18 Oct Nine Amazing Adventures: Winter Edition
Every year it seems Americans are more eagerly choosing experiences over gift giving for the winter holidays. Instead, there’s a growing sense of value for time spent trying new things with your dearest. And there’s nothing that strengthens relationships (couples, family, and friends) more than adventuring together. Whether you prefer sunshine or snow time, the Adventure Collection covers the globe with inspiration for a different kind of celebration this winter. Here’s a short list of what’s on this season.
Giddy for Galapágos
For those seeking warm weather, think eight days of snorkeling, hiking, biking, and kayaking tempered by lounging on the sand and on board a private charter island hopper, with nights spent in a luxurious (and private) safari camp. Naturalist guides call your attention to blue-footed boobies, giant tortoises, iguanas, and a host of other intriguing wildlife. To round out the trip with some history and culture, there is time for UNESCO World Heritage Sites and colonial tours to boot. GeoEx’s Galápagos Safari pulls out all the stops for you and your family in Darwin country.
Silent Night at Yellowstone
If you’re yearning for fresh snow in your own backyard, but not so much for the kind met behind a shovel, Yellowstone will bring back the magic for you. Happen upon wildlife sightings: elk, bison, otters, coyotes, and possibly the elusive wolves. With guides to take you cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, this trip is great for first-time snow bunnies too. It’s soft and warm inside, and the fireside games are endless. For Christmas time and New Year’s departures check out Off the Beaten Path’s Yellowstone Winter Wonders to try something new while staying stateside for the holidays.
Northern Lights & Arctic Cultures
We have a thing for lights over the holidays, don’t we? This year, how about taking a temporary hiatus from untangling those tricky bulbs and travel to see the Aurora Borealis instead with Natural Habitat Adventures. As it turns out, the Canadian North is the best place to view the phenomenon, and experts are saying that 2014 is slated to be the most aurora-active period in years. It’s cold there, but you’re covered – you experience the view from heated domes. Traveling from the southern prairie to subarctic tundra by rail you understand the magnitude of the Canadian wild, and what’s more: you meet the northern native peoples, and dive into their winter traditions this year.
Teton Camping and Splitboarding
You may be surprised how cozy it can be to camp in a yurt, an igloo, or a snow cave. This trip promises your little vacation time is spent well: you’ll be invigorated by the wintry wilderness of the glittering Teton backcountry. Essentials of a longer course are condensed into 12 days, focusing on leadership, the environment and ethics, while you learn technical splitboarding skills, and how to live comfortably in the winter outdoors. World-class instructors teach you how to best enjoy some of the most incredible, dominating landscapes in the world. Check out the Backcountry Splitboarding course at NOLS.
Hemingway’s Africa
For many, Africa conjures iconic visions of Big Five wildlife roaming endless plains, notions of elegant travel, and time for journaling adventures as Hemingway would. This trip to Kenya and Tanzania brings on just that. With nights in stylish tent camps, guests travel comfortably to the remote and dramatic Samburu region in Kenya’s old northern frontier. Time-saving charter flights provide aerial panoramas of East Africa’s villages and farmlands. Among the highlights are stops in Maasai Mara, the Serengeti, and ancient Lake Manyara, but it’s the overall contrast of civilized traveling into untamed Africa that makes the journey so memorable. Read more about spending a fortnight in Africa with Micato’s Hemingway Wing Safari.
Cruising Antarctica
The shivers come from excitement on this journey, and not so much from the cold. There’s a dozen ways to enjoy the wild on this one. If you love taking photos, meet a National Geographic photographer on board to help you through the hoops of shooting in these bright conditions. If you’re dying to see penguins in their own habitat, ice masters and naturalists guide you by zodiac to front row seats. And if you’re feeling the need to get cozy, remote-controlled crow’s nest cameras provide travelers with real-time footage of diving specialists. You’re even spoiled with a hydrophone to listen in on the whales. Get the details on Linblad’s Antarctica.
Costa Rican Playground
A trip to Central America is sure to stand out amid the most unique of holidays you’ve spent, especially when you do it right. While sustenance is of note (imagine the catch of the day paired with fresh pineapple juice) merry making is less about food, and more about fun-loving activities like jungle hiking, mountain biking, surfing, river rafting, and fascinating wildlife watching. If the howler monkeys and the uplifting Pacific Ocean breeze isn’t enough to inspire action, the Costa Rican coffee will surely fire up those engines. It’s your Central American playground. Check out the multiple variations Backroads offers for a summery winter in Costa Rica.
Himalayan River Adventure
There’s always talk about the road less traveled, but how about the rivers? If voyaging to the far reaches of the earth to lose yourself in sacred monasteries and mystical mountain landscapes sounds better than something under the Christmas tree, you must see Bhutan. Winter departures are set for November and February, challenging adventurers with nearly never-been-traveled lower Drangme Chhu and Class III whitewater fringed by dramatic peaks and lush gorges. Highlights are not forgotten: Hike to Tiger’s Nest, experience a cultural festival, and go on elephant safari. Get the details on this trip with O.A.R.S. to the Sacred Rivers of Bhutan.
Western Africa for 2015
For those who like to plan ahead, this one might just be worth the wait. Red dunes, green rainforest canopy, rugged Skeleton Coast, and wildlife wonders, like desert antelope, dolphins, forest elephants and lowland gorillas are some of the visual highlights. The 16-day journey from Namibia to the Congo by private air will teach you about the nomadic Himba, and bring you to encounter places normally not so easy to access: Sossusvlei, the Hartmann Valley, and Etosha National Park in Namibia; and Brazzaville and Odzala National Park in the Congo Basin. African leaders and local experts accompany your small group, sharing their insider perspectives on the culture there. Check out Bushtracks’ full itinerary for Across Western Africa.
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