Active Travel in Latin America
Active travel is a way of tourism that brings adventurers to the roots of traveling. Historian Daniel J. Boorstin, the former librarian of the United States Congress, described an active traveler as someone who “was an active man at work… strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience.” This travel style is often associated with cycling, biking, and walking. People can enjoy active travel when they book adventurous tours in safaris, kayaking, zip-lining, and way more. In a broader sense, we can describe it as any type of traveling that involves sporting activities.
An active traveler is someone who’s in a good physical state. Even so, these types of activities have great benefits and advantages for the health and well-being of the active traveler. Additionally, physical activity is a mental stimulant. In other words, this travel style is perfect for anyone looking for a connection with nature while enjoying an adventure. This travel style pulls you out of your comfort zone. Its importance, then, is to embrace the beauty of the unexpected and enjoy the wilderness safely. If you are an adventurous and audacious traveler who’s looking for a vacation with intense activities, this is the one for you. Active travel is a challenging experience for bold tourists!
Top 5 Best Active Tours
If you’re looking for a travel experience that’s as exciting as it is enriching, check out Rebecca Adventure Travel’s Top 5 Best Active Tours:
8-Day Galapagos Multisport
4 Islands
$1,950 p.p.- Biking Cerro Mesa
- Los Tuneles Snorkeling
- The Wetlands Hiking
9-Day Active Andes Expedition
3 Places $1,903 p.p.- Cotopaxi Volcano
- Quilotoa Loop
- Ilinizas
8-Day Colombia Multisport Tour
4 Sites $2,858 p.p.- Suárez Canyon Biking
- Rafting on Chicamocha River
- Cycling to Barichara
16-Day Costa Rica Family Tour
5 Sites $4,296 p.p.- Maleku Indigenous People
- Eco-Conscious Retreat
- Cahuita National Park
8-Day Machu Picchu & Galapagos
5 Sites $2,025 p.p.- Galapagos Island Hopping
- Plaza de Armas Cusco
- Machu Picchu
5 Reasons why you should choose an active travel style
If you are insecure about choosing this travel style, here are 5 reasons why this might be what you are looking for.
1. Create Bonds
A great thing about active travel is that you get amazing experiences, and you can share them with like-minded people. This is a great way to know people in an unconventional way. Have you ever met someone while zip-lining? Or, maybe your kayaking partner can become your new travel companion! Nature is a great place to meet audacious travelers like you and have a breakthrough experience.
Those who enjoy outdoor activities and an overall active lifestyle don’t have to be determined by age or nationality. During these types of tours, you will be able to meet different people of a variety of ages, countries, and backgrounds. This will most certainly enrich your life and give you new perspectives, besides a good buddy to share your adventures with.
Active travel can be a great way to meet adventurers from different religions and cultures. You can learn other languages and dialects. Active travel opens up infinite possibilities!
2. Lifelong memories
Nowadays, with social media, an important part of traveling is making memories while taking pictures. It’s very typical to enter a crowded place and stand in a long line just to take a picture. Maybe then you will wonder if all that waiting was even worth it.
With the active travel style, you can leave all the senseless waiting behind. The breathtaking landscapes, local wildlife, and amazing history that surround you. This is the perfect chance to connect with yourself and, at the same time, with nature. You can truly appreciate the destination you are visiting, while you have an active role in a mystery that is much bigger than you. Overall, it will allow you to have amazing experiences and anecdotes that you will cherish forever.
The beauty of starting a new journey manifests itself in this travel style. Active travel will allow you to create everlasting memories. In this case, pictures will be a memory of a marvelous adventure. You will remember that experience forever!
3. It is beneficial to your health
We all know the importance of taking care of our minds and bodies. We also know that traveling is one of the best ways to grow as better citizen of the world. An active travel vacation will serve as the starting point of a new life. New beginnings will help you leave behind bad habits and develop a more conscious way of living.
Remember to take this opportunity to enjoy every outdoor activity that you can, clear your mind, and learn new things while enjoying your surroundings. This way, you will return refreshed. You will feel in better shape physically and mentally. At home, you will feel like a new person.
4. Step out of your comfort zone
People treasure moments such as the first time riding a bike or when you learn to swim. However, every day is a good opportunity to create special memories. Regardless of your age, you will always remember the first time you took your first breath in Quito, one of the highest cities in the world. Furthermore, imagine snorkeling in the Galapagos with sea turtles in their natural habitat just a few meters away from you. Also, you can swim and watch the dazzling show of two sea lion pups playing. That is for sure something you’ll never forget!
Rebecca Adventure Travel’s active tours offer a great variety of activities and experiences. Guests can pick what fits their interests and necessities. For instance, you can choose from diving with sharks or climbing Chimborazo volcano, the highest mountain in the world when measured from the Earth’s center rather than sea level. You are a click away from choosing an amazing experience!
5. It’s more achievable than you think
Even though an active travel style is an intense experience, it’s not unachievable. We offer different types of tours for a variety of physical levels. The important part is to enjoy your trip and go at your own pace. Depending on what you want to achieve, you can choose from different types of activities and levels of intensity. There are different ways to stimulate your body and mind. Once you start and you feel the adventure thrill, you will want more!
Rebecca’s Top Picks
Rebecca, the founder of Rebecca Adventure Travel, loves to travel. She’s always planning her next trip. She enjoys having tours that will entertain all the members of her family! Check Rebecca’s top active tours:
7-Day Galapagos Luxury Safari
4 Islands $5,950 p.p.- Kicker Rock
- Kayak Puerto Villamil
- Seymour Island
5-Day Waorani Yasuni Kayak Exploration
1 Sites $1,410 p.p.- Waorani Community
- Anaconda Lagoon
- Yasuni National Park
5-Day Tambopata Amazon Peru
3 Sites $1,569 p.p.- Amazon Rainforest
- Chuncho Clay Lick
- Terra Firme Trail
Activities that you can enjoy in an active travel style
Kayak
Kayaking is one of the most exciting experiences in the world! A kayak is a canoe-like boat that is propelled by paddling. This is an amazing water sport that has great advantages. First, it’s a great way of exercise, with a low impact on your joints, and will help you to strengthen your arms, shoulders, and core.
The Amazon is the perfect place to do some kayaking. Even so, the Galapagos Islands are also an amazing place to kayak. In the archipelago, you will see penguins and sea lions swimming next to you.
Biking
If you want to discover a hidden destiny, you should bike along its remote paths. Additionally, biking has many benefits to your health. For example, when you bike, your stress levels decrease, at the same time that it increases your cardiovascular fitness, and it helps with flexibility and muscle strength.
Ecuador is a fabulous country for biking. You can start in the Amazon, climb to the Andes mountains, and finish your tour on the Pacific Coast. During that trip, you will see the Andes mountain chain with snow-capped volcanoes. Then, you will pass through the biodiverse tropical rainforest. Finally, you will get to the sunny beaches that will take your breath away. Also, you can bike in the magical Galapagos Islands.
Therefore, biking is an incredible activity. While traveling to Ecuador, you can choose from many options depending on your destination. Regardless of where you decide to go be sure you will love it!
Zip-Lining
When you zip-line, you will feel like you’re flying when a pulley suspends you on a stainless steel cable. This is the perfect outdoor activity. Zip-lining is a great way to reduce stress and burn some calories while connecting with yourself and your surroundings.
Mindo, a village in the north of Ecuador surrounded by the tropical rainforest, is one of the most famous zip-lining destinations in the country. In the rainforest, you will fly through the exuberant Andean Cloud Forest, and you can find more interesting activities, such as the Cacao tour and visiting a butterfly farm. This is the perfect active travel adventure!
Snorkel
Snorkeling is a good way to discover the beauty of nature while burning around 300 calories per hour. When you snorkel, you improve your strength and endurance in a fun way. It is also one of the recommended activities to do while you enjoy your vacation on the Galapagos Islands. With all the rich marine wildlife, for sure this will be a one-of-a-kind experience!
The Galapagos Islands are known for their great snorkeling destinations. The best thing about snorkeling is that you don’t need to be an expert to enjoy this activity. The archipelago is an ideal destination for beginner and experienced snorkelers.
Diving
Diving allows you to explore underwater wildlife in depth. When you travel to the Galapagos Islands, diving must be on your to-do list. It can be quite a thrilling experience since you’ll be diving along with sharks, giant manta rays, sea turtles, and many more incredible animals. Certainly, this is a dream come true!
You can dive in the coastal mainland as well as in the archipelago. You will find an underwater paradise!
Hike
Hiking boosts your bone density and improves blood pressure and sugar levels. Despite being the most common of all the activities presented below, this may not be undermined; it can be a magical experience.
In Ecuador, we recommend you hike in the mighty Andes. The country has amazing trails and hikes in nature. You will In this activity, you will hike through the beautiful Ecuador mountains while enjoying the landscapes and local wildlife of the Andes region.
Canyoning
While doing canyoning, you will feel like you’ve been reborn. This activity gives you stamina and strength. Hence, you will find yourself in the wilderness and have a once-in-a-lifetime experience full of thrill and excitement. You can find this activity on our multi-sport tours.
This activity usually takes place in the Amazon, where you will not only enjoy the activity but also the megadiverse ecosystem. If you want to experience an active travel plan by excellence, this is the perfect option for you.
Rafting
Have a thrilling experience while rafting in Latin America. This is the perfect way to enjoy the great outdoors, disconnect from the digital world, and forget about the stress. Rafting is a great way to build muscle and burn calories while having fun. It’s also a great way to enforce teamwork. When rafting, you will be able to strengthen your relationship with your travel companion. Also, rafting is the perfect active family vacation plan.
Rafting is usually done in the Amazon and the Andean Cloud Forest, along with other great activities. This area is known for multisports tours, so you can find the ones that suit you the best.
What Should I Bring?
For any journey you undertake, you must start packing your bag and get ready for the adventure you are about to start. So, what does an active traveler’s luggage look like?
Our destination experts recommend that you have a backpack for easy transportation of your belongings. In this way, you will be much more comfortable when going from one destination to another. Other than this, but no less important, be sure to bring your best attitude and be ready for your active travel adventure!
If you are looking for a vacation with activities you won’t forget, then you are an active traveler. Now you know all the activities you can do in an active travel style, so pick the one that fits you best and start your active travel adventures!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is active travel?
Active travel includes moderate activities like hiking through rainforests, biking along scenic trails, and kayaking in pristine waters, blending adventure with exploration.
How does active travel support sustainability?
By choosing community-led tours, staying in eco-lodges, and participating in conservation projects, travelers support local economies and protect natural resources.
Do I need to be super fit for active travel?
Most tours offer varying levels of difficulty, so there are options for all fitness levels, from gentle walks to moderate hikes.
What should I pack for active travel in Latin America?
Pack lightweight clothing, sturdy shoes, sun protection, and a reusable water bottle for hydration.
Are active travel tours family-friendly?
Yes, many tours cater to all ages with activities like gentle kayaking, nature walks, and cultural experiences suitable for families.