ADVENTURE TRAVEL
Review by Barb & Ron Kroll
Adventure Travel - Thrilling Getaways for the Spirited Traveler
(Fodor's) ISBN 978-1400007882 1400007887
This Fodor's guidebook to great adventure travel provides information on adventure holidays, adventure vacation packages and adventure activities with advice on when to go, what to pack and how to get there.
Adventure Travel appeals to readers who want to escape the everyday and do something different, from whitewater rafting the rapids below Victoria Falls to dog sledding the Greenland icecap.
How to plan an adventure trip
A well-organized guide to adventure holidays, Adventure Travel provides practical advice on planning, research and preparation to ensure safe and ecofriendly adventure vacations.
Each chapter organizes adventure activities by category. For example, the Action section of Fodor's Adventure Travel lists adventure activities by land, animal, vehicle, water, and air, ranking them in daring, eco-friendly, expense, expertise and fitness categories.
Arctic dog sled vacations
A dog sledding adventure north of the Arctic Circle combines the joy of enthusiastic sled dogs with the extremes of polar wilderness. A first-person story about mushing huskies in Kiruna, Swedish Lapland, provides details on when to go (December to March), accommodations (wilderness cabins and Jukkasjarvi Ice Hotel), how to get there (flights from Stockholm) and tour operator (Discover The World) contact information.
Sidebars address what to wear (e.g., thermal clothing and warm socks with liner socks), how to do the activity (e.g., mushing huskies), eco-tips (e.g., use traditional dogsled routes) and essential gear (e.g., sunblock and balaclava).
Images depict mountain trekking in Machu Picchu, rock wall climbing on Mt. Arapiles, Australia, horseback riding in Lanin National Park, Patagonia, overland 4WD vehicles on the Skeleton Coast of Namibia and other adventure packages, trips and activities. Colored world maps locate each adventure holiday destination.
Travel health
The Staying Healthy chapter includes a chart of diseases, symptoms, causes, prevention and vaccines. For example, Hepatitis A causes chills, fever, nausea, jaundice and other symptoms caused by contaminated food and drinking water. A diseases chart recommends a Hepatitis A vaccine, treating drinking water and avoiding undercooked food.
A year planner lists the best times to visit adventure destinations. For example, travelers will find the warmest water for snorkeling with sea lions in Galapagos between January and April. They'll learn that the monsoon seasons in India are June to July and October to November.
Adventure tour operators
The Contacts section lists tour operator websites for adventure vacations, adventure equipment rental, 4WD expeditions, bungee jumping, camel riding, canoeing trips, canyoning adventures, caving, mountain climbing, cross country skiing, dog sledding, family adventure travel, mountain biking, hot air ballooning, horse riding, paragliding, sailing, sea kayaking, snowmobiling, surfing, trekking, whitewater rafting and wildlife viewing.
Fodor's Adventure Travel lists the top three adventure capitals as Queenstown, New Zealand, Victoria Falls, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and Moab, USA. The adventure guide book specifies that the best time to go to Moab (located between Arches and Canyonlands National Parks) is spring and autumn for mountain biking, jet boating, kayaking and canyoning.
The Top 10 tips for 4WD expeditions suggests a wilderness first aid course and detailed planning for adventure trip expenses such as fuel, visas, accommodations, food and activities.
Where to go surfing
Surfer dudes find surf ratings, links to surfing hot spots and best times to go to California, Hawaii, Costa Rica, Canary Islands, South Africa, Australia and Tahiti to catch the perfect wave. The best surfing in Europe is on Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, especially between November and February.
The EcoFile cautions against damaging fragile marine habitats like dunes and coral reefs. Essential Gear includes leashed surfboards, wetsuits and waterproof sunblock.
Sea kayaking top spots include websites for sea kayaking destinations and the best time to go kayaking. For example, Ha Long Bay is the best place to go sea kayaking in Vietnam. Fodor's adventure guide book rates the difficulty as moderate and specifies that the best time to kayak in Vietnam is from November to April.
Contents
- Introduction: A world of adventure
- ESSENTIALS
- Contents
- Travel logistics
- Your planner
- Feature - Classic adventures
- Feature - Classic reads
- Choosing an operator
- Essential gear
- Feature - Braving the elements
- Feature - Responsible travel
- Camping in the wild
- Adventure food
- Getting fit
- Staying healthy
- ACTION
- Contents
- Land
- Introduction
- Contents & key to locator map
- Locator map
- Trekking
- A taste of adventure - Inca Trail Peru: The road to ruins
- A taste of adventure - Larapinta Trail: Australia Dream walk
- Ethical travel dilemma - Should I hire a porter?
- Rock climbing & ice climbing
- Caving
- Cross-country skiing
- Mountaineering
- Feature: The Seven Summits
- Animal
- Introduction
- Contents & key to locator map
- Locator map
- Horse riding
- Ethical travel dilemma - Should wilderness be sacred?
- Dog sledding
- A taste of adventure - Husky sledding in Lapland: Call of the Arctic wild
- Elephant & camel riding
- A taste of adventure - Elephant-back safari in Botswana: The ultimate safari
- Feature: Capturing the moment
- Vehicle
- Introduction
- Contents & key to locator map
- Locator map
- Overland expeditions
- Feature: Planning your own 4WD expedition: Going solo on the road
- A taste of adventure - Exploring Namibia's Skeleton Coast: Secrets of the Namib
- Ethical travel dilemma - Should I drive offroad?
- Mountain biking
- A taste of adventure - Cycling in southern China: A slow bike through China
- Snowmobiling & quad-biking
- Feature - Edge of space & deep-sea travel: To boldly go
- Water
- Introduction
- Contents & key to locator map
- Locator map
- Scuba-diving
- A taste of adventure - Sipadan Island: Eastern Malaysia: Flying with turtles
- Ethical travel dilemma - Should I swim with wild dolphins?
- Sea-kayaking & canoeing
- A taste of adventure - Kayaking in British Columbia: Realm of the orca
- A taste of adventure - Canoeing in the Everglades: A paddle in the park
- Whitewater rafting
- A taste of adventure - Rafting the source of the Nile, Uganda: All aboard the Nile rollercoaster
- Surfing
- Sailing
- Feature - Wildlife watching: It's a wild world
- Air
- Introduction
- Contents & key to locator map
- Locator map
- Hot-air ballooning
- Ethical travel dilemma - Should I offset my CO2 emissions?
- Paragliding
- A taste of adventure - Paragliding in the French Alps: Aloft in the Alps
- Flying adventures
- Feature - Adrenaline junkies: License to thrill
- Land
- Contents
- CONTACTS
- Contents
- Adventure planning
- Adventure equipment
- Adventure travel
- Contents
Author
William Gray