It’s around this time of year when we, up here in the Northern Hemisphere, begin to dream of future adventures. The weather has begun to turn cold, the days are getting shorter and the night almost seems darker. Soon we will be going to work in the dark and coming home in the dark! Somehow, I always manage to block this time of the year (in Scotland) out of my brain. But instead of attempting to go into hibernation, this is the time to plan for new adventures! Our holiday days may be over for this year but 2018 adventure planning is looking exciting!
So you fancy an adventure for 2018? Well you have come to the right place. Let me inspire you with these five adventures you should be planning for 2018! I guarantee that you’ll bump into me on at least one of these epic experiences!
1. Rafting the raging mountain rivers of Nepal!
There’s nothing quite like the sound of rushing river water. Everyone is drawn to it and for some of us, just watching it isn’t enough! If you’re like me, the option of hopping into a raft, packed with dry bags full of camping gear, with enough food and dry clothes to last a couple of days is an adventure impossible to say no to! Nepal is an adventurer’s paradise filled with unhampered beauty, incredible wildlife and some insane scenery.
They say when you first visit Nepal you will return. Six years later, I’m heading back to the country that ignited my love of travel and adventure!
This 2018 adventure is in the calendar with the help of my friends from River and Soul Adventures. But it’s not just a few days I’ll be spending in Nepal. I’ll be thrill seeking my way through Nepal, spending a few weeks on the rivers and in the mountain villages meeting the locals and experiencing Nepal off the traditional tourist trail.
If you fancy coming along with me to Nepal, let me know! It would be so cool to have some LWS adventurers come along for the ride. Now fully planned and in the diary, I’m already dreaming of the epic mountains, crazy rivers and beautiful people of Nepal – and of course, Elephant Pants!
2. Exploring the mountains of Switzerland!
Switzerland seems to have it all, all year round! From Skiing to summer sun – while it may lack beaches to relax on, we adventurers don’t mind chilling out in a meadow of lush long grass after a long day running rapids, climbing mountains or hiking through forests.
Home to some of the most spectacular and dramatic mountains in the world, you don’t have to be climbing them to appreciate them. Roaring rivers attract crazy kayakers but you don’t have to be running them to appreciate the thunderous falls at the end. A country offering trails for those who wish to climb and cable cars for those who’d rather meet you at the top, dry from sweat. There is an adventure for everyone here. While it is often known as a country expensive to travel, if you’re looking for an outdoor adventure, rather than a luxury hotel stay, the lands here are rich and forgiving. Pack up your backpacks, bring your tent and food and take off on one of the numerous trails.
A 2018 adventure has never pulled at me as hard as the Walkers Haute Route in Switzerland. A 125 mile trail from Mont Blanc, Chamonix to the mighty Matterhorn watching over the town of Zermatt. This isn’t a trail for the inexperienced or leisure walkers. The highest point reaching around 3000 metres, accommodation of mountain huts, some of the steepest cliff paths and longest swing bridges in the world. The trail is tough, but rewarding. And I for one, am dying to give it my best shot. Anyone keen to join me?
3. Scuba Diving in the Komodo Islands
Scuba diving, a sport I love but definitely prefer to do in the warmer waters rather than the chilly waters of Scotland! After spending some time in the Gili Islands getting trained up as a rescue diver, 2018 adventures look to be taking me to the Komodo Islands. Boasting some of the best diving in the world, where you can expect incredible nature, great current diving, warm water, shipwrecks and some shore adventures too! The instructors from Blue Marlin in the Gili islands all agreed that the Komodo Islands has the best diving in the world. So I guess I have to go and see for myself!
Warm water, great diving and a tan. Count me in!
4. Getting off the beaten track in Pakistan.
Pakistan is definitely the most surprising country you’ll ever visit! Whether you’re looking for mountainous peaks, roaring rivers, experience new cultures or simply explore and see what happens. Pakistan should be on your 2018 adventure radar.
Pakistan attracts climbers and mountain enthusiasts from all around the world! And with good reason! Famous for the Karakoram Range, the beginning of the Himalayas and a few pretty epic 8000 meter peaks thrown in. If mountains are your thing, this is where you want to be!
Equally if you’re looking to explore a country that doesn’t have a well trodden tourist trail, yet, welcome to Pakistan! Getting around can be a bit of a challenge but that’s part of the fun really! I travelled Pakistan with the help of The Broke Backpacker for 17 days. Hopping on tour with The Broke Backpacker was one of the greatest adventures I’ve ever done, in a country I was a little apprehensive about visiting alone. Pakistan is opening back up to tourism again and while it’s relatively tourist free now, this is definitely going to change soon! It will be a country that will completely surprise you. The scenery is amazing but the people really shine. I’ve never felt so safe, welcome and wanted. If that isn’t proven by people’s attitudes alone, the fact that you will be fed A LOT of food will prove it too!
So if off the beaten track in Pakistan sounds like a 2018 adventure you want in your calendar I highly recommend travelling with The Broke Backpacker Tours if you can, or at least hit him up for the best spots and advice!
5. Cruise to the end of the world, Antarctica.
It’s one of the largest continents in the world and the least populated. Larger than the United States of America this continent is almost fully covered in ice up to a mile deep in places. Home to a variety of marine life, penguins, birds and a few selected wacky researchers who call this place home for part of the year. It’s actually easier to rescue someone from the moon than some places in Antarctica. But yet, Antarctica is attracting adventurers for what seems one of the most epic, raw and unique adventures the world has to offer. Sea Kayaking around Icebergs, camping on the ice with penguins, watching whales breach and hunt are only a handful of possible adventures.
Getting to Antarctica used to be an expensive dream, but tourism is opening up and in turn offering more options to us budget backpackers! Rather than hanging around Ushuaia in the hope of a free sail. There are now ‘budget cruises’ as well as luxury cruises delivering you safely across Drakes Passage.
These are just some of the adventures I’m busy dreaming about for 2018! I am hoping this year to bump into some of you along the way! Especially, Nepal, on the tour I’m hosting – hint hint – with River and Soul Adventures!
What do you have planned to make your 2018 adventure incredible? Let me know, maybe you’ll inspire me!
**All these adventures are my own dreams and plans for next year. This is in no way a sponsored post and I make no money from any of these trips or experiences, even if you click on the links! So rest assured, these trips are going to make my 2018 adventure incredible and I hope, yours too!**