An adventure tour is not your typical vacation. As indicated by the name, an adventure tour includes an element of excitement and exploration. For most travellers, the adventure lies in the destinations, the activities, and the tour group that you go with. A properly planned adventure tour can be a once in a lifetime experience. Taking adventure tours is part of a growing trend for those who want to get more out of their vacations than simply sitting on the beach. Many individuals in today’s world engage in regular exercise and other “extreme sports”, and are also interested in the culture and landscape of a foreign country. For these vacationers, a basic trip to a tropical island will just not do. If you mountain bike, mountain climb, or white water raft in your free time, why not incorporate that activity into your vacation? All of these exciting elements are combined in an adventure tour.
Choose Your Own Adventure
The extreme differences and varieties of landscape and climate of the four corners of the Earth come to life on an adventure vacation. At the heart of the adventure tour is the location or locations visited on the trip. Different people see different activities as adventures, so there are many options on an adventure tour depending on the traveler’s interests. Other vacationers can handle only a certain amount of activity, so that has to be taken into account as well.
In most cases, an adventure tour includes physical exertion of some kind. This type of adventure tour can include hiking, bicycling, kayaking, canoeing, and any other physical activity that you can think of, even ice climbing. Of course, all of these activities are enriched by the locale. White water rafting in the same old rivers in your home state can become ordinary. What better way to revitalize your interest in this extreme sport by travelling to New Zealand and trying you skills down a brand-new set of waterways.
Other adventurous souls who may desire a bit less physical exertion can still travel to exotic locations and experience the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and everything else that their chosen destination or destinations has to offer. They can still enjoy the complete experience of taking in all that a city or country has to offer. This type of adventure tour usually involves cultural traditions, such as taking part in an ancient ceremony in Mexico.
See and Do More
A good part of the adventure tour is spent travelling so that more ground can be covered. So many sights and highlights can be caught and experienced along the way that a simple trip can seem to encompass what may have taken multiple vacations to cover.
The advanced planning that an adventure tour includes allows for much more to be fit into each day than would be covered by a more relaxed and pampered. As you keep moving from stop to stop, you can see more of the state or country that you are visiting.
On an adventure tour, you may even be able to move from country to country, such as in Southeast Asia or Africa, to sample all of the radically different cultures that share borders. Any nomadic, adventurous spirit would feel right at home traversing a multitude of nations on one adventure tour. Upon their return, travelers often report feeling that they feel as if they have experienced several vacations instead of just one. A traditional vacation may scratch the surface of a destination, but an adventure our thrusts you into the heart and soul of a foreign land.
Strangers and Friends
An unforeseen benefit of an adventure tour is that you experience these exotic locals with a group of other people. They can come from different areas, from different backgrounds, and, consequently, from radically different lives. You are all brought together to experience something special on an adventure tour.
As you share experience after experience you bond within your own little group. You get the chance to share new experiences with people from different backgrounds, seeing how they react to the world you are discovering together. It has been said that you cannot understand this aspect of an adventure tour experience until you have lived through it. A great group of people travelling the world together can take an already amazing experience to new heights.
Adventure tours are an experience unlike any other. They take the time that you would spend on a traditional vacation and offer you an unparalleled chance for excitement and adventure. The great diversity and variety of an adventure tour ensures that there really is something for everyone. On an adventure tour, no two experiences are exactly alike. The chance to take such a tour is a once in a lifetime opportunity but requires you to answer yes to a very simple question. Would you like to have an adventure?
By: Mike Cole
Posts Tagged ‘Tour Group’
What is an Adventure Tour?
January 29th, 2010How To Find The Best International Travel Medical Insurance
November 16th, 2009The typical domestic travel insurance plans are not designed to function well with hospitals and doctors overseas, which can add to your frustration if you have problems while traveling. Your greatest financial risk while traveling outside of your home country is the possibility of having any health or medical problems. And international travel for business or pleasure keeps growing at a fast pace and is not going to change in the near future.
To reiterate, the most serious problem that international travelers face when on the move is the possibility of having a medical problem in a foreign country. The right international travel medical insurance goes a long way in taking care of the problem. International travel health insurance offers temporary medical or health insurance for US citizens and foreign nationals when traveling anywhere outside their home country.
When you get ready to choose a plan, first assess the requirements, the risks involved, the costs and various options that are available, and then make a compromise wherever necessary. When you do eventually travel, in case any emergency medical treatment is needed, have all the expenses listed in itemized bills to make a claim in the US. There are a few group insurance plans that are fairly cheap, and if you’re with a tour group or a visiting business delegation you could save quite a bit of money with group travel health insurance.
The time frame on your insurance policy needs to be restricted to the actual time that you’re out of the country; the shorter duration will certainly reduce the cost. Make sure that the insurance covers hospitalization, doctor bills and medications. When you go with a reputable insurance company, it will take the financial worry of horrendous medical expenses out of your travel.
Many of the international insurance companies have a multi-lingual staff and on-site medical staff that are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for their policyholders for consultation and medical emergencies. There are international travel medical insurance plans readily available with a wide range of costs and benefits, and with different conditions available through several insurance companies.
Evaluating and treating someone who has met with an accident or become ill in an isolated place can be expensive. Choosing the right plan obviously involves taking some risks, but people who do so are rewarded because the cost of their travel insurance also becomes cheaper. Make sure that the coverage is in place before you go abroad.
Medical costs all around the world are skyrocketing, due mostly to the advances in specialized equipment and the cost of advanced medicines and also training specialists in a number of fields. Make sure to keep handy the addresses and phone numbers of the persons who are to be notified in the event you have to make a claim. Some international travel medical insurance plans don’t accept hazardous trips that include mountain climbing or skating.
If you already have travel insurance, check to make sure that it covers any major medical expenses, most do not. Whether you need coverage for a vacation or your relatives are visiting you from the old country, you want to make sure you have the proper coverage for any unforeseen major medical expenses.
Today you can easily get low cost or cheap international travel medical insurance quotes online. Make sure that evacuation coverage is included in your plan, because that can be a monumental expense. You don’t want to have to get someone out of a difficult location such as a cruise ship, mountain top or African safari without insurance because it can be costly. International travel health insurance is an important travel necessity for individuals and families when they live or travel outside their home country.
By: Helen Hecker
Self Travel in South Africa – the Roads are Great, Use Them
September 13th, 2009
Possibly one of the best things you can do when travelling is to explore the country you are visiting without a tour group. There is no better feeling then finding some unmarked beautiful area where the locals have possibly never seen a tourist and discovering, first hand, the types of lives these locals live. It also gives a person a profound sense of identity of the country you are exploring. It seems like a more pure experience when you happen to stumble and experience these little jewels in a country.
Having travelled both with tours and on my own, this writer would have to say that, although not as convenient as travelling with a tour group, travelling by myself or a loved one, is definitely the most gratifying and incredible way of experiencing a country, it’s people and their customs. There’s just something special about sitting down and planning the routes you will take, the type of accommodation you’ll be staying in, whether you’ll be trying travelling under your own steam, using public transport or hiring yourself a car. Be your own travel guide!
When travelling by yourself, you would have to budget carefully – or you run the risk of trying to buy up the whole country! A good method of planning is to book your accommodation in advance. If you want to do the backpacking thing, and just wing it then, try and get an accurate price of accommodation in each area. Also try find out how much an average meal would cost or in self-catering circumstances try and find out the average prices of items in supermarkets. Before you leave home, make sure to search for the best car hire prices, or you might just get a nasty shock at some places.
South Africa is a beautiful and large country with a diverse cultural and historic background, incredible scenery and out-of-this-world cooking styles. It has everything to offer from Sub-Saharan to Sub-Tropical Climates and scenery. Wildlife is in abundance from the “Big 5” to the “Little Big 5” and a vast diversity in-between.
One of the most scenic and absolutely peaceful places to start is the Western Cape – that said, it can also be the biggest party you have ever had! In Cape Town you can experience everything from the night life to nature and one of the few places I’ve been where you can experience 4 seasons in 1 day. Some wonderful day trips are to do a wine route, whether Stellenbosch, Durbanville, Worcester, or any of the other beautiful and inebriating routes. Have a picnic at Kirstenbosch Gardens and maybe enjoy one of the incredible sunset concerts in summer, or to try something new go for a fruit picking day which can be done on selected farms.
Up the coast in Knysna you have a host of activities including Canoeing, Mountain bike trails, leisurely beach walks, a visit to the famous lakes around Knysna, Boat cruises, hiking, visiting the Elephant, Bird and Monkey sanctuary in Plett and many more.
If you like your wildlife then go up to Mpumalanga and visit the Kruger National Park which has day tours through the park. If you wanted to stay the night in one of the camps they also have an early morning walk with an armed game ranger (which lasts about 3hrs). Why not go for a walk on the Mountains at Barberton which is at the Swaziland border and where you could find old asbestos mines, old mine tunnels which you can walk through and incredibly diverse scenery.
In Gauteng, go see the Cradle of human kind at the Sterkfontein Caves. These caves have produced over half of the world’s Hominid fossil discoveries. If you want some excitement and something with even more flair, then go on one of the Township tours where you can see anything from Nelson Mandela residence or stay for some traditional African dancing. Remember to try as many of the superb South African delicacies as possible.
Stop in with the kids to Gold Reef City which has an amusement park, casino and where you can even go down a 2000 foot mine shaft tour.
The Northwest province is a land of exquisiteness where you can see the site where Dr. Raymond Dart found the Taung skull in 1924, visit the majestic Magaliesberg and even go see the wild life at the Pielansberg Nature Reserve. If you’re looking for fun and excitement then why not go visit Sun City which has casino’s, golf courses, valley of the waves with some unbelievable super tubes, and waves that would put the ocean to shame.
The Eastern Cape is a place of diverse entertainments and excitement from surfing in the ocean to skiing down Africa’s only snow slopes. The birth place of Nelson Mandela and with the world’s highest bungee jump, the Eastern Cape is definitely a place to explore slowly enjoying all that it has to offer.
The Free State is South Africa’s agricultural capital and a fast growing tourist destination with its slow paced lifestyle and traditional “Boere Kos.” Food though isn’t the only thing you’ll find here; it has an impressive extension of Nature reserves, some amazing routes featuring everything from Diamonds and wine to battles and tradition. You can also go “fossil hunting” or see the amazing rock art created by our African ancestors.
Kwazulu Natal with its Subtropical coastline washed by the warm Indian ocean to its sweeping Savannah’s and the incredible Drakensburg Mountains.
Here you can experience battlefield tours, Zulu crafts and incredible tradions all around.
Where-ever you go, South Africa is full of surprises that are often not covered in tours. You can take a wonderful meander through what looks like flat bush and come to sudden green valleys with its fresh water springs. Explore caves that are things of wonder that makes you realise just where you fit in this world. Climb mountains or just take it easy. A place of diversity with beauty around every corner and a whole lot to be explored.
By: David Nurick
