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ARCC Programs

How to Adventure Travel Abroad

Overview

What is adventure travel?

Adventure travel is a type of meaningful travel that revolves around exploration, whether that be the adrenaline-junkie type (like bungee jumping and hang-gliding) or the slower, more intentional type (like homestays and cultural immersion).

Typically speaking, adventure tourism activities include a physically challenging element, cultural exchange, and/or the opportunity to get up close and personal with Mother Nature herself.

Getting Started

How to go on an adventure

Believe it or not, it’s actually not that difficult to go on an adventure tour. You just have to know where to want to go and when, and the rest will fall into place! Here’s how to find the best adventure travel for you:

Figure out what you want to do. Before you peruse adventure travel companies, decide what you want to do on your adventure—because there’s a lot of possibilities! Whether it’s an extended hiking trip, water sports, cultural heritage tours, or a spiritual retreat at an ecolodge, it’s important to set goals and intentions for your adventure.
Pick a destination. There are tons of destination options for many kinds of adventure tourism activities. For other kinds, like seeing glow worms or the Northern Lights, your options will be a bit more limited. Once you know what you want to do, you can choose your destination based on the best or safest location to do that activity, or you can throw caution to the wind and go wherever the wind blows you!
When do you want to go? Are you looking for summer adventures or winter wonders? Don’t forget that the seasons are different depending on what hemisphere you’re headed to, and that adventure activities get considerably more expensive during tourist seasons.
Solo or group travel? Maybe you want to pursue adventure in solitude, or maybe you’ll feel better having a group to share the experience with. Either way, going alone or with other people will shape your adventure travel experience, so it’s important to decide what the right choice is for you.
Apply for your program. After you’ve figured out all of the above, it’s time to start finding the perfect program for you! Of course, you can plan and take your trip without the help of adventure travel companies. However, if you’re a first-time traveler, or your intended destination is completely unfamiliar to you, it may be a good idea to go on an adventure through an organization that has experience in the activities you’re looking for. You don’t want to get in over your head, or have your trip ruined due to circumstances you may not have known to prepare for.

Locations

Where are the best places for adventure?

If you’re wondering where to go on an adventure, spin the globe and point! In other words, you can find adventure literally anywhere. However, if you really want an experience that will stay with you for the rest of your life, it’s not a bad idea to push yourself as far out of your comfort zone as reasonably possible.

That could mean going somewhere where you don’t speak the language, confronting one of your phobias, or trying your hand at something you never thought you would. But if you really want names, some of the most renowned countries in the world for fun, reputable adventures include New Zealand, Australia, Costa Rica, Peru, Thailand, Kenya, and South Africa.

Popular Providers

Frequently Asked Questions

Adventure travel is meaningful travel that gets you out into the world to have active, hands-on experiences. Popular types of adventure travel include scuba diving, hiking, eco tours, and white water rafting.

What is Adventure Travel?

This depends on your goals and preferences. However, some of the most iconic adventure trips include trekking in New Zealand, surfing in Australia, cooking classes in Italy, and going on safari in South Africa.

19 Best (and Most Thrilling) Adventure Trips in the World

To go on an adventure trip, you need to think about where you want to go, what you want to do, and what your budget is. Once you've set some goals for yourself, it'll be easier to find and apply to adventure travel programs.

How to Plan an Adventure Trip

Latest Program Reviews

Some of the best weeks of my life

May 21, 2025by: Max Wenham - EnglandProgram: South America Explorer with Gapforce

8

This was my first travel experience and it was great. Starting in Cusco was a great place to meet everyone and the city is amazing. The Salkantay trek was some of the best days of my life with Machu Picchu capping it off. So the whole trip with Quilatoa,the activities in Baños, the wildlife volunteering and the otovalo market it’s overall a great trip. I would also say though if you are going bring a bit of soap unless you’re ok with 3in1 :) and pack a bit of variety in your clothing as you will be trekking but there are opportunities to go out at night with the others on the trip.

Wonderful experience

May 16, 2025by: Aurélien Bianco - FranceProgram: Surf Instructor in Australia

10

Joining the surf instructor course in Australia at 40 was an unexpected yet unforgettable life chapter. I found myself learning just as much from the younger crowd as they did from me. The camp’s atmosphere was all about kindness, no judgment, just people living in the moment. From early sunrise surf sessions with dolphins to deep late-night conversations, every day was filled with meaning. The training was intense but rewarding, and the instructors were passionate and supportive. I made lifelong friends, reconnected with nature, and came home with a fresh perspective. I’d go back in a heartbeat, no hesitation.

Some of the best weeks of my life

May 21, 2025by: Max Wenham - EnglandProgram: South America Explorer with Gapforce

8

This was my first travel experience and it was great. Starting in Cusco was a great place to meet everyone and the city is amazing. The Salkantay trek was some of the best days of my life with Machu Picchu capping it off. So the whole trip with Quilatoa,the activities in Baños, the wildlife volunteering and the otovalo market it’s overall a great trip. I would also say though if you are going bring a bit of soap unless you’re ok with 3in1 :) and pack a bit of variety in your clothing as you will be trekking but there are opportunities to go out at night with the others on the trip.

Wonderful experience

May 16, 2025by: Aurélien Bianco - FranceProgram: Surf Instructor in Australia

10

Joining the surf instructor course in Australia at 40 was an unexpected yet unforgettable life chapter. I found myself learning just as much from the younger crowd as they did from me. The camp’s atmosphere was all about kindness, no judgment, just people living in the moment. From early sunrise surf sessions with dolphins to deep late-night conversations, every day was filled with meaning. The training was intense but rewarding, and the instructors were passionate and supportive. I made lifelong friends, reconnected with nature, and came home with a fresh perspective. I’d go back in a heartbeat, no hesitation.

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