There are all kinds of great vacations that you can take when it comes to adventure travel and not all of them are filled with death defying stunts and danger. Sure, some of them are but if that is not your think then you dont have to choose them. Everyone has a different comfort level and adventure travel just means taking a trip that is exciting, one that is a little out of your normal travel behavior. You dont have to go and climb Mount Everest or anything like that to have a good time with adventure travel.

Some of the best adventure travel has barely any danger to it whatsoever. Have you ever climbed through the runs of Greece, or hiked in the Amazon, or even gone surfing in Costa Rica? If not these are great ways to get your feet wet with adventure travel. With this kind of adventure travel you will be able to have a great time and not do anything too, too dangerous. Just things that excite you and thrill you to the bone.

Can you imagine taking a trip to some exotic locale and then experiencing some of their ways of life. Have you ever heard of Zorbing? It is something that they do in New Zealand, and it is so much fun. All you do is climb into a giant ball, it is like a great big beach ball, just climb in it and they roll you down the hill. There is usually some water in it to cushion any bumps that you might hit along the way down. The water is not dangerous to you and your breathing because it is kept totally separate from you in a different compartment of the ball. This is one of the most fun things that you could ever do when you are gong to adventure travel and it is not even a little bit dangerous.

You see adventure travel is something that everyone can enjoy, no matter what they danger tolerance happens to be. If you are sick and tired of the same old same old then you need to find out some more about adventure travel today. Start planning your next trip abroad now, with a little more adventure in mind. It is always fun to try something new and exciting so go for it and have a blast!br
br
br
br

Martina and I play tennis in the same league and funny enough she even looks a little like the other Martina (Navratilova), just prettier. Needless to say, some of her shots are quite like the other Martina’s too, and in our last encounter Martina and her partner won against my husband and me in a hard-fought 3-set match.
After the match we had a nice relaxing chat and Martina mentioned that she and her daughter did a fabulous 1400 km biking trip last year, which ended up being one of her most exciting travel experiences and an amazing mother-daughter bonding opportunity.
Originally from Germany, Martina is a very active Toronto real estate professional, probably in somewhere in her 40s, and Martina’s daughter Jennefer just finished her university studies and is off as we speak on another biking trip in Sweden. In the fall she’ll start another 5 years of academic studies in the Czech Republic.
Now you can read about Martina and Jennifer’s European biking adventure.
1. Please tell us a little about yourselves and your background. How did you come up with the idea for this biking trip? Please comment on the special t-shirts you both wore.
Jennefer had to do so some studying in a library. When we met for lunch she admitted having looked through the travel section and found routes for traveling in Germany and got the idea of biking bike though Germany.
For safety we looked for a buddy for her to go along. but while everyone agreed that it would be a great trip no one wanted to commit. One day Jennefer said: “why don’t you come along”? It was a nice thought but I was very hesitant. Packing light was not my strongest side and I was not sure if I could manage to bike such a great distance. But the idea grew on me and suddenly there was no turning back. We started to dream.
We informed ourselves about different bikes and found the best bike shop in Toronto where we bought our bikes and most of the other equipment as well. Over the following weeks we collected all the necessary stuff. We got the special Toronto bike shirt and wore it a lot during our trip, now it also serves as a constant reminder of our great tour whenever I wear it. We checked out web sites of bike trails, made our own training schedules and e-mailed a lot of thoughts back and forth to each other.
2. Please tell us about the itinerary of your cycling trip. From where to where did you go, how many kilometers did you cycle a day? How strenuous was it?
We started in Fuessen in southern Germany and rode for 14 days and 1400 to Flensburg. Some days we had to take it easy (heavy rain, food poisoning) but the last day we rode 180km. It was tiring; our muscles in our shoulders and legs were tight. Also we were not used to being on a bike saddle for such a long time and that resulted in some pain.
2. What type of landscapes, villages and towns did you ride through?
We started in the mountains and worked our way up north – where the terrain got a lot flatter. We saw the most beautiful places, and were so close to them all. Often we rode along rivers and could hardly believe that we were not dreaming. Every little village had a church in the centre, and the most beautiful flowers decorated the houses. At one point we encountered cows in the middle of the road. They were walking home from the field to the farm all by themselves. We were a little uncomfortable at first. Once the hills were behind us we encountered strong winds – especially around the “Nordsee”.
3. There were some mishaps with your luggage and your bicycles at the beginning of your trip. Please tell us about that.
The airline lost our bikes – they delivered them to us four days after we arrived- totally damaged. The bike store had little hope for us and thought we needed to order special parts which would take another three days But since the bikes were so new they managed to straighten out the wheels and repaired the other items as well.
The moment we biked our first meters we thought we were in paradise. The bikes felt heavy due to our lugguage and balancing them was something I had to get used to. At first my bike would tip even in standing position. But we got used to it so much that we could hardly steer the bikes once we took off the luggage. With time we became very efficient in loading and unloading our bikes. We had each two panniers and one bag on the carrier. We did not have a stand or holder to place our maps – which would have been a great advantage to have. Very early on our tour we encountered dirt roads and we felt sorry for our touring bikes. The first flat we got while pushing the bike towards a well to drink some water.
4. You also had other mishaps (flat tires, food poisoning] along the way. Please tell us more about that.
We had four flat tires in all. Jennefer was able to change them very quickly. But first we had a wrong pump that did not fit to our valves and we needed to find stores that would sell pumps. Other bikers were most helpful – as soon as someone saw us struggling they would offer help.
In a little village – we waited for a night tour – we ate some typical German food and Jen’s food must have been spoiled. At night she got terrible stomach pain. It lasted for over a day. The following day we could only bike 30 km. We found an accommodation with a nice lady who made us tea. Next day we continued and the lady offered us to call if Jen got sick again so she would get us with her car. We were amazed at this helpfulness.
One day it rained so badly that the rain dropped out of our shoes – that was a very cold experience. We needed to dry our clothes fast for the next day. Jen found out that hanging the clothes on the window was great – I was uneasy about the looks of it – but it was practical.
5. What was your daily routine? When did you get up? Where did you eat your meals? What did you do in the evenings?
We got up at around 6:00 a.m., wrote notes into our journals, and went for breakfast. The breakfast was always very good and we also took a sandwich along for lunch. When we found a great spot with a nice view we took a break for lunch and ate what we had in our bags. For dinner we would be in the next town and have a typical meal for the region. We really liked Spaetzle in the southern parts of Germany.
Twice we got in so late that we could not find any food – so we survived on power bars and some sweets that we had bought. The next morning we would have an extra big breakfast. We ate a lot of delicious cakes – no need to worry about calories – we would burn them off fast through biking. One town was celebrating a wine festival. Two bands played in the town centre, wine booths were everywhere and happy people were just chatting, listening to the music or moving with the beat.
In another town we wanted to take a guided night tour with lots of historic stories. We only survived half of the tour because we were way too tired. Often we would get some delicious cake from the local bakery and eat it on our beds while watching the Olympics, reflecting on the past day and making plans for the next.
6. What types of places did you stay in? How did you find those places?
Some accommodations we found through a book called “Bike and Breakfast” , these places would provide a safe place for the bikes and a healthy breakfast. Other times we went to the local tourist information and they found a room for us. One fellow who biked with us for a day offered us a room since a convention was being held in his city and we could not find a reasonable place to stay.
7. Please tell us about your encounters with local residents along your route.
We got lost way too often – adding to our driving time. People would steal the road signs as keepsakes. The moment we stepped off the bike someone would ask if we needed help. Sometimes people did not know what they were talking about and sent us in the wrong direction, but they were all most helpful. One lady offered us lunch at her place. We were so surprised how friendly the local people were. Kids would ask as where we were from and where we were going. We slowed down a little to tell them, and they would wave and wish us good luck.
8. Packing light is a key requirement for a long biking trip. Please tell us about how you dealt with that issue.
We made lists of things we would need on our trip. We wanted to bring as little as possible but still the mountain of stuff added up. We fitted everything into our panniers and backed them into a big duffle bag for the plane. We would save on space by just bringing one shampoo for both of us. We worked together as a team – one would carry all the cosmetic articles, the other all the road maps and so on.
The full interview with photos is published at Travel and Transitions – Interviews
Susanne Pacher is the publisher of a website called Travel and Transitions(http://www.travelandtransitions.com). Travel and Transitions deals with unconventional travel and is chock full of advice, tips, real life travel experiences, interviews with travellers and travel experts, insights and reflections, cross-cultural issues, contests and many other features. You will also find stories about life and the transitions that we face as we go through our own personal life-long journeys.
Submit your own travel stories in our first travel story contest(http://www.travelandtransitions.com/contests.htm) and have a chance to win an amazing adventure cruise on the Amazon River.
“Life is a Journey ? Explore New Horizons”.

Some people believe a break from work should involve more than just a holiday: it should be an adventure! Which is why adventure travel is becoming so popular. It doesn’t have to mean climbing Everest, attempting K2, or crossing a desert on the back of a camel: but it can, though it can just as easily mean a guided rafting trip in the Grand Canyon, seeing the desert from the basket of a balloon, a bungee jump like James Bond (off Switzerland’s Verzasca Dam) or a road trip somewhere literally *off the beaten track*.

Trekking in Nepal or paddling the Grand Canyon are the classic adventure travel options, and for most adventure travellers involve a bit of travel to get to, but there are travel adventure options in every country — you ‘d be surprised to see the list of where all the best paragliding destinations are, and paragliding definitely qualifies as adventure travel if it’s done right. Ice climbing, cave diving, shark diving, paddling between scenic islands, trekking overland, base jumping, or even heli-biking or heli-skiing can elevate your travels to adventure travels, and these kinds of adventure travel options can be found in some very unlikely destinations.

But the classic adventure options are still the best: New Zealand, for all the cycling and paddling options, as well as the extreme sports, is one of the best places for adventure travel, and Chile and Patagonia are popular for the same kinds of adventure travel attractions. Canada has the winter-y wilderness, and offers adventure travellers the chance to get back to nature and meet some exotic animals, while Borneo and the Galapagos, offer adventure travellers both untouched wilderness, unique animals and sunshine. Just in case you prefer your adventure travels without the adventurous weather.

Not all of us get the chance to have a real travel adventure. However, ‘adventure holidays’ are becoming ever more popular, and accessible, and not just among the young. As baby boomers mature they find they are fitter, and generally richer, than their parents were – so your 50s and 60s is a great time to take that travel adventure you never had time or money to do. Lots of adventure travel is within the realms of possibility for most people — you don’t have to be an elite athlete to cross the Sahara with a camel train, just relatively healthy and the owner of an adventurous spirit. Some adventure travel tour operators even run adventure tour options for younger explorers, and there are some gentle routes along even some of the most exciting of white water rivers, and child size mountains still worth conquering. And while once people thought of some adventure travel options as being the adventure of a life time, now a lifetime can have many travelling adventures.

Resources
Adventure travel can be anything from Grand Canyon rafting to base jumping in Mexico. Check out WorldReviewer.com for some independent travel reviews.