Choose a Challenge Reviews 232

The best experience of my life. Thanks to Choose a Challenge and WWF, I have been able to fulfill one of my biggest ambitions only for it to spark another. I’m not satisfied with EBC. I want to do it all. This is because of the opportunity to climb to EBC. I have made friends that I will always be in contact with, experiences that I have learned from and will always remember. I have learned a lot about myself and what my mental and physical capacity is capable of. This all happened because I checked an email - an email that I could have simply scanned by.

It only takes a spark to cause a fire.

Thank you Choose a Challenge, thank you WWF, and thank you team.

- Alfie Brooks

I went on the Kilimanjaro trip this summer and it truly was an incredible experience! The logistics were all well taken care of and the in-country teams always went above and beyond to ensure that everybody was safe and happy.

I would definitely recommend Choose a Challenge and an experience like this to anybody

The Peaks of the Balkans was really a trip of a lifetime. I had such an amazing time, all while making new friends and memories for life. Rhiannon our choose a challenge rep made the trip so much better, always ensuring we felt safe, supported and made sure the trip went as smooth as possible. I couldn’t recommend this company more, it’s allowed me to raise money for such a worthy charity as well as motivate me to do more trips like it x

I took part in this year's Colombia lost city trek with Choose a Challenge. What an experience! The guides were very helpful and helped keep us in high spirits during the trek. I would highly recommend this trek to anyone who wants a taste of adventure in a safe and caring environment. Mike from Choose a Challenge was a welcome member of the team and was on hand for any queries we had.

I had an amazing week trekking the Peaks of the Balkans. Our challenge leader Rhiannon was brilliant ensuring we were all looked after and everything ran smoothly during the week. I would highly recommend to anyone thinking about joining a challenge. Memories and friends made for life all while raising money for a great cause!

Choose a Challenge gave me the experience of a lifetime by sending me to Nepal to climb to Everest Base Camp. I was lucky enough to work with them raising money for WWF, both supporting a great cause and undergoing one of the most rewarding episodes of my life to date.

The people I met along the way, from the Choose a Challenge team, our guides and porters, the group I did it alongside, and especially Jules, our ICO in Nepal, were nothing but helpful, kind, and great fun.

I cannot recommend Choose a Challenge enough to anyone who wants to get outside their comfort zone and do good at the same time.

For me, the main thing was the people. There was great organisation from start to finish- I went with the booked flights package and it was nice not to worry about the admin side of things, on top of that when we were in the country, the help we got from our guides and the choose a challenge team was amazing. Big shout out to Jules who was our ICO for being so accommodating and making sure we were in the right place at the right time so that we could fly out to Lukla. The guides and porters were great people who, as time went on, we all really bonded and built lasting friendships with. Thanks to choose a challenge for such an amazing opportunity to immerse ourselves in local cultures and making sure that we had a fun and safe time in the mountains. I cannot stress enough how good a time I have had, mostly because of the people that I met.

I would strongly recommend choose a challenge to anyone! They even included a back up plan for if we didn’t make it to Lukla Airport, thankfully we did and our whole group made it to Everest Base Camp!

Special shout out to Purna Adhikari (guide) for his knowledge and assistance in the mountains (especially Kala Patthar as he was really motivating, even at 4:30am!!), also shout outs go to Prem Rai and Los Mon Rai (assistant guide and porter) for being so lovely to have along side us, playing games and getting involved in our jokes and activities!!

This was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. As a group we were incredibly lucky, with with all our flights not being cancelled, which at times, seemed pretty likely.
I could not give any improvements to the team in Nepal. All the guides were so friendly, which made us feel comfortable, creating a close bond between us tourists and locals.
With a group of 20, there was some challenges, due to there being a diverse range of physical abilities, but towards the end we had a system that worked really well.
I cannot express enough how much I enjoyed this trip. I would definitely recommend!

Before the trip itself there was some confusion with the English team regarding money etc especially with the fundraising. E.g. charging £170 to cancel my flight place which just wasn’t a necessary charge. Communication wasn’t great either and emails were sometimes incorrect.

HOWEVER

Once I arrived in Nepal, the ground team were absolutely fantastic and I cannot stress enough that the only issues I had were with the team in England. Jules, the CaC operator on the trip was phenomenal and worked his a** off to make sure we all had a brilliant trip. He was friendly and engaging and was great value to the trip.

The guides that work with CaC are amazing. Purna, Rodre and Frim made our trek more than just a walk to Everest Base Camp. They helped us to make it something we will remember for the rest of our lives and also gave me 3 new friends that I will never forget. The trip itself was smoothly run upon arrival and lived up to and in fact exceeded expectation, however the issues beforehand did put a slight downer on the review.

This refers to the communication from CaC re fundraising before the trip, or lack thereof and also the seemingly random bits of money needed for tasks which really shouldn’t have costed so much (plane ticket cancellation was originally quoted at just shy of £300?!?! I was told on email £170 so they stuck to that, yet another email mistake). There was an error in the guarantor contract I was sent as well, one that had I not noticed, my Mum would have had to fork out an arm and a leg completely unnecessarily.

I was also disappointed to find out that the guides food is not included despite 21 students paying so much money, I think CaC could afford to lose a tiny bit of profit for the staff to have their meals covered. That or make it an option for participants to chip in extra and cover as I’m sure we all would have done. Either way, the staff involved on the ground all deserve recognition from those above them at the company, they’re incredible individuals and they’re the ones who made the trip so amazing. So again, shout-out to Jules, Purna, Rodre and Frim.

An overall excellent experience and the trip itself was incredible, as I said just a shame about some of the communication from the team back home.

EBC TREK was unreal every detail was thought about and executed amazingly - the guides, the porter, the staff, choose a challenge reps were all wonderful espically when I was so poorly they took amazing care of me and made sure I was okay every second of the trek.

I can’t express enough how thankful I am to have been surrounded by such a family of people who truely cared for you and your experience the information and guidance was unreal you felt like you learnt so much about Nepal as well. A trip I will never forget and seeing baby rhinos was the cherry on top thank you to everyone involved

5 stars doesn’t quite recapitulate the trip of a life time to Everest Base Camp, provided by Choose a Challenge :). The guides were phenomenal and made it the most interesting, exciting and memorable couple of weeks that we’ll never forget. The organisation of the trip was exceptional; with procedures set in place for poor weather conditions, people falling ill, etc., the trip was made to be both smooth and exhilarating. We had members of the team pointing us in the right direction (quite literally) every step of the way.
The entire experience exceeded all expectations, as orchestrated by Jules and Choose a Challenge. Thank you so, so much :-)

Had an amazing experience with Choose a Challenge from start to finish. The trip in the Balkans was amazing, everything run so smoothly and our team couldn’t thank Rhiannon our rep from Choose a Challenge enough, who came out with us. She looked after us all and gave the support throughout! I will be recommending the challenges to others and look forward to joining again one day!

Made it to the top of Kilimanjaro and raised some money for Charity 👍

The trek was amazing, the guides were lovely and the views along the way and at the end were phenomenal.

I contacted the Choose a Challenge team to help with an issue regarding my sons climb of Kilimanjaro, he had already started his trek up the mountain.
I had an immediate response, even though my request seemed a little far fetched, Rob & team in London, Harry & the team on the ground in Tanzania were absolutely brilliant & were able to help.
At each stage of my request I was kept updated by email.
I was really impressed with the London & Tanzania teams professionalism, valuable knowledge & duty of care for their visiting climbing teams.
My son too couldn’t thank them enough for their help.
Thank you.

Whilst we had an amazing Kilimanjaro trek, this was at no cost of CAC! The amount of money each of us paid to the company, we feel they have completely taken advantage of us as students, leaving us all wondering where our money has gone. We were informed that 100% of the money fundraised would be given straight MRF, later learning in their small print terms and conditions that its actually only 50%. The hidden costs that aren’t explicitly talked about such as kit and necessary jabs adds up to a further £1K on top of everything else. Following our missed connecting flight to Tanzania, CAC were impossible to contact and we were left unsure of our plan while in the airport for hours. We had to begin our trek after 48 hours of travelling and without a nights sleep in Moshi (which we had all paid for and not reimbursed) and minimal time to prepare. After one of the participants fainted, we received no medical checks as promised. Due to the rushed start of the trek, we were playing catch up the entire week, leading to absolute exhaustion and zero acclimatisation. This led to multiple health problems later on from participants that would have otherwise summited with no problems whatsoever. I understand we were one of many flights affected however CAC should have prepared default plans incase this happens, rather than storming ahead with unsafe plans. On top of this, we were only given a 1.5hr window in between our connecting flight which is ridiculous, when CAC explicitly told us to be at the airport 3hrs ahead of schedule incase of delays. So why is the connection time less than this? On summit night, we were only given maximum 1.5hrs sleep before setting off for a 14hr walk. This meant most of us suffered extreme fatigue and exhaustion and 30% of our group did not make it to the peak, while the success rate for our route is 97%. Regardless of the fact “everyone still got a shot at the summit”, it was in complete unsafe conditions. Three of the fittest members of the group suffered severe exhaustion and feel very let down by this. The representative for choose a challenge in Tanzania gave zero communication, was unenthusiastic, unprofessional, and unhelpful. I absolutely loved our Kilimanjaro trek but only because the group, porters, and guides made it enjoyable. Just raise some money for charity and book your own trip.

We had such a great time climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. The porters and guide company that were organised for us were incredible and the hardest working, happiest individuals which made the experience even more incredible.
The hotels are incredible and Harry has been more than helpful with any and every request from our group and went well out of his way in Zanzibar to organise an incredible night up for the whole group and showed us round local shops in Moshi, offered to take and organise a taxi with anyone who needed to go to an ATM without being asked. He made sure all parties were looked after at all times at all hours of the day. I had a great trip!

Great experience! Harry was the best!! Great hospitality couldn’t have done a better job.

Very disappointed with choose a challenge. The company takes advantage of students trying to raise money for charity. We had an amazing Kilimanjaro trek, but this was all due to the guides and porters who supported us, while choose a challenge lacked communication, organisation and care. Following our missed connecting flight to Tanzania, choose a challenge were difficult to contact and we were left unsure of our plan while in the airport for hours. They delayed informing us of how our itinerary would change, and we had to begin our trek following over 48 hours of travelling without a night to sleep in Tanzania and with minimal time to prepare, repack our bags etc. We received no medical checks as promised, after a member of our group fainted on the plane. The choose a challenge itinerary meant that we were only given an hour and a half to sleep before beginning the summit night trek, with many of us not sleeping at all. Unfortunately this meant most of us suffered extreme fatigue and exhaustion while summiting and more of our group than expected did not make it to the peak - around 25%, while the success rate is usually 97% for this route. The representative for choose a challenge in Tanzania hardly gave any communication, was unenthusiastic and unhelpful. It was unclear how ethically the porters and guides were treated as many seemed to have insufficient trekking clothing. There were also many hidden costs that choose a challenge did not make clear until later points. Many of us have been left wondering where a lot of our money has gone. I absolutely loved our Kilimanjaro trek but would not recommend the company to anyone.

Where do I start….

I joined the Kilimanjaro trek in 2022 as a fresher who wanted to try something unforgettable. The initial fee was £425 and I was reassured that fundraising £3,990 is very possible. Over time I realized that it would not be feasible to fundraise this large amount. MRF run events that cost money to participate in and unless you were given a good station fundraising often meant you spent more money on transport and food than you even managed to fundraise. When I couldn’t fundraise the amount I was forced to defer which was a £200 fee. Not to mention losing the deposit for Zanzibar which was £95! I was then offered the role of the challenge leader for half price fundraising. However, due to inflation I now had to fundraise in line with inflation which meant it went up significantly by £600. I worked hard to gain sign ups and recruit others to climb kili with me.

Having gone on the trip I found out that other challenge leaders were given half price registration fee and other perks meanwhile I had already given so much to choose a challenge. Then, I was charged a huge sum of £318 as apparently I didn’t request flights when the previous year I had flights included. This was awfully managed and a huge sum to land on a student. Everything was made out to be my fault.

Then comes the trip, the hidden costs that aren’t explicitly talked about. The cost of kit and necessary jabs added up to around £1000 on top of everything. As well as this to get 300 dollars emergency money out. This trip is advertised to students but yet it’s a huge cost.

As the challenge leader I took on the role of signing everyone in. Another issue with choose a challenge is they booked a flight with only 1 hour and 30 mins between the second flight. Delays are common and on this occasion there were issues with British airspace. Eventually we get onto the plane and one of the participants on the trip faints. This is then my responsibility. A lot of responsibility was put on to me, as an unpaid individual. I called choose a challenge and they reassured me that the participant that fainted would have a medical check before trekking. This never happened. Due to the delay we then had to spend 24 hours in Istanbul, I had to organize a group of 28 people and ensure all the hotel rooms and food vouchers were sorted. Again unpaid responsibility. This lead us to be 24 hours behind the original schedule. Choose a challenge did not change our itenary, instead we were rushed off the plane onto a 9 hour coach to moshi. Where we had no time to acclimatize and instead get ready to trek that day. Choose a challenge did not communicate with us effectively. Having to rush up the mountain led to a lot of health problems later on. We had no sleep and started trekking through the night. This led me to be violently sick. Throughout the trek we were on catch up.

Summit night was the worst of all, by this point two participants had to descend the mountain due to health risks. We ate dinner at 8pm and summit began at 10:30pm. This was at no fault of the guides and porters as they were not allowed to extend the challenge due to choose a challenge. This meant climbing with no sleep leading to exhaustion and fatigue. Many did not make it. Overall 8 out of 31 didn’t make it. I believe if we had been given another day to acclimatize and rest more of us would have succeeded. Participants felt let down by this.

Lastly, the porters and Tanzania representatives were outstanding and were the reason Kilimanjaro was still a success for 23 of us. However, it was felt that the porters were not given sufficient clothing and clothes for the trek. It was unclear whether they were paid fairly as we were encouraged to tip high. I was happy to do this along with a lot of others however it made us question the wage that they received from choose a challenge.

Choose a challenge targets students and charges a huge amount, they are not transparent in their fees and costs. Questions must be raised over whether they ethically pay their staff and ensure that they have the right equipment and clothes. I will never recommend choose a challenge. Book your own trip!