FAQs

Once you have confirmed your booking, we will send out a detailed pre-departure information pack covering all sorts of practical information, including a general packing list and a list of any other special items you may need to bring.

A suggested list of items to take with you will be sent out to you with your trip-specific info pack on confirmation of your booking. Please note however that this list doesn’t cover what medications to bring. We recommend you carry personal medical items for managing common minor ailments such as colds, diarrhoea, blisters and sore throats etc. Travellers who take regular medication should take an appropriate supply. Asthma sufferers should ensure that they have an adequate supply of their routine medicine, as some major cities have high levels of smog.

Some of the places we stay have laundry facilities, and those that don’t may have laundry facilities nearby, especially within cities. It is also a good idea to bring some ‘travel wash’, and a travel clothes line. This will help you cut down on packing space, and can be particularly useful if you are on a multi-day activity adventure, such as trekking in remote areas.

Our holidays are designed to be enjoyed by anyone who is reasonably fit. However, some trips visit remote areas where medical facilities are limited or non-existent, so you must be in good health. Some trips may include an activity element, or be entirely activity-based such as our cycling and trekking holidays, so some preparation and practise of the activity you will be doing is recommended. On all holidays, physical preparation is useful and a flexible, open-minded approach is essential. There are some other factors to consider: bumpy roads, dust, traffic, delays and unfamiliar customs and cultures may all create additional demands. You also sometimes have to carry your own bags so bear that in mind when deciding if you really need that extra pair of shoes. Our trips are all graded, which describes the focus, level of activity, comfort and style of the tour. They’re pretty self-explanatory grades: ‘moderate walk’ for example is just that, with days consisting of five or six hour-walks, so a reasonably good level of fitness is needed. A higher level of fitness is needed for our ‘moderate trek’ trips, and higher still for our challenging treks and mountaineering treks. We also have cultural adventures, cycling, remote adventures, expeditions, wildlife and wilderness – for every one of our trips, we give you a full run-through of all you need to take and everything you can expect while on your tour. See the trip notes for each of our tours for details of the trip type. For the tours we categorise as adventurous, challenging or remote, we may ask you to complete a questionnaire in advance.

It is compulsory that you have comprehensive travel insurance. Domestic government medical insurance and private health schemes will not cover you in most overseas countries. Peregrine has a policy designed to cover participants in our programs; please ask your consultant for full details. You may take other cover, of course, but we require you to be adequately insured before we can allow you to participate in our tours. Please check the terms of the policy carefully, particularly with regard to limits of cover (eg for replacement of photographic equipment, baggage loss, etc) and the procedure for making claims (for example, most policies stipulate that claims must be made within a certain time after completion of your journey). Your policy MUST cover medical costs in case of hospitalisation, emergency travel and repatriation. If you are going on one of our activity holidays, make sure your insurance covers you for this activity. Once you have paid your deposit or full payment, certain fees will apply if you cancel your holiday. Insurance should therefore be organised at the time of booking to protect yourself against unforeseen circumstances that would require you to cancel before travelling. Your Peregrine leader will need two copies of your policy - the Tour Leader and our Ground Operator will keep one copy each in the unlikely event of an emergency. The copies must show the policy number and the emergency hotline phone number.

If you want to take your phone with you, there is a good chance that it will work in most major cities. Check with your service provider before you go if they have a reciprocal agreement with the countries you are travelling to, and make sure you remember to get international roaming turned on.

For our family trips we try to minimise long travelling times, and we don’t do any disruptive travelling at night. We tailor our family trips so that the travelling we do is broken up with fun activities and interesting sights.

Of course we reward loyalty. On your second Peregrine trip we offer a five percent discount and on your fifth trip, a ten percent discount is offered.

Unfortunately it is not possible to do sections of our tours. However, some of the longer tours are made up of smaller tours completed back-to-back, so it might be possible to book separately.

There is no guarantee as to when other people will book and hence when the tour will fill up. Our advice is that when you know which one you want to book, don’t delay - put your name down as soon as possible, that way you won’t be disappointed. However, we can usually take bookings for most of our tours right up until the departure date if there are spaces left, so have a look at the availability.

Peregrine doesn’t offer typical group tours, and our customers aren’t typical group travellers. People who travel with us want to really get to grips with the country they’re visiting, to immerse themselves and to truly understand and appreciate the cultures they experience. From learning about the spectacular icebergs they’re floating past in Antarctica to watching the magical Dogon dancers of Mali, our travellers want to get up close to the world’s essential and greatest sights and to do so with experts and locals. It’s all about authentic experiences in exotic cultures – a combination that serves up unforgettable memories. And to get those authentic experiences, we keep our groups small – there are never more than 16 on a Peregrine tour. Our customers want a rich cultural experience that really gets under the skin of the place they’re visiting, so we have local leaders, work with local businesses wherever we can, and often have activities that help you get the most of the place you’re visiting.

While every group is different, Peregrine tours are generally an international crowd, with travellers often from Australia and New Zealand, the UK and North America. Most people who travel with Peregrine are in their 40s and 50s, although we see plenty of younger and older travellers as well. We also have a ‘backpacking’ brand, www.geckosadventures.com, which mainly caters for travellers in their 20s and 30s.

The maximum group size on all trips is 16, and groups usually consist of about 9 travellers.

Our trip notes give an indication of some typical prices of the destination you’re going to, and your pre-departure information pack will give more details. Remember that with Peregrine some of your meals, your transport, accommodation and entrance fees to major sites are paid in advance, so you don’t need to worry about these when you’re on holiday.

Your tour leader works hard to ensure you have a great trip, so please don’t hold back if you feel they have earned a tip for their efforts. If you would like to reward your leader for his or her services, you can choose to do so individually or make a group presentation at the end of the tour. Full details of tipping are covered in the trip-specific information pack that we send out to you before your departure.

All our trips are a combination of organised activities and free time. Our detailed day-to-day itineraries are online and give you an idea of how much free time to expect. It sometimes depends on the trip – some of our trekking adventures, for example, may have less free time than other holidays we offer. Many of your most memorable experiences will occur when you branch out and do your own thing, so we know it’s important that you have time to yourself. The framework is in place and the details are taken care of, but on many days, you decide what you want to see and do. It’s your holiday, so it’s your choice.

We use quality hotels – they’re not extravagant, but they’re well-appointed, centrally located, have private bathrooms and amenities such as air conditioning in hot areas. When we go to out of the way places, we often stay as guests of local people in simple huts or longhouses for a night or two. They may not have the trappings of a hotel, but these accommodations are part of the adventure of exploring a country, and our travellers find these stays a highlight of their trip. Aside from being more interesting places to stay than bland hotels, they also help to keep costs down, and by supporting local businesses you help the local economy. In short, our trips don’t go for international five-star hotels; they serve up five-star experiences instead.

No problem. The only important thing is that you let us know in advance, so we can inform our local leaders. That way, they can make sure you are looked after in the local restaurants. It is important to realise that in some places your diet might be slightly limited, as meat often forms an integral part of the local diet. If in doubt, ask our consultants for their first-hand knowledge of each individual destination.

Yes. In all cases, we can organise extra accommodation for the start and end of the tour. Just let us know and we’ll organise a quote for you. We also have trip extensions in many of the destinations we travel to – more details are on this website or contact us. One small exception –visa regulations prevent us from booking additional accommodation in Bhutan.

Our itineraries indicate travelling time and mode of transport. Although there are some days where we travel relatively long distances, our trips are organised to make travelling as convenient and efficient as possible. We occasionally take domestic flights. Travelling by land between different parts of a country or region is sometimes a highlight of a trip, with interesting communities and spectacular landscapes encountered en route.