How to Find Adventure Travel Deals

I guess before I dive into helping you find a deal it would be worthwhile to clarify what I mean by adventure travel!

Adventure travel is an extremely broad term that means different things to different people, but I'll define it as any mode of travel that involves a guide service and an activity. That activity could be anything from learning about the culture in a foreign country or taking a guided raft trip down your local river.

A self-guided trip is certainly adventurous but self-guided adventurers don't need any help beyond the hundreds of sites helping you find hotel, flight or rental car deals. So I'm gonna stick with guided trips for this article.

By developing a basic understanding of adventure travel economics you'll have a better basis for figuring out how to score a deal.

Just like airlines, cruiselines and hotels; adventure travel companies have both fixed expenses and variable expenses with an emphasis on the fixed. Fixed expenses occur no matter how many people show up for the trip - these are things like rafts, vans, equipment etc. Variable expenses are things that change with each new trip member - things such as food, lodging and sometimes guides.

Most tour operators require a certain number of registered participants before a trip is guaranteed. That is because they need that number to break even on the trip. Every additional passenger beyond the minimum is where they generate profit. This means there is some real motivation to give a deal when they are sure on any spot that looks like it might not be filled when the trip departs.

The practice of discounting at the last minute is good for the tour operators because they make more money and it's good for the flexible traveler who ends up getting the great deal!

Note - some travel companies refuse to offer last minute deals on account of maintaining their brand. This means it's typically a little harder to find good deals with the high-end operators who are really concerned about their image as a luxury brand.

Image courtesy kundalini8ikat

As I made clear in the section above the best way to snag a deal is to be flexible and prepared to travel at the last minute. I've gotten on free raft trips by just showing up the night before and buying a round of drinks for the guides. A friend of mine hopped an adventure cruise from Argentina to Antarctica because he was standing on the port when the boat was about to leave!

Obviously it's pretty tough to just show up the night before but those examples illustrate the relationship between flexibility and discount. To snag a deal you should be flexible with dates or destination (preferably both!)

If you're looking to travel to a very specific destination on specific dates it's going to be a lot more difficult to find a deal (although you may get lucky.)

Being available to join a last minute trip is the surest way to find a good deal. Consider scheduling your vacation days in advance but not booking anything or becoming attached to a specific destination. Two weeks before your trip is scheduled start shopping around and travel wherever the deals take you! Obviously this tactic isn't for everybody but it can definitely add a little extra adventure to your travels.

One of the exciting things about travel is that there are more cool places on planet earth than any one person could see in an entire lifetime. With this in mind consider being open minded about the destinations you visit. If you focus on your top 10-15 target destinations instead of your top 1-2 you're more likely to find a deal.

Image courtesy scottiet812

So you're one of those folks who likes to plan your own trips? I see that point of view and I try to plan my own adventures whenever it is easy/convenient but I've also learned traveling with a guide can actually save me money. A couple of reasons:

• Guides will often have gear you would need to purchase if you went on your own. For trips like rafting or scuba diving the cost of the gear alone could make a trip unfeasible.
  
• Adventure tour operators often have connections and group discounts to save you money on lodging and food. As an individual unfamiliar with a location you don't have much bargaining power.
  
• Time is money, right? An expert guide usually knows all the local tricks to make sure you don't spend your vacation time being lost or confused. (Cause we all know our vacation time is too precious to waste a minute of!)
  

If you've got the know-how, the time and the gear to do a trip on your own I say "Go for it!" but don't rule out a guided trip just because you're too stubborn to get help.

Obviously I'm pretty biased toward my employer Travari. They aggregate all of the best deals from all the providers and provide a one-stop spot to pick up adventure travel deals.

Other resources include Intrepid Travel and GAP Adventures. These companies both have pretty frequent deals on their last minute inventory (although the GAP and Intrepid trips are also listed on Travari.)

As I come up with other resources for adventure travel deals I'll add them to this lens. Feel free to add your own resources below!