Fancy sleeping in factories and rock caves and eating boiled cow hoof soup on a trip from Tehran to Istanbul?
These are some of the only details that Intrepid Travel has revealed about its second mystery ‘Uncharted Expedition’ in April 2020.
The tour operator has just launched the 3,500-kilometre trip in which the itinerary is kept secret until arrival. The 18-day trip, priced from £2,495 without flights, has been secretly planned by Intrepid’s destination managers.
The operator said the success of last year’s inaugural trip had led to this year’s expedition, which has spaces for 12 clients.
This year the operator is offering a four-week window, from today until July 9, for travellers to apply to register for a place. The lucky travellers are chosen at random and notified by email in the second week of July.
Co-founder Darrell Wade said: “We have seen an appetite from travellers to be completely surprised. They put their faith in Intrepid delivering the best travel experience, as everything is an unknown on these trips, aside from adventure.”
Wade said the 2020 ‘mystery’ trip is reminiscent of the early days of Intrepid Travel when classified ads offered no details, just a call to explore a destination.
He added: “This is our way of returning to the roots of travel, and how our company began 30 years ago, by being on the frontier of destinations and experiences. Some of the best travel experiences are unplanned. In this case, all the planning has been done by our expert team.
“The 2020 Uncharted Expedition doesn’t give too much away, but one day you could be exploring a 3,000-year old village, the next day learning an ancient language that doesn’t involve speech.
“Travellers have the rare chance to abandon expectations. While we can’t tell you where you’re going, we can tell you that it will be eye-opening. You’ll sleep in factories and rock caves, and eat boiled cow hoof soup.
“You will bear witness to spiritual, archaeological, religious and political history. Humanity will come to light in a way you’d never expect.”
Last year’s expedition from Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, went on sale without a registration process and sold out within 36 hours despite travellers not receiving an itinerary until the day of arrival.
The expedition is part of Intrepid’s Expeditions Range, which tests new destinations and trip ideas. Feedback from travellers on the trip will determine whether it is added to Intrepid’s 2021 Expeditions range.
To register interest in the trip, visit: https://uncharted.intrepidtravel.com/