desert during my Morocco Premium tour.
*It’s important to note that “Premium” accommodation, in Intrepid’s context, doesn’t automatically equate to conventional 5-star hotels. Intrepid prioritizes locally-owned establishments whenever possible, and these often emphasize unique character and authentic experiences over typical luxury amenities.
Intrepid’s Premium tours are also positioned as their most expensive options, with prices sometimes reaching double the cost of the most comparable Comfort tour in the same region.
This naturally leads to the crucial question: What tangible benefits do you actually receive for that Premium investment, and is it genuinely worth the extra expense?
Comfort vs. Premium: A Morocco Tour Deep Dive Comparison
Fortunately, I’m in a unique position to provide an insightful comparison, having experienced nearly identical Intrepid tours in Morocco – one Comfort and one Premium. This firsthand experience allows me to offer an honest perspective on the key differences and help you determine whether upgrading to Premium is the right choice for you.
The specific tours I undertook were the 13-day Morocco Uncovered Comfort trip (you can read my detailed review here), and the 15-day Premium Morocco In Depth trip. I embarked on one of these adventures in 2019 and the other in 2023.
Side-by-side comparison of Morocco Comfort vs Premium tours, highlighting key differences and similarities.The two Morocco tours I experienced and am now comparing side-by-side!
My Comfort Morocco tour cost just over $2000 (while the standard list price at the time hovered around $1700, I opted for a single room supplement), whereas the Premium Morocco trip came in at approximately $4000 when I booked. (Keep in mind that prices may have slightly increased since, but this gives you a clear price differential.)
Let’s break down the significant similarities and distinctions between these two tour styles based on my direct experience in Morocco!
Itinerary Highlights
The remarkable aspect facilitating this comparison is the near-identical nature of the itineraries! Both tours commence in Casablanca and conclude in Marrakech, encompassing key destinations like Meknes, Fes, Chefchaouen, the Sahara Desert, the High Atlas Mountains, and Ait Benhaddou.
While a few minor stops varied, the principal itinerary enhancement in the Premium tour was its two-day extension. We spent one of these additional nights in Ouirgane and the other in Chefchaouen (resulting in a much appreciated two-night stay in Chefchaouen instead of just one).
Having two full nights in the captivating blue city of Chefchaouen was a definite highlight.
Worth it? Beyond the extra night in Chefchaouen (which significantly improved the experience of that location), the Premium tour didn’t offer substantial itinerary deviations.
The Expertise of the Guide
Intrepid emphasizes that they assign their most exceptional guides to lead Premium tours. It’s worth noting that Intrepid consistently employs outstanding local guides across all their tour styles, and both of my Morocco guides were indeed fantastic! (However, I must acknowledge that Mohammed, my guide on the Premium tour, was truly exceptional – ranking among the very best tour guides I’ve ever encountered!)
Worth it? You are virtually guaranteed a top-tier guide who will go the extra mile to make your journey exceptional. For some travelers, this assurance alone may justify the Premium investment.
Mohammed (Moha) was undeniably a top-notch, exceptional tour leader!
Group Size Considerations
Intrepid specializes in small group tours, generally capping group sizes around 16 participants. For both the Morocco Comfort and Premium tours I’m comparing, the maximum group size was even smaller, limited to just 12 passengers.
Worth it? If you were comparing tours with differing maximum group sizes, opting for the smaller group could certainly be worthwhile. Smaller groups almost always enhance the intimacy and personalized feel of this style of trip.
Transportation Logistics
Both the Comfort and Premium tours include convenient arrival airport transfers and utilize a private minibus exclusively for your group’s transportation throughout Morocco. These minibuses are reasonably comfortable, which is appreciated given the long driving distances involved.
Our comfortable and reliable minibus during my Premium tour.
Worth it? Transportation is essentially comparable across both tour styles! (Though I must commend our driver on the Premium tour, Sayid, who was absolutely superb. A true professional!)
Accommodation: A Noticeable Upgrade
This is where a more pronounced distinction emerges between the Comfort and Premium Morocco tours.
The Comfort tour features a diverse range of accommodations throughout Morocco, from standard hotels to traditional riads and charming gites (guesthouses). It also includes a night in a desert camp situated on the edge of the Sahara.
These accommodations generally align with a 3-star equivalent – perfectly adequate and comfortable, yet often quite simple and not particularly memorable. The desert camp offers a step up from basic camping but isn’t quite glamping (the one I experienced had mattresses on the ground in tents and shared Western-style toilet facilities a short walk away).
Sahara Desert camp during my Comfort Morocco tour.
Typical hotel room experienced on the Comfort tour.
The Premium tour also incorporates a variety of accommodation types, but these tend to be a notch higher in terms of luxury and memorability, such as a palatial riad in Fes and a more upscale desert hotel. These generally fall into the 4-star category, though quality can vary somewhat (as is common in Morocco).
As highlighted earlier, each Intrepid Premium tour includes a “Feature Stay,” and in Morocco, this was the desert camp. On the Premium tour, we experienced a luxury Sahara camp boasting proper beds within the tents and en-suite bathrooms complete with toilets and even hot water showers! It undeniably felt like a significant upgrade.
Feature Stay Sahara desert camp on the Premium tour.
Riad room in Fes, showcasing the upgraded accommodation on the Premium tour.
Worth it? The accommodation on the Premium tour was undeniably more distinctive and memorable overall. While a couple of locations didn’t fully exude a “Premium” ambiance, Intrepid actively refines their accommodation choices based on ongoing guest feedback.
Inclusions: An Expanded Offering
Another significant differentiator lies in the extent of inclusions offered on the Premium tour (which is already quite impressive on the Comfort tour).
For instance, the Comfort tour currently includes 12 breakfasts and 5 dinners. In contrast, the Premium tour encompasses 14 breakfasts, 4 lunches, and 8 dinners – and the quality of meals was consistently excellent.
Beautiful picnic lunch setup arranged for us in Ait Benhaddou.
Hotel restaurant at one of the Premium tour accommodations.
Both tours feature in-depth guided walking tours in each town and city visited, along with entry to the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, a guided exploration of the Roman ruins of Volubilis, a full day navigating the Fes medina with a local guide, an optional camel ride in the Sahara Desert, a scenic walk through the Todra Gorge, and a visit to the UNESCO-listed ksar of Ait Benhaddou.
A visit to the iconic Ait Benhaddou is included on both tour styles.
Exploring the Chouara Tannery in Fes is also part of both tour itineraries.
The Premium tour further enriched the itinerary with memorable additions like a visit to the village of Khemliya to immerse ourselves in Gnawa music and culture, and an engaging Moroccan tagine cooking class in Tahnaout.
The Premium tour also thoughtfully covers small gratuities for luggage porters, local city guides, and other individuals who provide assistance throughout the journey. It was a welcome convenience not to constantly manage small change.
The hands-on cooking class we participated in was a fantastic cultural experience!
Worth it? The Comfort trip already provides substantial inclusions, but the Premium trip elevates this further. The additional meals were largely memorable culinary experiences, and the added activities, such as the Gnawa village visit and cooking class, enhanced the cultural immersion.
Justifying the Premium Intrepid Tour Choice: Why Upgrade?
So, what compelling reasons might lead you to choose an Intrepid Travel Premium tour over their other, more budget-friendly options? Several key factors stand out:
- Unique Accommodation & Feature Stays: Based on my personal experience, Intrepid truly prioritizes distinctive and memorable accommodations for their Premium tours. While not always strictly “luxury” in the traditional sense (though sometimes they are!), these properties are designed to be standout highlights. And the designated Feature Stays are often bucket-list-worthy experiences in themselves!
- Exceptional Guides: If having one of Intrepid’s highest-rated and most experienced guides (referred to as tour leaders) is a priority for your trip, then a Premium tour is the way to go.
- Comprehensive Inclusions: Premium tours offer the most extensive inclusions – more meals, more guided explorations, more enriching activities. Opting for a Premium tour means you’ll likely need minimal extra spending money beyond personal shopping and tips for your main guide/driver.
- Enhanced Itineraries: While the Morocco Comfort and Premium itineraries were quite similar, in some destinations, Intrepid’s Premium tours feature significantly enhanced and more diverse itineraries. For example, when planning a trip to Peru, I had a specific wishlist of sights and experiences, and Intrepid’s Premium Peru In Depth tour was the only one that seamlessly incorporated every single element!
L’Hotel by Chateau de Sable, a prime example of the upgraded hotels featured on the Premium trip.
Final Verdict: Are Intrepid Premium Tours Worth The Investment?
It’s essential to reiterate that “Premium” in the Intrepid context doesn’t automatically translate to conventional 5-star luxury. You may still encounter charmingly quirky hotels, experience long drives on occasionally bumpy roads, and enjoy meals in local homes rather than solely Michelin-starred restaurants.
However, with that understanding in place, my answer to the “is it worth it?” question is… it depends.
This is inherently a subjective assessment, heavily influenced by your typical travel style, your personal definition of an “expensive” trip, and the value you assign to the additional inclusions and upgrades offered within a Premium tour.
A visit to the ancient Roman ruins of Volubilis is a highlight included on both tour styles.
Specifically, concerning the Morocco Intrepid tours I compared, I’m not entirely convinced that upgrading to the Premium trip is essential unless the quality and uniqueness of accommodations are a top priority for you. I had an equally incredible and enriching experience on the Comfort version of the same itinerary (although the Premium Feature Stay was undeniably special, as were some of the upgraded local dining experiences).
However, in other regions of the world, the itinerary enhancements and unique experiences offered within Premium tours might be more substantial, potentially justifying the higher price point more definitively.
My ultimate recommendation is to carefully compare the specific tour options you’re considering, weigh the added benefits of Premium against your budget and travel priorities, and then make the decision that aligns best with your individual preferences and travel style!
Have you experienced an Intrepid Premium tour? If not, is it something you’d consider for future travels?
By Amanda Williams
Amanda Williams is an award-winning travel blogger behind A Dangerous Business Travel Blog. From her home base in Ohio, she has explored over 60 countries across 6 continents, specializing in experiential and thoughtful travel throughout the US, Europe, and beyond. Amanda shares travel tips and insights solely based on her personal experiences and destinations she’s actually visited!
www.dangerous-business.com
