Nat Geo/G Adventures tours mix education, fun and free time

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Manuel Antonio National Park, on the central Pacific coast of Costa Rica, is a stop on a National Geographic Journey with G Adventures tour of the country.
Manuel Antonio National Park, on the central Pacific coast of Costa Rica, is a stop on a National Geographic Journey with G Adventures tour of the country. Photo Credit: Sarah Feldman

Six months after the launch of National Geographic Journeys with G Adventures, a collaboration of National Geographic and Toronto-based G Adventures, the product that has emerged is a hybrid excursion that infuses G Adventures’ socially conscious, fun and flexible tours with a dose of National Geographic-style education and naturalism.

With 70 itineraries available, the small-group adventures offer outdoor excursions led by expert guides and hands-on cultural experiences with the local community. In its first six months, Journeys has seen strong growth among older baby boomers, G Adventures said, and 2017 will bring new destinations, including Japan and Namibia.

The La Paz Waterfall in Costa Rica is a series of seven falls, but from the bottom only the final one is visible.
The La Paz Waterfall in Costa Rica is a series of seven falls, but from the bottom only the final one is visible. Photo Credit: Sarah Feldberg

Guests can visit a Sri Lankan seed farm, tour Botswana’s Okavango Delta or spend the night at a monastery in Nepal, all at a price point substantially lower than National Geographic’s luxurious small-ship voyages with Lindblad Expeditions or the energetic Adventures With Mountain Travel Sobek brand.

The Journeys’ cost ranges from $1,500 to $5,000, compared with fares for the Lindblad and Mountain Travel Sobek trips that generally start at $4,000 and can reach upward of $20,000 for extended itineraries or upgraded ship cabins.

The co-branded G Adventures trips sacrifice some of the style and comforts of National Geographic’s more expensive options. Clients travel in private transportation and stay in comfortable three-star hotels with amenities such as WiFi and pools. However, they don’t bed down in luxury accommodations, and most of their meals are not included.

That trade-off is also evident in the itineraries. While National Geographic’s high-end tours feature days packed with organized activities, Journeys splits the schedule more evenly between planned excursions and free time, enabling optional extras such as a soak in natural hot springs or a zipline through the treetops, letting guests spend as much or as little time and money as they want on schedule-filling activities. Travelers can book excursions a la carte or just kick back during unscheduled hours.

Guests who want a fully choreographed vacation might find the tours too loose, but for those who enjoy the freedom to shape their own travel, a National Geographic Journey enables plenty of independent exploration.

That National Geographic stamp also means education and access for an explicit emphasis on understanding the destination with help from researchers and local guides. Unlike more academic tours, however, National Geographic Journeys are education-light, with lessons disguised as forest walks and few formal lectures or speakers.

On a nine-day survey of Costa Rica’s natural highlights (starting at $1,499 for double occupancy) earlier this year, the group woke up early for a guided stroll through the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve, where pumas, kinkajous and the magnificent quetzal bird roam. Then it was on to the Monteverde Institute, which hosts National Geographic researchers studying the ecosystem, for a quick talk and to get guests’ hands dirty weeding saplings for distribution to local families as part of the Institute’s reforestation efforts, an experience exclusive to National Geographic Journeys.

Richard Bennett, who went on the trip with his wife, Nancy, was drawn by the National Geographic branding and the overt, though not overwhelming, emphasis on learning about the environment.

“We like to mix a little education with the vacation,” he said.

Adventure was in plentiful supply, too, in the form of an optional Adrenaline bundle (available only on the Costa Rica tour) that included rappelling, kayaking and ziplining or a la carte excursion options like horseback riding or spelunking. 

In Costa Rica, Dona Mara Rojas Perez cooks tortillas, handmade by a tour group during an in-home cooking class.
In Costa Rica, Dona Mara Rojas Perez cooks tortillas, handmade by a tour group during an in-home cooking class. Photo Credit: Sarah Feldberg

G Adventures’ emphasis on sustainable travel and social relevance is also embedded in the trips. In Costa Rica, the group toured Mi Cafecito, a coffee collective supported by G Adventures’ sustainable tourism nonprofit, Planeterra, which includes 140 family farms that share the processing and roasting facility and sell their beans under a unified brand.

In Nepal, groups visit Sasane, a program that trains survivors of human trafficking to be paralegals so they can help other trafficking victims.

Christy Ridenhour, who traveled to Costa Rica with her husband and 12-year-old son, booked the tour because the mix of activities seemed to suit all family members.

Ziplining through the canopy and monkey-spotting in Manuel Antonio National Park were family favorites, but it was the in-home tortilla-making class and dinner with local resident Dona Mara Rojas Perez, an exclusive National Geographic Journeys experience, that stood out as the true highlight for Ridenhour.

“I’m holding back tears right now,” she said as the group gathered around the table for a typical Costa Rican casado dinner.

“I knew I would be getting something special,” Ridenhour said later. “I felt like this tour was priceless.”

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