Ten Ideas to Jumpstart Your Adventure Travel Planning

Are you excited to dip your toes in the adventurous waters? Adventure travel can feel intimidating at first if you mainly presume social media and see the more extreme side of this travel type. But don’t let that stop you. Whether you’re a thrill seeker or someone who is looking to experience something totally new, adventure travel is for absolutely everyone.

Adventure travel will push you outside of your comfort zone and allow you to challenge yourself while experiencing new places and cultures and regions of the world. Read all about it in my Beginner’s Guide to Adventure Travel.

Here are ten ideas to help jumpstart your adventure travel planning:

Road Trip Across America

The United States offers a wide variety of natural beauty combined with ample highways that can take you on adventures all across the world’s third largest country. From mountains to beaches and Tex-Mex to the Chicago-style hot dog, you’ll have many trips worth of adventures to plan with each turn keeping you on your toes.

A 2-line highway, with a double yellow line down the middle and a single white line on either side, curves from the lower right to the mid left and back to the upper right of the photo. A white car is visible on the road on the far left of the curve, facing towards the viewer. On either side of the road are rolling plains of brown dirt and light brown scrub brush, with occasional red-leaf bushes. In the distance, the plains extend to the horizon, merging with a light blue sky overhead filled with fluffy white clouds with dark bottoms.

Go on an African Safari

A gray elephant stands centered in the photo, framed by trees on either side and more in the distance behind it. The elephant is moving towards the right, head turned slightly towards the viewer, with one eye visible above a long trunk and two white tusks, and its closer ear spreads out above its forward shoulder. The ground in front of and beneath the elephant is covered in light brown brush with a few green bushes.

A view from the back seat of a jeep, looking over the front dash and hood at two men walking in front of the vehicle. Both wear white hats, with the closer wearing a matching white jacket and light khaki pants, and the further wearing a dark tan jacket and white pants. They are looking at tracks in the dirt road in front of the jeep, with the furthest one pointing at the ground. In the background, the light brown grass and brush on either side of the dirt road gives way to a thick line of trees and underbrush in vivid colors of green and orange, with a cloudless light blue sky overhead deepening to a dark blue at the top of the photo.

Beth stands in front of an African elephant, less than a foot from its front leg. Beth is wearing a light tan hat with a brown band, clear-rimmed glasses, a light brown cardigan over a chocolate brown tank top, a pair of necklaces with the longer one extending down between her breasts, loose dark brown pants tied with a white drawstring at the waist, and brown boots. Beth wears her green hair in two long braids, rings on almost every finger, and is smiling broadly at the camera. The top of her hat barely reaches the bottom of the large gray ears of the elephant behind her, extending several feet above her head. The elephant looks to the right, with small black eyes in a wrinkled gray head, a long trunk extending nearly to the ground, and a pair of white ivory tusks. A second elephant is visible just past the first on the right side of the photo, with its trunk curled up to its mouth, where a large tuft of grass is sticking out, ready to be chewed and swallowed.

This is a big ticket adventure item but also such a once in a lifetime experience. What an opportunity to see some of the world’s most beautiful animals in their natural habitats. No two safaris are the same, either, so you never know exactly what you’ll be able to see on your safari adventure, but I promise it will be worth your while. If you head to South Africa, you can see the Big Five.

Go Dogsledding

Whether it’s Iceland, Greenland, Canada, or Alaska, dogsledding is a thrilling opportunity to blend an authentic Arctic experience with absolutely stunning visuals. Even in heavy snowfall, the beauty of the dogsledding experience makes the cold more than worth it. Plus, it’s a lot faster than a walking tour.

Ryan sits on a fur blanket on a wooden dogsled, with Ellie and another person standing on the wooden struts behind the sled. Ryan's outfit is a mix of black and bright blue, including a gaiter from his neck up over his nose and wide snow goggles perched on his forehead so his eyes are barely visible, and a GoPro sticking up from his chest. Ellie is bundled up in burnt orange and black winter pants, a black and gray winter jacket, pink gloves, a white hood, and large snow goggles over her eyes. The other person standing behind Ellie is wearing all black cold-weather gear, with a brown knit hat, and is smiling at the camera, the only one of the three with a significant part of their face exposed. All around the dogsled is pure white, from the snow on the ground extending into the distance to the snow falling from the white sky above.

Amid a scene of white snow left and right (and more falling from the white sky above), a person in dark cold-weather clothing bends over to check on a pair of dogs, one lying on its side and the other standing tall. The dogs are in harnesses for pulling a sled, with two more dogs standing behind them in a line and four more visible in front. All of the dogs have white fur on their legs and around their necks, contrasted by thick dark fur on their backs, and bushy tails. In the distance ahead, a figure in black and gray cold weather clothing stands on the back of a dogsled, facing away from the camera, while a third figure in front of them bends over to pet one of another team of dogs harnessed to that sled, although those dogs are only dimly visible through the falling snow.

A shot taken from the perspective of a dogsled, a long cord extends out in the center of the photo to team of dogs, arranged in rows of pairs, splitting to attach to a harness for each one. The dogs are standing still, most looking away from the camera, but the two closest have turned their heads to the left as if looking back over their shoulders at the sled. Ahead and to the right, two people in dark clothing stand on the back of a dogsled, with its team of dogs arrayed in front of it but obscured from view by the falling snow. Snow covers the ground everywhere, with occasional bits of grass sticking up out of it, and the sky is white with falling snow.

Two people stand on the back of a dogsled, an adult figure on the left wearing black and gray winter clothing, and Ellie on the right, short enough to come up almost to the other person's shoulder, wearing a black winter jacket with the hood up and burnt orange winter pants. Ahead to the right, a team of dogs stretches out in front of the sled, harnessed to it and to each other, looking around at the snow-covered land around. The rest of the photo is white with snow, both on the ground and falling from the white sky above.

Explore the Galapagos

A brown lizard perched on a stalk of green grass, with more grass behind and a white flower in the distance behind it.

Close up of a sea turtle from the front, its long neck extended and turned to one side to let its large black eye stare at the camera. It has a sharp line of a mouth with a hooked nose, and grayish brown skin traced in lines and wrinkles. One foot is visible, with 5 sharp claws and scale-covered skin that extends back along its leg to its shell.

If nature adventure travel is your thing, and you absolutely love animals, there may be no better place on Earth for close encounters with wildlife than the Galapagos Islands. Only five weeks exploring the Galapagos inspired Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. Just think what it might inspire in you.

Take the Family to Isengard

Enter the Lord of the Rings as you explore the North and South islands of New Zealand. From the rolling green hills of the Shire to the crags of Mount Doom to the dense forest of Rivendell, you will be surrounded with adventures and more than enough beauty. Give yourself a couple weeks and you can hit quite a few filming locations and so much more. There is a ferry that connects the two islands so you can cross the Cook Strait, and it takes about 3.5 hours. Oh, and you can visit the jeweler who made The One Ring.

Beth and Ellie on the path to Mount Doom, with Beth half-turned to look back and leading the cloaked figure of Ellie along

Beth standing on the gravel path to Mount Doom

Beth and Ryan sitting in a hollow with Ellie kneeling on the road above them

Beth standing in front of Bag End, with a sign on the gate reading "No Admittance Except on Party Business"

See Temples in Bali

A wood carving of a male figure seated cross-legged inside a tree stump, wearing monk's robes, with hair in curls and made into a bun on the top of the head. His eyes are closed and a serene expression is carved on his face. In the background is a wooden table with several bowls and statues on it, including a gold statue in similar pose to the wooden statue in the foreground, and a much larger statue of the same figure laying down, stretched out and resting on its side. In the background is a painting of stone steps leading up to an ancient stone temple.

A woman in a dress showing all the colors of the rainbow stands on stone steps that descend to an open courtyard outlined in buildings with high peaked straw roofs. The woman is wearing a straw hat that is taller than her torso, shaped like an inverted triangular pyramiding adorned with colorful flowers, with one hand extended up to hold it in place. Statues line the waist-high stone railing on either side of the stairway, with dark green trees behind them, and in the distance a single mountain rises out of a mist-shrouded landscape.

A stone statue stands in front of an entrance to a stone temple. The statue is intricately carved, holding a blade upright in one hand, and the carvings around the temple wall behind it are likewise carved in exquisite detail in leaf-like patterns.

Indonesia is a beautiful country full of rich culture and delicious food. The island of Bali is one of more than 17,000 islands in the Indonesian archipelago. It is a tropical island with repeated volcanic eruptions throughout history that is located very close to the equator. What does this mean? Really high biodiversity and picture-perfect landscapes. Bali is known as the island of a thousand temples, but it actually has somewhere around 20,000. But who’s counting?

Hike to Machu Picchu

There are levels to this adventure. If you are a beginner hiker, you can train from Cusco or Urubamba to Aguas Calientes and then take a 90 minute hike to Machu Picchu. The Classic Inca Trail route is a 3 to 5 day hike, depending on skill and fitness level, and on average, it takes 4 days and 3 nights to reach Machu Picchu. There are also options in-between these two I’ve mentioned. Choose the best option for you.

A moss-covered stone railing on an overlook above a valley, with the stonework extending into a wall down to the next grass-covered ledge, and more stone walls visible below. On the opposite side of the valley, the mountainside is covered in green trees and brush, and a low-hanging cloud obscures the valley in the distance.

Visit UNESCO Sites in Italy

We all know Italy is home to some really delicious food, but did you know this country also houses the largest number of UNESCO world heritage sites in the world. Yup, 58 as of 2022. From the archaeological area of Pompei to the Amalfi Coast, it would take you years of adventuring to experience it all. World heritage sites carry cultural, historical, or scientific significance and are thought to have substantial value to humanity. Not a bad adventure travel opportunity.

Cruise the Caribbean

If cruise ships seem overwhelming, start with a relaxing cruise to the beaches of the Caribbean. Cruises are generally all-inclusive and afford you the opportunity to adventure travel with a little less stress and pressure. Pick an itinerary that interests you and then get to explore a few new countries. All the while, you have unlimited food and housekeeping tending to your cabin. A pretty cozy adventure if you ask me.

Visit All the Disney Parks in the World

Do you love theme parks? You know I do. Make it a bucket list adventure to visit all of the Disney parks in the world. As of 2022, the parks available to visit include: Disneyland and California Adventure in California, Walt Disney World in Orlando (which includes Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT), Hong Kong Disneyland, Shanghai Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, Tokyo Disneyland, and the DisneySea in Japan. Every park offers you something special and unique and no two parks are the same.