adventure holidays

I’ve been back from Burma now for just over a month and still finding myself dreaming about the things that I learnt, the people that I met and the images that I saw!

It’s hard to pick out the highlights on this trip...

Nightfall at Shedagon Pagoda?  The temples of Bagan?  Boating on Inle Lake? The people of Burma?

It had always been an ambition of mine to see a live volcano, so a holiday in Costa Rica was always going to appeal. The Central American country is home to the Arenal volcano, which was the main focus of my trip. If you were to ask someone to draw a picture of the perfect volcano, the chances are they would sketch something that looks like Arenal. Towering above the Costa Rican skyline, the volcano takes on an almost perfect cone shape and smoke and ash can be seen bellowing angrily out of the top.

Tom is perhaps one of the luckiest 13 year olds we know - he just got back from Costa Rica and he has travelled with his parents, Cathy and Mark, all over the world. We asked Tom to share his memories and thoughts on travelling with us.

1. What do you think of adventure holidays?

They are really fun! You get to eat great food, do great activities and explore amazing places.

2. You’ve been going away on exciting holidays since you were little, what do you like most about travelling?

The Kingsbury family, Cathy, Mark and Tom are one of our most prolifent family explorers. They have been all over the world and Tom took his first trip with us aged just 6. We decided to quiz them on their adventurous spirit.

My name is Sheikh Junaid and I lead some of The Adventure Company's India trips.

I had never really considered Sri Lanka as a safari holiday destination before, but I was reliably informed by a friend of mine that it is one of the best places in the world to see rare creatures in a paradise-like setting. First and foremost, the island is stunningly beautiful and the favourable climate is also a major attraction.

Jordan for me was always associated with ‘Petra’; the Wonder of the World, high on my list of ‘must be seen’. But nothing prepared me to discover such a rich and diverse country with unexpected highlights that would take my breath away.

Following in the steps of Moses on the holy land, seeing from Mt Nebo the green oasis surrounded by dryness where Moses used his walking stick and miraculously found water, discovering the oldest mosaic map of the biblical countries on the floor of a lovely old church in Madaba was like experiencing a pilgrimage into religious history.

Would be great to hear from anyone who is booked on the Tatras Winter Adventure (8 days) - Slovakia - Starting 12th February 2012.  Hayley :-)

Lying in the sand outside our camp for the night, gazing up at the sky searching for shooting stars, I was handed a small stone-like object. This Wadi Rum rock is like something from space we agreed. It was the lightest little stone I’d ever touched and I handed it around the group. Rob was not convinced however and shone his torch on my pebble. ‘No, that’s definitely faecal matter’ Rob declared. It seemed we had been lying next to a pile of dried camel droppings.

Searching for the ideal place to take a family holiday really doesn't need to be stressful, well it isn't in my household anyway. Both my partner and I had always dreamt of spending a few weeks in the beautiful country that is Vietnam, so at least we were always singing from the same hymn sheet.