My husband and I met on an airplane in 2015 and have traveled the world together since. Through our work at That Couple Who Travels, we strive to give people the information and inspiration needed to create memories all over the world. While we consider ourselves experienced travelers, active travel was not something we were particularly interested in before going on the Multi-Adventure Sardinia and Corsica trip with Backroads. The idea of exercising for our entire trip or hanging with strangers was not exactly appealing. But after being in the house for a year, my husband thought this would be a unique and fun experience. It was his birthday, so I went along with it and I’m so glad I did!
1 • Experience inaccessible landscapes
Sometimes a car just can't take you where your feet or bike will. Often during a hike or bike ride, we would find ourselves pulling over to take pictures because the landscape was so breathtaking.
2 • Mindfulness and gratitude
The ability to allow your physical body to be your primary vehicle for a few days reminds you how blessed you are and gives you a sense of youthfulness.
3 • Reduces stress
Time in nature with just your thoughts is the ultimate natural remedy for stress. Don’t believe us?! “There is mounting evidence, from dozens and dozens of researchers, that nature has benefits for both physical and psychological human well-being,” says Lisa Nisbet, Ph.D., a psychologist at Trent University in Ontario, Canada, who studies connectedness to nature.
4 • Increase cognitive functions
Active travel helps to keep your mind sharp. As someone with a loved one battling dementia, this makes me even more eager to make active travel a more significant part of my life.
5 • Eat guilt-free
Imagine eating whatever you want and gaining little to no vacation pounds. Trust me; active travel can make it possible! We are so grateful for this because we ate a ton of delicious food on our Backroads trip! Dessert tastes that much better after a 7-mile hike!
6 • Gain a sense of accomplishment
You couldn’t tell us anything after we finished our bike rides. As novice active travelers, we were the last ones to complete the hikes or bike rides a lot of the time. But we always finished and still felt like champions!
7 • Gain new friendships
We met people of varying ages, professional backgrounds, lifestyles and physical ability on our Backroads trip. Even with so many differences, active travel has a way of creating shared connections and focusing on your similarities. The most important ones were that everyone was so kind and intriguing!
8 • Fewer crowds and lines
On our six-day trip, we experienced zero crowds and lines. A perk of experiencing the roads less traveled.
9 • Balance of intensity and calm
All in ten minutes, your thighs might burn from scaling a challenging trail, and then you are at complete peace as you take in the stillness of nature.
10 • No age limit
Our Backroads trip had folks of all ages, including a 70-year-old who was in better shape than us. It was so inspiring!
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