Intrepid Travel Offers 8 New BIPOC Experiences in the U.S.

If you’re looking for tours that offer more inclusive and diverse perspectives, then you should consider booking eight BIPOC experiences courtesy of Intrepid Travel.

Vacationer loves when we find unique opportunities to explore indigenous cultures and traditions because our audience also includes travelers who aren’t just LGBTQ+, but we are also ethnically and culturally diverse, too!

Well, tour operator, Intrepid Travel, has launched a brand-new tour in Southeast America celebrating West and Central African cultural heritage as well as other unique experiences to appeal to travelers of all backgrounds. It’s part of an ongoing effort to introduce new experiences that not only celebrate the cultures of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) but also provide a more diverse and inclusive perspective of the iconic places that make up the United States.

This initiative is a continuation of Intrepid’s expansion within America, with the company recently launching nearly 40 new trips in the country that began departing in 2022. Its the most robust offering in the U.S. since the tour operator’s inception over 30 years ago. 

Within these tours are several new BIPOC-centric experiences that provide travelers with the opportunity to see America through a more diverse and inclusive lens. Here are the details about the eight experiences available through Intrepid Travel. 

Explore the Rich West and Central African Cultural Heritage Along the Gullah Geechee Corridor

This six-day tour from Charleston to Savannah explores the culture, history, and impact of the Gullah Geechee people, descendants of enslaved West and Central African people, who are known for protecting, preserving, and passing on their culture and heritage. Travelers will learn about Charleston’s Black heritage, tour the historic Mother Emanuel AME Church (an important figure in the Civil Rights Movement), take part in a sweetgrass weaving workshop, witness a soul-stirring performance in Beaufort where music and dance are used to share the experience of enslaved Africans brought to South Carolina, share a seafood boil with the locals, and join in a Sunday worship service at one of Savannah’s Black churches. This is one of the most impactful and culturally significant itineraries Intrepid has introduced as part of its new U.S. tour collection.

Check out the new Intrepid excursion, Charleston to Savannah: Exploring Gullah Geechee Culture, to book the tour and to get more information.

Enjoy a Native American River-to-Table Lunch in the Pacific Northwest

Travelers will head to Warm Springs, Oregon for a Native American river-to-table experience provided by a former tribe anthropologist and the founder of Salmon King Fisheries. This meal acknowledges salmon’s vital role in the history of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, when these fish were sold to, and traded with, neighboring tribes, settlers, and explorers. Visitors will share a simple salmon picnic lunch that celebrates this ancient tradition. 

This unique Native American river-to-table lunch is part of the Intrepid Travel tour: Portland to San Francisco Discovery.

Learn to Cook Cajun and Creole Food at the Deelightful Roux School of Cooking

Travelers will get a hands-on cooking lesson in Cajun and Creole cuisine at Delightful Roux School of Cooking, the only Black woman-owned cooking school in New Orleans. Visitors will learn from rising star Chef Dwynesha Lavigne, a New Orleans native and award-winning baker who helps to produce a weekly food segment on a local television station and hosts a monthly baking demonstration at the world-renowned Southern Food and Beverage Museum. 

You can learn how to perfect your Cajun and Creole cooking skills as part of the Intrepid Travel tour: Tennessee Music Trail to New Orleans.

Hike the Backcountry of Montana to Learn About Blackfeet Native American Culture

Travelers will visit the Badger-Two Medicine region, located at the intersection of the Blackfeet Reservation, Glacier National Park, and the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. Upon arrival guests will have a traditional Native American lunch, then have the privilege of joining a local Blackfeet guide for a half-day hike which offers an insight into the Blackfeet Native American people and culture and explores the secluded wilderness of Badger-Two Medicine. Learn about tribal customs, histories, and stories while experiencing a land filled with wildlife, wildflowers, alpine lakes, and mountain peaks.

The Blackfeet cultural excursion is included as part of Intrepid Travel’s Tour – Best of Montana.

Tour Charleston, South Carolina with Professor Damon Fordham 

Intrepid travelers will join local professor and author Damon Fordham for a memorable “Lost Stories of Black Charleston” walking tour. At a variety of sites around Charleston, Professor Fordham artfully shares stories based on historical documents, oral histories, and his own perspective as a Black Charlestonian. 

The “Lost Stories of Black Charleston” is offered via Intrepid Travel’s  Georgia History trail to Nashville and Best of the South: Atlanta to New Orleans travel experiences.

Learn About the History, Stories, and Spirituality of the Oglala Lakota People

Travelers will spend a full day with an expert Lakota guide to visit Pine Ridge Town in South Dakota and tour the Heritage Center, one of the first cultural centers and museums on an Indian reservation. It empowers Lakota artists to preserve their artistic heritage, improve their economic situation and share their traditional arts and crafts with the world. Visitors will enjoy lunch at a Lakota-owned restaurant specializing in traditional foods and stop by Wounded Knee where a battle with United States soldiers killed hundreds of Lakota people in the late 1800s.

This history lesson about the Lakota is part of the South Dakota Lodge Stay tour!

Join 2nd Line Tours for a Visit to the Whitney Plantation in New Orleans

Travelers will join 2nd Line Tours – a Black-owned business committed to telling the true history of New Orleans – to learn about what life was like for those enslaved on a Louisiana sugarcane plantation. With a focus on the lives of slaves rather than the opulent house, the slave owners lived in, exploring this plantation is a sobering and eye-opening experience.

This plantation visit is offered on the following Intrepid Travel tours: Tennessee Music Trail to New Orleans, Best of the South: Atlanta to New Orleans, and Best of the South: Louisville to New Orleans.

Get the Apsaalooke Perspective on the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument

Travelers will join their Crow Nation Guide for a three-hour tour of the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana, which will provide an Apsaalooke perspective on the conflict. With a tribal historian at their side, visitors will traverse the battlefield and learn how Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors defeated the U.S. Army on the Greasy Grass at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876. 

The BIPOC experience is Included on the following Intrepid Travel tour: South Dakota to Montana Parks Explorer.

More About Intrepid Travel

Intrepid Travel launched its own dedicated American operations hub in 2021, Intrepid DMC North America, which has been increasingly focused on building more impactful relationships with BIPOC-owned businesses and suppliers to offer its travelers a broader range of experiences and perspectives.

Each new highlighted activity could not have been possible without the collaboration and partnership of several BIPOC organizations and representatives, such as the National Blacks in Travel & Tourism Collaborative and representatives from the Crow Nation and Lakota tribes.

For more information on Intrepid Travel’s U.S.-based trips and these BIPOC experiences, visit www.intrepidtravel.com/united-states.