About Encounters Travel

Projects and Charities We Support
As part of our code of practice we support various local and international organisations, NGO's and charities, related to the areas in which we operate. The booking of any of our tours will include a donation of at least UK£2 to one or more of the following (details of specific donations made are included in each tour factsheet):

Egypt:
Desert Clean-up Days
We have started sponsoring and organising clean up days to many of the desert locations we visit, with the aim of reducing the impact we have on these beautiful and natural environments. Each year we organise a group of our guides and staff to visit a number of popular tourist locations in the desert and spend the day picking up litter. Read more…

Cairo Orphanage
We have "adopted" an orphange in Cario and your money helps to provide clothes, food and study equipment for the children. We also offer the option of a visit to the orphanage to any of our clients who are interested. Read more…

Nepal:
Shree Nalang Primary School Project
Shree Nalang primary school is situated about 50 miles to the northwest of Kathmandu in the foothills of the Himalayas. It caters for children aged 5 to 11 years and is in desperate need of modernisation. Your donations are helping tremendously in this process.

Bardia Eco Lodge Project
Bardia National Park is one of Nepal's seven national parks and is the most westerly. It is a haven for wildlife and in particular endangered species such as Rhinoceros, Wild elephant, Tiger, Swamp deer, Gharial crocodile, Gangetic dolphin, Bengal florican and Sarus crane. We are helping to build a carbon neutral wildlife lodge with the aim of providing an environmentally sympathetic and sustainable destination for tourists, which will also benefit the local community. Read more…

KEEP (The Kathmandu Environmental Education Project)
Keep is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation. Its aims are twofold: to provide impartial, and independent information to travellers, and to ensure the future ecological and cultural prosperity of Nepal through positive impact tourism and outreach project work. Read more…

IPPG (International Porter Protection Group)
IPPG's aim is to improve health and safety for the trekking porter at work in the mountains and reduce the incidence of avoidable illness injury and death. This is done by raising awareness of the issue among trekking and travel companies, leaders, sirdars, and trekkers.

Himmalayan Rescue Association
The HRA is a voluntary non-profit organisation which strives to reduce casualities in the Nepal Himalaya. It provides extensive information and advice on trekking at high altitudes and on various aspects of altitude sickness.

Thailand:
Border Green Energy Team
The Border Green Energy Team (BGET) provide hands-on appropriate technology training and financial support to village innovators in ethnic minority areas on both sides of the Thai/Burma border. Your donations help this dedicated group build community micro-hydro systems and train Karen Thai villagers to operate, maintain and repair solar electric systems.

New Zealand:

New Zealand Whale and Dolphin Trust
With all our New Zealand treks, we contribute to a Wildlife Research Fund. This season the fund will contribute to the New Zealand Whale and Dolphin Trust to assist with conservation of Hector's dolphin - one of the rarest marine dolphins in the world, found only in New Zealand waters.

General:

WaterAid
WaterAid is an international charity dedicated to helping people escape the stranglehold of poverty and disease caused by living without safe water and sanitation.

Tourism Concern
The UK's leading resource for ethical and sustainable tourism. ....less

We try to design our itineraries and plan the way we operate in as responsible and sustainable a way as possible. We avoid domestic flights and use public transport instead on many of our tours, including sleeper trains and some public coaches. ....less

Do you have a mix of both excitement and concern about travelling now that many destinations around the world are starting to open their borders?

Don’t worry, we understand, and share both.

To help make things a little easier for you, we’ve launched our Safer Encounters scheme, which focuses on the health and safety of our travellers and local staff, while still providing the memorable experiences, visits and activities that our tours normally include. This scheme will be updated from time to time over the months ahead as things become clearer about how we can travel responsibly and safely in different destinations.

We are also working towards the World Travel & Tourism Council’s 'Safe Travel' protocols for tour operators, following recommendations and advice from the World Health Organisation, and will always adhere to the updated regulations put in place by local health and tourist authorities. ....less

Behaviour and Local Customs
These are often very different to what you are used to living with and adhering to. On some of our tours they change as the tour progresses. You should always respect local religions, beliefs and customs. Your tour leader will brief you on changes to accepted and recommended dress and behaviour as your tour progresses. Some examples include:

Avoid eating or touching food and water with your left hand in Hindu and Muslim societies.
Ensure that you cover up appropriately when entering holy places. Some countries such as Iran have strict rules on dress, especially for women, which should be respected. It can be easy to unintentionally cause offence through your dress so it is best to always dress conservatively. Ask your leader for advice if you are unsure.
Avoid public displays of intimacy.
Respect the privacy of local people. Ask permission or advice before entering private dwellings or workplaces.
Try and learn some basic words and phrases in the local language. Your effort will invariably be enthusiastically appreciated.
Nearly all of us want to come back with some memorable photographs. You should always ask permission before taking photographs of people, holy places or rituals. Try to avoid using a flash when photographing paintings or textiles as this can cause damage to pigments. ....less

We have been nominated alongside some of the world's best travel brands such as Qatar Airways: https://powerretail.com.au/events/all-star-bash/#:~:text=Top%20Travel%20Retailer%20Award ....less

Behavioural and Local Customs are often very different to what you are used to living with and adhering to. On some of our tours they change as the tour progresses. You should always respect local religions, beliefs and customs. Your tour leader will brief you on changes to accepted and recommended dress and behaviour as your tour progresses. Some examples include:

1. Avoid eating or touching food and water with your left hand in Hindu and Muslim societies.
2. Ensure that you cover up appropriately when entering holy places. Some countries such as Iran have strict rules on dress, especially for women, which should be respected. It can be easy to unintentionally cause offence through your dress so it is best to always dress conservatively. 3. Ask your leader for advice if you are unsure.
4. Avoid public displays of intimacy.
5. Respect the privacy of local people. Ask permission or advice before entering private dwellings or workplaces.
6. Try and learn some basic words and phrases in the local language. Your effort will invariably be enthusiastically appreciated.
7. Nearly all of us want to come back with some memorable photographs. You should always ask permission before taking photographs of people, holy places or rituals. Try to avoid using a flash when photographing paintings or textiles as this can cause damage to pigments. ....less

We specialise in creating innovative, fun and exciting tours for the open minded traveller and we are always looking for new ways to add value and excitement to your travel experiences with us so that you see and experience more than just the usual tourist spots and have great fun at the same time. Throughout this process we are committed to travelling responsibly, and leaving a positive impression and impact on the countries through which we travel.

As group tour specialists, we are also able to arrange private departures and customise one of our tours if your group needs something a little special. Our tours are all available to school, college and university groups, clubs and associations, or groups of friends who want a private Encounters Travel style holiday. ....less

Encounters Travel is a trading name of Uncover the World Travel Ltd. which is a company registered in England & Wales, registration number: 07560987, registered office Plumpton Cottage, Mitchell Lane, Bradford, BD10 0TA, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom. Uncover the World Travel Ltd. provides financial protection through a trust account and associated insurance provided by Trust My Travel Bookings made in Australia and New Zealand are processed through our Australian agent Uncover the World Pty Ltd., a member of AFTA. Our owners and directors have over 50 years of experience between them of arranging this type of travel, from driving overland expeditions and running travel companies both here in the UK and on the ground. This gives us an unbeatable knowledge of all aspects of running our holidays safely and responsibly, and means we can guarantee excellent and consistent customer service from start to finish.

Our tours are designed to give our travellers the best possible experience in each country, and to be good value without making compromises to save time or money. We also try very hard to keep the overall style and inclusions/exclusions of our tours as consistent as possible from country to country, while taking into account the different highlights and activities available in each country. Our set departure group tour sizes are kept small (the vast majority with no more than twelve to twenty travellers), to ensure that everyone in the group has a good experience and doesn’t feel left out. During peak seasons we may run several groups on the same date, but will never compromise on the service each group receives. Tours in our Shoestring range plus in some countries such as Israel where small group travel is very expensive have higher maximum numbers but still average under 20 per group - details are given on each tour page and in the tour dossiers. The Private tour options displayed on this website are designed to give a taste for the type of private holidays we can arrange for people who don't want to join a group tour. They can be booked as they are, or used as initial ideas and then tailor-made with our help as much as you wish. ....less

Member of Adventure Travel Trade Association https://www.adventuretravel.biz/ ....less

Here at Uncover the World we benefit from being led by a team that is formally trained, both in various environmental sciences, and in economic and social issues in the developing world. This formal education together with our own personal convictions means that we take environmental and social issues very seriously when we work to create our tours and develop our operations abroad. To this end we have created, and strive to adhere to, the following code of practice. ....less

The highlight of many of our tours is the environment through which we travel. We aim to leave this environment and its ecology in the same state that we found it, if not better. We encourage this by:

1. Ensuring minimal use of water where it is in short supply (see also water above).
2. Making responsible choices of locations for toilet stops and washing (away from water sources).
3. Making minimal use of firewood, especially in areas where this resource is in short supply.
4. Carrying out responsible disposal of waste (see above).
5. Avoiding buying souvenirs made from coral, ivory, rare animal hides, bones or shells. Also ancient pottery or other antique artefacts whose sale can encourage further looting of sites of immense local cultural and historical importance.
6. Suggesting the buying of souvenirs from places such as official shops in National Parks that return funding to the running and preservation of such locations.
7. Driving on only the recognised trails in National Parks. Also ensuring that our viewing of animals causes as little disruption to the park as possible.
8. Using only main trails while trekking to minimise erosion.
9. Supporting the National Parks that we visit by making donations to various programs/organisations that help to preserve these unique habitats ....less

2024 Power Retail All Star Bash Top Travel Retailer Nominee

We have been nominated alongside some of the world's best travel brands such as Qatar Airways: https://powerretail.com.au/events/all-star-bash/#:~:text=Top%20Travel%20Retailer%20Award


2024 Tripadvisor's Travelers' Choice Awards ....less