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| Activity holidays where an activity or activities are the main purpose of the vacation, instead of an addition to it, have become very popular. |
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| A wide variety of activity holidays are available to fit a broad range of interests, experience and fitness levels. Usually no or little experience is necessary, just enthusiasm and a willingness to try something new. The main types of activity holidays are thrill-seeking, wilderness, winter, sports and special interest. |
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Thrill-seeking activity holidays are some of the most popular available and include activities such as white water rafting, caving and rock climbing. wilderness activity holidays involve spending time in various wilderness areas, such as deserts, jungles, tundra and mountains. All seven continents can be visited and such trips are generally made up of trekking, camping, survival skills courses, and lessons on the people, cultures and wildlife you'll come across.
Winter activity holidays include skiing (downhill and cross-country) and snowboarding, and also more untried activities such as snowmobiling and dogsledding. These are often offered in more unusual and unspoilt locations than you would normally see them advertised and allow you to escape the crowds that you would normally come across.
Sports activity holidays can be anything from cycling, trekking, and horse riding to river kayaking, surfing, windsurfing, diving or sailing. Special interest activity holidays are for those with a real interest and passion in one subject or a range of subjects. Examples of interests catered for in such a way include photography, yoga, archaeology, conservation, wine tasting, bird watching, fishing and language learning.
The vast majority of activity holidays are adult group holidays which tend to be small in size, with an average of 10-15 people participating on each, though this will vary somewhat depending on the type of activities being undertaken. Smaller groups means a better experience as you'll get more attention from your guide and there'll be less time waiting around. Activity holidays are generally offered as an all-inclusive holiday package so the price listed on websites or in brochures will include your accommodation and food, as well as the instruction you'll receive from your instructors / guides.
How well your level of fitness matches the activities you choose will affect how much you enjoy your activity holiday so you'll need to think seriously about your own capabilities. Your activity holiday guide / instructor can only do so much for you and it's not fair on others in your group if you slow them down and possibly even endanger them.
Other important factors to take into consideration when deciding upon which activity holiday to book are the level of comfort in terms of accommodation, travelling, available facilities, temperature range and likely weather conditions, and the remoteness of the area, likely terrain, altitude and access to emergency services.
Most activity holidays can be held in either in your home country or abroad, often it depends on how much you want to spend on travel costs and how exotic the location should be. Obviously, if you want to trek the Inca Trail in Peru or experience the wildlife of the Galapagos Islands, you will have to travel to those places, but if you just want a trekking holiday or a wildlife holiday in most cases you would not even have to go abroad, and if you do, you do not have to travel far. |
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