Tips for Factoring Adventure into Your Travel Plans

This summer has been an adventurous one, and I want to go into a bit of detail as to my favorite adventurous moments in Eastern Europe (since that’s where I can afford adventure). In my experience, I have learned some important details about how to stay safe while I’m traveling without having to avoid the fun stuff – the adventure!

I want to discuss some of my adventures this summer and how I navigated them safely… this is particularly important for things I didn’t expect to encounter in very normal circumstances (like swimming).

My Absolute Favorite: Whitewater Rafting

If you’ve never tried Whitewater Rafting, what are you doing?? Just kidding, I’m actually pretty new to trying it myself, but don’t be like me, try it sooner rather than later. If you like rollercoasters, imagine that but wet?

In the US, it cost me a couple hundred dollars for this adventure, and at the time I thought that was a steal. Then I got to Eastern Europe… In Bulgaria, I only paid $40 for a 3 hour rafting excursion, and it was amazing!

I’ve tried whitewater rafting a handful of times while traveling, but it always worries me just a teensy bit more when I’m in Eastern Europe.

While I have full trust in all the Balkan countries to save me if need be, the safety measures aren’t always what I expect. To calm my fear a bit, I made sure to include the Sports Add-on to my travel medical insurance with SafetyWing.

I’m almost 100% sure that nothing will happen to me, but I have always been more of a “better safe than sorry” kind of traveler. The coverage also works for high elevation (another part of my frequent adventuring), which I go in dept on a bit more in my Pre-Trip Travel Tips post.

My recommendation for rafting in Bulgaria is Rafting.BG, I’ve used them now twice and they’re really great (especially the price) and hilarious! You can also add a photographer to the team for an extra 30 total, so you get some great action shots!

Barefoot Hiking – Don’t Knock it Til You Try It

The Balkans has great appeal to me because of the hiking in that area, around Bansko and over in Albania I’ve come across some incredible spots. In Bansko in particular, it’s situated right along the Pirin Mountains, so you can look at a mountain and say “I want to hike that,” and then go do it.

Now I’m going to put you onto something…. *drumroll please*… barefoot hiking! This is not a one-size fits all idea, obviously it can be a little tricky depending on where you are, the critters around, etc., but if it’s possible, it’s something I can’t recommend more. I tried it in Bulgaria, and the ground felt incredible under my feet.

I go into detail on Barefoot Hiking a bit more on my Instagram, but the gist is that your legs aren’t used to using certain muscles when you wear shoes and your toes can expand to where they normally should, so you end up with a much better sense of balance and get a bigger leg workout when you go shoeless.

Don’t just take it from me, test it out. Heed my warning though, don’t plan a long, strenuous hike to start, start small… and preferably with others who are also shoeless so you aren’t constantly playing catch up because it definitely slows you down a bit.

Lake Swimming in Macedonia

Personally, I’m a little obsessed with swimming. I don’t know if it’s just me, but there is just something about being surrounded by water that feels so welcoming and refreshing, and just incredible!

I need to start planning my trips around places where I can swim because I completely forgot how much I loved this feeling until I ended up at Lake Ohrid. I went swimming there every single day, and the sunsets were sooo picturesque as a backdrop too, it felt like living in a movie.

I never would have previously considered this act particularly adventurous, but when there’s an element of danger, I think that counts. There wasn’t exactly straightforward danger, but it was here that a bug (can’t tell you what kind because I still don’t know, but a really rude one) became obsessed with me and bit me hundreds of times.

As a result, I need to leave a word of warning to always use lots of bug spray… in fact, get some citronella lotion so that bugs STAY AWAY. I wouldn’t wish my predicament on anyone. I’d still swim again though.

A big thanks to my dermatologist for solving the mystery though, I was freaking out, scratching myself raw for DAYS!

Do yourself a favor though, and maybe go on a boat trip instead of a beach one. All the swimming benefits, half the hassle. My favorite boat adventure was this sunset cruise (and it’s SUCH good value!) or this panoramic boat cruise too!

Cold Plunges in Mother Nature

I am becoming a big fan of taking advantage of cold plunges, and I’ve tried a few different spots over the last few months that I want to share.

The freezing temperatures in these bodies of water weren’t ideal (in spite of the hot temperature outside), but it was invigorating and filled me with energy. The heat was a gamechanger when getting out, especially since everywhere that I cold plunged was unseasonably hot. There are major benefits to cold plunges too, so I’d recommend trying it out!

I had two fan favorite places to cold plunge this year! The first being The Blue Eye in Albania (they don’t always allow swimming, so check the signs). The water there is crystal clear and absolutely stunning, it was a bucketlist adventure, that’s for sure.

Heads up though, don’t plan a whole day here because it isn’t very friendly to long hangouts, just a quick dip is all you need (maybe a whole 5 minutes if you want to take advantage of all the plunges the benefits).

The other cold plunge that I loved was at the Skinny Dipping Pool in Bansko, but don’t worry, you don’t actually have to skinny dip! This spot wasn’t anywhere near as crowded as Albania (to be expected), but it wasn’t always empty either.

Every time I visited and found that it was occupied, I made some new friends, so that was always a treat!

You can read more about great summer activities in Bankso here!

Make sure you cold plunge with buddies too, especially if you’re new!

What’s Next?

My adventures this summer are definitely not over, but I haven’t quite planned out what’s next just yet. Some ideas that are brewing include scuba diving, skiing, kite surfing, and who knows what else… but I definitely want to make sure I’m taking full advantage of my Sports Add-On coverage with SafetyWing with some great adventures!

While the summer may be slowly ending, the adventures continue onwards… and hopefully they look a lot like me in a neon suit, and sticks attached to my legs (pictured). Maybe my next adventure will be hitting the slopes, European winter skiing anyone?