"My adventure is different from your adventure"

Florian strikes a chord with its German adventure blog "My adventure is different from your adventure" which is a common matter of discussion in our editorial team. We deal with this topic every day. Is this travel destinations adventurous? What exactly is the definition of "adventure" and how can one region be more adventurous than the other?

Our daily problem...

Our project Travelmyne was made to answer exactly the question Florian posed. Which is the best place for adventure holidays and what does "adventure" mean? With our travel destination search engine, you enter your travel wishes, interests and preferences and we show you the travel destinations which suit you best. One of the 90 selection criteria is "adventure". That sounds easy, doesn't it? If you want to go on an adventure trip, you simply select this criterion and we send you to South Africa, the Andes in Argentina, the Swiss Alps or somewhere different. What are the parameters for an adventure and who defines them?

Florian has posted several interesting theses on the subject of adventure and having assessed almost 400 travel destinations with regard to this factor, we feel equipped to add a few theses ;)

Flocutus' theses:

1. Adventure depends on your experience...

We often hear the question "What do you mean by "adventure"? Does it mean that I have to go parachuting?" For one thing, adventure depends on your experience. Familiarisation plays a role too. Something that caused a rush of adrenaline during your last holiday may already seem boring the next time. That is why our users can choose between "I do not want adventure", "I like adventure" and "I definitely want advenure". The more experience you gain on travel adventures, the quicker you can see beyond your own nose and discover new things. This way, you increase your understanding of the word "adventure". Stefan, blogger on faszination-südostasien.de, left his home country behind 20 months ago and has been exploring South-east Asia. He agrees that diving into foreign cultures and ways of living is full of adventure. Just planning such a trip can be very adventurous. Reading up on a travel destination at home is the first step toward an adventure.

A tip from us: Don't plan every detail of your trip. Adventures often come up spontaneously and cannot be planned. Allow yourself freedom and take things as they come...

2. Adventure is subjective...

While some people already get a rapid heartbeat on a leisurely boat trip on a lake, others only liven up when they are dropped off on Greenland's snowy peaks by a helicopter and go down the slopes. People's feeling for adventure is as different as their personalities. Most travellers probably don't need to dive between the icebergs in Antarctica to be in the mood for adventure. If you keep your eyes open and pay attention to your environment, you can find adventure everywhere.

3. You have to earn adventure...

Anna from Anemina puts it straight: "Those who start on an adventure today simply leave their comfort zone." We can only agree with this. A trip should be eventful and exciting but not too demanding and not dangerous. A photo with a lion in the background is a must but you don't need to let it of the leash. Such package adventures are very common now and have nothing to do with the spirit of discovery from bygone times. But can you really blame operators for offering such trips? Maybe life in a high-tech world with punch-bell egg crackers and heated toilet seats made us soft...

Although using these Japanese toilets for the first time is probably quite adventurous...

4. Adventure often comes as a surprise...

You often find adventure where you least expect it, for example on a relaxing family holiday with your children at the Baltic Sea. You would probably not expect anything adventurous to happen to you there. As soon as the four-year-old runs along the beach with a squidgy jellyfish in her hand and throws it on the belly of a completely strange women, the adventure is well underway... at least for the shocked lady...

We have been working on our project Travelmyne for a year now, so we have gained some experience on the subject of adventure.

Travelmyne's theses:

5. You can find adventures everywhere...

Why go far away if there are great things right around the corner? Not everyone can travel the whole world and that is not even necessary. Many adventures are right on your doorstep. It is not always the location which makes a trip an adventure but external circumstances such as the people you are travelling with and the activities you are planning. A great example for this are the German hikers Tom and Alex with "Ein Blog namens Wander" (a hiking blog), who present exciting hiking routes in the Eifel, the Allgäu Alps or at the Moselle. Germany's diverse landscape is generally impressive.

6. Adventures are a break from routine...

Let's be honest, most of the time our life is filled with a daily routine – after all, that is why it is called DAILY routine. We work from 9 to 5, get the groceries, do a bit of housework and then many of us walk the dog or play with their children. There is not much time left for discovering new things. It is no wonder that we long for an adventure from time to time. An adventurous trip in a new environment with wild animals, exciting landscapes and exotic cultures is a welcome and healthy change. That is why an adventure is a break from routine and many people are happy to be back on their sofa after such an experience.

7. Adventure and action are not the same things...

Since we asked if adventure means bungee jumping or hiking through the jungle, we decided to make a clear distinction. "Adventure" refers to the things mother nature offers us. Landforms like tropical forests, volcanic craters and crevasses are, therefore, adventurous. Travellers who decide to go parachuting, whitewater rafting, climbing and heli-skiing, however, are looking for action - which is what people offer to people.

Of course, you can also do extreme sports in a breathtaking landscape ;)

8. Adventures arouse our inner child...

The desire to experience something new is a natural human need. We are born discoverers. As children, we pursue this hobby every day. By the time we are adults, there is not much left to discover in everyday life but we still feel the need to. An adventure trip gives us the opportunity to be a child again and gather new impressions and experience. So, we contain adventure within ourselves from the day we are born and this means that you already contain your next travel adventure within you!

We thank Florian for his interesting adventure blog, which was a lot of fun for us, took the words right out of our mouths and gave us a lot of new insights. It is nice to see that this exciting topic can cause such a stir and we enjoyed hearing such diverse opinions on it!

Do you want to see more of Travelmyne? You can find us on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.