‘Adventure Travel’ Is Booming Among Women Over 40

From hiking in Peru to sea-kayaking in Australia, participating in out-of-the-ordinary experiences is becoming a must-do for many people ― particularly for female travelers. In fact, adventure travel ― defined as a travel experience “that involves the combination of nature, culture and physical activity” ― is on the rise.

Women make up over half of the bookings with adventure travel companies, according to data from the Adventure Travel Trade Association. A global study of 1,000 women found that adventure travel was the most sought-after type of travel among those over age 50. And Kelly Kimple, chief executive officer of Adventures in Good Company, an adventure travel company for women, said that she’s seeing more clients over the age of 40.

“We’re seeing more women aged 40 and older gravitate toward adventure travel for a few key reasons,” Kimple said. These travelers are often taking more adventurous vacations as a way of navigating life transitions. They may be at a soul-searching stage and desire something to jar them out of the mundane. Or maybe they’ve always wanted to try it, and it is only now that they have the financial resources and time to do so.

“Additionally, the adventure travel space itself has become more welcoming and inclusive, providing women with more opportunities to embrace this type of travel,” Kimple explained. For the most part, these opportunities allow women to immerse themselves in the destination’s culture while also participating in activities like traipsing through caves, crossing a tortuous mountain pass, dog-sledding in the snow or quietly observing African gorillas.

You might even travel on a long wooden boat for three hours, deep into the Amazon rainforest. That’s what my aunt did at age 63. With seven of her colleagues, all women, they took a guided tour into the jungle. They caught and ate a piranha, trekked to see vibrant Amazonian birds and towering Brazil nut trees, battled swarms of relentless mosquitoes and a large hitchhiking roach, stayed in a lodge that only had an hour of electricity a day, and carefully avoided stepping on snakes each time they left their room for dinner. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, she told me.

My aunt wasn’t always this dauntless. But over the several adventure trips she’s done, she has always been rewarded with the bliss of experiencing something she’d never imagined before. Now, her appetite for adventure is whetted.

Itching to try something…