About The Dragon Trip

Once on tour, our groups use public transport, or walking, wherever possible. We also use overnight trains or buses rather than internal flights where possible. In China, the Adventure Leader does not join the groups when travelling between destinations. Instead, one will drop the group at the train station and another Adventure Leader will pick the group up at the next destination. This reduces the carbon footprint on this tour as less people are travelling.

We consider the environment by sending all of our pre-departure booking packs by email instead of through the post. For our “Little Books” – our on-the-trip companion guides for customers – we have stopped printing physical copies, in favour of electronic PDF files sent in advance.

Many of our popular destinations have now banned plastic bags and some other single use plastics – Thailand and Bali being two of them. Alongside this, all Dragons are encouraged to bring reusable water bottles with them on their tours and many of our hostels provide free refills to limit plastic use. Our Adventure Leaders are trained to encourage our travellers to travel in an environmentally responsible way, picking up trash on hikes and beaches and minimising damage to the environment.

As of 2020 we are a paperless office and everyone is encouraged to recycle – we have also recently switched to glass milk bottles rather than plastic. To reduce paper usage for our Dragons, we also do not print brochures, instead opting to print a small number of flyers on an annual basis. Cycling to work is also encouraged with bicycle storage facilities and showers available for those who choose to do so. ....less

Go somewhere different
We offer authentic adventure group tours that enable you to get ‘under the skin’ of the places we visit. We take you off-the-beaten-track and and to places you may not be able to experience travelling solo.

Connect with Culture
We foster a connection to the places we visit. All of our group tours include activities that enable our customers to meet, connect and communicate with the local people. We offer a new perspective and understanding of different cultures, religions and lifestyles.

Epic Adventure Leaders
All of our Adventure Leaders are local to the places that you visit. They will enhance your travel experience and take you on some big adventures by giving you a true insight into the local history, cultures and traditions in each destination throughout your group tour. They’ll point you in the direction of the best food, shops and attractions – hidden gems that only a select few know about!

Make friends for forever
Like yourself, many other Dragons on your group tour will also be travelling solo. You’ll meet people from all over the world, united in a passion to explore new places. You never know who you might meet! You’ll return home with a bunch of life-long friends and a wealth of incredible memories to share forever! Pretty awesome, right? Follow our Dragons today here.

Sustainability is at our heart
We are extremely passionate about our planet and protecting it for future generations. All of our group tours are carefully curated to invest in local communities. We create one-off experiences and adventures with responsible travel in mind and encourage our Dragons to make smarter choices, whether that means packing a reusable bottle or travelling by public transport. Find out more here.

First-Class Service
We treat all of our Dragons as part of the family and no ask is too big or too small. We have a talented team of Adventure Specialists to answer all of your questions every step of the way. Once you have joined the group tour, your Adventure Leader will set up a Skype or WhatsApp Group to keep you up to date.

We are a Small Business
In a world of big global companies, we pride ourselves in being the new kids on the block. Being small and independently owned, we put our Dragons at the heart of our group trips and have worked hard to create the best adventures imaginable. Meet our office team here.

Budget Friendly Travel
Our group tours are the best price possible. We believe that travel should be for everyone which is why our adventures are affordable and cheap. By staying in local hostels and using public transport, you can spend your hard-earned cash on experiences and adventures of your choosing. ....less

ATOL Protected ....less

All our Adventure Leaders are locally employed and in China, a tour will have several Adventure Leaders with each one being a specialist in their home town. This allows us to support many more local people. Alongside this, we provide employment and leadership opportunities for local people in the destinations where we run tours.

Our Dragons regularly enjoy real local experiences which invests economically in local communities. These include meals in local people’s homes and visiting small businesses and restaurants.

No meals are included on The Dragon Trip which allows Dragons to try the local foods and new experiences. This gives Dragons more flexibility to spend what they can afford and benefit the local economy.

We only use locally owned hostels which are run or managed by local people.

In 2019, we partnered with One Tree Planted. For every Dragon who books with us to travel in South East Asia, India or Indonesia, we donate for the cost of planting one new tree in those countries.

“The Justin Shapiro Internship and Travel Scholarship” – Justin Shapiro joined The Dragon Trip as CFO in December 2013 and moved on to join CRCC Asia, in December 2015. After leaving CRCC Asia, Justin travelled the world for a year before starting his MBA at the University of Austin in Texas over the summer. On 22nd September 2017, Justin was cycling home in Austin when he was hit by a car, and tragically passed away on 28th September.

In honour of our good friend and colleague, we launched The Justin Shapiro Internship and Travel Scholarship in partnership with CRCC Asia. The programme will allow a number of young people, who may not otherwise have a chance to do so, to experience working and travelling in China. The scholarship is open to anyone over 18 years old, it includes a month-long internship in China with accommodation and work placement, a 21-day adventure tour of China after the internship has ended, and return flights to and from China. ....less

Economically
All our Adventure Leaders are locally employed and in China, a tour will have several Adventure Leaders with each one being a specialist in their home town. This allows us to support many more local people. Alongside this, we provide employment and leadership opportunities for local people in the destinations where we run tours.

Environmentally
Once on tour, our groups use public transport, or walking, wherever possible. We also use overnight trains or buses rather than internal flights where possible. In China, the Adventure Leader does not join the groups when travelling between destinations. Instead, one will drop the group at the train station and another Adventure Leader will pick the group up at the next destination. This reduces the carbon footprint on this tour as less people are travelling.

Socially
As a sign of respect, we think that it is important for travellers to learn a few key words or phrases in the native language, so we offer language lessons in China, India and South Korea and a written language guide in Japan. We also offer classes to learn about the local culture including a calligraphy class in Japan and a lesson in kung-fu in China.

All of our Dragons interactions are with local suppliers, and we promote integration between travellers and local people through our “unmissable” included activities and our optional activities, and opportunities for authentic cultural immersion.

Our Adventure Leaders are trained in ensuring that customers are aware of local customs and traditions, educating them on when it is appropriate to take photos and/or videos. ....less

No fee change of date policy if the date no longer works for you, meaning we are fully flexible. ....less

As a sign of respect, we think that it is important for travellers to learn a few key words or phrases in the native language, so we offer language lessons in China, India and South Korea and a written language guide in Japan. We also offer classes to learn about the local culture including a calligraphy class in Japan and a lesson in kung-fu in China.

All of our Dragons interactions are with local suppliers, and we promote integration between travellers and local people through our “unmissable” included activities and our optional activities, and opportunities for authentic cultural immersion.

Our Adventure Leaders are trained in ensuring that customers are aware of local customs and traditions, educating them on when it is appropriate to take photos and/or videos.

Our blog contains a huge wealth of information on how to navigate the different cultures and minimise their impact on the local people. Our Adventure Leaders are also trained in communicating any major differences with our customers and they do so in the pre-departure meeting.

We send over detailed booking packs to our all Dragons. These booking packs provide our travellers with an overview of what to expect on the tour as well as a much more detailed look at their itinerary. We also offer links to our destination guides which gives a sense of the history, geography and culture of the locations that we visit. These booking packs are sent a few weeks before travel and are updated to reflect the latest developments. In addition to this, Dragons are given a pre-tour briefing on arrival where they are given instructions about cultural sensitivities and more information about the nature of the places that we visit.

All our group tours are locally guided. We worked with a sustainable consultant who assessed how much of our trips were putting money and resources back into the local community and we scored very highly here. We do visit local communities and we have a local guide who goes with them. For example, in China- we visit one of our local guide’s villages and she takes them there. This type of activity puts money right back into the local community. The Dragon Trip has also contributed to an orphanage in Xi’an and a Kung fu centre. We watch a kung fu show in Shaolin and have made consistent contributions back to this community.

Local visit to village in Yangshuo, China which directly puts money back into the local community. We also arrange a beach clean-up in Cambodia which has a tangible impact on the local community. ....less

Within our first 5 years as a company, we had already welcomed over 4,000 people on life-changing adventures across Asia – and we’ve not stopped growing since.

Our diverse groups now consist of budget backpacking tours (including the young and young-at-heart), family tours, and student groups from some of the world’s most prestigious schools and universities. Since trip 1, our goal has always been to deliver on our promise of authentic, insightful and unforgettable travel.

We’ve seen hundreds of 5-star reviews, countless life-changing experiences (including 2 engagements!) and been featured in media far and wide. Our friendly team – now over 20-strong – are from 7 different countries, speak 11 languages, and are located in our offices in Shanghai, London and Boston. We are also proud to introduce our sub-brand: The Learning Adventure. The Learning Adventure runs top of the class school trips in the UK, Italy, Spain, France alongside our Asian destinations: China, Japan, Korea and plenty more. Plus we also have a brand focusing on group tours in the USA called The Coyote Trip. ....less

What responsible travel means to us:
There are many ways we can all make a positive impact and be a force for good. As a business, we wanted to make sure our goals aligned with the protection of the places and people that make our adventures and group tours so unique which is why we are focussing our efforts on the local people and businesses we support.

Why we care:
Did you know that the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) states that for the average holiday, for every $100 spent by a tourist, only $5 stays within the local community? This is truly shocking and can’t carry on.

We believe that the more money we give to local businesses we work with, the better these beautiful landscapes will be protected. This gives our Dragons not just the pride in reducing inequality but also access to what really happens behind the typical tourist traps, to see and do what the locals experience.

Our vision:
We are not perfect but we aim to be, that is why year on year we aim to increase the proportion of local businesses we work with as well as reduce the average carbon footprint of all of our group tour adventures. We do this by measuring our performance and making small but positive changes to how we operate. ....less