What is an Exploratory Adventure?
Our Exploratory Adventures are first-run tours to less-traveled destinations in small groups, generally led by our founder Allan Wright, with the goal of giving you a true insider experience.
- First Run: When we run an Exploratory Adventure, we have done a ton of research on the destination including activities, lodging, transportation, etc. These tours are fully set up and ready to run. However,
- Less Traveled: We pick locations that are off the beaten tourist path. This might mean countries that are not even on your travel list (but should be!) or locations most people don’t visit within otherwise popular destinations.
- Small Groups: Exploratory Adventures typically have group sizes from 4 – 10 people, much smaller than our typical group sizes of 10 – 16.
- Led by Our Founder: We are a small company but too big for our founder and owner Allan Wright to run many of our tours. Our Exploratory Adventures are the exception, as Allan sets up and guides most of these trips, working in concert with a local partner. Allan is an experienced world traveler and loves to visit new and exciting locations around the globe.
- Insider Experience: You see the hidden, local, “we-just-discovered-this” moments. You get behind-the-scenes access no typical traveler would find. You experience a destination with a level of curiosity and discovery that’s hard to replicate.
UPCOMING EXPLORATORY TOURS
Most tour companies don’t go where we go on Exploratory Adventures
Why? Because these destinations are still becoming travel destinations—raw, authentic, and largely untouched by mainstream tourism. There are no polished itineraries, no packaged experiences, no crowds following the same well-worn path.
That’s exactly why we love them. And why curious, flexible, adventure-minded travelers love them too.
These are the trips you’ll talk about for years—the “before it becomes famous” stories most people never get the chance to experience.
Advantages of Exploratory Adventures
The structure of these small-group tours means we tend to be more flexible in our agenda and more spontaneous in our decision making. We might change a planned hike, visit a cheese farm we see on the side of the road, or spend an extra hour in a super fun town with an outdoor market. We at Zephyr Adventures always try not to insulate our travelers from the local culture but with our Exploratory Adventures, unexpected challenges become opportunities leading to amazing experiences.
Limited Spots. Unlimited Adventure
Because these trips are hands-on, location-scouting adventures, group size is intentionally kept very small—usually just 5–10 travelers max. This keeps the experience nimble, personal, and flexible… but it also means spots disappear quickly.
If you’ve ever wanted to be in on something extraordinary, this is your moment.
Answers to Your Questions About Exploratory Adventures
We want to make sure we address any questions or concerns you might have.
- Fixed Agendas: We do have an agenda set in place but there will be spontaneity. Exploratory Adventures are best for flexible travelers.
- First Run: First-run tours are not for everyone. These tours are often more adventurous and the agenda can and does change on the spot. But many of us love that nature of travel. A bonus is you get to offer your input about the tour as you go along, shaping the experience for future travelers.
- Safety: We will not travel to a country or region we consider unsafe. It is as simple as that. In fact, all the countries we visit are rated either a 1 or 2 on the four-point US State Department travel advisory scale. Our perception of countries via what we read in the news is usually much different from what we find when we are there in person.
- Pricing: We keep our prices for Exploratory Adventures at approximately the same cost per day as our regular tours, which is moderate compared to our adventure travel peers. We do this despite the reality that our costs for running these tours are much higher per person given the small group sizes.
- Group Travel: We understand it seems like a risk when you sign up for a group tour when you don’t know the other participants. In reality, the group aspect often turns out to be the best part of the vacation. Our travelers are almost always active, fun, open-minded, curious about other cultures, and adventurous.
How We Pick Our Tour Locations
We use a number of criteria for selecting our Exploratory Adventures locations:
- Safety: Where does the country fall on the US State Department travel advisory scale? We almost never choose a country that is not a 1 or 2 on the four-point scale.
- Tourism Infrastructure: We have access to a study that shows tourism infrastructure in countries around the world and we look for those with quality accommodations, transportation, and restaurants.
- Visitation: Conversely, we also look at tourism numbers and prefer to select locations that are not very visited.
- Activities and Culture: Ultimately, the destinations need to be fun and exciting. In the end, all the destinations we choose are high on our travel list.
If you are an active traveler with a flexible mindset looking for an adventurous vacation, our Exploratory Adventures just might be for you! Check out the Tours page or see the options linked below. Private Exploratory tours are also available—see below for details!
UPCOMING EXPLORATORY TOURS
OPTIONS FOR PRIVATE EXPLORATORY TOURS
Once we run an Exploratory Adventure once, we generally add it to our list of private tour destinations. The following locations we have recently operated as first-run Exploratory Adventures and they still have all the benefits of this type of tour. Pick your dates and choose a destination from the options below, and let us take care of the rest!
