Cheap Adventure Holidays: Thrills on a Shoestring

Tom Sykes    ash, New Adventure Travel Ideas     4x4, adventure holidays, Adventure Sports, Arabian dahabiyya, budget adventures, Calais, canoeing, cheap adventure holidays, Kayaking, Kinlochleven, Middle East, namibia, Nepal, north america, Outdoor Holidays, Passion D’Aventure, River Coe, safari, scotland, south africa, Stob Coire nan Lochan, thailand

Most people think that adventure sports are bank-breakingly expensive and cheap adventure holidays just don’t exist. But you don’t have to travel to an exotic location, buy or rent specialist equipment to have the time of your life.

Climb Stob Coire nan Lochan in Scotland. It's free! Image: Flickr/ alpiniste

Operators have got wise to the wider demand for adventure travel and are now offering a huge range of budget adventure holidays. Alternatively, you can make your own money-saving arrangements regarding transport, accommodation, and time of visit and equipment hire.

Below are our top tips for keeping the costs down along with some adrenalin-filled destination ideas.

read more

Namibia: 5 Highlights Under the African Sun

Guest    safariadventureholidays     Africa, Bales Worldwide, Estosha National Park, Excursion, Fish-River Canyon, Namib Nauklut Park, namibia, safari, Safari Holidays, Sossusvlei, Southern Namibia, Swakopmund, Walvis Bay

Whether you are a seasoned or a novice traveller, Namibia offers a wealth of unforgettable experiences. Unfortunately, there are many people out there who have a ‘been there, done that’ attitude when it comes to travelling.

Exotic wildlife at Estosha National Park. Image: Flickr/ MAZZALIARMADI.IT

In fact, travellers are more jaded now than ever before, and even some of the greatest monuments and attractions fail to impress like they did a decade ago.

For example; if you pay a visit to the Sistine Chapel, chances are you will see more people looking at Michelangelo’s most famous painting through an iPhone screen than with their own eyes.In other words, the representation of the thing is more important than the thing itself. However, there are still wonders out there that are so breath-taking that you stand before them in awe, too paralyzed with beauty to even take a picture, let alone post it on Facebook.

Namibia is that type of place. From surreal desert landscapes to world-class game viewing, here are five of Namibia’s must see highlights:

read more

Marrakech Safari: Your Journey into North Africa

Tom Sykes    safariadventureholidays     Africa, Atlas mountains, Cheap Hotel in Marrakech, Cheap hotels, Foum Takkat, Hostel Bookers, Hostelbookers.com, marrakech, Marrakech Hostels, Marrakech Safari, Mdaouer Kir, morocco, North Africa, off-road, safari, Safari Adventure Holidays, Safari Holidays, Safari in Morocco, Tassa Ouirgane National Park, Tichka Pass

From prancing dromedaries to the dunes of the Sahara, timeless mountains to fruitful wadis, there’s no end of things to see on a Marrakech Safari.

In a off road vehicle. Image: Flickr/ indigoprime

And not just any vehicle will do; ideally you’ll travel in a Landrover Defender with 1.4 ton Zu Rim wheels, high air intake engine and galvanised powder-coated sidebars.

And if you plan overnight camping, hardy roof tents are needed to repel wind, rain and sandstorms.

Sometimes it takes enduring these challenges to reap the rewards. And here’s a few to tempt you on your way.

read more

Safari: conservation in action

Mark Pawlak    Adventure Sports & Travel Thoughts, safariadventureholidays     Africa, eco-holidays, eco-tourism, safari, safari hoidays, tanzania

Each hostel New York has will have people staying who have travelled all over the world. It’s part of the hostel experience to mix and share stories, reveal travels far and wide, and soak up the experience of others. And one common theme or sensitivity comes through when socialising with well-travelled people: a love of nature.

Zebra in Tanzania Image: Flickr/ David Berkowitz

Our appreciation of the planet’s fragility is a relatively new thing. Until recently, surprisingly few people realised what impact we were having on the environment. Happily things are changing. One noticeable move is the interest in conservation holidays and eco-tourism. If there is one way to see nature up-close while directly supporting its protection, it’s by taking safari holidays.

Conservation, however, is not complete protection: animals on wildlife reserves are not hidden from natural predators, nor are they shielded from the worst nature can throw at them – just from the dangers we can pose to their survival.

Keeping animals in zoos helps breeding programmes for those truly endangered species, but to better understand how eco-systems and natural environments are preserved, it’s always best to get to the countries where these animals originate and see what’s being done.

Previously people went on game safaris to collect trophies; today tourists prefer to shoot animals with cameras. By going on safari your money goes into the local economy and helps create jobs. Well-trained guides help find you the best picture opportunities, and thanks to funding and international initiatives, some of the most precious habitats on Earth are helped. When managed properly, the safari offers real-time conservation and unforgettable travel experiences.

Top 10 Safari Destinations

Tim B    Top 10s     kruger, masai mara, mount sinai, okavango delta, safari, tanzania, tigers, top 10

A safari features on most people’s bucket lists. Watching a pride of lions saunter a few metres away from you, a tiger cross the road in front of your 4X4, or a herd of elephants gently filling up your telephoto lens – a safari promises extraordinary experiences. There is something truly magical about seeing the moon shining through the skeletal branches of a lonely tree on a stretch of grassland, or viewing a hippopotamus baking in the sun with egrets perched on its back. The word safari comes from ‘Ar safar’, Swahili for journey. Let the urban jungle take a backseat as you embark on a journey of a lifetime through grasslands, forests and deserts.

1. Tanzania

A 2000-feet deep crater brimming over with wildlife, one of the world’s most diverse eco-systems and ancient baobab trees – every aspect of Tanzania presents a traveller with photo opportunities worthy of a National Geographic magazine cover. read more