Madventure

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Reviews

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  Jim Finnie

  If you want to go on the trip of a lifetime, travel on a luxurious air conditioned coach and live the high life in top of the line hotels - then this isn't the trip for you :-) If however, you have a sprit of adventure, an open mind and are happy to take the rough with the smooth, then this is almost certainly the trip for you and you'll love it. You'll be camping, sometimes in pouring rain, which is all part of the fun but make sure you have a decent tent and you'll be in hostels, either in shared dorms or (if avaialble) you can upgrade to private rooms but you will have to pay the difference (they're often quite cheap). Wit the best will in the world, things will go wrong, you might have to help change a tyre when punctures happen (they will happen), you'll be mucking in on cook duty or truck cleaning, but again that's all part of it. I travelled through Central and South America with Madventure over a six month period and there were times when I had sense of humour failures, maybe more than once :-) but all in all it was a great trip and I'd definitely travel with Madventure again.

  29-04-2023
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  Daniel Sant

  My first trip with Madventure also happened to be their first trip through the Arabian Peninsula. The trip organisation was great, and even though we were travelling during peak pandemic (which brought along various obstacles), we still made it to all the stops on the planned itinerary, and then some! The wild camp sites we stayed at were beautiful and the hotels exceeded all of our expectations. The meals were also of very high quality. On this trip I had the honour of personally meeting owners Will and Karen, as well as office manager Leanne. With such amazing people steering the ship it's no wonder the expedition was such a success! I travelled again with Madventure this past winter in South America... the fact that I'm a return customer says a lot. Once again the trip was ran perfectly. I couldn't fault any of the campsites, meals, leadership, itinerary or activities. I also met lots of interesting people, both fellow travelers on the truck and locals off the truck. I'd definitely travel with Mad again!

  27-04-2023
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  Bronco Jones

  I really liked the variety of dishes on the menue. The staff was also excellent.

  27-04-2023
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  Chloe Brown

  Alaska to Rio - A trip if a lifetime! This was my first ever overlanding trip, so I really didn’t know what to expect but it definitely exceeded my expectations! Before this trip, I could count on one hand the amount of times that I had camped, also this would be the longest time I had spent away from home and I had never done anything like this before! If this sounds familiar to you, then I would definitely say go over it! Take the leap and don’t look back! The Madventure staff are wonderful! Before the trip started, the helpfulness and pre-departure information from the Madventure team really reassured me and helped me understand how the trip was going to run. During the trip, Will was an awesome driver and is so knowledgeable about the route and the places that you are travelling to. You are definitely in safe hands with the team! The trip itself… Totally amazing!! (for many reasons) Your fellow travellers - I met some totally awesome and inspiring people on this trip who have now become lifelong friends. We were all like a huge family who would always look out for each other and help each other whenever it was needed. This was especially useful at the start for me due to my lack of camping experience! Everyone makes sure that everyone is alright! The Madventure Itinerary- this was fantastic as it takes you to all of the main highlights of each country as well as some lesser known spots, which were equally as interesting and stunning. Honestly, the things we saw and experienced along the way were awe-inspiring and actually indescribable - You have to see it for yourself to believe it! I truly loved it and I am so pleased that I took the step to start on my overlanding adventure. I would highly recommend Madventure for beginners like me and also the experienced travellers. You won’t regret it! I now have the travel bug and I can’t wait for my next madventure 🤩

  27-04-2023
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  Mark Osiel

  I moderately enjoyed this trip. But the itinerary of sites was heavy on the old historical, which meant a lot of mud and straw buildings, though not specifically Muslim sites like early mosques (which Salafists themselves apparently destroyed during anti-idolatry campaigns). We did visit one new skyscraper and a couple modern malls. But the itinerary might have included more of the contemporary Saudi Arabia, revealing how all those billions of petrodollars have been spent—very intelligently, it would seem—on new infrastructure, large public and private buildings, including the many new universities, desalination plants and such. Also, the tour took us to Jazan, which is still listed (despite a recent truce) by Western foreign ministries a highly dangerous, due to periodic attacks from Yemen. Our tour leader was good at getting us from place to place in a timely fashion but is not, by his own admission a genuine tour guide; that would require a government license, obtained presumably after training in important aspects of the country’s history and society. In fact, he knew very little about the country and showed little interest in sharing with us what little he did know. And he certainly did not exude the kind of passion and curiosity about the place one finds in all the best touring guides (I’ve known many). So as not to embarrass him, we stopped asking him any serious questions after a few days.

  27-03-2023
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  Catherine Mhun

  What a great experience the Santiago to Rio trip was! Madventure organized a great camping and hosteling itinerary. I felt safe, saw incredible landscapes and met great people both on and off the truck. I highly recommend!

  27-03-2023
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  cjazzheighton

  This is a trip I will never forget! We travelled with Madventure in 2022 on their 2 week Iceland tour and can confirm this is the most in depth trip of Iceland out there! The Icelandic ‘summer’ was tough this year and we experienced rain, snow and hot sun all in the one day but the trip leaders made it work! Make sure you bring extra layers as you never know what weather you’re going to get. Camp locations were stunning and facilities in almost every one were great. We had a few upgrades into hostels along the way to keep us out the wet (optional!) which were fairly priced for Iceland. Everyone helped with setup and pack down of the communal tents and with food prep when needed, more hands makes light work was certainly true on this tour. The food that was prepared was beyond expectation for typical ‘camp’ food and was enjoyed by everyone, sometimes 2nd or 3rd helpings if available! Iceland is an incredible country and we were able to drive through lava fields, around stunning coast lines, gorges, beaches, ride electric scooters through main towns, swim in geothermal pools, watch puffins, see seals as we took a boat through icebergs and made great friends along the way. I couldn’t recommend Madventure enough, especially Karen, Leanne and Nicola. Thank you for everything! We can’t wait to see you again somewhere else in the world ❤️

  27-03-2023
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  Rich Mulligan

  I took the Central America expedition, and cannot say enough what a fantastic trip it was. I haven't overlanded since I was a lot younger, and my initial worry before booking was that I would be the old man of the group, lol. But I was delighted to find out that the ages were well balanced, with a great mix of older and younger people. The route was fantastic, of course. I consider that it was very good value for money, and that the Madventure people, both from office before to the people on board done everything they needed to do to make this run as smooth as an overland can run! Yes, you take the rough with the smooth on these things, but in all honesty very little went wrong. I am already planning my next trip, and will definately be using Madventure.

  27-03-2023
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  Andrew Dinwoodie

  Madventure / Anchorage to Mexico City 17 June –15 August 2022 One of the few good things to come out of the Covid pandemic was that I discovered Madventure: I was booked for an overland trip with another truck tour company I'd already travelled with a couple of times, who ran similar expeditions, but after almost all international travel shut down they soon went out of business. When foreign tourism was just becoming possible once again, Madventure – largely because it's such a lean and efficient company – was ahead of the field. They resumed operations with the first-ever overland tour throughout the Arabian peninsula, because Saudi Arabia had just opened its borders to foreign tourist traffic. Our driver Will was able to enjoy negotiating a completely new landscape of roads, mountains and desert. But of course there was now the additional hurdle of every traveller having to show evidence of a fresh PCR test at each border we crossed. In addition to all her regular work as our tour leader – being in overall charge of the food, accommodation, and much else for a truckful of travellers – Karen now had to locate local physicians who could carry out the inoculations and provide the results within 24 hours, to get us into the next country. I think all of us on board felt confident we could not have been in better or more experienced hands during what was a genuinely innovatory expedition. When the truck was off the road with a serious engine problem on the wrong side of the Kuwaiti-Saudi border, Karen deftly conjured up a succession of comfortable coaches to get us all to Jordan, where we were reunited with the restored and indestructible "Beast", which Will had reassembled more or less from its constituent parts. I was very impressed with Will and Karen's experience and resourcefulness, in addition to Madventure's enticing menu of overland tours, so I was keen to travel with them again, as post-Covid possibilities began to re-emerge. The next overland trip I chose – the first part of the eight-month Pan-American expedition – was quite a contrast to Arabia, but no less exciting. It would complete a New World north to south journey which I'd begun thirty years ago. As on the previous trip, the travellers on this tour covered an age-span of almost six decades. The majority of them were Madventure veterans, some of whom I'd met already. When I read the itinerary for the tour I was particularly glad that after assembling in Anchorage, we were to set off northwards, so as not to miss the very north of Alaska, on the shore of the Arctic Ocean. And the itinerary was geared to take advantage of summer at the northern and southern extremities of the Americas, making the most of the summer warmth and almost 24 hour daylight available. I didn't think I would ever have been able to travel this first section of the tour through Alaska, Canada and the USA, simply because of the cost of accommodation. With Madventure we stayed in a good range of National Park campsites, but otherwise "bush-camped" anywhere suitable at the end of a day's travel. There was sometimes the opportunity to upgrade for anyone in need of the occasional night in a real bed. But as soon as we hit Mexico, regular accommodation became a realistic proposition, and it was good to have a mix of rooms and tents. Of course I was sad to leave, and envious of those continuing on the long road south after I left. There were half a dozen new arrivals, and as I write this, this Madventure tour is reaching its conclusion at the Carnival in Rio – six months later. I'd like to thank Will and Karen – and all my friends and companions – for another great travel experience: I can't wait for the next one!

  27-02-2023
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  Vit Mlcoch

  Madventure Review I am a long term overland camping expedition Traveler and I was initially given great references about the Madventure firm by fellow travelers during an Africa camping overland tour. I had not heard about Madventure in Canada previously, and proceeded with due diligence to research Madventure, and their Travel places. I was impressed with their Trip Itineraries and I have since traveled with Madventure several times. My best Trips and memories are the camping expeditions: Istanbul – Singapore (6 months), part of the London - Sydney expedition and I recently finished Alaska - Panama (4 months) , part of the Alaska - Rio De Janeiro tour. The most unique feature of Madventure Travel compared to other overland firms is their flexibility with where people can start and end their own trips. Other overland firms give their customers specific places to start and finish . With Madventure , customers can select from eg: 9 month long trip, only 2 - 3 weeks individual sections, based on the specific personal needs. I never experienced this great flexibility anywhere else !!! The Trip Itinerary gives Customers the freedom to select what they prefer to do: extra several day long side excursions, or simple leisure and relaxing time in the campsite . The unique culture of Madventure are repeat customers, some are traveling with the truck and looking at opportunities to get back on the board for the next epic adventures. I met Madventure expedition colleagues who traveled with the truck for several years on and off, crossing Africa from West to East, followed by the first exploratory trip to Arabia, and did not miss the opportunity to cross Canada from East to the ‘wild West’ all the way to Anchorage Alaska. They continued from Alaska to Patagonia ending in Rio de Janeiro in time for a great carnival. Madventure epic tours: / London - Beijing - Sydney / Alaska - Rio / Africa all around /. From Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic ocean in Alaska, to Ushuaia in Patagonia, up to the Mt. Everest base camp in Tibet China, elevation of 5 500 meters, etc., are small samples of unlimited opportunities for any style of traveling. During the expedition time people can simply follow their group duties, or they can take initiatives for the benefit of all. For technical oriented people - helping with truck maintenance, extra cleaning, drinking water tank management or sorting luggage compartments. Culinary experts or Michelin Chefs can offer extra help for group cooking each day, and there are many more activities to assist with. Madventure tours always have passengers who exceed group expectations, helping all the time and others that simply come to enjoy the Trip. Most interesting is the mix of people traveling on the truck. Madventure does not have any age limit like other overland firms, and this creates a great international mix of passengers ranging in age from their 20's to 80's. Where else can you meet passengers who have visited 190 countries and some are repeating the same epic tours several times ? I would highly recommend Madventure to anybody who is a hard core backpacker, open minded, hard working person that is able to travel and sleep 6 - 9 month in a tent, experiencing arctic freezing cold and humid tropical heat during their adventure of lifetime journey. I already reserved another 3 overland expeditions in the future. If you are looking for an adventure traveling in style, and all inclusive, you may look for another Tour Operator. Madventure is most suitable for the Bravest of the Brave global travelers … !!! Vit Canada ...

  27-12-2022