Top 10 iconic travel experiences

Aug 5, 2011 3:29:03 AM

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Yoga in India, cooking in Vietnam – in this extract from Lonely Planet’s 1000 Ultimate Experiences, we find those 10 iconic experiences that are as special as the place they’re from.

1. Surfing in Hawaii, USA

Learning to surf here is special. Polynesia was the birthplace of surfing – he’e nalu (wave sliding) was first observed here by Europeans in the 18th century – but Hawaii remains the focal point for the world’s coolest lifestyle. Plenty of surf schools and instructors will patiently teach you how to read the ocean for swell, paddle into a wave and, critically, learn to stand and ride at beginner spots such as Waikiki Beach and Puena Point. Between sessions you can watch the pros shred heaving monsters at reef breaks such as Pipeline, Off the Wall and Sunset Beach. Learn to bottom turn with the Waikiki Beach Boys; two-hour lessons cost US$99 and run twice daily from Monday to Saturday.

2. Cooking in Hoi An, Vietnam

On the banks of the Hoi An River, the Red Bridge Restaurant and Cooking School is one of many restaurants offering courses to meet the growing demand for tutorials in quality Vietnamese cuisine. One-day and half-day cooking tours will match your culinary skills, from non-existent to cordon bleu. Starting with a trip to a local market, where you’ll select ingredients and learn by observing street vendors, you’ll then return to the restaurant for an expert demonstration before putting your new-found knowledge into practice. Expect to serve up rice-paper rolls and marinated beef, decorated with a pineapple boat. Classes usually last about three hours, include four dishes and cost around US$40 per person. Take a camera so you can remember each dish you master.

3. Archaeological research trips at Crow Canyon, USA

Crow Canyon Archaeological Center offers up to 11 trips annually for those willing to get their hands dirty as they dabble in amateur archaeology. Visitors’ accommodation is in one of 10 ‘hogans’, circular log cabins built in the traditional Navajo style, at the centre’s 28-hectare campus. The campus is part of a site that was occupied by Ancestral Puebloans of Mesa Verde more than 1000 years ago. The trips, lasting seven to 10 days, allow visitors to explore the land in relation to what is known about the region’s indigenous occupants, through studying the interaction of light, landscape and architecture, or participating in a dig. Find out more about resources for teachers and students at www.crowcanyon.org.

4. Yoga in Rishikesh, India

A trip to the birthplace of yoga is an obvious choice if you’re looking for a mystical experience inside and out. Not only does yoga promote relaxation through meditation; research conducted by the University of Texas has revealed it can help alleviate the negative side effects of cancer treatment. At Rishikesh, in the serene foothills of the Himalayas, special retreats invite novices to practice stretching, breathing and contemplation alongside qualified yogi masters. Depending where you stay you might also be encouraged to help out in the organic garden and cook for the group, in between soul-enriching excursions into the mountains. Ashrams offer courses to suit your level, from a few weeks to three months; get a feel for serenity at www.yogashramrishikesh.com.

5. Spanish in Patagonia, Argentina

The small town of Bariloche, surrounded by glacial lakes, forests and the valleys and mountains of the Andes, is so inspiring you’ll probably learn more Spanish here in a month than you might elsewhere in a whole year. Sometimes called ‘the Switzerland of South America’, Bariloche is the base for most Patagonian language schools, so there’s always a good mix of international students should you wish to slack off from speaking Spanish. There are plenty of optional excursions too, from nearby skiing at Cerro Catedral, South America’s premier downhill resort, to a refreshing day trip through thick forest to the glorious Cántaros waterfall. Select courses from one-week intensives to six weeks of private tuition; visit www.spanishinbariloche.com.

6. Calligraphy in Kyoto, Japan

Anyone looking to make their mark using the traditional characters of Japanese calligraphy will find the course run by the Women’s Association of Kyoto simultaneously frustrating and rewarding. Calligraphy written in Japanese is not at all easy, so you’ll need to keep focused if you want to make your instructor proud. After receiving a lecture about the history of the Japanese literary art form, you will be shown and told how it’s done. Then it’s over to you, grasshopper, as you sketch your favourite Japanese character, such as the symbol for ‘peace’ or ‘love’, before adding your signature. One lesson is enough to ensure you pity Japanese school kids forever. WAK JAPAN offers courses based in Kyoto; book online for a discount.

7. Mountain biking in Marin County, USA

Thanks in large part to the pioneering efforts of bike designer Joe Breeze, Marin County, and in particular Mt Tamalpais, has become famous worldwide as the birthplace of mountain biking. Located just north of San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge, there’s no more rugged or exciting arena to develop a passion for downhill riding. Throughout summer, countless tour operators, catering to kids, women, amateurs and pros, offer tuition and guided trail riding, including bike hire and transport to the start of hundreds of trails among more than 2550 hectares of redwood groves and oak woodlands. Trails range from the gently sloping and visually spectacular to the you-must-be-kidding-me steeply insane. For trail maps, customised tours and bike hire information visit www.mountainbikingmarin.com.

8. Kung fu at Shaolin Temple, China

Every year foreigners can apply to attend classes at the Shaolin Temple, amid the beautiful Song Shan mountains in China’s Henan province. Trainees at the 1500-year-old monastery, the birthplace of kung fu, embark on a steep learning curve led by extraordinarily disciplined ‘warrior-monk’ tutors. You won’t notice who you’re sharing a dorm with, as the gruelling regime starts at 8.30am (Chinese students begin at 5am) and lasts until at least 7pm. For inspiration, watch the coaches prepare for daily tourist performances, in which they snap iron bars with their heads and break glass by throwing a pin at it. Visitor opening hours are 8am–7pm daily, all year; http://www.infohub.com offers a 10- to 30-day training tour for budding Bruce Lees (around US$2000).

9. Bush-survival skills in Esingeni, South Africa

If you can last a one-week survival course in South Africa‘s pristine wilderness, then chances are you’ll emerge feeling more human than you’ve ever felt before. Qualified field experts lead small-group tours from the Esingeni Bush Camp, based on a private game reserve. Participants learn how to construct a shelter, make a fire, locate and prepare food, and extract water from plants. You will also be taught how to navigate using the stars as you traverse the countryside, which is abuzz with unfamiliar sights, sounds, smells and animals. Anyone who has imagined what life was like before the agrarian revolution can find out here. Book a five-day bush survival course at www.conservationacademy.co.za.

10. Stove building in Cadmalca, Peru

At the Cadmalca Community Lodge in Peru’s remote northern highlands, a simple but potentially life-saving ecoproject allows travellers to do something challenging and useful, while becoming immersed in a culture they would otherwise find difficult to access. In return for being lodged and shown around by a local host family, visitors will source the construction materials for a cooking stove that’s ideally suited to high altitude conditions – and then build it. The stoves have been shown to help reduce serious respiratory conditions associated with cooking over the open fires that are contained in the majority of mountain huts. Tours last seven days and depart from Lima; book before you arrive and expect to pay around US$1600.

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Comments

12 May 2010 1:17AM phudson215 Report this comment
Great list. Fortunately, in Hawaii you don't need a fullsuit like the photo suggests, but learning to surf in California is pretty cool too.
12 May 2010 6:50PM orangegwennie Report this comment
I'm pretty sure you mean Hoi An and not Hanoi for the cooking class - but I may be wrong...just that I did a class pretty recently with Redbridge and it was in Hoi An.
13 May 2010 2:04PM vitki Report this comment
What a load of rubbish... If this is classed as IONIC I think I will book for the first trip to the moon...
So many many wonderful places to visit on this planet and this is what you have decided is IONIC...
I think you should change the 'lonely planet' to kindergarten travels.... as it seems that this is all aimed at very young travellers.
Very very disapointing to see you think it deserves the title IONIC
Time to look for other web sites and organisations with the REAL traveller in mind
13 May 2010 4:43PM purplesally Report this comment
I agree that there are far too many places to name so a list like this is purely someone's opinion and therefore many of us won't agree
13 May 2010 6:49PM popotla Report this comment
Number 10. Mmm, yes, err ...... . This could be "iconic" because someone in bizniss is paying or otherwise favouring the BBC (owners of this site, for advertising their bizness for them. One sources materials and then builds stoves for people who must surely be perfectly capable of building their own AND pays app $143 per day for the privelige of doing this (while the locals look on?) Sure, get participants to cover their travel and food costs from Lima, but where is "$1,000 a week" dreamed up from? Nonetheless, takers may well be queuing up, proving once again that there are people out there with far more money than sense.
13 May 2010 7:33PM hansdane Report this comment
nothing "iconic" in little old Europe??
13 May 2010 11:41PM culprit Report this comment
What's an "IONIC" place, one with little ions shooting around all over the place? Where would that be, Moscow? Or maybe Roswell NM?
14 May 2010 12:08AM tmanatee Report this comment
Why are THREE of the top 10 US destinations?
14 May 2010 1:31AM beautyanddabeast Report this comment
and while you're in Rishikesh, try and see if you can write a song better than "Dear Prudence"!! HA!
14 May 2010 1:38AM beautyanddabeast Report this comment
And I thought Moab was the "center" of "rugged" mountain biking in America??!!
14 May 2010 2:48AM luxurycamper Report this comment
tmanatee- maybe its because according to 2009 statistics, the US is the 2nd most visited country in the world. - France is #1
14 May 2010 10:38AM dsimon Report this comment
Geez folks...this wouldn't be my choices either, but lighten up a little. There is a lot to enjoy out there and overall, I find LP right on.
Village Nurse
14 May 2010 6:24PM drreuben Report this comment
Nothing like independent journalism...how utterly ignorant of the planet this piece is.
30 May 2010 6:10PM ctown Report this comment
I think this list is an example that there are all kinds of things to get into out there and if these don't get you then maybe they will light a spark to start thinking about other things.
2 June 2010 2:52PM flashnomad Report this comment
Dancing Carnival in Rio de Janeiro has to be one of the top! Right there in the Sambodromo in one of Rio's Samba Schools. I've done it twice and will do it again. Read all about it on my blog http://www.flashnomad.com
8 June 2010 8:25AM aucklandnz Report this comment
Have to put in a plug for my hometown ... Sailing on Auckland's Waitemata harbour in New Zealand is truly an iconic experience !
20 July 2010 4:35PM jyotikasingh Report this comment
Article is good and some exact points are defined. For Yoga India.. quite good option this is.
22 July 2010 7:33PM asso Report this comment
travelling to kenya and having aspot on mara wildlife is much more fun,its an experience one canot forget http://www.africa-toursafaris.com
8 August 2010 4:52AM sergiomorales Report this comment
Agra... un buen lugar que visitar. Hay un bonito lugar llamado Hotel Shahjahan. Este hotel se encuentra en la puerta sud del Taj Majal. Alli se pueden tener maravillosas vistas del Taj desde su terraza.
Me gustaria hablar del restaurante, situado en la terraza. Un lugar desde donde contemplar el Taj Mahal, con unas vistas que a mi parecer son de las mejores que se pueden encontrar en la ciudad. El director del restaurante es un hombre con el cual uno no se puede sentir mas agusto. Te sientes como en casa en todo momento. Dado los problemas a la hora de encontrar un menu con garantias, el te ofrece un menu fresco y variado, con comida continental, india,... es de los mejores sitios donde he comido en india.
Realmente un gran sitio donde disfrutar de una terraza chill-out y unas vistas de ensueno.
Si alguien se pasa alguna vez por alli, nunca olvidara Agra!!!
18 August 2010 5:01PM jamaicabraden Report this comment
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26 August 2010 6:59AM aushack Report this comment
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25 December 2010 9:48PM elatson Report this comment
There is China on the list
27 December 2010 9:22PM wanderlert Report this comment
Cooking experience in Vietnam is really fantastic. I think the article mentioned the cooking experience in Hoi An rather than Hanoi
16 May 2011 4:16AM sunshinedreamer Report this comment
I think some of the other commenters are confused about the term "iconic". An iconic experience would be something specifically relating and meaningful to a certain area. You could come up with iconic experiences for any place, but the author came up with a great variety of places and activities. Number 10 may not necessarily be iconic, but it could certainly be meaningful. Unfortunately, the only one I've done is surfing in Hawaii, but this list gives me some great ideas!
25 May 2011 12:21PM moseler Report this comment
Number 9. Esingeni is in South Africa. Not Kenya. I was looking forward to a trip to the bush on my vacation to Kenya. Oh well.
25 May 2011 12:35PM moseler Report this comment
Number 9. Esingeni is in South Africa. Not Kenya. I was looking forward to a trip to the bush on my vacation to Kenya. Oh well.
11 October 2011 9:03PM tokyo_girl Report this comment
What is with the word "iconic"... a bizarre choice of word... an icon of what ? travel experience?
But that doesn't make any sense they are travel experiences.
Quit the lame and lazy cliches...
12 October 2011 3:36AM nowornever Report this comment
unfortunately this site is going too commercial, advertising expensive trips is not really what this site meant to be.
16 October 2011 1:43AM mitotoro Report this comment
Boring list, where are all the off the beaten track places?
29 November 2011 8:02PM michelinchef Report this comment
Lonely Planet is so outdated....Hoi An recently tops all the lists of world's best food cities, but seeing cooking classes in Hoi An as number 2 on this list is a reach to make up for Lonely Planet slowness in recognizing Hoi An's food scene... And by the way the mention of "Red Bridge" proves my point, it's the most complained-about cooking class in Hoi An by the Trip Advisor community because people are upset they went there on Lonely Planet recommendation. Wake-up guys and smell the coffee.
29 November 2011 8:21PM michelinchef Report this comment
And also, when traveling to Hoi An, all the locals will tell you the best beach is An Bang but LP consistently overlooks it. So now that An Bang Beach is in the world's best 50 beaches you'll mention it based on someone else's opinion? Don't you have scouts on your payroll or you just read the news?