Intrepid gets real in USA

Intrepid Travel will introduce 38 itineraries to the U.S. next year, the operator’s biggest-ever programme featuring the country.

Intrepid says its 2022 collection “offers plenty of opportunities for clients to forge meaningful connections with locals and different cultures”.

Itineraries incorporate familiar ‘mustsee attractions’ while also offering more curated, in-depth offerings – from sampling local delicacies and taking active adventures to spending time with First Nations tribes.

Highlights include a six-day South Dakota to Montana Parks Explorer, visiting Mount Rushmore, Badlands National Park and Yellowstone, and including a visit to Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument and joining a Crow Nation guide for a tour, which provides an Apsaalooke perspective on the conflict. Prices start from $2,130pp.

A six-day Tennessee Music Trail to New Orleans will offer visitors the chance to take part in a recording session at the iconic Studio B in Nashville, walking in the famous footsteps of BB King and Johnny Cash at the Sun Studio in Memphis, visiting Elvis Presley’s home at Graceland, and doing a jazz-inspired walking tour in New Orleans. Groups will also visit the Whitney Plantation to learn what life was like for those enslaved on a Louisiana sugarcane plantation. The trip is priced from $2,540pp.

Intrepid says it is planning other trips that will feature First Nations outfitters, plus a Premium tour range which will provide a sustainable travel option for the higher-end adventure traveller.

“We created these itineraries to showcase the U.S. through a more authentic and diverse lens... to allow travellers to understand what America is – not just at its surface, but rather at its core,” commented James Thornton, Intrepid’s CEO.

The U.S. programme includes 57 tours covering 28 states and Washington D.C.