We have adventures for people no matter their ability level and try hard to accommodate everyone’s individual needs. How do we do this?
First and perhaps most importantly, everything is always optional on our tours. If you want to take an afternoon off, you are free to do so. Second, on most tours have multiple routes of varying difficulties, so you can choose to skate, bike, or hike a short, medium, or long route option. Third, we don’t stay in one big group, in which you feel pressured to either keep up with the fast people or slow down to accommodate those not as quick as you. Instead, you are free to find others in the group who like to go at about your speed. Fourth, you always have our guides there to pick you up in the support van if you need a lift.
In short, most of our trips are suitable for people of varied ability and activity levels. Some adventures are definitely a bit more difficult than others, however, and we rate each tour based on the difficulty level.
Difficulty Level
- For All Abilities: Most of our adventures are designed to accommodate everyone. No special skills are required and even people without a fitness base will enjoy these trips.
- Moderate: Trips rated Moderate have slightly harder routes and some base fitness in the trip activity is required.
- Difficult: Trips rated Difficult are our most difficult adventures. Although we do not expect you to be a strong athlete or in outstanding shape, we do expect you to be physically active on a regular basis and, perhaps more importantly, have the mental attitude that allows you to persevere.
If you are looking to leave the physical activity at home, our sister company Taste Vacations offers food, wine, beer, and spirits tours around the world without the active component.
Skating & Skating Multisport Adventures
On our Skating Adventures, we base the difficulty on the level of skating competence you need to enjoy the trip. Skate Camps (when offered) are generally for Beginners and Advanced Beginners, while most of our Skate Tours are for those who are Advanced Beginner and up. Our definition of each skating ability level:
- Beginner: Have never been on skates or have been on them but are not comfortable skating.
- Advanced Beginner: Can skate forward but need work braking and handling rough terrain. Generally, our North American skate tours that take place on paved, flat trails are a good option.
- Intermediate: Can skate forward, stop, and turn on your own. You are ready for any of our skate tours, except in rare situations when we run an advanced tour. Note that skate tours in Europe include a variety of surfaces and can be challenging in places for all skaters. It is the reality of finding six or seven days or skating in a row in a beautiful location!
- Advanced Intermediate: Can skate forward, stop, and turn and are comfortable on rough terrain.
- Advanced: Are working on your stride efficiency (fitness stride).