Overseas Challenges FAQs

Because we need your support - and you can make a difference.

By raising money for us through our World Experiences you will help to make a real difference to the thousands of ordinary people and their families who are affected by heart and circulatory disease every year.

We rely on donations to fund our vital work. Fundraising for charity can be very tough so we want to encourage people to take part in fun events that are unusual, exciting and challenging. Our World Experiences fit the bill!

World Experiences are definitely not a holiday!

They are real challenges, both in terms of the trekking or cycling involved, and in raising the large amount of sponsor money required to take part in these events. You will have to trek or cycle across rugged terrain, often at high altitude and in extreme temperatures.

You will need to get very fit and train at least three times a week, gradually increasing your stamina and fitness. This training will probably take three to six months.

The more you talk about the charity to your potential sponsors, the more they will realise how important your hard work is, and how your sponsorship is helping BHF.

We try to ensure that approximately 55% of the minimum sponsorship plus 100% of anything raised in excess of that goes directly to our work.

The other 45% costs cover flights, transfers, accommodation, meals, tour leader, tour doctor, guides and all event support and back up services.

We have an experienced team on hand to help and give you sponsorship advice.

And when you sign up to the event we will send you a welcome pack that has everything you need to know about fundraising, including lots of fun ideas and helpful tips.

We advise you to break your sponsorship target into lots of smaller more manageable targets. This way you will soon realise that you have raised all your sponsorship and have had lots of fun along the way as well!

Yes, you have to pay a non-refundable registration fee to secure your place on the event. You can also choose to pay towards the costs of the event yourself. This way you can reassure your sponsors that 100% of their donation will benefit BHF.

We set each event 3 fundraising deadlines; 50%, 80% and 100%.

At each of these points you need to ensure you have sent in the correct amount of sponsorship to meet the minimum sponsorship for the event.

The 50% deadline is 14 weeks before the event, and is set as a benchmark for you to help you know you are on track with your fundraising.

The 80% deadline is 10 weeks before the event. This deadline is really important as this is when BHF have to pay the tour operator, who is organising the event, all the costs for your place.

Some people find it difficult to ask for sponsorship up front, but it is a lot harder to collect the money after the event. Your sponsors will generally be understanding about this if you explain why.

The 100% deadline is 4-6 weeks after the event. By this date you need to make sure you have sent us the minimum sponsorship requirement in full.

Please refer to the individual event pages on the website to see what’s included/excluded in the minimum sponsorship. Your personal costs, including travel insurance, personal expenses, tips for the local guides/porters, payment for visas or vaccinations (where required) and in some cases payment of airport tax, are not covered by the money you raise towards the sponsorship target.

If you cannot raise the money in time, we will ask you if you are able to make up the costs yourself in order to take part in the event. If this is not possible, we will offer you the opportunity to join another challenge in the future, giving you longer to keep fundraising. If you do have to withdraw from the event, we will refund your sponsorship to your donors directly, if requested by them. Please note that cancellation charges do apply if cancelling within ten weeks of departure date, (although travel insurance may cover these cancellation costs, depending on the circumstance).

There will be a variety of people doing it for a number of different reason for example, it could be because they have lost a loved one to heart disease, they have had heart problems, the location of the event or they just want to do something for charity. There will be a wide mix of people and you are likely to make some life-long friends. All ages take part, from all backgrounds.

Required fitness levels depend on the trip you are taking part in and your current level of fitness. These trips are not organised for experienced trekkers or cyclist, so we will have people of all abilities taking part.

We strongly advise that everyone should train for the event, as the fitter you are, the more you will enjoy yourself. We recommend 3-6 months training prior to the event. We'll also provide you with a set of training guidelines to help you prepare for the challenge

On the event, we will advise people to go at their own pace – it’s not a race and the idea is to enjoy yourself.

We will provide you with a recommended kit list give you advice on what you will need for the challenge.

The events are organised by reputable (ATOL protected) tour operators in the UK who manage and run the events on behalf of BHF. They arrange the details of the trip and use a local ground agent to arrange all the accommodation, meals, transfers etc. The trips are very well organised and you will be well looked after, so all you have to concentrate on is completing the challenge and having fun.

If the location or dates of our overseas events aren’t quite right for you then please call the World Experiences team to discuss other options.

We work with a number of Tour Operators who offer a huge range of different trips throughout the year, so we are sure we will be able to find an event that works for you while still raising money for BHF.

If you are planning to do an overseas trekking or cycling trip independently and would like to raise money for BHF by doing so, we would love to hear from you and support you with the trip. Please get in touch with us to find out more about how we can help you with your fundraising and also offer you advice on preparing for the trip.

Please email world@bhf.org.uk or call the team on 0844 847 2788 if you have any further questions.