Are you itching to go backpacking across the globe? Or do you want to experience a river adventure? For your debut adventure trip, you have countless options for destinations and activities, making its planning genuinely challenging.
Nevertheless, you can have an enjoyable adventure tour only with careful planning. Adventure trips are so full of uncertainties. Hence you can’t afford to rely on last-minute organizing. When it’s your first time here, the obvious question that you’ll ask is, “Where do I even begin?”
Here is a step by step guide to your first adventure trip
Choose your destination carefully – Depending on the time and budget you can allocate towards your adventure trip, you can come up with potential travel destinations. Thorough research of these places is an essential aspect of planning any trip. It becomes all the more important while planning your first adventure trip, giving you a clear idea of the likely destinations’ offerings.
This way you can select the most appropriate place and the most enjoyable activities for your trip. Furthermore, you’ll know what to pack and what precautions regarding health and safety you must take.
Online resources offer the most up-to-date info. It’s best to browse destinations’ official tourism sites. First-hand advice, i.e. information from somebody who’s traveled recently to similar places is available through online forums. Feel free to ask questions about adventure travel here. For instance, if trekking up Mount Kilimanjaro excites you, search the web for finding out such a trip’s likely cost.
Decide on the right time to travel
When it comes to adventure travel, bad or unstable weather can ruin your trip. So, the climate is a crucial factor in deciding when to travel. For instance, hiking snow-clogged mountain passes is certainly a bad idea. Besides climate, you must also consider other important factors like overcrowding and seasonal cost. This way you can easily fend off peak-season crowding and costs.
While predicting accurate weather is not possible, studying your destination will certainly offer insights on weather trends in advance. Booking your adventure trip ahead of time, particularly, if you’ve chosen to travel to a popular place during the peak period, will get you early-booking discounts. So, make sure to book the famous national park hotel rooms a year earlier.
Understand your limitations
Be a realist. Know your level of fitness and ensure that you’ll be able to do what your adventure trip calls for. For instance, booking a Kilimanjaro hike without undergoing high-altitude training, or choosing to kayak in Alaska in spite of being prone to seasickness are sure to cause embarrassment, waste your money, and last but not least prove dangerous.
So, before booking your adventure trip, consult a guide, while also telling you about your fitness routine. Also, seek fitness recommendations and study training guides. You must know what your adventure trip involves. Don’t deceive yourself regarding your own mental and physical fitness, and also ensure sufficient time for training before you set out for your destination.
Go for travel insurance
What if you miss a trip or suffer from an injury while on the trip? Purchasing travel insurance before you set out on your adventure tour will help you greatly in these and similar circumstances. Most adventure tour agents make it mandatory for travelers to have insurance.
Being covered for sickness, the untimely death of near and dear ones or even a sudden financial crisis faced by your tour operator will safeguard your monetary investment should you have to cancel your trip owing to such or similar reasons.
Besides purchasing trip-cancellation insurance, also ensure that you have medical insurance which helps bear your treatment costs should you fall ill or meet with an accident while you’re traveling.
Make Appropriate Travel Arrangements
Once you’ve finalized your destination and itinerary, proceed to arrange for travel and accommodation. While booking flights, you can go for either a whole Round-The-World (RTW) ticket to your chosen places or simply book-as-you-go. Signing up for budget airlines’ e-letters will get you the best deals possible.
If you’ve planned an off-road motorcycle adventure, ensure that you have motorcycle accessories concurring with it, for instance, airbag jacket and smart braking module.
For your first adventure trip, plan to stay in cabins, eco camps or luxury tents, jungle resorts, or simply go for traditional camping with your tent. No matter what accommodation you choose, ensure that it’ll enhance the thrill and enjoyment of your adventure trip.
Make sure to pack in essentials
While packing light means packing smart, it’s equally vital to not leave out any essentials. This way you’ll travel comfortably without landing up in difficult situations. For instance, if you’re traveling high up in the Himalayas and plan to stay in a cold, enclosed teahouse at a very high altitude, it only makes sense to carry your puffed-out jacket.
So, first, figure out the critical items you need to pack. While researching your destination, you’ll know if you need specialized equipment, mountaineering or rafting permits, and specific medication for your trip.
Last but not least, don’t forget to carry originals as well as copies of your important travel documents, cash and credit cards, and a waist pouch or money belt to hide most of your cash.
Conclusion
On reading this guide, you’re sure to sail through your first adventure trip smoothly and return with memorable experiences. What’s more, in due course, you’d be guiding another newbie.
