Unusual vacation ideas

Looking for something different for this year's vacation? Tired of visiting the same, tired old places, always filled with the growing throngs of tourists, all jostling each other for the best spot to camp, rest, shop, and just plain be a tourist? Well, maybe you've not looked hard enough, or far enough, to find the less-traveled places or adventures. Why not try something different and slightly off the beaten track?

For starters:

· Send off for state tourist information from some of the areas you might find interesting. When the material arrives, scour the pages for even the small listings of different vacation services. They'll be there. But you might have to dig a little deep to find them.

· Check with various travel agents for new ideas and resources. They might have received information on the perfect opportunity that you might not be able to find otherwise.

· Check online resources, looking at state sites, local sites and vacation destination sites. Run searches for the areas of the country that interest you, and for the particular interests and activities you are searching for.

Once you've narrowed down the list of places and types of activities, you're ready to make some plans. But you first need to consider each option with a carefully crafted list of criteria and questions. Ask yourself if you're capable of the challenge you have your eye and heart on. Do you have the finances to afford such a trip? Is this something you truly want to do, and not something you're doing because everyone else is going for something different?

You'll have lots of things to consider, and multiple details to take care of beforehand. Many of these specialty vacation providers will have their own list of preparations and precautions, to help potential travelers be sure this is the adventure they really want to try. Get as much information as you can, and study it carefully. Then take an honest look at yourself and at your interests, to see if this is something you really want to do.

So, before you go rushing off to the library, bookstore, or to another site on the computer, let's cruise through a list of assorted adventures you might want to check out:

· Take an African Safari or other wildlife trek. Pick an interesting country or part of your own country, and explore the more unusual opportunities they offer.

· Go to a coast and swim with dolphins, whales or even sharks. Yes, there are even services which specialize in providing customers the opportunity to swim with wild sharks. You might prefer, however, the more docile dolphins as swimming companions, though there are even hazards there. Learn dolphin etiquette and you should do well.

· Take a backpacking trip up into the mountains. You might want to tackle some of the United States' mountains, or, you may prefer to go international and try out even greater heights. Make sure you're up for the trip, however. You don't want to get out in the middle of a deserted and isolated place, only to discover that this might not have been the best choice for your vacation.

· When you're backpacking or hiking, you might want to take horses, and enjoy some horseback riding while you're out. Ride for awhile, then make camp and explore your surroundings. There are some outfitters who will equip you with your every need, even providing a guide to safely steer you through unfamiliar territory.

· Take a guided expedition or exploration outing. There are scientific outings that welcome guest participants, though you will still have to pay your way. But, perhaps you would like to study whales or wolves. Maybe you'd like to sail the oceans and study various ocean life. How about an archaeological dig in the American Southwest or in some other country? You could be in on the next find of the century.

· Take a cross-country trip, biking or skiing your way across the miles. It helps, of course, to be experienced at either of these before undertaking such an adventure. Don't bite off more than you can chew.

· Take a combination cruise and scuba adventure. Travel the great reefs and underwater treasures and see the world from a fish's point of view.

· Study up on the different treasures allegedly buried on land and under the oceans. Find some that have potential, or that at least offer a treasure hunter a real adventure, and then find or gather the gear and crew you need. You can have the time of your life, searching out the world's lost treasures, and you might even be one of the lucky few who have more than memories to show for their trips.

· Take a hiking or biking trip across Europe. Stay in hostels or some quaint little inns along your way. Learn the beauty of the countryside, and the cultural treasures you will find in the people you meet and get to know.

· Try your sea legs out on a kayaking trip. Of course, your legs won't be taking the brunt of your exercise on this trip, so make sure your arms are up for the challenge. Take some time to explore the places where kayaking is the only way to go, then take off for your own trip of a lifetime.

· Take a grand trip around the world. You might combine walking, hiking, boating, hot air ballooning, and any number of other means of transportation. Make it an adventure for each leg of your trip, and enjoy the sights, smells and sounds of a world at your fingertips.

· Explore the ancient ruins of North and South America. There are true treasures in the ancient native ruins to be found in the U.S. Southwest and in South America, in places that once housed the Anasazi, Incas, Mayans and other ancient peoples. See and learn how they lived. Gain a new perspective and respect for these ancient people and for what they contributed even to our present culture.

· Take a class offered by the U.S. National Park Service. There are several interesting classes you can take at Yosemite National Park, as well as at other parks, learning wildlife conservation, surviving in the wilds, etc. You can even take some interesting classes at tourist places like Disney World, like mountain repelling, learning to cook like a chef. You name it, and you can probably find a class for it.

· Take a cruise on a scientific ship. Learn the intricacies of oceanic study and science, and learn the details of nautical navigation all at the same time.

· Go hang gliding. There are many places, especially in tourist areas, where you can try your wings. Don't be afraid. Go for it.

· Take a real adventure and horseback ride your way across the country. Or, choose some other method of enjoyable and unusual transportation and set off on your adventure.

· Take a cruise on a grand windjammer - the tall ships of our past. Oh, you can take a regular cruise, on one of the floating palaces. But wouldn't you like to sleep out under the stars at night, watching the stars through the sails as your ship cuts through the water so smoothly? On a tall ship, you can learn navigation and the proper way to tie a rope, or line. Or, you can sit back and soak up some sun, local island life, and lots of great tropical foods and merchandise.

· Take a llama trek in some country with lots of great mountain ridges and llamas suitable for transporting you and your belongings. Enjoy a new and unusual way of seeing the country. Or, you could opt for the dry desert, and make your steed a camel.

· Take a backpack or river rafting tour of the Grand Canyon. You might even choose to take a helicopter tour of the area.

· Take one of any number of river rafting tours that are now available. Some of them even allow you to learn the art of being a river guide, and you can work your way along. Just scope out the different rivers, and make sure you're experienced enough for the different classes, or difficulty levels, of your particular river.

· Take a wine-tasting tour. You can do this in the United States, in numerous locations, or you could take an international trip and enjoy the tastes you might not be able to find at home.

· Take a food tour and enjoy the tasteful cuisine to be found in different countries. You might learn how to prepare such delicacies when you have returned home. Or, you might prefer to sit back and let other great chefs prepare your food, allowing you the pure luxury of scrumptious meals in international flavors.

· If you're into history, plan to travel the routes of famous explorers and world travelers. Would you like to see, firsthand, where Lewis and Clark traveled across North America? Perhaps you'd rather sail the same seas and visit the same ports as the legendary Marco Polo.

· Visit historic battlegrounds and watch carefully planned reenactments. You might even want to try your hand at participating in some of the reenactments. Past battles can really come alive, making them more than dry historical facts, as you watch from the sidelines.

· Tour the great castles of Europe. Visit England, Scotland, Ireland, anywhere you can find a new castle to explore. Investigate the stories of previous castle tenants and watch out for the unexplained phenomena you might encounter. You might even want to scour the world in search of world "monsters" while you're in the vicinity. What about a search for Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster, or how about Europe's snowy version of the U.S. Bigfoot?

· Follow the Underground Railroad of the Civil War, the secret stops that allowed freed slaves to escape the south and slavery. Do a little historical research and retrace some of the steps they made. Let yourself experience some of what these frantic fleeing people might have felt, all the while looking over their shoulders, expecting at any moment to have the iron hold of some slave master firmly pulling them back.

· Visit the German concentration camps that once housed Jewish and Russian prisoners. Visualize and experience what life must have been like. You might want to visit the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, before you go, to get a feel for what you might experience, if you leave yourself open to new experiences and history of the past.

· Take a mystery weekend trip, trying your hand as an active participant in a carefully planned mock murder mystery. Do you have what it takes to solve a Sherlock Holmes kind of mystery?

· Maybe you'd prefer a real life survivor type of adventure. Try out for one of the shows, or scout out a service that allows customers the chance to experience such an adventure for themselves.

· Take a covered wagon tour of the U.S. and old west. Explore the ghost towns filled with memories of long ago gold rush days and settlers traveling in search of new lands and homes.

· For a true adventure, try a trip to the North Pole. Yes, there is a travel service that offers the chance to trek the snows of the North Pole.

There are so many opportunities to try, you have only to use your imagination and scout out some books, magazines and web sites. This laundry list above can get you started, and maybe help cultivate that adventurous spirit you so desire.

So, what do you need? A willing spirit of adventure is paramount, but you also should be willing to use your creativity and imagination, and plan that truly once-in-a-lifetime travel adventure that you will never forget. It's all out there, just waiting for you to set sail or trek out on your own.

Happy Trails!