Adventuresome vacation

DURING VACATION SEASON, school-age children get to take trips their adult relatives only dream of: weeks and weeks of backpacking in Alaska, sea kayaking in Costa Rica, climbing in the Tetons.

Those trips aren’t available just to those with deep parental pockets anymore. The traditional professional vacation spent all but immobile in a luxurious environment is steadily giving way to a much more active style. Time off is no longer time spent doing nothing—but has become time spent playing. These adventure travel trips range from roughing it to decadent comfort, and from mildly active to hair-raising.

For those who are more interested in learning new skills than in relaxing, some adults may choose to do what thousands of high school and college students have done: sign up for a course with the National Outdoor Leadership School in Lander, Wyo. NOLS has become all but synonymous with outdoor instruction since its founding in 1965. The trips train students not only how to perform “hard skills” in the wilderness, like orienteering, backcountry cooking or minimum-impact camping, but also how to negotiate the group dynamics of wilderness expeditions.

NOLS offers an array of courses for people long out of school—including a 14-day Alaska sea kayaking trip reserved for participants older than 40. For much of the trip, the guides often don’t even “lead,” leaving the task of wilderness navigation to the group. These are not tour vacations, but courses demanding physical and mental exertion.

Travelers wanting a more exotic journey might look into a company like Mountain Travel Sobek, which offers five difficulty levels of trip (from “easy” to “ultimate challenge”) on seven continents. On the easy side is a nine-day trip to Costa Rica, during which travelers stay in hotels or lodges every night, and swim or go on nature walks during the day. For those who want bragging rights, the company offers a 16-day trip that ascends Kilimanjaro and tours part of Tanzania, and a 21-day ascent of Aconcagua, in Patagonia, the tallest peak in the Western Hemisphere, at 22,841 feet.

Another company, Austin-Lehman Adventures, specializes in trips that combine outdoor excursions and luxurious lodgings. No bare tents, PB&J or Ramen noodles for these travelers. One of its Costa Rica trips features a stay at the Don Carlos Hotel in San Jose and another one at the spectacular Savegre Mountain Lodge. Its Kenai Peninsula trip in Alaska couples kayaking, biking and a cruise with stays at Seward Windsong Lodge and the Alyeska Prince Resort, which features a full spa.

For those who have children who are taking long summer adventure vacations, it’s worth the effort to find out if the company also offers adult or family trips. Some will offer referrals to partner companies. Others offer such trips themselves. Wilderness Ventures, in Jackson, Wyo., for example, offers two family trips to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park. One is a multi-sport trip combining cycling, hikes and sea kayaking, and the other focuses on sea kayaking. Both trips feature stays at area hotels and lodges, in addition to the backcountry time.
Source www.allcostaricahotels.com