10 ways to develop your life skills with adventure travel

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Adventure travel can broaden your horizons literally, but it’s also a great way to brush up the old CV.

Here’s 10 brilliant life skills you can pick up while on the road, to tap the happiness habit of learning:

Learn how to cook

The skill: dinner party prowess

From the famous Penang hawker to the street markets of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is home to some of the world’s most intoxicating cuisine. Jump in with both feet with a street food safari in KL (think fresh banana fritters, curry puffs and cendol) before learning how to cook the local way in the charming port city of Malacca.

Load up on family recipes that have been passed down through generations before wrapping the whole experience together with a foray through the hawker night stalls of Penang.

Join us in Malaysia


Help with conservation

The skill: conservation education

We all know how important conversation is, but it’s only when you pay a visit to the sea turtle conservation project in Kosgoda, a southern coasal town in Sri Lanka, that the urgency of the situation really hits home.

Learn all about the plight of these lovely marine creatures as they battle widespread pollution and the destruction of nesting areas, then help set baby turtles on their journey to freedom in the Indian Ocean. It’s an emotional moment, and one that’ll recruit you to the cause for life.

 


Hone your navigation skills

Oman group adventure

The skill: be your own Sat Nav

If you somehow always find yourself lost – despite being glued to Google Maps – this one’s for you. Find out how to rely on your own sense of direction (with zero call for iPhones) by taking a self-guided hike through Wahiba Sands deserts in Oman.

You and your fellow Flashpackers will be turfed out into an ocean of golden dunes about an hour from your Bedouin camp, and given instructions to make your own way there. Don’t worry, though; we have your back if you get lost ?.


Ride a Vespa

Flash Pack Vespa adventure in Spain

The skill: free-wheelin’

A pair of sweet retro wheels are yours to let loose on as we zip through sunflower fields of rural Spain. Dial down in a world of hazy mountain ranges and medieval towns – with barely another tourist in sight – as you learn how to master your very own 125cc automatic Vespa. Lazy tapas lunches are all part of the deal, as are 15th Century guesthouses and evening wine tastings.

There’s nothing like whizzing along remote country roads, the wind in your hair and freedom in your soul. It’s so very Audrey Hepburn, and will give you the riding bug forever more.

Medieval Spain calling


Discover the stars

The skill: explore the Milky Way

Feynan Eco-Lodge is nestled in Dana Nature Reserve, a 320-square kilometre wilderness of pink-tinted valleys and open plains in the depths of Jordan. It’s completely off-grid, meaning it’s one of the best places on earth to marvel at the stars.

As night falls and the lodge comes aglow in candlelight, head to the roof to admire the Milky Way in all its glory. A 10-inch Mead telescope allows you to see Saturn’s ring or Jupiter’s moons up-close, and Feynan’s brilliant staff will point out what’s what, as you take in a ravishing night sky over hot mint tea.

Jordan so fine


Hike a glacier

The skill: outdoor fitness and stamina

If you’re going to hike a glacier, you may as well make it the largest one in mainland Europe. Step forward Jostedalsbreen, a mighty behemoth that sprawls across the spectacular landscape of Western Norway.

Don your crampons and have your ice axe handy as we tackle a challenging two-hour trek across this dazzling white giant. It’s the kind of challenge that requires every last inch of your focus and stamina. But boy is it worth it, as you navigate an otherworldly canvas of ice towers, glacial caves and deep blue crevasses.

Norway awaits


Savour fine wines

The skill: knowing your vino

Yes, knowing your wines is a skill – one that begins with appreciation. And there’s no better way to develop a nose for the good stuff than in the Chilean wine region of Casablanca.

Visit a family-run vineyard here to see how red wine is matured in “Tinajas”clay barrels, for a particularly pure taste. Savour the rich, fruity flavours drawn straight from the barrel, then fly a few hours north to the Atacama Desert, where you can quaff more delicious vino over a sensational sundown.


Find your rhythm

Salsa

The skill: connecting with people

Dancing is the spice of life; a skill that gives you rhythm, soul and verve. Even if you’ve got two left feet, it’s still a great way of immersing yourself in a local culture.

Find your salsa groove in the colourful backstreets of Cartagena, Colombia’s party city, where local dancers will help you to sway your hips like a pro. Learning to salsa won’t just give you the moves, it’ll also teach you how to break down barriers and live a little more vibrantly – especially when you add rum tasting to the mix.

Colombia, here we come


Swim like a pro

people bathing in yucatan

The skill: wellbeing, and connecting with nature

Swimming in your local leisure centre is one thing. But flexing that breast stroke amid the hanging vines and waterfalls of Mexico’s emerald cenotes is entirely different.

The Yucatán Peninsula is peppered with these beautiful natural swimming holes, so you can consider this trip your fast-track into the art (with a few Mayan ruins along the way). Get your swim on in a maze of lovely lagoons, from mysterious underwater caves that you must pencil-drop into, to a one-time pirate’s canal.

Mexico, you beauty


Meet new people

Flashpackers enjoying a local dinner

The skill: confidence, and broadening your horizons

What is life for, if not making new friends? It’s a skill that gets a little rusty as we head into our 30s and 40s, which makes re-tapping it that much more delightful.

So instead of travelling with people you know this year, take a risk and hop on-board with a group of like-minded strangers. Connecting with people on your wavelength will give you a confidence hit like nothing else. And you can take that self-esteem forward with you into the world, for new friends, fresh frontiers and opportunities that never end.

Hurrah to new horizons

Images: Shutterstock/Flash Pack

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