Adventure Travel

Looking for an adventure that is within your grasp? Think about a European hiking vacation. There are two good ways to do this. The best may be to sign up with an adventure travel company, which will take care of all the logistics.

With such a company you typically meet your group in a European city such as Zurich or Madrid, and then travel to the beginning of the hike destination. The guides are often English speaking natives of the country in which you are hiking, and they are friendly, knowledgeable, athletic, and fun. All hotels and meals are preset. Your fellow hikers are usually Americans with outdoor lifestyles. Most of these people are cooperative, nice people, though from time to time one can encounter a difficult person. These trips take place in countries like Switzerland, France, Spain, and Chile where there are mountains. They are rated according to degree of difficulty, and the descriptions sent out by the adventure travel companies are very accurate.

Most trips are relaxed and low key with a minimum of competition. The guides work hard to make sure everyone has a good time, and almost all hikers with a reasonable degree of fitness seem to. The level of sophistication of the average client on these trips is high, so the companies are under pressure to provide excellent accommodations and cuisine. They usually do!

 

Adventure travel trips vary in price, depending on the location and length of the trip. Five thousand dollars for an eight or ten day trip would probably be a fair estimate of the cost of many of these trips. A reader might ask, why not do a trip on my own for much less money? This is a good question, and self-guided trips are a possibility as will be discussed below. There are both obvious and more hidden reasons for going on a guided trip.

There is less hassle on a guided trip. The company takes care of all the logistics, so there is less anxiety for the hiker. All you have to do is relax, talk to your fellow hikers, and put one foot in front of the other. The guides usually know the area, its restaurants, and interesting places to visit.  In addition to providing transportation from area to area, they frequently know interesting trails that tourists would never find on their own.

Guided trips may be safer than non-guided trips. The guides have first aid training and first aid equipment. A helicopter needed to be called on one of the trips on which I was a client. On another a man fell and sliced open his head. A helicopter was almost called, but he managed to hike out. On another porter need oxygen at 17,000 feet, and the guide was carrying a cylinder in his medical kit. Had I been alone, I don’t think I would have had the proper equipment or the knowledge with which to deal with these situations in a competent manner.

Is it possible to design you own trip? Yes it is. The best way to do it is to go to one of the hiking centers in Europe like Zermatt, Chamonix, Grundewald, or Cortina de Ampezzo. The local tourist centers have ample information on day hikes in the areas. We hiked on our own in Saas Fe, Kandersteg, and Zermatt, Switzerland at different times for a number of days. We took interesting hikes that were well described in local brochures. At times we met other hikers in the hotels in which we were staying, and we walked with them.

Mountain huts are everywhere in the Alps. One can plan a hike to have lunch at a hut, and they can provide refuge in the event of a sudden storm. With reservations one can spend the night in a mountain hut, and this can be a fun experience. Often local families staff the huts. Good food is a given. The sleeping arrangements are often crude, but remember you are high in the mountains!