What Is A Multisport Adventure Trip?

As the name implies, multisport itineraries are active and most days are spent on one or more excursions that require at least moderate exertion. They usually involve a combination of different activities rather than focusing on just one. For many outings, guides transport passengers from their hotel to a trailhead or put-in at a river for a whitewater rafting trip. On others, bicycles may be brought right to the hotel to embark from there. Then there are the multisport trips that incorporate lodgings into the activity itself, such as staying in luxury camping facilities with gourmet meals along the river to be explored. Roughing it has become a relative term.

What Makes A South American Multisport Trip So Special? Two things really, beyond the fact that variety is the spice of life. First, these itineraries are designed to maximize the awe and authenticity of the trip’s experiences by matching an ideal mode of travel to each destination. If a lake is filled with floating icebergs, what could be better than getting around by kayak? Where pampas stretch as far as the eye can see, horseback riding is the obvious choice. You get the idea. Secondly, many multisport itineraries build in flexibility. On these trips, travelers with less enthusiasm than others in the group for a particular sport have the opportunity to opt out of the day’s planned excursion and substitute an activity more to their liking and pace.

Who Takes Multisport Trips? It used to be just younger travelers who chose multisport itineraries but not anymore with the swelling numbers of boomers who remain forever young. Being in good physical condition makes an active trip more fun. Stamina equals pleasure on multisport tours, especially in some of South America’s higher elevation destinations such as Machu Picchu and other Andean locations.

Where Do Southern Explorations Multisport Trips Go? The company offers a variety of multisport trips plus a number of active itineraries without multisport in the name, ranging from six to twenty-one days. Choose destinations in Argentina , Brazil , Chile , Colombia , Ecuador and Peru as well as Costa Rica and Panama . Among its Brazil tours are trips to the country’s surfing mecca, Florianopolis, known for its waves. The eight-day Brazil multisport adventure to Florianopolis includes hiking, whitewater rafting, sandboarding, paragliding, horseback riding and snorkeling with free time to surf. The 10-day Colombia multisport visits three national parks plus the walled city of Cartagena while mountain biking, hiking, whitewater rafting, hiking and snorkeling. Cartagena and Tayrona National Park consists of mostly scenic walking tours and snorkeling.

Southern Explorations rates all of its itineraries according to exertion level (easy, moderate, difficult and most difficult). Any of its knowledgeable staff travel planners can discuss the rigors of a particular itinerary because they have taken these trips themselves. In the few localities where excursion operators set upper age limits, (in particular, glacier hiking with crampons in Argentina Patagonia’s Los Glaciares National Park), alternative activities are arranged.

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