AT ONE time it was thought that clients had to be either very young or very fit to heave on a backpack and head off in search of adventure, but that is certainly no longer the case.
In fact, operators say the majority of customers booking adventure holidays are 35 plus, and many are approaching retirement.
The top destination for adventure travel in Asia is Nepal where options include game viewing, white-water rafting and trekking in the Himalayas.
Operators say none of these activities requires a high level of fitness and the standard of service and accommodation in both the national parks and on many of the treks is such that clients won’t have to rough it.
For 2000, Cox and Kings has added two new extensions to its upmarket eight-night Nepal Tour, one of which is a four-night trek in the Annapurna foothills costing £365, and the other is a two-night gentle rafting trip on the Seti River which costs £255.
Both offer good quality accommodation either in lodges or permanent tents, with hot and cold running water.
Bales has just introduced a 14-day holiday, A Short Walk in Nepal, which combines an elephant-back safari in the Chitwan National Park, home to tigers, leopards, bears and rhinos, with an easy going four-day trek in the foothills of the Annapurna range. Accommodation is in lodges and there are porters to carry luggage on the trek.
It costs from £1,599 including flights and there are departures from now until early April and again from October to the end of December.
Also new from Bales this year are Golden Age Journeys aimed at the more mature holidaymaker who wants to travel at a slower pace. There are two Golden Age departures on Bales’ Best of Nepal trip, with prices starting at £1,599.
But Bales’ tailormade department said older clientele do not necessarily want softer itineraries.
“Our clients are typically aged 40-45 and recently I booked a retired couple, both well over the age of 65, on an 18-day trek along the Annapurna circuit which is really quite hard,” said the department’s Mark Bennetts.
More specialist adventure travel operators offer a wide range of activity holidays in the Himalayas, some of which are more strenuous than others. Peregrine Adventures, which is bookable through Dragoman, has 25 different holidays in the Himalayas ranging from a three-day trek to a 25-day mountaineering expedition.
UK sales and marketing manager Alex Burridge said:”About 80% of our clientele choose a short, low-level trek for which you don’t need to be fit. If you choose to trek at altitude for more than 15 days you would need to be fitter.”
The lodges at low altitude are usually quite comfortable with hot and cold running water and proper beds, but higher up they become more basic, added Burridge.
He said the majority of the 2,000 people who travelled with Peregrine last year were aged 35-50. “Our holidays appeal to people who are looking for an adventure but they don’t want to take any risk,” he added. “We haven’t sanitised the experience but we have made it safe.”
Natural history holidays specialist Naturetrek offers a number of trips ranging from a selection of 10-day wildlife tours costing £990 including flights to a three-week tour which costs £2,500.
Another destination great for trekking and nature holidays is the Philippines, particularly the Northern Luzon Mountain Province where there are treks among rice terraces, waterfalls and caves. Several of the islands, particularly Bohol, are also good for scuba diving.
The Imaginative Traveller has introduced a fully escorted 12-day trip to Northern Luzon, which costs £475 including basic room-only accommodation and home stays plus internal travel but not flights from the UK.
This can be combined with the operator’s existing 10-day island hopping tour to create a 21-day Philippine Adventure travelling from Luzon in the north to Palawan in the west.
Marketing director Rene Brennecke said: “We introduced the Philippines with one tour a couple of years ago and it’s been slow to take off – probably because of the cost of getting there – but we feel its potential justifies the two new exploratory adventure tours.”
Premier Holidays offers tailor-made holidays to many of the islands and hill country areas plus a cruise around the islands of the Palawan archipelago.
Product manager David Carlaw said demand for the destination had increased last year, but he said the longer flight time meant the Philippines would always be more expensive than neighbouring destinations such as Thailand and Bali.
Himalayas
Best time to go: September/October for warmest weather and clear skies, December-February to avoid the crowds
Where to go: most treks start from either Pokhara or Lukla, both of which are accessible from the Nepalese capital Kathmandu. There are also treks from Bhutan and Tibet but these destinations are less accessible and more expensive than Nepal, which has daily flights to London.
What to take: some operators provide all equipment, including warm clothing, others offer a hire service.
Level of fitness required: it depends on the length and altitude of the trek but most do not require more than a reasonable level of fitness.
Accommodation: some operators use tents, others use teahouses or lodges which become more basic the higher you trek.
How to get there: operators featuring the Himalayas include Bales, Cox and Kings, Explore, Kuoni, Naturetrek, Peregrine Adventures and Wildlife Worldwide.