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About Us

About Us – Who Are The Different Travel Company?

The Different Travel Company was founded in early 2005, just after the Asian Boxing Day tsunami and our very first groups departed just months later, on a mission to help those affected in Sri Lanka and Thailand repair their lives. Over the following year, we built new homes and businesses, cleaned beaches, refurbished schools and brought important tourist income to destinations whose communities were struggling to make ends meet caused by the scarcity of visitors following the tragedy.

Fast forward to today and The Different Travel Company works with a wide range of charities, organisations, colleges, schools and groups to offer short-term build or project trips worldwide, classic charity challenges such as trekking the Great Wall of China or climbing Kilimanjaro, and also trips which combine a physical trek or challenge with making a practical difference at a project in the destination country.

Our ethos of helping communities at home and abroad is upheld by ensuring that everyone benefits from one of our trips – the local community, the participants and of course any UK charity which is supported by the participants. Underpinning everything we do is ensuring our trips are safe, responsible and sustainable.

We are amazed at what has been achieved so far and delighted that so many people have joined us on our adventure holidays, charity challenges and builds, to fantastic destinations all over the globe. Our participants have gone to see the sights, participate in physical challenges and work alongside the local people and have returned with open eyes, experiences of a lifetime and memories that will last forever.

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The Different Travel Company is an ATOL bonded tour operator that specialises in overseas charity challenges and adventure holidays. We work closely with many charities to provide charity challenges for them to achieve their fundraising targets and to give their supporters a unique and memorable adventure overseas. We also run adventure holidays that do not require participants to fundraise for a charity – they can trek the Sahara desert or climb Mount Kilimanjaro for fun!

We pride ourselves on offering excellent, personal customer service and always strive to do our best. Since our creation in 2005, we have helped hundreds of charities and organisations raise money and their profile by offering their supporters unique ways to get involved. From trekking through the Borneo jungle and helping with an orangutan conservation programme to helping at an orphanage in Goa or a snowshoe trek in the Carpathian Mountains to canoeing down the Zambezi – there really is something for everyone!

As our name suggests, we are a travel company with a difference. As well as offering the traditional charity challenge and adventure holiday such as climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, trekking the Inca Trail or cycling from Vietnam to Cambodia, many of our itineraries are combined with the opportunity for participants to get stuck into assisting at development projects alongside local people in host countries worldwide.

There are many benefits of a charity challenge or adventure holiday which includes community work or assisting at a project:

  • If fundraising, it avoids ‘free holiday’ syndrome, whereby participants find it hard to overcome the impression that their sponsors are simply paying for a free holiday.
  • Local media interest is greater when there is a non-local angle on the story which can help fundraising participants increase potential sponsorship income.
  • The days spent at the project help the team get to know one another and bond if done prior to the physical activity (trek/cycle etc), or enjoy the final days of each other’s company before going home if done after the physical activity.
  • People like to feel that they are making a difference to the lives of others. Getting involved at a project allows participants to see first hand the difference that can be made if people work together.
  • It is a great way to interact with the local community and learn the culture and customs of the people.

We welcome individuals, couples, families, friends, corporate groups, charity fundraisers, church groups and schools onto our charity challenges and adventure holidays. You should be 18 or above, unless you are 16 or 17 and accompanied by a responsible adult.

Some of our challenges may be suitable for early teens so please contact us if you would like to check the suitability of a trip for your family.

If you are a group of people looking for a private trip we can arrange that for you exactly to your specifications. We do not charge a fee to do this, we simply offer you the best price for your group. Whatever the interests and aspirations of the group we can design a unique trip to appeal!

If you would like to find out more about arranging a private bespoke trip, please contact Different Travel.

Our charity challenges and adventure holidays include all aspects of the tour from flights and accommodation to permits and guides. We offer a full pre-departure package which includes specialist advice on what to take on your trip, advice on insurance and how to make your trip carbon neutral. We can also offer a range of post-trip extension options for those who wish to stay on and do some sightseeing. As a licensed ATOL-bonded travel tour operator, you can rest assured that when you book with us, you’re protected.

We believe that our charity challenge events and adventure holidays offer people a real opportunity to experience, learn and contribute in ways which traditional holidays cannot. We believe that our challenges not only make a difference to the communities we visit through our responsible tourism ethos, but also make a difference to the people who travel with us who get more out of their trip because they have the opportunity to give something back.