How We Travel — DALA ARBA Expeditions

01 — Group size

Hard caps: 8 on expeditions, 12 on escapes.

When we say private, we mean a single party — not a mixed bus of strangers. The cap is a design constraint, not a marketing number; it is what the routes and the camps can carry without compromise.

02 — Who leads

A named senior guide whose biography you read before you arrive.

Plus a regional specialist on the ground in every region we cross. The driver is the driver. The guide is the guide. We do not blur the two roles to save a salary.

03 — A day's rhythm

Slow morning, long lunch, an unhurried afternoon.

Sunrise photography or a contemplative walk while breakfast is laid. Mid-morning into the day's main travel or experience. Long lunch — never a sandwich on the move. Afternoon for the unhurried thing the schedule didn't promise.

Evening at camp: fire, conversation, dombra, sky.

04 — What's in, what's out

Both lists are explicit. No surprise line items at the end.

Always included

In the quote you receive.

Senior guide, regional specialists, all transport (private 4WD), all accommodation (YurtaDa camps and selected guesthouses), all meals, park entries, permits, fuel, satellite communications.

Never included

Listed openly, not buried.

International flights, travel insurance (mandatory — we will recommend providers), personal alcohol, optional helicopter transfers, gratuities.

05 — Booking ahead

How far in advance to write.

Summer · Jun–Sep

Four to six months ahead.

Spring & autumn shoulder

Three months.

Winter eagle-hunting circuits

Book by August of the previous year.

Last-minute

Handled when our team has bandwidth. We will tell you honestly.

06 — From enquiry to departure

Ten steps. None of them are a chatbot.

You write.

We reply within 48 hours with a real human and a frame of options.

A free 30-minute design call.

A tailored route, day-by-day, with named guides and indicative cost.

Two rounds of revision.

30% deposit secures the dates.

We design and confirm — every permit, every camp, every transfer.

Final balance 60 days before departure.

Pre-trip briefing pack two weeks out.

You arrive — and the kettle is on.

07 — Our travellers

Who Dala Arba is designed for — and who it is not.

Cultural readers and slow-photographers. Returning Central Asia hands. Couples and small families seeking a serious trip. Specialist groups (astronomy clubs, ornithologists, archaeologists) on bespoke briefs.

We do not design for backpackers, bachelor parties, or Instagram circuits — and we will say so politely if the brief is mismatched.

08 — Sustainability

Smaller groups. Local hires. No single-use plastics in camp.

No drone use over wildlife. No off-track 4WD. Carbon offsets are calculated and disclosed for every itinerary — not as a selling point, but because the maths matter.