What is adventure? It’s a good question. We use five very different best adventure holiday lists to help answer it, and to hopefully inspire some adventures!
What’s the difference between a three-month expedition to the North Pole and a hike to the top of the nearest hill? It all depends on who is undertaking the task at hand. At its essence, an adventure is doing something outside of your comfort zone to see how much you can push yourself.
By that we mean that one person’s adventure is another person’s walk in the park. But that doesn’t take anything away from the person experiencing it.
For Tom, an adventure might be exploring an underwater cave that’s never been charted before. For Dick, an adventure is a one month trekking in the Himalayas. But for Harry, an adventure might be going mountain biking for the first time. It’s all relative. And no single adventure is more legitimate than another.
There are thousands of lists of the best adventures out there to help inspire you. To help us answer ‘what is adventure?’ here’s a closer five that showcase adventures on a sliding scale from tame to extreme.
As we’ve said, no one kind of adventure can claim to be more authentic as it’s down to the individual. Even a beach holiday in an exotic location with some exciting activities is a step in the right direction. With that in mind the less extreme end of the scale seems like a good place to start.
Tired of the same old beach holidays in the Costa del Sol, eating English breakfasts, reading the papers and hanging out with all the other expats? Then why not try something a bit different this year?
The world is full of exciting and exotic places and the adventure destinations in this list are home to some really fun activities. Go leopard spotting in Sri Lanka, zip line through the rainforest canopy in Costa Rica or hike up a volcano in St Lucia. These adventures might not be adrenaline fuelled but they are also unforgettable.
Moving on from an exotic destination combined with one or two adventurous activities. This list of holidays are specifically dedicated to adventure, albeit still rather tame on the adventure scale.
So why not book a break that’s all about diving? Imagine a holiday where you spend a week getting certified to dive under the water with colourful rainbow fish. Or how about an elite sports trip or casino skills tour where you learn to bluff your way to a high stakes jackpot?
For us here at AWE365, adventure is what we do on a daily basis. We’re always looking for that perfect combination of activity and destination. So this list of the 11 best summer adventures holidays is big, bold and beautiful.
Some will require fitness and/or bravery but they are not significantly dangerous. Ranging from cycling the length of the Danube to windsurfing your way around the Greek islands or surfing the coast of Brazil, they are varied and exciting.
You don’t have to be a daredevil or an experienced rider/surfer/adventurer. You just need to be willing to give it a go.
Going that little bit further, these are the kinds of adventures that really put you to the test mentally, physically and emotionally. Imagine climbing the steepest peak on the planet Mount Thor in Nunavut, Canada, or to the point that is furthest from the centre of the earth on Mount Chimborazo, Ecuador.
These adventures include heading to the coldest place on the planet in Oymyakon, Russia, the hottest Lut Desert, Iran and the driest Atacama Desert, Chile. These are the kinds of adventures that require physical and mental reserves to keep going to the end. Because the rewards for pushing yourself are really worth it.
A collection of the best adventure holiday lists would not be complete without going extreme! There are always a few people for whom the coldest, driest, steepest or wettest just isn’t enough.
These are the kinds of adventurers for whom only a significant chance of life-altering injury or death get them out of bed in the morning. So this list is basically, adventures for lunatics! These are the kinds of people who relish taking on the Portal Trail in Utah, the world’s most technical mountain bike trail along a 200ft cliff above the Colorado River.
The types that want to strap on a tank and explore the Eagle’s Nest cave complex in Weeki Wachee Springs State Park, Florida. Despite its immense beauty, this is one of the most dangerous cave dives in the world, with more than 10 deaths since 1981.
Of course, the very real possibility of death definitely adds to the sense of adventure but it is not an essential part of it. As these five best adventure holiday lists show, it’s all about finding your own level.
So, what is adventure? As long as you’re pushing yourself to try new things and visit new places, you’ll soon find out.
We hope these best adventure holiday lists have inspired you to do something outside your comfort zone. If so check out our adventure travel discounts, as you could save a fortune on your next trip.