Explorer
Our Explorer style trips
Explorer trips allow you to access the destination on a more local level, they use local transport where ever possible and include more free time to give you the freedom to have your own experiences, while still providing access to little known sights and hidden gems you might not have found if you were on your own. Accommodation is still our unique style but may include shared accommodation or camping from time to time.
Not sure what to do with all that free time? Each trip has a range of optional activities you can add on before you depart and/or while on the ground in your destination!
Explorer trips are trips are for travellers who “don’t go on tours.”
AT A GLANCE:
- Ranged from shared accommodation and camping to 3-star twin share accommodation. Private room supplement may be available for double, twin and single rooms
- Local transport where possible with some coach travel
- Minimal meals included – most breakfasts (B) and Lunch (L) or Dinner (D) where we can offer a unique eating experience
- Some included activities, itineraries heavily weighted towards free time
- Optional activities available for purchase during free time
- Minimal time in arrival/departure location to maximise time in destinations along the way. Additional nights before and after the trip available for purchase, along with short optional pre/post trips in some locations.
Eastern Village Explorer
Experience a world of undisturbed culture with this trip to visit Iran’s villages each of which is more unique than the last. From Makhunik a village of ancient subterranean dwellings often called ‘Iran’s Liliput’ to the desert oasis of Garmeh, an expedition into undiscovered worlds awaits you. Meet the people of these villages lost in time and make local connections which will stay with you your entire life.
In addition to Iran’s villages, we will spend a night camping with the desert nomads of Kahkaran and also explore the hottest place on Earth the Lut Desert (although this trip is in April, so it won’t be too hot!)
Explore the Zoroastrian religion of Yazd with a visit to its fire temple and mysterious ‘Towers of Silence’ and complete your experience in beautiful Isfahan, the jewel of Iranian cities.
Stay in traditional family run homestays, hotels and eco-lodges in throughout. Eat like a local as you take a street food walk through Tehran, sample home cooked meals in small villages and eat food cooked over the campfire by nomad hosts.
Western Village Explorer
Enter a cultural lost world on this expedition to discover Iran’s undisturbed and unique villages. Starting out from Isfahan, the ‘half of the world’, journey to the ‘Red Village’ of Abyaneh, a village nestled in the mountains and famed for its colourful appearance. Walk along the roof tops of the traditional terraced villages of Masuleh and Palangan. Take a boat ride along the Caspian Coast to see the colourful houses of Bandar Anzali, walk along the shores of the red Urmia Lake and spot local bird life on the lake of Naqadeh at sunset. Explore Mazichal the ‘village in the clouds’ frozen in time without electricity or modern conveniences and marvel how life here has not changed for centuries.
Stay in traditional family run homestays, hotels and eco-lodges in throughout for a local experience in Iran you will never forget. Sample home cooked meals in small villages and experience the warm hospitality of the Iranian people as well as take the opportunity to have dinner in a real Silk Road caravanserai in Isfahan.
Hell’s Hottest Heart
*** New departure coming soon ***
Venture into one of the most inhospitable places in the world on this adventure to end all adventures! Set up camp in the hottest desert on Earth to explore its strange formations, hardy flora and fauna and experience the warm hearts of the people who reside in this harsh environment. Visit the oasis towns of Garmeh and Mesr and discover the ancient citadel of Bam, the largest adobe building in the world. Explore the ancient Zoroastrian religion in the cities of Yazd and Kerman, with visits to so-called ‘Towers of Silence’ and temples of fire, as well as discover magical Isfahan and the small, but beautiful city of Kashan. Call in at some of Iran’s most spectacular villages including the ‘Red Village’ of Abyaneh, Kharanaq with its vibrating minaret and the strange dug out village of Meymand.
Spend four nights camping under a sky filled with stars, stay in a desert castle (yes you read that right), a traditional house, guesthouses, quirky hostels and local hotels, as well as mingle with the local people on the overnight train from Tehran to Kerman.
