It’s no secret that travel businesses are in trouble right now. Airlines are planning huge layoffs for the fall and a large percentage of hotels will likely never reopen.
We’re incredibly sad to say that due to ongoing uncertainties from COVID, TrekAmerica won’t be continuing to run trips, the notice begins. As of today, we’re no longer taking bookings. If you already have a booking with us, we’ll be offering a full refund, or you can transfer your booking to a trip with our sister company, Exodus Travels or Exodus Edits.
Founded in 1972, TrekAmerica introduced millions of domestic and international travelers to the iconic sights of the United States over the decades. The hallmarks of the company were affordable pricing, a youthful clientele, and dedicated guides. Small groups, usually around a dozen people, would travel by customized van, pooling their money into a food kitty for meals, and camping out. It was a seminal experience for customers as well as guides.
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The best thing about TrekAmerica was that it was geared towards 18 to 38 year olds, Michael Harding, a senior tour leader from 2000 to 2019, told me. You sometimes got to take people on their very first trip abroad. What an amazing opportunity it was to open a young person’s eyes to the beauty of travel and especially to the natural wonders of North America. I get emails or messages several times a year from people who still remember a two-week trip we took together 20 years ago and what an impact it had on their outlook. That’s really special.
In recent years, the company was owned by umbrella organization Travelopia, which placed it under the management of Exodus Travels in 2019.
“The election of Trump deterred many foreigners—and Europeans in particular—from traveling to the U.S. at this time, ” said Joseph Spaid, a TrekAmerica guide in 2018 and 2019, when I asked him what he thought had gone wrong with the company.
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Visiting a single or a couple of closely situated cities has never been easier, as Spaid put it. Just Google top 10 youth hostels, bars, and attractions and you’ve got everything you need to know to explore a city. Trek’s strength was in the overland and cross-country adventures they offered, but they lost market share for these reasons.
Among remaining tour companies in the market, Contiki and G Adventures probably have the closest business models to TrekAmerica's—both offer affordable trips geared toward young travelers. At this stage, Contiki and G Adventures still have numerous departures available for purchase in 2021 and 2022.
But will they and other tour operators be able to negotiate this difficult period? It’s hard to know for sure. So much depends on when travel bans will be lifted and vaccines introduced.
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The things I learned, the bonds that were forged, the friendships that were made, have lasted a lifetime, says Shirley Fleig, a TrekAmerica guide in the 1980s and a sales associate for the company in the last two years. Thirty-five years later, I still visit and vacation with past passengers and tour leaders from my days as a TrekAmerica tour leader. Best job I ever had.”
Frommer's, and carefully selected third parties, use cookies on this site to improve performance, for analytics and for advertising. By browsing this site, you consent to the placement of these cookies. For more information see our Cookie Policy.So, you’re planning an epic adventure, trek, or expedition, and you’ve just found out that your regular travel insurance won’t cover you above a certain altitude.
It turns out that finding quality travel insurance that covers adventure sports like mountaineering or trekking at high altitudes is quite difficult. That’s because most regular travel insurance companies will void coverage above a certain altitude– usually in the range of 4, 500-5, 000 meters (14, 760-16, 400 feet).
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After trying several coverage options for long treks and expeditions in the Nepal Himalayas, Tanzania, and South America, I've concluded that Global Rescue currently offers the best coverage for my trips.
However, the best rescue and travel insurance policies for you can vary greatly depending on the specifics of your trip and the destination, from the Everest Base Camp Trek to trips in the Karakoram or the South American Andes.
Here are 3 insurance options that I've personally used to ensure coverage for trekking, adventure sports at high altitudes above 4, 500 meters.
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Below I'll go into more detail about each of these options but remember to always read the policy details yourself to decide which policy is best for your trip or expedition.
In a rush? I recommend checking out Global Rescue. This is the policy I use as they offer yearly and trek-based memberships that include helicopter rescue coverage with no altitude caps.
Let's face it, there's a reason why a regular backpacking travel insurance provider will void coverage the minute you step over a certain altitude. That is, things can go wrong in the mountains.
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The last thing any trekker or mountaineer wants is to fall into debt after a costly helicopter evacuation mission. Trust me, speaking from personal experience, I've seen people fall ill with altitude sickness to the point that they required evacuation.
In fact, these issues are likely more common than you think and happen all the time on popular trails like the EBC, Three Passes, or the Machu Picchu Trek.
However, with one of the below trekking travel insurance policies or rescue memberships, you should be covered for any medical emergency or evacuation as long as it falls within their policy schedules.
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Global Rescue offers arguably the most popular rescue memberships on the high-altitude and trekking scene. There's a reason why most of the major expedition companies and travel agents in Nepal recommend this plan to their clients.
The best part about this rescue and evacuation insurance for trekkers is that there is no altitude cap, meaning this policy will even cover you at the summit of Mount Everest!
Memberships are available on an annual or short-term basis (7, 14, or 30 days), which makes this plan very flexible and affordable.
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However, keep in mind that a Global Rescue membership is not a traditional travel insurance plan. This means that you won't be covered for things like trip cancellations, delays, baggage, or emergency medical and dental. However, they do offer an add-on travel insurance policy with IMG (IMG Signature Travel Insurance), which will cover all of these things, on top of your high-altitude coverage and rescue/evacuation coverage.
Alternatively, you could consider an affordable general travel insurance provider like HeyMondo to complement your Global Rescue membership. HeyMondo offers insurance up to 5, 000 meters in altitude and has an excellent Travel Assistance App available 24/7.
However, this global tech giant has recently begun offering Search and Rescue (SAR) Insurance plans to those who own one of their compatible satellite communication devices like the popular and affordable InReach Mini.
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The way that this policy works is that Garmin will cover financial reimbursement up to $100, 000 USD for qualified search and rescue-related expenses when you use your Garmin satellite device for SOS, resulting in the Garmin IERCC coordinating your rescue.
Due to you needing to use their device to call the helicopter evacuation or search and rescue team, the coverage is very cheap. However, unfortunately, this basic policy has an altitude cap of 5, 000 meters. As a result, if you are planning to step above this at any point, you'll have to step up to the High Risk (HR) policy.
The Garmin SAR HR policy covers all adventure sports from rock climbing in remote areas to BASE jumping, to wingsuits– so, you know that this insurance policy will cover any trek or high altitude mountaineering expedition.
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I recently purchased this insurance for Mera Peak in Nepal (6, 476 m) and while I didn't have to use it, provided me with one of the most cost-effective trekking travel insurance policies for mountains above 6, 000 meters.
World Nomads Travel Insurance is one of the industry leaders in adventure travel insurance. You will need to check their PDS for coverage when trekking at high altitudes up to 6, 000 meters.
Looking for trekking travel insurance for the Everest Base Camp Trek or Machu Picchu? This travel insurance provider is worth considering for many popular treks and hikes just like this in the Himalayas or in South America.
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World Nomads is the only traditional insurance company that I know of offering trekking travel insurance with a solid claims record and a good reputation in the backpacker and adventure travel community. Their travel insurance plans offer varying levels of coverage (Explorer and Standard) but are both quite comprehensive:
World Nomads have been around for a long time. In fact, I used to use their annual policies when I first started traveling full-time for work, before I switched to the more affordable SafetyWing insurance (4, 500 m altitude cap or 6, 000 with their Adventure Sports addon)– combined with a Garmin SAR HR for expeditions.
I receive a fee when you get a quote from World Nomads using my links. I do not represent World Nomads. This is not a recommendation to buy
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