Adventure Travel Bargains of 2006

Jenny Barnes was looking for a bargain. "I wanted an exotic destination, but not too expensive," says the 51-year-old family doctor from Herefordshire, England. "I was taking my 17- and 19-year-old sons, and the adventurous spirit was important."

Emma Fisher wanted an adventure trip where her money "actually benefited the local economy." Her thoughts drifted to Morocco after hearing about friends' experiences there.

Both Fisher and Barnes eventually found their way to the affordable and socially conscious Morocco Atlas Panorama mountain walking holiday from U.K.-based adventure tour operator Exodus. The eight-day small-group adventure goes for as little as $490 for U.S. travelers, plus a small local payment, and features a flexible itinerary that allows for as little or as much walking as the group desires.

The Atlas Panorama is one of the best deals I found in my search for this year's great adventure travel bargains. In sorting through trips offered by nearly 100 different tour operators, I looked for the adventures that best combine price, destination, itinerary and positive feedback from real travelers.

Morocco: Atlas Panorama
"You get an extremely varied itinerary, from the bustling bazaars of Marrakech to the romantic Kasbah hidden deep in the High Atlas Mountains," says Katie Fewings, Project Manager for U.K.-based Responsible Travel, which sells Exodus' trips and awarded the tour operator a Responsible Tourism Award in 2004.

The "Atlas Panorama" includes a day in the "pink city" of Marrakech — a "maze of bustling bazaars, palaces and mosques" — before journeying into the immense Atlas Mountains and centering the daily hikes from the Berber village of Tijhza. Walks take travelers through terraced fields, high pastures and past lakes carved into the white, rocky landscape.

"The trip was a good value for the money," says Barnes. "All of the potential hassle of the trip, arranging accommodation, guides, transport and trekking was taken care of. I don't have time to do it all myself."

U.S. travelers can also book this trip through Adventure Center.

The nine trips that follow are the rest of the best.

Sailing the Greek Isles on a 49-foot yacht
One of the most spectacular trips I turned up is G.A.P Adventures' Greek Islands Adventure for $695 plus a small local payment. This is an amazing deal that includes eight days aboard a 49-foot yacht, the services of a full-time captain and a guaranteed departure regardless of group size (with a maximum group size of eight).

There are multiple itineraries to choose from, but the one that caught my eye is the Santorini-to-Mykonos route. These are two iconic Greek islands. Ring-shaped Santorini is known for its high cliffs and volcanic caldera, Mykonos for its whitewashed houses and fascinating archaeological sites. The itinerary is just a starting point, however. "We go off the beaten path," says Kira Zack, G.A.P's communications and marketing director. "For example, an impromptu stop on an island for a local festival, remote villages, going to a deserted beach or wherever the wind takes us."

"You will not find a better deal," says Benjamin Weiher, who worked as a senior tour leader and troubleshooter for G.A.P during the company's inaugural Greek sailings in 2004. "Unless you have enough people to fill up your own yacht, and the capacity to book and organize, there is no other way ... to put a person or a couple onto a sailing yacht in Greece for a comparable price."

The price of the trip does not cover food, which travelers instead purchase on their own during stops at the islands' taverna-lined harbors. G.A.P suggests setting aside about 200 euros for meals (see xe.com for current exchange rates).

Cycling in Provence
Breakaway Adventures' seven-day Heart of Provence self-guided cycling tour in the foothills of the French Alps starts at $1,469 for fall departures. It's designed for casual riders who want the flexibility and independence of a do-it-yourself trip with the security and convenience of a fully supported guided ride.

An English-speaking representative "picks up the traveler at the train station in Les Arcs and takes them to the first hotel and then back to the rail station at the end of the tour," says Carol Keskitalo, Breakaway Adventures' director. "The representative conducts a briefing session and goes over the route notes and maps, [and] also moves the luggage via van from hotel to hotel while you're cycling. He's available by cellphone if there are any problems and will come out and fix or replace the bike if necessary." In other words, it's a highly supported cycling trip without a "sag" wagon following a group of cyclists the whole way.

Lori Edwards of Long Beach, California, went on this trip in May of 2005 and calls it one her best vacations ever. Edwards booked the independent cycling tour with a friend who had read about it and wanted to give it a try. "The most enjoyable part were the daily bike rides," Edwards says. "We had all day to go 15 to 25 miles and we stopped wherever we wanted—to sight see, to wine taste, to have a beer at a local brasserie ... It was such a relaxing trip. I would do it again in a heartbeat."

At $1,469, Breakaway Adventures' tour is about $350 cheaper than a similar trip offered by Discover France when you factor in the cost of bike rentals (which are included in Breakaway's package). The Breakaway trip also includes transfers from and to the rail station, dinner every night, continental breakfast every morning, route notes, maps, luggage transport and accommodations for six nights in two- and three-star hotels.

"We keep our prices low by offering tiered prices [based on seasonality]," says Keskitalo. "This reflects the lower costs we incur from the hoteliers in the offseason and is a unique 'budget' advantage to our tours as you can elect to travel on a less expensive date and save up to $150 per person by traveling in the spring or fall."

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