1. Small groups
When you join a Peregrine tour, you travel with a maximum of just fifteen fellow travellers. This
is small enough to avoid making a negative impact on the places you go and the people you meet,
but large enough to have a good time with other travellers from around the globe. The exception is
polar cruising, where the maximum group is 110. Even the polar expeditions are designed to offer
a constant choice of small group activities within this larger group.
2. Local leaders
By working with a team of local leaders, we can help you get inside a destination. These leaders
speak the language, can read the menus, understand the day to day world around them, offer
insights into the history and culture, and are passionate about their homeland. They can also help
deal with local groups, ensuring we celebrate our differences with respect, understanding and mutual
benefits. Providing possibilities for you to enjoy special moments is their secret.
3. Active and interesting
While most of our holidays are easy, we still like to enjoy the outdoors and plenty of variety on our
travels. The activities are not just exciting and fun, they are generally the best way to discover the
place we are visiting. Is there a better way to sense the silence and isolation of Antarctica than
in a sea kayak? Cycling in China, Thailand or Vietnam allows you to peddle along at the same
pace as the throngs of local bike riders. It's interesting and fun. Peregrine started with trekking
in the Himalaya and we still believe walking is the ideal pace to meet people, absorb the countryside
and make fascinating personal discoveries. Trains, ferries and all manor of local transport are also
used to vary the pace and perspective of your travels. The key differences between Peregrine and
most mainstream holidays are you immerse yourself more in the destination and are personally
involved with the success of your holiday.
4. Stress free travel
At Peregrine, we also focus on taking the hassles and tedium out of travelling for you,
so you can focus on the scenes around you. We transfer you from the airport on arrival.
All your accommodation and transportation is taken care of. The hotels in the towns and
cities are well located, have private facilities and, in the tropics, are air-conditioned and
often have pools (more basic local accommodation is sometimes included as a highlight).
Private buses are used on all longer road journeys to guarantee our freedom to explore and
to increase your comfort. Entrance fees are included for all the sites, parks and activities
listed in the itineraries.
5. Respect for the environment
A major focus of our operations is setting benchmarks in responsible tourism. We have strict
operational guidelines for our leaders to follow. We also provide you with a pre-departure
booklet, which details ways you can help. We are involved with clean-up campaigns at places
like the Inca Trail, the Nile and Kilimanjaro. We support a number of international and local
charity organisations, particularly where they have the infrastructure to undertake specific
campaigns. We are also actively involved in a number of small specific projects in many
regions around the world, including tree-planting in Kenya etc… In many ways, our role
in helping people celebrate and learn about wilderness and wildlife may be the most
powerful contribution we make.
6. Cultural sensitivity
Our aim is to respect the people we meet and ensure our interaction is mutually beneficial. The cornerstone
of this policy is local employment and engaging small local businesses. By employing leaders
born in the region we not only provide employment but we have dramatically increased opportunities
to get beyond the guide books. Having a leader who speaks the language unlocks many of the
mysteries travellers discover. It opens the way for more open communication and the chance for
some real understanding. By staying as guests in tribal villages or in small family-run accommodation,
we can ensure economic benefits filter down to the families that most need it, rather than to huge
multinational chains.
7. Quality
For 28 years Peregrine has been at the forefront of offering adventurous experiences without making them
endurance tests. Accommodation, transport and equipment are chosen with this in mind. Importantly,
Peregrine is an operator, not just a middleman or web portal that has no control over the quality of
its offerings. With client feedback from every tour and close communication with our local offices, we
constantly monitor the quality of our operations and adopt positive innovations.
8. Safety
Over the last 28 years, we have constantly refined our operational procedures and improved our approach
to your safety and security. Having local offices and ground staff means that our established emergency
procedures are fast and effective. Our leaders are all trained in first aid and crisis management, so if
something does go wrong, you are in good hands. Prevention is the key though, so things like food
preparation and hygiene are given top priority. Safety equipment is also fundamental. We carry
first aid kits on all tours, and, on high-altitude treks in Nepal, we always carry Portable Altitude
Chambers in case of altitude sickness.
9. Innovation
We take our position as the leader in adventure travel seriously. We love pioneering new routes and
destinations, but we also accept that with leadership comes increased responsibility. We want to pioneer
an age of ethical tourism by employing local leaders, celebrating the biological and cultural diversity of
our world and protecting them for the future. We want to ensure tourism benefits local communities,
rather than exploiting them. We want to champion the advantages of small group holidays over
mainstream mass tourism.