On a permaculture farm in a jungle on a volcanic island in a Nicaraguan lake, I’m scraping off dirt that has crusted to my bug-bitten ankles. That statement is about as mouthful as “How I ended up here.” However, the story ends with him getting a trip across Ometepe earlier today on the back of a stranger’s motorcycle.
We spent almost two hours traveling the thirty minutes from the ferry terminal to the property where we will be staying this week. I misled us by leading us around the jungled base of a volcano and via a tangle of muddy back roads. A local advised us to use a paved route, but my unintelligent smartphone persuaded me to take the “shortcut” that led us here. We traveled the “scenic” route through acres of verdant countryside, down untraveled trails, and beneath the shadow of innumerable tree varieties.
I’ll think of trekking Concepción tonight if the mosquito net in my bunk allows me to get some sleep beneath the stars.
Adventure Travel Is Expensive
The cost of adventure travel doesn’t have to be prohibitive. Of course, you can spend more on travel and lodging. However, you’re more inclined to avoid upscale hotels because you’re taking an exciting trip. Additionally, you have the option to choose which excursions to pay for.
According to a CreditDonkey poll, the average traveler will spend roughly $1,200 year on vacation, which includes airfare, lodging, meals, and excursions. A study that was published in the Journal of Happiness Studies suggests that an ideal vacation lasts roughly eight days. We only take a few days off, most of us. Thus, $1,200 appears to be a sizable amount of change.
The Average Adventure Traveler Is Young and Physically Fit
The typical adventure traveler is not a young, recent graduate taking a gap year, despite what many people think. Additionally, the typical adventure traveler is not a physically fit man.
Instead, according to data from the Travel Industry Association of America, the typical adventure traveler is a woman in her 47s. In actuality, three-quarters of adventure, environmental, and cultural travel participants are women between the ages of 20 and 70.
In fact, most of their female passengers are traveling alone, according to adventure trip operators. For instance, according to Country Walkers, 87 percent of its female participants were traveling alone in 2016, while VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations states that 68 percent of female travelers traveled alone in 2016.
There are many different types of adventure travelers. Additionally, they can be either accompanied or solo. Your age or degree of fitness (apart from health, which is a legitimate deterrent) shouldn’t be a reason for not being able to travel with adventure. Furthermore, you are not entitled to your friends’ justifications.
You Have to Travel Far to Travel Adventurously
Although the phrase “adventure travel” frequently conjures images of a snow-covered mountain getaway or a journey through a secluded, forested region of the world, you don’t have to go to a distant, foreign nation. There is adventure everywhere.
There are 58 national parks in the US alone. Imagine Yosemite and Yellowstone, both of which are brimming with unspoiled wildlife and nature. Aspen-Snowmass, the nation’s largest lift-served vertical at 12,510 feet, and North America’s tallest surface lift are both located in Colorado.
Adventure Travel Is Dangerous
Indeed, it may be argued that activities like hitchhiking, bungee leaping over unstable bridges, hiking glaciers, and jumping out of airplanes are less safe than, say, relaxing on a resort’s private beach. However, adventurous travel isn’t always risky.
You don’t have to face it alone, to start. With planned excursions and seasoned operators with a solid safety record, you may take an adventurous trip. It’s usually necessary to have a trekking guide or dive master with you when hiking or scuba diving. These are seasoned experts. They are trained to check your air gauge when you are far below sea level and to identify signs of altitude sickness when you are much above it.
Skilled Outdoorsman for Adventurous Travel
To travel adventurously, you don’t have to be a former scout. However, you do require common sense and an openness to trying various lifestyles.
You don’t necessary require survival skills like understanding how to light a fire, purifying water to stay hydrated, or recognizing toxic plants or animals, though these can be helpful.
Adventure Travel Means Going Extreme
Your heart will race if you surf down Nicaragua’s volcanic Cerro Negro volcano. It hasn’t erupted since 1999, so don’t worry, you’ll zip down 2,385 feet in just three minutes. However, nobody is certain when it will spit hot lava once more.
You might jump into the waters of Gansbaai, South Africa, if the heat is too much for you. The great white shark, the ocean’s top predator, patrols them. Or try your hand at heli-skiing. Experience it at the Chugach Range in Alaska, where a crew will take you over 750,000 acres of unexplored powder in a Eurocopter AS250 before throwing you out the door.