There are many different reasons to travel. Some people just want to relax, others like to explore and others want to check out the sights and museums.
Travellers who have experienced almost every type of vacation imaginable are becoming more confident and convinced that active vacations are the best. A large number of people seem to agree with this, as this type of vacation is booming.
Tom Hale, founder and President of speciality tour operator Backroads explained active travel’s sudden popularity, saying:
“People want to spend time in wide-open spaces, breathing fresh air and hiking off-the-beaten-path trails.”
Sometimes walking is the only way to see the world. Top tour operators specialising in hiking, walking, and biking trips are reporting record bookings for 2022, with heavy demand for Europe as travel-starved North American customers seek to return across the Atlantic.
This type of vacation combines activity and visiting the most beautiful places in the world. Choosing the right trip according to your abilities is really important, but there is definitely no better way to tour and explore beautiful landscapes than on foot, and footpaths take you where roads cannot.
Active Travel
Traditionally, active travel was related to certain sports, mostly cycling, hiking, mountain climbing, and skiing, as well as water sports such as diving and surfing.
However, over the past years, various opportunities have appeared, and today tourists increasingly go on yoga or wellness vacations, jogging in special camps, as well as on trips where many different sports are practised, such as cycling, mountain biking, hiking, kayaking, rafting and others like them.
Active trips are different from the so-called, very popular, “adventure trips” which in most cases do not involve any more experience than sleeping in a tent or standing on the deck of an icebreaker and observing a glacier. There is nothing wrong with such a vacation, but it is simply not active.
While hiking trips mostly attract people who are already fans of these activities, an active trip that includes several sports is a combination for those who want to be active on vacation, but at the same time in a great destination.
These trips usually combine several days of cycling and hiking with various activities such as sea kayaking, dog sledging, horseback riding, ice skating, snowshoeing, or cave exploring.
This option is a great solution for the first active vacation or for families with different interests, because there is something for everyone, and the constant daily changes of activities make the adventure more intense.
Feeling Of Satisfaction
There are several reasons why active vacations are attractive. One of them is the feeling of satisfaction when you overcome a physical challenge you have set for yourself. For example, walking or hiking every day for a week in demanding mountainous terrain, or at high altitudes, is an effort and a challenge that most of us would not undertake at home.
There is a very good reason why travel agencies specializing in organizing active trips have regular clients and people who use their services again and again. On such trips, you will meet people who are on their third, fifth or tenth active experience and who can’t wait for the next destination to explore.
Healthier Choices
Active trips also bring health benefits, especially when we consider that a large number of people consume too much food and drink during their vacations. Most of us will surely treat ourselves to ice cream every time we visit Italy, so it would be wiser to burn a few hundred calories with some activity first.
Meals are tastier, cold beer is more refreshing and we generally feel much better after practising physical activity. In addition, just knowing that you are going on this type of trip, which often requires prior preparation and training, will bring you health and physical fitness that will last months after the trip.
From an active vacation, you could take home the habit of engaging in various forms of activity. An active vacation is an ideal opportunity to awaken the athlete in you. Sport, even if it is just a walk, is an important segment of a healthy lifestyle. You will return home full of satisfaction, with a bunch of new memories, and maybe even lose a few kilograms.
