Wildlife tours

Trips from 1 January 2023 onwards

From 1 January 2023, Intrepid will no longer require travelers to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19 (excluding all Polar trips and select adventure cruises).

However, we continue to strongly recommend that all Intrepid travelers and leaders get vaccinated to protect themselves and others.

Specific proof of testing or vaccination may still be required by your destination or airline. Please ensure you check travel and entry requirements carefully.

At Intrepid, the welfare of our people and our travelers is our highest priority, and we never put tours in a potentially harmful or dangerous position. To ensure that all travelers are safe while trekking or visiting wildlife conservation areas, there are a set of rules and regulations that everyone must observe at all times, which you'll be briefed on when necessary. Both your leader and the professional wildlife expert who accompanies you on specific activities such as gorilla trekking, will be happy to answer any questions you might have and make sure everyone's obeying safety precautions. 

Our wildlife tours range from having a lower physical rating (2 out of 5 stars) to a higher physical rating (3 out of 5 stars) which indicates that you should have a reasonable level of fitness to be comfortable throughout your trip. Most wildlife trips visit at least one national park so you can expect to participate in a couple of walks or longer hikes. 

Animal movements can be unpredictable so we can't 100% guarantee that you'll see gorillas on your trek. Having said that, it's highly unlikely not to. You will be accompanied by a gorilla tracker on your trek and they'll have specific knowledge on how to find the gorillas and where they might be so you don't have to worry about a thing. 

There's not a huge difference between gorilla trekking in Uganda and Rwanda when it comes to actually seeing the animals, but the terrain of both countries varies. Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park has a more open and less dense landscape than the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda so it can often feel easier to trek through. Uganda also experiences more rain and this can make tracks slippery and harder to navigate. Another difference is that the permit for gorilla trekking in Rwanda is more expensive than in Uganda and this can deter budget-conscious travelers. 

The type of vehicles you'll travel on during your Game Drive is dependent on the style of your trip (basix, original, comfort, or premium) but all trips will use a 4x4 or alternate vehicle for at least one of those rides so you have the best opportunity to experience the wildlife from a unique perspective. If you want more details, check out the trip notes/itinerary information for your chosen trip. 

Regardless of the style, every single one of our wildlife trips directly supports the conservation of wildlife or the people protecting the wildlife. A portion of any National Park or Game Reserve entrance fee (which is included in your trip price) is also fed back into protecting and conserving the park's natural and cultural heritage. This money is crucial to safeguarding these habitats for wildlife to breed and survive together with its surrounding local communities. Our wildlife trips are also designed to seek out and support local projects, communities, and businesses that are actively working to protect wildlife, and educate and empower local communities to be custodians of conservation.

Absolutely! Our trips feature a whole heap of fun activities such as Game drives, nature walks, and boat safaris, as well as unique experiences such as visiting a Wildlife Forensic Laboratory in Zimbabwe (which is exactly what it sounds like - a unit investigating wildlife crimes) and sitting down to dinner with a local park ranger where you'll learn about life in the wilderness and their special relationships with the mountain gorillas (guaranteed to be one dinner conversation you've never had before)!

You'll have access to your trip leader who already has an impressive base of knowledge about the countries visited in the itinerary, and the local flora, fauna, cultural, religious, and social aspects associated with them but we also use additional local guides and wildlife experts who have a deeper and more specific knowledge about the places you go to and the animals you see. This is to add to your overall experience and make sure you're getting the full, well-rounded picture so expect to spend some time with wildlife veterinarians, park rangers, naturalist guides, and conservation researchers. For some trips, you will be accompanied by these experts for the entire duration, such as on our Antarctica departures where there's a naturalist and marine biologist onboard. 

There's a good chance you'll see a wide variety of animals on any Galapagos Island since there are over 300+ different species that inhabit this archipelago. It's the sheer diversity and variety of life on land, in the air and under the water that makes the Galapagos such a drawcard for nature and wildlife lovers and each trip will give you the opportunity to experience as much of it as possible. 

See below for some of the animals known to frequent the Galapagos Islands:

• Sea lions are found across all islands. 

• Penguins are found across Santa Cruz, Santiago, Isabela, Fernandina, Floreana, and Bartolome islands. 

• Giant tortoises are found across Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, Isabela, and Floreana islands. 

• Green sea turtles are found across all islands. 

• Land iguanas are found across Santa Cruz, Isabela, Fernandina, Plaza Sur, and North Seymour islands. 

• Flamingoes are found across Santa Cruz, Santiago, Isabela, Floreana, and Rabida islands. 

Absolutely. All passengers traveling with Intrepid are required to purchase travel insurance before the start of their trip. Your travel insurance details will be recorded by your leader on the first day of the trip. Due to the varying nature, availability and cost of health care around the world, travel insurance is very much an essential and necessary part of every journey.

For more information on insurance, please go to: Travel Insurance

Intrepid is committed to making travel widely accessible, regardless of ability or disability. That’s why we do our best to help as many people see the world as possible, regardless of any physical or mental limitations they might have. However, we’re always happy to talk to travelers with disabilities and see if we can help guide them towards the most suitable itinerary for their needs and where possible, make reasonable adjustments to our itineraries.