CHALLENGE FAQS

Open Challenges are trips featured in our Brochure and on our website marked ‘Open challenge,’ they are made up of groups of people fundraising for different charities but all with one thing in common – pushing limits and doing something worthwhile. These types of trips offer you three different payment methods –

• Fundraising; pay your registration fee and commit to raising a set target for charity.
• Part-Payment; pay your registration fee, pay a set contribution towards your trip cost and commit to fundraise a set amount. This plus any further fundraising over the set amount all goes to your chosen charity.
• Full-Payment; pay your registration fee and pay the full amount of your trip cost. There is no fundraising target and you can choose not to fundraise at all. However for those that do, 100% of the monies raised go direct to your chosen charity.

Our Bespoke Challenges are those that we have been invited by a particular charity to organise for a group of their fundraisers. Unless stated otherwise, you will be required to pay your registration fee and fundraise a target amount for that charity.

On some trips where we camp, our camps have toilet tents with ‘luxurious’ porta-loos, at other times latrines will be dug out. The toilet system we use does keep the camp area as hygienic and environmentally-friendly as possible. We burn any paper waste before we leave camp, and all holes are filled in. During the day we encourage you to burn or carry out (you may find it useful to carry plastic bags with you) any waste. Please do not leave toilet paper on the trails or behind bushes. Don’t worry, you will be briefed fully on toilet etiquette when you join the trip!

Many places where we camp do not have any facilities, but often there are natural water sources such as streams or lakes. Please wash away from the water source where possible (use buckets), and use biodegradable soaps and shampoos, as chemicals do upset the balance of the water and harm plant and animal life, as well as causing potential harm to any local people.

We are organisers of Fundraising Challenges, offering trips that are designed to push your limits, both mentally and physically, they are not holidays. They involve preparation in terms of fundraising and improving fitness. There is a special atmosphere on our trips that you just don’t get on a holiday no matter how active they are – money cannot buy the sense of achievement and self-confidence you will feel after completing the challenge.
However, if you are looking to explore your challenge at a more relaxed pace you can always stay on an extra few days on one of our challenge extensions!

For most people, the main attraction of travelling to a different country is to see new sights and enjoy new experiences. Sometimes those new experiences can make life harder or more inconvenient than you may like, such as toilet hygiene or different food, or simply a different attitude to solving problems. This is all part of the challenge you are signing up for!

Many challenges involve camping because of the remote nature of our treks; tents are usually two-man. Camp is usually equipped with cooks, dining tents, three-course dinners and sometimes a sunset bar! We stay at comfortable (but not luxurious) hotels at the start and end of the trip.

Meals are designed to give you plenty of energy. On some trips we use hotels throughout; these are usually of a traditional style, they can vary widely as they are chosen primarily for their location.

A sense of humour and sense of adventure are two of the most important things to bring with you - we can guarantee that coming face-to-face with experiences outside your normal ‘comfort zone’ will help you bond with your fellow trekkers and provide you with plenty of things to laugh about!

Being vegetarian or having other dietary requirements is not usually a problem provided you let us know well in advance. Please do not expect as much variety as you would have access to at home – depending on the trip we are often in very rural areas and among people of a different culture who may not understand your requirements, however willing they are to help. If you have very particularly eating habits you may wish to bring extra snacks from home so you can top up your energy supply!

All bookings are authorised under Discover Adventure Ltd.’s ATOL license number 5636, through the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority). Many of the flights and flight-inclusive trips on this website are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. But ATOL protection does not apply to all challenges and travel services featured on this this website. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking. If you do not receive an ATOL Certificate then the booking will not be ATOL protected. If you do receive an ATOL Certificate but all the parts of your trip are not listed on it, those parts will not be ATOL protected. Please see our booking conditions for information, or for more information about financial protection and the ATOL Certificate go to: www.atol.org.uk/ATOLCertificate.

 See more about Your Financial & Consumer Protection.

The increase in airline taxes over the past few years has led to airlines applying supplementary taxes to all airfares. If your trip has an airline tax levied against it Discover Adventure agree to cap the amount you pay at £250.

If you are taking the Fundraising Option, your charity will pay your airline taxes along with your Trip Cost, provided you have raised the target amount. If you are taking the Full-Payment Option, your airline taxes including any fuel supplement will be included as part of the trip cost invoice and detailed as part of the final trip costs.

Please note, the price you agree to pay at the time of booking includes the full amount of the airline taxes and is detailed on your booking receipt. It is listed separately and treated as a surcharge as set out in the Challenge Agreement. There are several trips taking place within Europe where Discover Adventure absorbs these fees on your behalf.

When booking group flights we endeavour to find the best flights that match our itinerary. There are often no direct flights to our destination, so do be prepared for transit stops: bring a good book, game, snacks or chat to your fellow participants! Airlines that do offer direct flights rarely offer competitive rates for groups. Please remember that the main purpose of our trips is to raise money for charity!

If you prefer to book your own flights please ask us for a land-only cost. You will be responsible for making your own arrangements for meeting the rest of the group, though we can advise you. We need to know if you do not require our group flight as early as possible; please complete the form in the information pack you’ll be sent with your booking confirmation.

Most of our flights are from London. If you book flights to Heathrow or Gatwick from a regional airport, it is your responsibility to allow plenty of time to connect to the group flight and to cope with any flight schedule changes. Please be aware that the best deals allow little flexibility if you need to change them. We regret that we are unable to book connecting flights for you.

Yes, it is usually possible to stay on in the country after the challenge, just let us know as soon as you can – there is a Flight Extension Form in your Pack to do this.

The Discover Adventure Flight Department may be able to help you or advise on booking your own flights however any arrangements we make for you will incur an administration fee. We offer several challenge extensions (depending on your chosen challenge) where you can stay on and explore or take on further activities after you have completed your main challenge. See these under the Extensions tab on your chosen challenge page.

Long before ‘Responsible Tourism’ became a recognised phrase, we designed and ran our trips to ensure they made the minimum impact on the environment and a highly positive impact on the local communities we pass through. 

Regular employment in poor areas is vital and impacts on every aspect of the life of the family of each guide, porter, driver or cook we employ. In addition, we are involved with several community projects on a long-term basis. We believe that our trips have many positive advantages for the worldwide communities we work with, the charity you are raising money for and, of course, for you! To read more about this important issue click here

Established in 1994, the Discover Adventure team has been organising challenges across the globe to enable people to have the experience of a lifetime. We believe everyone should have the opportunity to do something amazing for the charity of their choice and have cultivated an experienced, knowledgeable and most of all friendly and fun team to make this possible.

To summarise, here are our highlights:

• Over two decades of experience designing and running worldwide challenge events for charities
• Safety will always be our highest priority
• We are one of the few charity challenge operators who have been awarded with a British Travel award for ‘Best Small Escorted Adventure Company’
• Our trips have a high leader to group ratio; tour leaders are very experienced and trained in expedition first aid
• UK-based doctor or paramedic accompanies trips (dependent on group size)
• We provide full back-up, from vehicles to porters to comprehensive medical kits and satellite telephones on overseas trips
• 24-hour emergency back-up telephone in the UK manned by experienced Discover Adventure staff with tour-leading experience
• Experienced, friendly office staff provides help and advice in the lead-up to your trip, and post-trip support as well
• We act on feedback, so continually strive improve the experience you will have on our trips
• Our pricing is transparent, there are no local payments to be made and no hidden costs and our costs will never compromise on safety

We are committed to Sustainable Tourism practices and adhere to the following guidelines:

• To protect the environment – its flora, fauna and landscapesTo respect local cultures – traditions, religions and built heritage
• To benefit local communities – both economically and socially
• To conserve natural resources – from office to destination
• To minimize pollution – through noise, waste disposal and congestion
• We operate a ‘leave no trace’ policy when visiting any country, using every opportunity to minimize the environmental impact of our trips. We also raise cultural awareness among our participants, briefing all group members fully before and during the trip on sustainable tourism and cultural issues
• Challenge group sizes are limited on some trips for environmental or safety reasons
• We are very proud of our friendly reputation and value our long-term working relationships with customers and ground operators all over the world
• We are ATOL-bonded for your financial protection
• We are a member of AITO (Association of Independent Tour Operators) – ensuring best practices