Every year, the world’s most respected adventure travel outfitters reveal their newest trips to far-flung locales across the globe. And every year around this time, I review the itineraries of those new trips to select the best of the new batch.
My criteria: I’m looking for trips that take you to interesting, often untapped or emerging destinations; trips that offer unique activities and experiences; and trips that represent good value for the money, even when they’re upscale luxury excursions.
This year, my top 10 new adventures include volcano trekking in Indonesia, tracking gorillas in the Congo, following a pilgrim trail through the Pyrenees, and seeking enlightenment in Japan’s most remote alpine temples.
So lace up your hiking boots, fellow adventurers: Here are the best new trips to try in 2014.
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Hidden China And Inner Mongolia (G Adventures)
This new 12-day small-group trip offered by G Adventures pairs the usual tourist highlights—the Great Wall of China, Tiananmen Square, Xi'an's Terracotta Warriors—with unusual experiences that veer way off the beaten path, like sleeping overnight in a traditional ger on the Mongolian grasslands, exploring the Yungang Buddhist Caves and Hanging Monastery, and learning traditional Chinese painting techniques from local artisans.
What's Included: Accommodations; train, van, and bus transportation; some meals; English-speaking and local guides; and all excursions. The maximum group size is 16 people (average group size is 12 people).
Provider: G Adventures
Price: $1,499 per person (allow an additional $200 or more for meals not included)
Hidden China And Inner Mongolia (G Adventures)
This new 12-day small-group trip offered by G Adventures pairs the usual tourist highlights—the Great Wall of China, Tiananmen Square, Xi'an's Terracotta Warriors—with unusual experiences that veer way off the beaten path, like sleeping overnight in a traditional ger on the Mongolian grasslands, exploring the Yungang Buddhist Caves and Hanging Monastery, and learning traditional Chinese painting techniques from local artisans.
What's Included: Accommodations; train, van, and bus transportation; some meals; English-speaking and local guides; and all excursions. The maximum group size is 16 people (average group size is 12 people).
Provider: G Adventures
Price: $1,499 per person (allow an additional $200 or more for meals not included)
East Indonesia: Volcanoes, Trekking, And Dragons (Mountain Travel Sobek)
On this new 14-day adventure offered by Mountain Travel Sobek, you'll explore the island of Flores in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, home to more than 15 conical volcanoes. You'll hike through forests and grasslands, view the world's largest lizards (Komodo dragons) in the wild, swim and snorkel from a private sailboat, and gawk at the multicolored lakes of the Mt. Kelimutu volcano. Take pictures—it's spectacular!
What's Included: Accommodations, most meals, airport transfers, ground transportation, porters, entrance fees, basic medical and evacuation insurance, and guides.
Provider: Mountain Travel Sobek
Price: $3,795 to $4,595 per person, plus $375 for internal flights.
Camino De Santiago Self-Guided Walking (CW)
Walk through olive groves, vineyards, medieval hilltop towns, and fields of sunflowers at your own pace along one of the world's most renowned pilgrimage routes with this new self-guided walking holiday from CW. The nine-day trip samples some of Europe's most spectacular landscapes in the Pyrenees, Basque Country, and Galicia en route to Santiago de Compostela.
What's Included: Accommodations in boutique hotels, most meals, luggage transfers, detailed maps and instructions, and 24-hour emergency assistance.
Provider: CW
Price: $3,698 per person
Trekking In Burma (Exodus)
Explore ancient templates, trek through remote hill country, and immerse yourself in a rural life that has gone virtually unchanged for centuries with this new 14-day small-group trek though northwest Burma (also called Myanmar). After days of trekking, finish with an ascent and overnight at mighty Mt. Victoria, a 10,049-foot peak that surveys forested hills and lush valleys as far as the eye can see.
What's Included: Five days of point-to-point trekking; accommodations in hotels, in guest houses, in village houses, and at campsites; most meals; and full porterage of overnight bags. The maximum group size is 12 people (average group size is five people). The minimum age is 16 years old.
Provider: Exodus
Price: $3,655 to $3,855 per person
Sailing Croatia: Dubrovnik To Split (G Adventures)
Sail from island to island along the Croatian coast with this new trip offered by G Adventures. You'll embark in historical Dubrovnik, a well-preserved medieval town that doubles as the fortified King's Landing in the hit HBO show Game of Thrones. Each day features hikes to castles, waterfalls, and small coastal villages between hours sailing aboard a 50-foot yacht.
What's Included: Overnight accommodations aboard a yacht (with a fully licensed skipper) and some meals. The yacht is equipped with five double-occupancy cabins, three bathrooms, and four showers. The maximum group size is eight people.
Provider: G Adventures
Price: $1,102 per person (allow an additional $350 or more for shore meals not included)
Hiker's Journey To Shikoku (Wilderness Travel)
Wilderness Travel's new 13-day temple-to-temple hiking trip reveals a hidden Japan rarely seen by casual tourists. Walking an adapted version of the traditional pilgrim's circuit, you'll cut through mountain passes and deep gorges, climb to cliff-side temples, soak in hot springs, and take a cable car to western Japan's highest peak. The trip is scheduled for October during peak foliage season.
What's Included: Accommodations, most meals, an English-speaking guide, entrance fees, and ground transportation.
Provider: Wilderness Travel
Price: $5,995 to $6,795 per person
Active In The Pyrenees (Intrepid)
New for 2014, Intrepid's first trip inside Andorra, the tiny principality between France and Spain, is all about adrenaline. On this eight-day trip, you'll hike, cycle, mountain bike, off-road, and whitewater raft your way through the scenic Pyrenees Mountains. And if you've still got energy to burn after that, optional activities include horseback riding and zip-lining. Tired yet? You can soak your sore muscles in a thermal pool, too.
What's Included: Chalet accommodations, most meals, airport transfers, private bus transport, and activities (cycling, mountain biking, whitewater rafting, zip-lining, et cetera). The maximum group size is 16 people (minimum group size is two people). The minimum age is 15 years old.
Provider: Intrepid
Price: $811 to $859 per person, plus incidentals.
Panama Walking & Hiking: From The Canal To The Cloud Forest (Backroads)
On this six-day trip, you'll see the Panama Canal, hike along the famed Sendero Los Quetzales trail with a naturalist guide, encounter the largest collection of rare orchids in Latin America, marvel at French and Spanish Colonial architecture on a walking tour of Panama City's Casco Viejo World Heritage site, and travel by boat to Taboga Island, called the "Island of Flowers," for stunning views. In the evenings, you'll stay at upscale accommodations and enjoy fine regional cuisine.
What's Included: Accommodations, most meals, and guides.
Provider: Backroads
Price: $4,098 to $4,198 per person, plus $300 for internal flight
Gorilla Tracking In The Congo (Austin Adventures)
Still a largely untapped destination, the sparsely populated Republic of the Congo is just now beginning to develop the necessary infrastructure for supporting safaris after an extended period of political unrest. This seven-day high-end trip from Austin Adventures focuses on tracking western lowland gorillas in the Republic of the Congo's Odzala-Kokoua National Park, home to the world's second largest tropical rainforest (after the Amazon). You'll tour the pristine landscape by foot, by boat, and by 4x4 during the day, and then kick back at a luxury wilderness camp by night.
What's Included: Luxury basecamp accommodations (Lango Camp and Ngaga Camp), all meals, excursions, transfers, park fees and entrance fees, and expert guides.
Provider: Austin Adventures
Price: $7,398
Dates: Upon request (minimum of two people)
The Nature Of Israel (AdventureWomen)
Discover the natural beauty of Israel with this new 13-day guided trip from AdventureWomen, the premier adventure-travel company for women over 30 years old. You'll participate in an archeological dig, swim in the Red Sea, eat local food on a kibbutz, and visit with Israeli artists and historians.
What's Included: Accommodations, guided tours in English, internal flight between Eilat and Tel Aviv, most meals, all entry fees, and airport transfers.
Provider: AdventureWomen
Price: $5,995 per person
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