While expeditions and tours share many similarities, there are some big differences that should inform which is best to use for any given trip.
What is an Expedition?
Expeditions are the best option when:
You're designing or scheduling a custom trip
Guests want to log their own sightings and be more engaged in the action
Your guides are high-touch and there's two-way communication with guests
While most expeditions span multiple days, this isn't a requirement, and a single-day expedition might fit your operation's needs just as well.
Some example expedition scenarios:
A classic African safari spanning several parks over several days
A multi-day rainforest trek at an ecolodge
A liveaboard Galapagos cruise, snorkeling and hiking islands
What is a Tour?
Tours are the best option when:
You regularly run the same basic itinerary with little modification
Guests are grouped with multiple other parties
You take walk-up guests and don't pre-register
Your guides are primarily broadcasting and relatively low-touch
Some example tour scenarios:
a 2-hour whale watching tour running 3 times a day
a snorkeling daytrip to a distant reef
a day-trip safari excursion
Detailed Comparison
Keep in mind, the largest single difference between these two trip types is not the length of the trip; it's whether you schedule many recurring departures of the same trip, or individually book trips with customization and guests who want to log their own sightings.
| Expeditions | Tours |
Length of Trip | Often multi-day, but can be 1 day or a few hours | Often a few hours or 1 day |
Frequency of Trip | Individually scheduled | Multiple recurring departures of the same trip (e.g. every 3 hours, daily, weekly) |
Itinerary Variance | Customized per booking, with re-usable templates for common itineraries | Same basic itinerary, but individual departures can change times or regions visited |
Party Management | Guests registered in advance with individual party access codes | One shared access code for all departures |
Wildlife Sightings | View the guide's sightings or record your own, shared within each party. Guide can verify or correct guest sightings and annotate. | View the guide's sightings only. Cannot log own sightings. |
Reports & Sharing | Daily Field Report and post-trip Expedition Chronicle keep the memories alive, ready for sharing | Post-tour report emailed |
Customer Marketing | No email collection necessary (you already have it) | Option to collect email address and marketing opt-in consent to access sightings. Option to promote writing reviews |
App Functionality | View detailed expedition itinerary day-by-day View Wildlife Compendium Log sightings View sightings (map, list, filters) Receive sighting verification, annotation, and correction from guides View daily Field Report & post-expedition Chronicle | View tour details View guide information View Wildlife Compendium View sightings (map, list, filters) View post-trip summary |
Offline Access | Supported | Supported |
Multiple Trips | Not currently supported | Switch between multiple tours |
Guide Mode (App) | Log & annotate sightings Verify & correct sightings Review itinerary and party details View and switch into upcoming/past expeditions | Log & annotate sightings View and switch into upcoming/past tours |