What is adventure travel?
updated Apr 2023
Does adventure travel mean climbing Mount Everest or trekking to the south pole? Of course, that would qualify for adventure travel, but it does not have to be that extreme.
Anyone can do it
Adventure travel can be very simple and close to home. It could be combined with your planned foreign vacation. Adventure travel simply means going places the average tourist does not go. It could be a one-day hike in the desert or taking a day out from your tropical beach vacation for a hike in the jungle. Or it could be canoeing down a river. It could be searching for a bird you have always wanted to see in the wild.
Suggestions
Here are some suggestions from the things that I have done.
Explore a desert
This could be done from the comfort of your trailer. I wonder at all the many types of desert plants and wildlife. If you have a camping trailer, you can camp in the desert or return to a campground in the nearest city or town each night. It can even be done on horseback.
Go for a very long walk
One summer, I walked from the Black Forest in Germany to Nijmegen in the Netherlands. Or go by bicycle. I have met people travelling by bicycle from Alaska to Argentina and from Alaska to Mexico. You don’t need a vehicle and don’t have to buy any gas. You can camp or stay overnight at a guesthouse. The people that I met were camping. You can put a small tent on the back of a bicycle. You don’t need to go across the continent, either. How about across your state or province?
Explore a jungle
Take a day out from your tropical beach vacation to explore the jungle.
Go for a bike ride in the jungle at night. (with a headlight).
Go to Greenland
How many people do you know who have been to Greenland? Be the only one of your family and friends to have been there. It is not that challenging. You go on a plane. Go for a walk. You might see a Muskox.
Climb Mt Vesuvius
Mt Vesuvius is a live volcano in Italy. There is a story about my hike up the volcano on this website.
Swim in the Dead Sea
Swim in the Dead Sea. Or try to. You will float like a cork
Drive the Baja California Peninsula
There is a multi-part series about this drive on this website
Explore the Grand Canyon
You can go down to the canyon floor on mules or walk the length of Grand Canyon National Park and wonder at its beauty. Watch for the rare California Condor.
Climb Angel’s Landing
Explore Zion National Park in Utah. Walk the length of the park. You might see a Jerusalem Cricket. There is a bus that runs the length of the canyon. I walked one way and rode back on the bus. Don’t just follow the road, though. You have to do some trails in the woods. Wild Turkeys are common there.
After exploring the park for a day or two, climb Angel’s Landing
.
Go for a cruise
Go for a cruise. But not an ordinary cruise to the tropics where you get pampered. How about a cruise to the Svalbard Islands in the Arctic or from Canada to Greenland, or around the Galapagos Islands?
Have you ever heard of the Salt River Canyon?
There are wonderful places that are easy to get to by road, yet few people have ever heard of them—for example, the Salt River Canyon in Arizona.
Explore Peten
Travel across the jungle in the Guatemalan state of Peten. Explore the wonderful little city of Flores and the ancient Mayan city of Tikal.
Cross the Arctic Circle
This is an easy drive on paved roads in Finland or gravel roads in Alaska or Canada
Climb a pyramid
See the pyramids in both Egypt and Central America. Climb one.
Ride a camel
Rent a camel in the Sahara Desert.
Ride a bull
Ride a Brahma bull on the beach in Mexico.
Live in a thatched hut
Live for a week in a thatched hut in Belize or Mexico.
Drive on a frozen lake or river
Drive on a frozen lake or river. This is no big deal if you live in the north, but seeing a lake that is frozen solid enough to drive a truck on it is an amazing site for people from the south. You can drill a hole in the ice and do some winter fishing.
See Flamingos in the wild
Explore a cave
See a Grizzly Bear in the wild
Climb the Eiffel Tower
You can even turn an ordinary tourist attraction into an adventure. For example, climb the stairs up the Eiffel Tower instead of taking the elevator.
Go Camping in the snow.
Go dog sledding
Read about my dog sledding trip here. There are also a couple of short videos.
And so much more to do
There is no end to the adventure travel that you can do, from one-day local hikes to multi-day international trips. They do not have to be dangerous events and do not have to cost a fortune. The point is to get off the beaten path and discover something new in nature. You don’t have to be the first or the only one to go someplace. There is a whole planet out there waiting for you to discover it. It does not matter if someone else has discovered it before. It will be your first time, and that is all that matters.
Be a guest blogger
If you are interested in writing a short article about one of your adventures, I may post it here on my website. So let me know where you went and what you saw.
Please read my disclaimer at the bottom of the page. These trips are just suggestions. You must consider your abilities, preparation, and acceptance of some risks. Do not go on any adventure if you are unprepared or feel that there is an unacceptable risk. Every trip has some amount of danger to it. For example, you might get in a car accident on your way to the airport. My Thatched Hut is in no way responsible for your actions.