2022 is the year for making up for lost time. Before taking the plunge, it’s worth remembering that some trips are best experienced if you’re well prepared. The trek to Machu Picchu, a wilderness cycling quest through Namibia, or glacier hiking in Iceland, are all far more enjoyable if you’re ready for the adventure ahead.
Below are some of our most iconic trips-of-a-lifetime, with journeys that ideally prepare you for the experience, making the training as fantastic as the final destination – and handily checking off some extra bucket list adventures as you go.
Train for the Inca Trail on England’s highest peak
If you’ve always wanted to explore the intrigue and mystique of the far-flung city of Machu Picchu, you’ll make the most of it if you’re fit and ready for the journey to get there. Our sensational Inca Trail trip has four days of walking at an average altitude of 3050 metres for up to eight hours each day. It’s an enriching journey with parts that hug the Vilcanota River, passing through cactus gardens, cornfields, and fascinating Inca ruins. There are long and steep descents for an extra challenge and gentle ventures through rainforests and Inca tunnels. And of course, there’s the pièce de résistance – the sight of Macchu Picchu at dawn, well before the day visitors arrive.
In preparation for the Inca Trail, strengthen your legs and stretch your stamina on the trails of England and experience the scenic beauty of our homegrown variety. Our High Fells and Summits of the Lake District covers over 40 miles of guided hiking over five days, including scaling Scafell Pike, England’s highest peak.
Prepare for an off-road biking adventure with road cycling
Imagine this: the wide-open desert of Namibia. Endless dunes. Wildlife dotted plains. It’s extraordinary scenery that’s best experienced up-close. In a small group, spend eight days cycling across the landscape, covering almost 200 miles of off-road wilderness on our Cycle Namibia trip. Take this trip in the summer where the weather is drier and cooler – you’ll be camping too.
To prepare for this incredible feat, Croatia’s smooth and quiet roads provide the ideal training ground. Our Cycling the Dalmatian Coast trip is half the cycling days and distance of the Namibia trip – around 100 miles over four days of easy-going road cycling with a good mix of flat and rolling terrain. A springtime trip provides the optimum weather conditions and ideal timing to get bike-ready for summer in Namibia.
Find your footing in Sicily for glacier hiking in Iceland
Negotiate trails of dried lava, rocky ash, and sand on an exhilarating walk over Mount Etna, Europe’s highest active volcano. Five of seven days on our Sicilian Volcanoes trip are spent on guided treks, with some challenging stretches on summit walks. You’ll witness volcanic activity at Stromboli and walk around the crater rim of Vulcano. These adrenaline-charged experiences are balanced out with gentle strolls around pretty Aeolian island villages.
Once you’ve hiked in Italy, swap lava fields for the blue-white glaciers of Iceland. On an Iceland Northern Lights trip, you’ll use crampons and ice axes to venture over the Svinafellsjokull glacier. If you’ve mastered Sicily’s challenges, it will be a breeze. The experience concludes with a visit to the Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon, created from the retreating glacier that left a deep, iceberg-strewn lake as its legacy.
If these trips have inspired you to start planning your trip of a lifetime in 2022, click here.
