Intrepid Urban Adventures

21/10/2020

Experiences are always better when you can share them with loved ones – including online experiences! That's why we're now offering our new Intrepid Urban Adventures at Home online tours for a special group rate of $89 USD.⁠
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This flat rate covers up to 12 friends/devices, so you can invite your friends, family or colleagues to have a private online experience together, from wherever you all are in the world.⁠
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Book by October 31, for online tour dates up until December 31, 2020.

Experiences are always better when you can share them with loved ones — and that includes ...

03/09/2020

Looking for something new to do in lockdown? We just might have the answer to your stuck-at-home fatigue.⁠
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Travel is coming back for some of us, but we also know many of you aren't able or ready to visit a new city just yet. And our guides still wanted to give you the Best. Day. Ever., wherever you may be. Which is why they've decided to bring the world to you: introducing Urban Adventures at Home online experiences! 🤗⁠
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Want to take a hands-on vegetarian cooking class with Komal in Delhi? Or maybe or a watercolor art lesson with Diego in Mexico City? Or how about a pierogi-making workshop with Tomasz in Krakow? Sign up for these or other online adventures, no flights or quarantines required.

https://www.urbanadventures.com/online-experiences

22/07/2020

Our friends at Be Social Change are hosting an online networking opportunity for the social impact sector with inspiring, purpose-driven people from organizations that are innovating for a better world! We'll be joining them on July 29th at 6:00 pm EDT to find meaningful connections, build new partnerships, and share ideas and resources.

Want to join us? Our friends and followers can get free tickets using code SummerConnector100. (To our southern hemisphere friends, we know it's a winter connector for you!)

Register here: http://bit.ly/SummerConnector

Join us for the Social Impact Summer Connector, Be Social Change's largest online facilitated networking event focused on connecting social impact space.

04/07/2020

Happy Independence Day from Washington, DC! One thing I’ve learned since the pandemic changed our lives is to be in the moment more. Not to worry so much about the past or the future. It’s given me an opportunity to do more self-reflection and self-improvement, and to keep in touch with my fellow guides and friends from all over the world. I’ve been practicing my Spanish every day and thankfully, many of my tour guide friends at Urban Adventures help me with my practice, for which I’m very grateful. I’m very fortunate though, as I know not everyone is in the same lucky position. Maintaining our empathy for one another is as important as ever right now, because I don’t think this situation has been easy for anyone.
I don’t think I’m alone when I say that Urban Adventures guides miss our guests! As much as we all like traveling the world, it’s just as great having the world coming to us. As I write this, some destinations are already opening up, so I hope we can safely keep the momentum going.
If you’re ever in my town, please don’t hesitate to reach out. It would be my absolute pleasure to show you around my city. We have so much to offer. Until then, stay safe. We’ll be here when you’re ready!
Shawn, Washington DC Urban Adventures

03/07/2020

On our Historic Tastes of Georgetown tour, we visit America Eats Tavern, which is run by Washington, DC’s favorite restaurateur, José Andrés (). Since 2010, José Andrés has run the World Central Kitchen () helping disaster areas with food shortages. He was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 for his work.
My favorite baseball team, and 2019 World Series Champion, Washington Nationals (), and World Central Kitchen teamed up when the baseball season was postponed to use Nationals Park as a staging ground for WCK’s work in Washington, DC. Since the pandemic took over the WCK has served over 10,000,000 meals and purchased another 1,000,000 meals from local restaurants as well.
Shawn, Washington DC Urban Adventures

02/07/2020

Hey everybody! I’m Shawn () and I’m the Senior Tour Guide here at Washington DC Urban Adventures (). Today is actually my birthday, and what better way to celebrate than with you all! I’ll be taking over the Urban Adventures Instagram for the next few days on this July 4th weekend, to show you what life is like in the city right now. I’ve lived in the District of Columbia for over six years. I was lucky enough to move down here to work for the Smithsonian Institution, our world-famous museum system.
I’m a recovering history teacher from Rochester, NY, meaning I used to teach secondary Social Studies (History). So after spending so much time in offices, and not feeling very fulfilled, I had to make a change and over three years ago I joined Urban Adventures DC as a tour guide. This is my dream job! I get to meet people from all over the world who are interested in what I have to say, and I get to show them around my town while sharing history and telling stories. I learn as much from my guests as they do from me much of the time. Tour guiding is all the best parts of teaching, without the test at the end to grade.
We offer tours all over the city and I’m very proud of the quality of tours and the passion of the our guides. With travel restrictions still in place, I do miss our guests and all the interesting stories and knowledge they bring when they come on my tours. But the good news is that just a couple days ago we started Phase Two of reopening. More restaurants and retail stores are opening, and you can feel the spirits of the city lifting with the news. There’s no timetable for museums and music venues to open yet. But I’m optimistic we’ll be able to come together soon!
Shawn, Washington DC Urban Adventures

29/06/2020

It’s been awhile since we’ve welcomed travelers on our tours, but we have good news! As parts of the world start to re-open, our local guides are getting ready to (safely) show you their cities.

We’ve put strict new health & safety measures in place, to keep our travelers, our guides and our communities safe. These include things like:

Physical distancing on all our tours. ✅

Reduced group sizes where necessary. ✅

Reviews of all the buinesses we visit for proper sanitization. ✅

A risk-free cancellation policy, to protect everyone if a guest is feeling unwell at the last minute. ✅

Our new guidelines have been given the World Travel & Tourism Council’s ‘Safe Travels’ stamp of approval, which means we meet global health and safety standards for reducing the risk of COVID-19. 👏

We know there’s a lot of uncertainty right now, and things can change quickly. But one thing is for sure: we’re looking forward to seeing you again!

Photo via Cape Town Urban Adventures (re-opening July 31)

https://www.urbanadventures.com/coronavirus

28/05/2020

So this is in 2020. The same, yet very different. Not just because of the fewer people in the streets, but mainly because of the way so many people have started thinking. Where there was just idle talk before Covid-19, there are now real initiatives pushing for sustainable development - the city is planning regulations in areas where locals previously couldn't afford to live. A central part of the riverbank is being seriously considered as a pedestrian-only zone. They are looking to remove most of the omnipresent shops selling cheap and crappy souvenirs that have nothing to do with culture, and replace them with stores of local artisans. They also want to invest into a circular economy, in which waste is perceived as a resource to be used. It is in the Czech nature to see a crisis as an opportunity in hiding and I'm quite excited by what else the pandemic will bring to this gorgeous city that I call home.

Hope you can experience it with us soon too.
Michaela, @ Old Town Square

26/05/2020

Around the world, you can read about many wonderful initiatives that people have started to help each other in these difficult times. Here's one that became really popular in the .

Due to the closure of restaurants, demand for microbrewery beer has dropped significantly from one day to the next. To save hectolitres of craft beer from destruction, the owner of the brewery launched an initiative called (Save the Beer). It was promptly joined by over 350 microbreweries from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

One of the co-founders of the initiative is who got the idea soon after a state of emergency was declared in the Czech Republic. He realised just how serious the situation was for his microbrewery, suddenly left with 14,000 litres of beer for which he had no outlet. The initiative was launched on March 25, with a public appeal published on its page:

“Thousands of beers are waiting to be rescued. Brewed, fresh, unpasteurized beer is perishable. Pouring thousands of litres down the drain will ruin some of us. Do you want to help Czech microbreweries?” Within just a few weeks, the Kytín brewery had no more beer to sell. The brewery didn’t brew any beer for about two weeks following the announcement of the state of emergency, so for a while they had nothing to offer to their customers. Instead, they decided to help out other microbreweries and for a few weeks they have only been selling other people’s beer.

All that us "beer paramedics" need to do is visit zachranpivo.cz and look for craft beer in our vicinity. We choose a beer we like and then come and pick it up on our own (so we're sorry, but unless you're somewhere in the Czech Republic, you cannot help us save our beer).

Despite the success of this initiative, Czech microbreweries are still facing a bleak future. According to some estimates, beer production in our country’s 500 microbreweries has fallen by an average of 80% and 25% of them are unlikely to survive the upcoming crisis. Yet the initiative will go on and hopefully there will still be enough of us strong believers in a very Czech motto, "save water, drink beer".

25/05/2020

A big thank you to A Dangerous Business for featuring us in her anniversary giveaway this week! We know travel is difficult for all of us right now, but we're looking forward to welcoming two lucky winners in one of our cities, once we can travel together again!

25/05/2020

Ahoj (Czech for hello)! Michaela here from Prague Urban Adventures, taking over from our wonderful team in Philly. Over the next few days, I'm going to show you around my city in the heart of Europe and hopefully bring some optimism to those of you still under lockdown that better days are coming!

I've been in Prague for 15 years. I originally came from a small town on the Czech/Polish/Slovakian border, to study in this gorgeous city and, as the story usually goes, I stayed. I'm not planning on moving anywhere, so whenever it is possible to visit us again, you can bet I'll be here guiding and leading our amazing team of with my fantastic partner

As of today, most of the anti-virus measures have been lifted, and there are less than 100 new cases appearing each day (per 10 million inhabitants - not bad, right?). We have to wear a mask when on public transport and inside buildings other than our homes, but most people don't mind. It's a small price to pay compared to the liberties we can finally enjoy again.

Check out our Insta stories to see what it's like to be in Prague these days, and come back tomorrow for more info about some really cool initiatives Czech people have started during the lockdown.

🇨🇿 🇨🇿

22/05/2020

“The COVID crisis has forced people to think about how they live and how they affect the environment around them. One positive that I hope comes from this negative time is a focus on how to lead a sustainable life. Philadelphia has greatly improved in this area, growing from a polluted, burned-out city of a bygone manufacturing era to a leader in urban sustainability. As a guide with Urban Adventures, I look forward to sharing this growth with guests.

Food security, natural conservation, reimagined spaces...these are just some of the initiatives that Philadelphia has emphasized over the past 10 years. Our municipal leaders have teamed with concerned citizens and business owners to incentivise composting, educate city students on urban farming, remove toxins from our rivers, rehabilitate abandoned piers and rail lines into green spaces, and much more. Our mayor has declared the goal of becoming a zero waste city by 2035, an ambitious goal that would have been laughed at by previous administrations. But it’s happening.

Our Philly UA team has created a series of private tours that bring guests to these farms, parks, conservation sites and locally sourced restaurants to show how the city of Philadelphia is leading the charge towards sustainability. After this crisis ends, this is the Philadelphia success story that I am the most excited to share.”

- Adam, Philadelphia Urban Adventures

@ Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

21/05/2020

"COVID-19 has left no part of Philadelphia untouched. One of the hardest hit communities is also one of the most overlooked: the homeless community. Homelessness is a large issue in Philadelphia, and during this crisis, these people have little protection. They have no refuge. They have nowhere to quarantine.

"But programs in Philadelphia are working tirelessly to help. One such organization, the Mural Arts Program, is a network of artists who have created a vast tapestry of public art throughout the city. We frequently incorporate these murals on our tours. The artists, whose works often aim to bring light to social issues, now focus on those who have been battered by this crisis. Mural Arts has sponsored an effort to create 'space pads,' dazzling social-distancing signs that are being utilized across Philadelphia, including food service sites. These signs offer an alternative to impersonal, 'sterile' signs, and help to bring a sense of hope and togetherness.

"Step Up to the Plate is an amazing collaboration effort to provide food to vulnerable Philadelphians in a safe environment. In its first 3 weeks of operation, they provided close to 50,000 meals. They are proud partners of the Mural Arts Program, and have situated many space pads on their sites. This is just one example of how different organizations are coming together to help Philadelphians, *all* Philadelphians, through this dark time."

- Adam, Philadelphia Urban Adventures


@ Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

19/05/2020

My name is Adam and I am a guide and Team Leader at Philadelphia Urban Adventures. I moved to Philly over 10 years ago from New Hampshire to pursue a Masters Degree in History. Living in a city that has a larger population than the entire state of New Hampshire was a bit of a culture shock, but in the best of ways. Philadelphia swept me up immediately! As a history buff, I of course knew of the historical significance of this city. What amazed me, however, was everything else that Philly has to offer: a trendy, innovative restaurant scene, world class art and science museums, an extensive public arts program (Philadelphia boasts over 3,500 murals), endless hiking and riding trails through beautifully preserved woodlands, scores of concert venues, electric nightlife and more. I was hooked.

I started as a part-time guide with Philly UA two years ago, and have since been promoted to Team Leader. I work with an incredible team of tour guides. What makes our team so special is not just the local knowledge (which is unmatched!), but also the diversity of backgrounds and expertise that the guides possess. My colleagues are teachers, students, artists, musicians, environmentalists, urban planners and social workers. This way, our guests don’t just learn about Philly’s unique history but also about how the city has grown culturally and socially. We love to provide the full picture!

Obviously the COVID-19 crisis has led to a temporary cease of tours, but our team is excited to eventually get back out there and show Philadelphia off to new guests from around the world.

18/05/2020

Japan has extended the state of emergency in some areas, including Tokyo. But, thanks to everyone’s patience and co-operation, we’re seeing the number of cases start to decrease, and people are adjusting well to this unusual lifestyle.

One of our Urban Adventures tours visits an izakaya, a traditional place where businessmen go after work to enjoy drinks and snacks. As summer approaches, normally you see many izakayas setting up in the street with tables and chairs – a nice place to sit down for a cold drink and skewers of meat and vegetables.

Right now, all of these restaurants are either closed or open for just a few hours to serve neighborhood customers. In some areas of Japan where the state of emergency has been lifted, izakayas are now open, so there is hope it will be the same soon in Tokyo. I look forward to seeing my own favorite restaurants and shops re-open, so I can enjoy meeting with travellers like you, over traditional food, Japanese beer and sake, and a walk around the neighborhood.

I hope the time comes soon when people can travel freely and we can welcome visitors to Japan. As a tour guide, I cannot wait for the day when I can meet you here again.



- Noriko, Tokyo Urban Adventures

17/05/2020

This time of year is normally a busy tourism season for us in Japan, as the very last cherry flowers started to bloom in Hokkaido a few days ago. Cherry blossoms are a large part of Japanese culture, and we normally dedicate 10 days to appreciating the beauty of the blossoms and spending time with our friends and family. But this year, the parks stayed closed and the streets were empty. It never occurred to us that this lockdown would continue into May, and now the week-long holiday of Golden Week, when we celebrate four different holidays in one week, has ended quietly. Unlike in other years, hotels were closed, the bullet trains had very few passengers, and the gates to theme parks were closed.

But despite all this, there are good stories of people coming together, even when we have to be apart. With schools in Tokyo closed, that means school lunches are on pause. One school lunch provider, Dragon Dining, is trying to keep business alive by asking students and families to purchase meals that will be donated to neighborhood organizations that feed the less fortunate. They’re also selling lunches for families that live nearby, which they can take away to enjoy in their homes.



- Noriko, Tokyo Urban Adventures

16/05/2020

Konnichiwa! (That means “hello!” in Japanese.)

I am Noriko, a local guide with Tokyo Urban Adventures. I am originally from Tokyo but moved overseas for a bit, and now that I am back in my home city, I have even more appreciation for Japanese culture and history. I love being a guide for Urban Adventures because I get to show travellers the real, local Tokyo. One of my favorite places to visit is a back ally where geishas once walked through and served customers. I also like taking travellers to old stores that have been passed from generation to generation, and that are quietly hidden behind the towering modern buildings, or to a small, secret shrine along a high-end shopping street.

In this photo, I am at one of the shrines near my house. There are over 88,000 shrines in Japan. These shrines are for practicing Shintoism, which is Japan’s original religion, as old as our culture. We visit shrines to pay respect to the gods, to celebrate happiness and to pray for help during hardship, such as right now, when we pray for recovery and good health around the world.

Although I miss the smiles on visitors’ faces when I show them my city, I hope everyone is staying safe in their homes. And even if you can’t be here with me, I hope I bring you some smiles over the next few days as I share my personal favorite stories of Japan!

10/05/2020

Here in Greece there have been a number of positives to come out of this situation. We’ve learned how to truly appreciate each other, particularly our families and close friends, rather than take each other for granted. Culturally, it’s not natural for us to stay indoors but we have done so for the benefit of society and to protect those that we love.

We’re still helping each other as much as possible, particularly the elderly. It’s an important virtue in Greek culture. We’ve been running errands, supporting local businesses, donating medical equipment, and hosting medical staff in unoccupied hotel rooms. We care far more about each other’s wellbeing than what any lockdown does to our economy. We’ve had economic troubles for the last decade, so we’ve grown resilient. In some ways, it’s actually been a positive for our future work culture. A lot of bureaucracy has been eliminated because processes have been moved online and it’s become easier for everyone!

One thing that I’ll personally be fighting for is that we do not compromise on our social and environmental values for the economy. One proposal that has been put forward is to sell our parks and green spaces to private companies. I’ll be fighting against that as we need to protect Greece’s beauty, not only for ourselves but for those visiting us from across the world. Hopefully that will be soon.

- Rebecca, Santorini Urban Adventures

07/05/2020

Although we have been socially distancing and staying inside, we haven’t felt isolated. We’ve shared quality family time playing games, listening to music, performing dances and creating art.

We’ve also had time to reflect on the world around us and how we can be better. My personal hope is that we carry on with this renewed sense of care for those around us, that we’re more grateful for what we have, and that we protect our city’s heritage by preserving its beautiful architecture and investing in green spaces for people to enjoy. Havana is beautiful.

We can’t wait to spend time outside and enjoy the sunshine again! ☀️

- Yanet, Havana Urban Adventures

06/05/2020

Solidarity and hospitality are what makes Cuban people special.

We’re doing all that we can to protect the most vulnerable in our community by finding essential supplies for them. We use electric scooters to shop for our neighbors who either can’t leave their homes or can’t get to the store because public transport has been suspended. Sometimes we need to travel across the city to get these supplies.

Closer to home, my mother leads by example. She is always finding a way to help. One of our neighbors recently had surgery and my mother is cooking her meals to send to her in the hospital. She is also tutoring a boy for his Math test to enter college. She hasn’t stopped producing face masks for our family, friends and neighbors with materials that we have on hand. She’s using old clothes and bedsheets to make the masks and using shoelaces to replace the elastic.

I feel so proud of her. She’s in her 70s but still has incredible energy. She keeps everybody feeling positive and inspires hopefulness in us all. She is loved by our neighbors. They call out her name “Conchita” when they need her and know she will always be there, eager to help.

She’s my inspiration to be the best person I can be during these difficult times. I hope she inspires you too, wherever you are in the world.

Yanet – Havana Urban Adventures

05/05/2020

Hola! I’m Yanet, the Manager of Havana Urban Adventures.

I joined this local team as a guide in 2016 because I wanted to share the culture and history of Cuba with people from across the world. I became the manager just a year later and ever since I have been deeply committed to our sustainable values and constantly improving the experience for our customers.

Coronavirus has placed the world on pause, and Cuba is no exception. Even though our case numbers were low at the time, our government proactively placed restrictions on public services like transportation, education, commerce and entertainment. This has helped to keep the situation under control. Public transport has been suspended except for essential workers in areas like healthcare, banking, agriculture and security services. Like other places in the world, our restaurants are now delivery-only too.

We’ve adapted quickly, with children now learning from classes streamed through the TV! Parents are even being paid by the government to look after their children whilst working from home. Even with these adaptations to our lifestyle, we are experiencing challenges. Getting food is difficult, and sometimes we must line up for a long time. We try to socially distance while doing so, but it is hard. Nobody likes doing it, but we need to get supplies for our households and families.

Cuba is a safe place to live and we are looking at the positives of the situation. We now have time to do things that we had neglected when we focused on work. Things like spending quality time with our families. Today we have no rush. It is time to rest and plan for the future, with fresh ideas about how society can be better and how we can support each other. Our team are all safe at home doing just that. We do not know when tourists will return to Cuba, but we are eager to get back out there and share our knowledge, passion, and love for our fascinating country.

One day, we will be together again.

04/05/2020

By virtue of being one of the worst-affected countries in the world, our community has come to understand how we will live with our situation for the foreseeable future. Italians are strong-willed and full of heart, made resilient having been through many hard times. We know how to adapt.

As we approach summer the Mayor of Florence is launching an initiative that, when the city re-opens, will allow restaurants to extend their outdoor spaces beyond their usual limits and into the main squares to help citizens socially distance. Furthermore, local artisans have begun making transparent screens that will be placed between tables. They have even added plant pots to make the squares look as picturesque as ever!

Food and generous hospitality have always bound the local community together and they always will. This situation will end and we will be both stronger and wiser for it. Although these times are incredibly difficult for all Italians, I hope that living through these hard times will help everybody appreciate each other, and their cities, even more in the good times. They will return soon.

- Linda, Florence Urban Adventures

03/05/2020

Here in San Frediano, my local district, a team of restaurants are collaborating together to support our community by providing free meals for those in need.

Lapo Lapi, the owner of Casa Lapi, began the initiative when he realized how many families could no longer afford basic food staples such as pasta and bread. In response, he rallied the local community to find volunteers who could donate fresh fruit, vegetables, milk, pasta, sauces and even masks. The response was overwhelming. Many local Florentines are helping him distribute them at his restaurant and it also inspired others to help too. A favorite hangout of us locals, Pizzeria Neromo, is even giving out free pizza.

At a time when we’re kept apart, our community has never been closer together.

- Linda, Florence Urban Adventures

02/05/2020

Ciao belli! It’s Linda from Florence, I run Florence Urban Adventures and lead the team here together with my business partner Alberto. Our team consists of local guides, sommeliers and foodies that show travelers some of our favorite local spots around the city. This photo was taken with our local guide Francesco during our Florence Foodies Tour.

Social distancing has been particularly difficult for local Italians as coming together with friends in squares, cafes and bars for an espresso is deeply ingrained in our culture. It’s part of who we are. With the lockdown keeping us inside since March 10th, I miss the interaction with local vendors that we usually visit on our tours. After a while, they become friends. We’re all working together to ensure local businesses in our community are around to welcome tourists when they return. We know they will someday, and it’s been heartwarming to see everyone supporting each other in the meantime.

My husband is an emergency doctor so he is on the frontline at the hospital, in the ambulance and even in the helicopters supporting patients. I couldn’t be more proud of him. At home, my boys (Diego, 10, and Giulio,12) are homeschooling and we’ve adjusted to the new normal. We are now able to leave our homes to shop for food, for exercise and for essential work-related reasons. There is light at the end of the tunnel and we’re feeling hopeful.

Over the next few days, as well as sharing what daily life is like here in Florence, I’ll be sharing one of my passions with you all… Cooking! I’ve always loved to cook and staying at home has given me more time to prepare some amazing meals that I can’t wait to share with you over on our Instagram. I’ll share simple recipes that you can prepare wherever you are in the world. Seeing as you can’t come to Italy, we’ll try to bring Italy to you instead.

27/04/2020

Szia Urban Adventurers! Livia here, I’ve been running our Budapest team with my partner since 2009, the year when Urban Adventures began. In essence, I'm a "Pesti lány " (the girl from pest) as we say in Hungary. I was born here, raised here, and I live here. I did leave to live in other countries for a while but I came back to Budapest as it is where my heart is.

After guiding with our sister company, Intrepid Travel, I realized that I wanted to use my skills to open the world up to Hungarian culture and showcase all of my favorite places in Budapest to travelers. I started guiding our city tours myself, but now I have a whole team of amazing guides because we have grown so much since we started over ten years ago. It’s crazy! I actually miss guiding tours because I love talking with people. I believe that to truly understand a culture you first need to understand its people. On our tours, we tell the personal stories of people living their everyday lives here in Budapest. People often don’t realize how interesting their own stories are until we share them with our customers!

So, what is happening in Hungary at the moment? The pandemic is affecting us, just like everybody. We’ve been socially distancing and have been advised to stay at home. Everybody is working from home and schools are shut for the rest of the year. People have been sharing their own experiences through social media and described how the support of those around them has helped them to cope through these trying times. It’s moving to see such togetherness even when we can’t be together physically. Everyone is being so kind to each other. Many people have offered to help elderly people with their shopping whilst others have donated equipment for children to be able to homeschool.

Over the next few days, my team and I will show you behind the scenes of what our lives are like in Budapest. Whilst we can’t host you in our incredible city right now, we hope we can still teach you about our culture from home. If there’s anything you’d like to know, we’re more than happy to share!