FAQs

Yes. World Expeditions has operated continuously since 1975, when it began as Australian Himalayan Expeditions. We are accredited or licensed in every market we sell in, including ATIA accreditation in Australia and ATOL licensing in the United Kingdom, with offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Auckland, London and Ottawa. Responsible tourism has shaped how we operate since the beginning.

World Expeditions is privately Australian owned, with its head office in Sydney. It is the parent brand of the World Expeditions Travel Group, whose brands include UTracks, Walkers' Britain & Europe, Australian Walking Holidays, Tasmanian Expeditions, On Water Expeditions, Great Walks of New Zealand, Great Canadian Trails, Great American Trails and Adventure South NZ.

World Expeditions Travel Group is led by a stable, long-standing management team headed by CEO Sue Badyari, who has been steering the company since 1999. That continuity at the top is a direct reflection of the culture and values of every brand in the group.

Yes. World Expeditions Schools is our division specialising in educational trips for school groups, with service-learning and adventure programs curated for students. It shares the same operations, in-country teams and safety standards as our adult programs, and sits under the World Expeditions Travel Group alongside World Expeditions.

No. We design our own itineraries, set our own safety and porter welfare standards, and run the trips with our own guides. We own our Australian, New Zealand, UK and most Canadian and US companies outright, and in Nepal an operation works solely for us. Elsewhere we do not own the operation, but the trip is still exclusively ours, and you contract with us, not a local supplier.

Not in the way that phrase implies. Around 80% of our trips are run by operations we own outright or that work exclusively for us, concentrated in the destinations we know best. Elsewhere we work with specialist ground operators, many of them decades-long relationships, engaged under our standards and accountable to us.

It depends where you are going. In Australia, New Zealand, the UK and much of Canada, our own companies and our own staff. In Nepal and some other regions, an operation that works exclusively for us. Elsewhere, specialist local operators delivering to World Expeditions' safety, risk and crew welfare standards.

Since the beginning. World Expeditions started in 1975 as a Himalayan trekking company, and the relationships behind our Nepal and India programs have run for fifty years. We work with families who helped create the Nepali trekking industry, and many of our Nepali staff have been with us more than twenty years.

We do where it makes the trip better. Our Australian and New Zealand companies are wholly owned and staffed by us. Elsewhere a long-standing local partner delivers more than a foreign-owned branch office could: people guiding in their own regions, often across generations. Owning every operation worldwide would mean less local knowledge, not more.

On trips we do not operate exclusively, sometimes, and we say so before you book. Where a departure is shared with travellers booked through other operators, that is stated in our pre-departure trip notes. If exclusivity matters to you, a private departure can be arranged, subject to availability.

Because the price covers what a direct local booking usually does not: permits and park fees, fair porter and crew wages, safety equipment, trained leaders, financial protection for your money, and accountability if something goes wrong. We will not cut corners to look cheaper. You can book locally for less, but you take on the risk yourself when you do.

Usually, yes, though it depends on the destination: remote travel carries unusually high logistical and organisational costs. What you are often booking is a business that may not be licensed by a third party, with limited insurance and no financial protection. That costs nothing until the day it matters: an evacuation, a closed pass, a cancelled flight, an injury.

On a guided small group trek: permits and park fees, all meals on the trail, accommodation, in-country transport, your leader and crew, and equipment. On our Everest treks in Nepal that extends to a loan trek pack with a four-season sleeping bag and down jacket, a group medical kit and a portable altitude chamber. Exclusions are listed on every trip page.

Nothing compulsory beyond tips. Permits, park fees, meals on trek, guides, porters and transport are in the price, and where an item is not included its value is listed in your pre-departure trip notes. In cities you are on a bed and breakfast basis unless a group meal is stated. Tips and personal expenses such as drinks and laundry are excluded.

No. Solo travellers are placed in twin share accommodation with another traveller of the same gender at no extra cost, and if numbers are uneven you get a room to yourself anyway at no charge. There is no surcharge for travelling alone.

Yes, on most trips. The single supplement is an optional upgrade, paid in advance, that guarantees single accommodation rather than twin share. On remote routes there are nights where only basic accommodation exists and it cannot be offered. Those nights are named in the trip notes before you book.

They are local, and employed in their own countries. In the Himalaya we train them ourselves, including a leadership course run by Tim Macartney-Snape AM, our mountaineering consultant and the first Australian to climb Everest, and courses with experienced wilderness medical trainers. Our CEO and operations team visit in person, and many of our Nepali staff have been with us more than twenty years.

Your leader handles it on the ground. Every World Expeditions leader is trained to manage challenging situations and emergencies in the field, and is in direct contact with our in-country operations team, who work with our home office. Escalation is immediate and does not wait for office hours in another time zone.

By pacing the itinerary for safe altitude gain rather than speed, with acclimatisation days built in rather than offered as optional. Leaders are trained in remote wilderness first aid and carry a group medical kit, and a portable altitude chamber in most regions where travellers are exposed to high altitude. Sleeping altitude profile is where we never compromise.

To a published Porter Welfare Policy, set region by region. Porters receive wages above local minimums, regulated in Nepal by the Trekking Agents Association of Nepal and the Labour Union, plus three meals a day, accommodation, cold-weather clothing and footwear, accident and medical insurance, and the same emergency evacuation access our travellers get. Load limits are enforced: 30 kg in Nepal, 20 kg in Tanzania and Kenya, 18 kg in Papua New Guinea.

On Kilimanjaro, yes. We are an International Mountain Explorers Connection Partner for Responsible Travel, so our treatment of porters is monitored each climbing season by the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project. In Nepal we support KEEP's Porter Awareness Workshops. We also ask every traveller about porter treatment on their trek, and the feedback tells us they are well looked after.

World Expeditions is ATIA accredited in Australia, which requires meeting financial and conduct criteria under a code of conduct. We are also a CATO (Council of Australian Tour Operators) accredited tour operator, TAANZ accredited in New Zealand, TICO registered in Canada, and ATOL licensed in the United Kingdom. Booking with an accredited and licensed operator gives you protection you do not get booking direct with an overseas supplier.

Raise it with the consultant who handled your booking, or through the feedback form linked in our website footer. If that does not resolve it, our published Complaint Handling and Dispute Resolution Policy applies: complaints are acknowledged within five business days and finalised within four business weeks. You can escalate to your consumer protection agency at any time.

Yes. Every traveller receives a survey on return home. Surveys are read by our Operations team and managed personally by the operations person responsible for that region, not routed to a general inbox. Any negative or constructive feedback receives a response. Our published traveller rating across more than 19,000 reviews is 4.7 out of 5.

Yes. Your booking creates jobs for local people and brings income to the communities our trips travel through. It also supports the World Expeditions Foundation, our registered not-for-profit arm: our brands donate the equivalent of AUD$5 per traveller and 100% reaches the projects, because the Foundation has no administration fees and is run by volunteer directors.

Small. A maximum of sixteen travellers on most guided trips, and fewer on mountaineering and technical departures. Some trips carry a different maximum, and group size can change, so ask your travel consultant to confirm the minimum and maximum for your departure when you book.

You will know the status before you book. Every departure on our website is labelled, and dates marked "Guaranteed to go" are running regardless of further bookings. Adventure travel involves variables outside anyone's control, so where a departure or itinerary has to change we contact you directly and set out your options.

Yes. Almost every trip can be run as a private group on dates you choose, using the "Create a private group" option on the trip's date list. Private departures can also be adjusted for pace, accommodation and inclusions. If a scheduled date or itinerary does not suit, ask before booking rather than after.

Three things, and all three are fair. Our prices may be higher than booking direct. In some destinations trips are delivered by long-standing local operators rather than our own staff. And not every departure is guaranteed when it first goes on sale: dates reach minimum numbers as bookings come in, so booking early gets a departure guaranteed sooner, for you and everyone on it. Beyond those, the usual issue is underestimating how demanding a trip is, so read the grading.

An adventure, and we mean that literally. Remote routes, real weather, long days and occasional discomfort are the experience, not a failure of it, though we make it as comfortable as we can. We grade every trip and tell you honestly how hard it is before you book. If you want certainty and comfort throughout, an adventure trip is the wrong purchase.

Every trip carries a published grading with a written description of what an average day involves: hours of activity, terrain, altitude and the training we recommend beforehand. Gradings run from introductory to challenging. In a region like the Himalaya or Andes that ranges from gentler valley walks to sustained high altitude treks.

Someone with a real sense of adventure, curious and open to remote places and the communities who live there, and willing to be active to get there, travelling in a low impact way. That does not require elite fitness. Every trip is graded, and most regions offer options across a range of abilities.

Anyone who needs comfort and predictability guaranteed throughout. On remote routes accommodation is sometimes basic, the weather decides the day, and itineraries change. If you want to set your own dates and inclusions, book a private departure rather than joining a scheduled one. And if price is the deciding factor, a local operator will beat us.