Adventure Travel vs. Active Travel

What’s the difference between active travel tours and adventure travel tours? It’s a topic we’ve explored before on the Active Travel Tours blog. And I’m sure we’ll revisit it at a later date; because some people have trouble grasping the difference between adventure travel and active travel while others refuse to acknowledge that there is a difference. So I have provided the perfect example of an adventure travel company below.

Berg Adventures International Adventure Tours

Berg Adventures International is a classic example of a tour provider that offers adventure tours. Although there is a lot of overlap with some tour companies, Berg’s tours seem to fall decidedly into the realm of adventure travel. They offer tours to adventuresome locations and provide pretty adventurous activities. Take a look at some information taken directly from their website:

“As one of the world’s leading adventure travel and mountaineering companies, Berg Adventures provides unsurpassed experiences for the discerning traveler in many of our planet’s most amazing natural locations. From the heights of Kilimanjaro to the wilds of the Serengeti, from the Andes to Antarctica, from the cities of modern Russia to the summit of Everest…”

via Berg Adventures International: Extraordinary Adventure Travel.

Since I’ve already explained the major differences between active tours and adventure tours in a previous blog, I won’t belabor the point in this blog. Instead, I will provide you with Berg Adventures International as an example of an adventure tour company. Check out their website, their tour locations, their photographs and their tour activities. Then check out the Bike and the Like website.

Bike and the Like Active Travel Tour Company

You will notice on the Bike and the Like website, pictures of  bikers of all shapes and sizes on relatively flat bike paths. You will also notice description like “Fun, social, and affordable.” Their trips are all bicycle tours as opposed to climbing or trekking or safari tours. A sample description of one of the Bike and the Like Tours looks like this:

Bike and the Like tour

“Visit the fishing villages of the Zuiderzee, cycle past working windmills, follow winding dikes along the beautiful Dutch polders, stop at impressive castles and enjoy the rich foliage of the Island Texel.”

via Bicycle Vacations & Bike Tours in Europe, Holland, California, New England.

I encourage you to visit the websites of the two tour companies listed above. They provide good examples of the differences between adventure travel and active travel. Both options make for great holidays. Just make sure you know whether you are signing on for an adventurous excursion or an active holiday. Then have a great vacation either way.

Travel Bloggers Meet in Colorado

Active Travel Tours is proud to be part of this year’s Travel Bloggers Exchange (TBEX) being held in beautiful Keystone, Colorado in June. It will be a time for travel blog writers to meet, socialize, and exchange ideas. The conference includes and ever-growing list of sessions, activities, and diversions.

Although I am not new to the blogging scene or even travel blogging, this is a bit like a coming-out party for ActiveTravelTours.com. My other blog, trailsnet.com, has been around for awhile, but Active Travel Tours is a relative newcomer to the travel blogging world. I look forward to meeting other bloggers, learning a trick or two about being a helpful and effective travel blogger and having a good time in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

If you are a fellow travel blogger, I hope to get the chance to meet you and exchange ideas. If you are an active travel tour provider, I hope TBEX will help me help you bring added exposure to your tour company. If you are a regular follower of Active Travel Tours, then I believe you will continue to see this active travel blog improve at an even faster pace after I return from TBEX.

Mountain Biking the Rocky Mountains is extraordinary.   With hundreds of trails to choose from in the hills of the Front Range to the mountainous landscapes of the West you are sure to find what you are looking for with Apex Ex.  From all mountain riding to down hilling, we have the trip for you.  We encourage you to take a few days and stay with us for some of the best mountain biking experiences available on earth.  Call us now at (303) 731-6160 to learn more or to sign up.

via Mountain Biking Tours in the Colorado Rockies.

Apex Ex Adventure Tours provides active tours for the adventurous traveler. I’m always glad to promote fellow Colorado travel and tour companies.

Bike Trail to Heaven

Machu Picchu

A bike trail to Machu Piccu?  I think I’ve died and gone to heaven. For some reason, I’ve always been under the impression that the only way you could get to Machu Picchu was by a hiking trail. But thanks to Steve, from Aspiring Adventures, I discovered that it’s possible (and actually quite fun) to bike to the fabled Incan city.

“We’ll bike to Machu Picchu, ride myriad tracks around the hills of Cusco, and cycle from Maras to Salineras – two unique and incredible Incan sites. Cycle through the incomparable farmland and river gorges of the Lares Valley, camping overnight along the way at high-altitude, natural thermal hot baths perched over a jagged river gorge! Mix hiking and biking single-track or easy downhill road riding in any combination.”

via The Bike trip – 12d – Aspiring Adventures – Adventure tours – hiking, biking and cultural vacations – New Zealand, Peru, Australia, Vanuatu.

Sacred Valley, Peru

Tour dates for the Machu Picchu bike tours are subject to availability and include:

• June 24 – July 6, 2012
• September 23 – October 4, 2012
• May 12 – May 23, 2013
• June 23 – July 4, 2013
• August 4 – August 15, 2013

Aspiring Adventures tours

The motto of Aspiring Adventures is “small group adventure tours that delve deeper.” Developed by Steve Wilson and Katy Shorthouse, Aspiring Adventures offers active tours in Australia, New Zealand, Peru and Vanuatu. Their tours offer travelers the opportunity to “hike, bike, kayak, swim, dive, eat, drink, dance, and play your way through the stunning scenery and unique cultures” of the world.

For more information about Aspiring Adventures, visit their website, like them on Facebook & Tweet @AspiringAdven.

Bike paths and history and travel, oh my!!

Active travel tours don’t get any better than this one. It’s not just biking, which is great; it’s not just bicycling on a trail which is even better. This tour, sponsored by Saddle Skedaddle, combines bicycling, panoramic scenery, history and one of the best bike paths in Europe.

Camino de Santiago Trail

The Camino de Santiago  is also known as the Way of St. James and is more than just a bike trail. Located in northern Spain, it is an ancient pilgrimage trail with an incredible religious and cultural background. But even before it became a trail for religious pilgrims, it was a Roman trade route known as the Milky Way. In Medieval times the route took on religious significance as pilgrims journeyed to what is now the city of Santiago de Compostela where Saint James was said to have been buried.

Now, modern day pilgrims travel the route on foot, by bike and even on horseback. Of course, many of the current trail travelers make the journey for non-religious purposes. But either way, the expedition carries its own significance to each traveler. However one significant difference for modern day travelers is the variety of options available to each trail wanderer. As always, trail users have the option to make the journey on their own, free to meditate and contemplate as they progress through the countryside. But another option is the organized group rides that are now available.

Guided Tour of Camino de Santiago Trail

Numerous tour companies offer tours of this historic route, but we’ll look at the Camino de Santiago tour provided by Saddle Skedaddle in today’s blog post. The tour provides eight days of fully supported biking along with good food, great camaraderie and an abundance of historical sight seeing. The route is a moderately paced trip that meanders from Astorga to Santiago de Compostela. Along the way, bicycle riders will have the option to sample local food and view unique architecture. Accommodations for the tour are mostly in small hotels and inns with ample opportunities to meet locals and fellow tourists.

I would love to hear from anybody who has ever toured this region of Spain or enjoyed an active travel tour with Saddle Skedaddle. Feel free to leave a comment below.

Bike and Barge Tours

From active travel tours in England, we will move on to bike & barge tours in Austria, after a brief explanation of bike & barge tours. If you’re not familiar with this type of tour, it may just be the perfect European vacation option for bicycle touring. Imagine being able to ride your bike from point A to point B in Europe and having your hotel follow you along the way. That’s essentially what you get with a bike &  barge tour. And let me emphasize the word “hotel.” If you imagine a barge as a dirty, flat, working vessel that plies the waters of a dank canal, then it’s time for a new mindset. Modern barges, like hotels, come in many shapes & sizes. And you can book anything from a budget tour to a luxury vacation on a barge. You will be served delicious meals each day and sleep in a comfortable private room each night. During they day, you can bicycle to your heart’s content knowing that at the end of the road or trail, your floating hotel will be awaiting you with all the comforts of home.

Bike Trail Tour in Austria

Imagine your ideal biking vacation. Would it include beautiful scenery, fascinating history, a safe bike path, comfortable and affordable lodging, and knowledgeable guides? ActiveTravelTours has discovered a website called Tripsite.com that offers bike & barge tours that meet all of the requirements of the perfect bicycling holiday.

• Fantastic bicycle touring itineraries
• Numerous active travel itineraries
• Road biking or trail biking options
• All meals including sack lunches
• A variety of lodging options from budget accommodations to luxury sleeping quarters
• Medieval villages
• Historic cities
• European countrysides
• Loaner bikes included with the tours
• A knowledgeable tour leader onboard your boat
• Fun extras like wine tasting, cider tasting & city tours

If any of our readers have experienced a bike and barge tour, we’d love to hear about it in the comments section below. And, as always, we’d love to get input from tour companies and tour leaders.

Worldwide Active Travel Tours

View history, architecture and natural scenery in England.

Welcome the first in our series of Worldwide Active Travel Tours. Throughout this series, we will bring you tour information about different countries throughout the world. Our first active travel tour spotlight will be on…

Active Travel Tours in England

England is famous for it’s historical tours. It is known as the land of William the Conqueror, Robin Hood, King Henry, and Queen Elizabeth. But it is also an ideal location for hiking tours, biking vacations and sea kayaking adventures. One company that offers active travel tours to England is Bicycle Beano Cycling Holidays. In addition to offering bicycle tours on quiet roads and scenic lanes, Bicycle Beano also specializes in healthy eating on their tours. They provide vegetarian meals with delicious organic food. Some of their destinations include Ellesmere, Snowdonia in Wales and Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.

For those of you who want to venture out on self-guided tours, England has amazing hiking and biking trails. One of the trails ventures coast to coast all the way across England roughly following Hadrian’s Wall. Another famous trail in England is the Ridgeway trail. It is said to follow the course of England’s oldest road as it extends from Wiltshire along the chalk ridge of the Berkshire Downs to the River Thames near the Goring Gap.

Whether you contract the services of an active travel tour company or you strike out on your own, you may want to consider England for your next active travel holiday. It’s fascinating history, quaint market towns and scenic byways make it a top choice among adventure travelers.