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Want to find out a bit more about Adventure Life? Check out some of these great publications that have written articles about our tours. Browse through these brief summaries or click on the links below to read the full articles!

Brian on the cover of Inc. Magazine

Inc.

How to Start an Adventure Travel Company

Published: July 1, 2009
By: Leigh Buchanan


Adventure Life's president and founder, Brian Morgan, was interviewed by Inc. Magazine for their "How to Build You Dream Company" issue. Check it out -- he even made the cover! (That's Brian on the far right.)

...Morgan had just a couple thousand dollars in savings, though, so he accepted a software job and relegated start-up work to evenings and weekends. He printed 200 brochures advertising a single excursion and deposited them in coffee shops and sporting-goods stores near universities. No one called. Travel agencies waved him away. Concluding that travelers wanted more than one option, Morgan created a second brochure offering three itineraries with six departure dates. He also built a website, which looked like the work of an Amazonian howler monkey. Fortunately, a graphic design student redesigned the site a few weeks later. Drawn by the brochure and the site, 100 people booked the first year...

Outside Magazine

Best Places to Work!

Published: May 1, 2009
By: Outside Magazine

Outside Magazine declares what I've long known as true - Adventure Life is one of the nation's Best Places to Work! We are honored.

Family Affair: This international-travel outfitter's home is a modified flat that feels like, well, a home. Attire is decidedly casual (it's Montana), and parents can even set up a playpen next to their desks. "Going to the office and seeing my colleagues actually improves my day," says Brian Morgan, Adventure's founder and president. All employees can opt for compressed four-day workweeks and, once a year, take a free Adventure Life trip -- with a family member or friend to make sure it really feels like vacation.

"These 30 companies share a common belief: that the secret to success in any economy is empowering employees to live balanced lives and remain committed to their communities and the environment," said Michael Roberts, Executive Editor of Outside. "Our winners know that happy workers are good for the bottom line. So even in the current financial storm, they're offering on-site fitness classes and massage, reimbursements for gym memberships and ski passes, flexible hours, amazing travel benefits, and opportunities for on-the-clock community service."
Men\'s Fitness

Men\'s Fitness

Couch Potato Conquers Mt Rainier

Published: November 1, 2009
By: Holly Corbett

For proof, take a look at Brian's online album that captures a few breathtaking moments on Mt. Rainier.

Brian Morgan, CEO of Adventure Life, shares the secrets of his health and fitness success.

...We all have dreams, but turning them from thoughts into action can seem tougher than climbing a mountain. To help you reach your goal, Men's Fitness mined advice from a guy who did just that: Brian Morgan, 36, a former couch potato, started his own adventure company after college that morphed into a multi-million dollar business, and recently conquered Mount Rainier....
The Weather Channel

Today I'd Go ... Trekking in Peru

Published: July 19, 2012
By: Amy Bertrand

The Weather Channel highlights our Cordillera Blanca Backcountry Trek trip -- originally featured in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Every Thursday I write about place I'd love to visit, if I had the time and the money. I just got an email from Adventure Life that has me drooling over a new 14-day northern Peru backcountry trekking tour.

Here is the email:

This tour journeys to the highest tropical mountain range on earth, with 50+ major summits of more than 18,000 feet. Travelers will spend two days acclimatizing, biking, rafting, and exploring in the mountain town of Huaraz before departing on the challenging eight-day trek. This expedition takes adventurers on an unparalleled alpine undertaking of towering peaks, turquoise lakes, flower filled meadows, and isolated villages seemingly lost in time...
guardian logo

guardian

Adventure holidays: hot tips for 2010

Published: November 1, 2009
By: Nicola Iseard


For many the Falklands will always conjure up images of war, but today they are increasingly a venue for tourism. You can stay in friendly B&Bs, walk in the unspoilt wilderness and immerse yourself in the local culture. Then jump on board an eight-seater plane to explore neighbouring islands where, if you're lucky, you may encounter penguins, sea lions and orcas.

When? November to February

Book it: Adventure Life offers an eight-day island-hopping trip, including accommodation, all meals and domestic flights. International flights extra. Weekly departures throughout 2010
National Geographic Traveler

National Geographic Traveler

Ask IT: Cruising North Africa

Published: October 5, 2009
By: Meg Beasley


We recently received a letter from a reader asking for help finding a cruise across the southern Mediterranean along the coast of North Africa. She hopes to visit cities founded during the Roman Empire rich with remnants of the past. Here are three travel companies with excellent cruising options for exploring the region. All trips are education-oriented and feature prominent speakers and guest lecturers on relevant topics from archaeology to classical culture and language...

...AL Voyages offers two trips with similar itineraries named "North African Mediterranean Coast Through the Centuries" on the 114-passenger, all-suite Corinthian II. Both 18-day trips originate in Cairo, Egypt and end in Casablanca, Morocco. The tours visit important sites from antiquity such as Roman ruins as well as places that have figured more recently in world history like the World War II battlefields of Tubruq. Leading academics in the fields of archaeology and religion offer tours at the sites as well as on-board lectures. Trip price includes all meals, alcoholic beverages and land excursions.
National Geographic Traveler

National Geographic Traveler

Cutting Loose: Cruising the Galapagos Islands

Published: June 1, 2009
By: Michael Stoneman

National Geographic Traveler UK

Lying 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands never fail to enchant those lucky enough to experience the archipelago's rich natural diversity and stunning indigenous wildlife...

...For Scuba Divers: While Galapagos tortoises, land iguanas, lava lizards and a huge variety of birds offer visitors to the islands plenty of wildlife to enjoy on dry land, there are even greater delights for those happy to take to the sea and dive beneath the surface. A seven-night cruise aboard the 100-foot 16 passenger M/Y Sky Dancer offers the best of both worlds. The custom-built dive live-aboard was launched in 2001, giving guests with scuba-diving qualifications the chance to do approximately 21 dives around the islands, as well as three land excursions. Although mostly drift dives along the cliff faces of offshore rocks and peninsulas, there are also night dives around Wolf and Darwin Islands, with a plethora of marine life practically guaranteed at each site, including turtles, dolphins and rays, as well as hammerhead and whale sharks. Contact Adventure Life www.adventure-life.com
Outside Best Trip 2009, Killer Value Award

Outside Magazine

2009 Best Trips

Published: March 1, 2009
By: Outside Magazine

Adventure Life is very pleased to have our Patagonia Wildlife Safari trip chosen as one of Outside Magazine's Best Trips for 2009. Recognized for its great itinerary and 'killer value' ... we couldn't agree more.

CHILE
Killer Value
Situated on the east side of Torres del Paine National Park, Adventure Life's new EcoCamp—a series of wind-powered, fireplace-equipped domes—is your launchpad for four days of guided treks. Highlight: an 11-mile round-trip to the glacial lagoon at the base of the granite towers of Los Torres. Bonus highlight: Colchagua Valley cabernet back at the dining dome. Trips leave between October and April.
Best Adventure Travel Companies 2009

National Geographic Adventure

Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth

Published: January 1, 2009

Two Years Running!

Adventure Life is thrilled to be once again selected by National Geographic Adventure as one of the select "Best Adventure Travel Companies On Earth!"

For the second time in as many years, we've conducted an unprecedented survey of adventure travel companies, based on the idea that a traveler’s most important decision is not always where to go but who to go with. For the 2009 edition, we spoke to more guide services—and their clients—than ever before.

Mens Journal

Mens Journal

Peru: Experience Perus Greatest Hits With a Huge Dose of Adrenaline Thrown In

Published: November 1, 2008
By: C.M.

Finally, outfitters are getting creative with their Peru itineraries. Latin American specialist Adventure Life, for one, leads a multisport trip from Cuzco to Machu Picchu. American, Continental, and Delta have the most one-stop flights to Lima. When you arrive, check into Hotel Carmel in coastal Mira Flores. DAY 2: Fly to Cuzco, which sits at more than 11,000 feet, and spend the day acclimating. DAYS 3-7: The next five days are an adrenaline-fueled journey to Machu Picchu that includes hiking, whitewater rafting the Urubamba River, and a screaming mountain-bike descent from a 14,000-foot pass into a rainforest. DAYS 8-11: See Machu Picchu, soak in hot springs in the town of Aguas Calientes [now known as Machu Picchu Pueblo), and kayak Lake Titicaca, exploring its Floating Islands and staying in the homes of indigenous families.
ForbesLife

ForbesLife

Go With the Floe

Published: November 1, 2008
By: Todd Pitock

Sailing to Antarctica requires strong sea legs. The payoff: a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

...On the third day, our fall through the rabbit hole of the Drake is complete and we are in wonderland. The water calms, and our first iceberg encounter is a half-mile-long, high-walled rectangular platform whose symmetry looks too exact to be real. The sun comes out and sends a silver streak across one side of it. Color returns to people's faces, and to the world around us. Even at a distance, the brilliant blue of packed ice glimmers... Adventure Life Voyages' 11-day trip on the Antarctic Dream.

Incentive

Incentive

Motivation in Action: Adventure Life's Outdoor Incentives

Published: May 12, 2009
By: By Kassia Shishkoff

The travel company encourages its employees to enjoy the experiences that it sells to its clients.

If you are going to be enthusiastic about the company you work for, you should be familiar with the products it sells. That is no less true for Adventure Life, a Missoula, Mont.–based travel company that organizes outdoor tours throughout Central and South America. At Adventure Life, employees are allowed—in fact, encouraged—to visit the locations where the company sends its clients. Each year, they are given a $1,200 stipend to go on one of the company’s many South and Central American tours and asked to keep a travel journal, which is put on the Web site for the benefit of potential clients...

...Adventure Life staff members can select from any of the company’s many destinations, including the Galapagos Islands, Peru, Guatemala, Antarctica and a worldwide expedition cruise.

...Other programs and benefits that Adventure Life offers its employees include paying half the cost of a health club membership, a small education stipend, and flexible scheduling. New mothers are even allowed to bring their infants in to work until they’re five months old. This allows moms to continue work instead of staying home with their child until the baby is eligible for daycare....
50 Extraordinary Adventures

National Geographic

Riding the Hulahula to the Arctic: A Guide to 50 Extraordinary Adventures for the Seasoned Traveler

Published: May 20, 2008
By: Shannon Stowell and Don Mankin

Published by National Geographic Books

Adventure Life has two featured trips -- our Hiking Galapagos and End of the World adventure -- in the upcoming book published by National Geographic Books as one of the top choices for seasoned travelers!

It's time to rediscover the fun and excitement of traveling off the beaten path. In Riding the Hulahula to the Arctic Ocean: A Guide to 50 Extraordinary Adventures for the Seasoned Travelers published by National Geographic Books, expert guides Don Mankin and Shannon Stowell offer both an inspiring collection of personal, often unique, experiences and practical how-to, detailing some of the world's best trips. In-depth narratives convey the rich allure of 26 destinations with lively anecdotes and specialized information, while concise descriptions highlight an additional 26 amazing trips, selected in a survey by the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) as top choices for people over 40...

New York Times Logo

New York Times

53 Places to Go in 2008

Published: December 9, 2007

THE NORHTWEST PASSAGE

Notwithstanding last month's sinking of an Antarctic cruise ship, climate tourism is heating up. And few places are warming up faster than the Northwest Passage, the Arctic sea route over Canada. Adventure Life Voyages (www.alvoyages.com), for one, is already booking cruises for its Northwest Passage tour next August, with prices from $4,600 a person.

USA Today Logo

USA Today

These 6 Global Adventures Span the Extraordinary

Published: September 21, 2007
By: Gene Sloan

On top of the world: Adventure Life offers a 25-night journey through the Northeast Passage between Alaska and Russia. Clients are taken by icebreaker from Anchorage to Murmansk.

Looking for a life-changing adventure? How about a biking trip in Namibia? Or a rare voyage across the Arctic's Northeast Passage? USA TODAY looks at six of the most unusual adventure trips in the works for 2008...

...Outfitter: Adventure Life
Length: 25 nights
Details: Melting of the Arctic attributed to global warming is opening once-frozen routes to exploration, including the so-called Northeast Passage between Alaska and Russia. In this rare outing, the icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov will take clients from Anchorage across the top of the world through the Barents Sea to Murmansk. Stops include the uninhabited island of Kolyuchin and the New Siberian Islands, where, weather permitting, passengers will hike the tundra, explore old hunting camps and see the northernmost point of the European continent.

TravelGirl

TravelGirl

Awe at the End of the World

Published: August 15, 2007
By: Carole Jacobs

..."Most people hike the W on their own steam, carrying 30-pound packs up vertical boulder fields, pitching tents in gale-force winds and huddling inside makeshift shelters to heat a pot of water to cook dinner. Our group was going it the easy way with Adventure Life, a Montana based outfit that specializes in global outdoor adventures. Instead of being burdened with heavy packs, we carried only light day packs holding our lunch, water and raingear while our trusty guides, Kenneth and Roberto, and two additional female porters, carried the rest..."

"Adventure Life's eight-day Pure Patagonia Base Camp Trekking adventure is an active itinerary of massive glaciers, jagged mountains, glacier hikes and wonderful wildlife. Hiking each day is moderate to strenuous, and participants should be in good shape."

"Adventure Life encourages sustainable, low-impact travel in small groups averaging 8-10 guests. Trip leaders are bilingual and hold university degrees in anthropology, biology, botany and other related disciplines. Adventure Life runs several trips in Patagonia and other countries where the wilderness is the star."

Mens Journal

Mens Journal

An Easy Icebraker

Published: July 1, 2007
By: Mens Journal


The Northwest Passage links the Atlantic and Pacific and provides a shipping route between Europe and Asia.

The deadly, ice-packed Northwest Passage remained unconquered until Roald Amundsen braved the trip in 1906. Today satellite images suggest that the ice is retreating so rapidly that the passage could be a viable shipping land by 2050, making the Panama Canal nearly obsolete. Following Amundesen's route today (from Anchorage, Alaska, to Resolute Bay, Canaada) aboard an icebreaker with outfitter Adventure Life is more aking to a pleasure cruise. Highlights include passage through the roaring Beaufort Sea and the Victoria Straight, where Amundsen was stranded for two winters. In addition to watching whales, seals, and polar bears, travelers get a look at icebergs that, for now at least, are the size of several city blocks.

Trip of the Year 2007

Outside Magazine

Outside 2007 Trip of the Year: The Worlds 30 Greatest Trips. Ever.

Published: March 1, 2007
By: Meg Lukens Noonan

Two Years Running! This is the second year in a row an Adventure Life trip has made Outside Magazine's coveted "Trip of the Year." In 2006 our Argentina Northwest Trek made the list - 2007 honors our Hiking Galapagos trip. Explore some of the Islands' most remarkable regions, including snorkeling at Leon Dormido, Tortuga Bay, El Junco Lagoon and a hike to the rim of Sierra Negra volcano. Spend the nights on the Islands in comfortable hotels. This Galapagos tour is a great alternative to the traditional Galapagos cruise.

"Straddling the equator 600 miles off the west coast of Ecuador, these far-flung volcanic islands have been the focus of scientists and wildlife lovers since Charles Darwin first scratched his head here in 1835. Now that the Galapagos have become one of the most popular destinations on the planet -- 120,000 yearly vistors come to spy on the islands' famous giant tortoises, fur seals, and blue-footed boobies -- the Galapagos National Park Services keeps tight control on where boat passengers disembark and how long they spend at designated land and underwater visitor sites. The best way to avoid crowds?...Join Adventure Life's new nine-day hiking trip, with overnights in small inns."
USA Today Logo

USA Today

Five adventures to get your blood rushing

Published: December 8, 2006
By: Gene Sloan

Itching for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure? How about the first commerical trek up Tibet's Tsangpo river? Or rafting in little-visited Montenegro? Or biking in Spain's vineyard-dotted Rioja region? These are just a few of the new offerings from adventure travel companies for 2007. USA TODAY's Gene Sloan offers a guide to five new itineraries:...

...Patagonia: Adventure Life's End of the World trip combines three days on an expedition ship, sailing glacier-fed fjords and corssing the Strait of Magellan, with a land-based exploration of mountainous Chile and Argentina that includes a stay at an eco-tent lodge.

USA Today Logo

USA Today

Evolution of a Good Idea

Published: September 29, 2006
By: Gene Sloan

SAN CRISTOBAL ISLAND, the Galapagos, Ecuador — An hour into a grueling hike through the scrubby, arid lowlands that cover much of this island, Alfredo Meneses slows his pace.

"Keep your eyes out," says the 40-year-old tour guide, sweat glistening from his brow as he scans the nearby clumps of silvery-gray, lichen-covered palo santo trees. "We've just entered the kingdom of the giant tortoise." ...

...Meneses, an Ecuador-born guide for Missoula, Mont.-based Adventure Life Journeys, launched the first land-based tour in the Galapagos nearly five years ago, a week-long multisport trip that included hiking, kayaking and horseback riding. Soon other adventure companies followed. In the past year, several also have added land-based all-kayaking trips. Now Adventure Life is premiering the first all-hiking trip, the latest twist in the growing trend...

Conde Nast Traveler Logo

Conde Nast Traveler

Green List

Published: August 31, 2006

We are thrilled to have made Conde Nast Traveler's 2006 Green List for our role as a Tour Operator practicing responsible and sustainable travel. Read more in the September 2006 issue of Conde Nast...

"Adventure Life Journeys
ALJ operates trips in Latin America and Antarctica only and sponsors (with additional donations from travelers) the Earth Family Fund, which concentrates on three projects: a shelter for teenage mothers in Peru, a community near the Inca Trail, and an Ecuadorian orphanage. In addition to working exclusively with local guides and support staff, ALJ chooses its destinations carefully, including a private reserve in Costa Rica that has started its own nonprofit foundation and invented a wastewater-purification system using water lilies. The company also prints brochures on recycled paper with soy ink -- even though it raises costs by 20 percent..."

National Geographic Adventure Logo

National Geographic Adventure

Great Summer Trips of 2006

Published: April 30, 2006

National Geographic Adventure recently highlighted our Peru Manu Biosphere tour in their "Great Summer Trips" issue. Check it out!

The 4.4-million-acre Manu Biosphere Reserve, in eastern Peru's Amazon territory, has the highest concentration of bird species on the planet. It is also home to tapirs, a dozen varieties of monkeys, and the playful giant otter -- an animal hunted nearly to extinction elsewhere but still thriving within the reserve. But Manu's most charismatic wildlife attraction is a garish little bird called the Andean cock-of-the-rock; males famously congregate for a bizarre mating ritual -- a sing off that may be the animal kingdom's closest approximation of American Idol. Outfitter Adventure Life has been leading guests to this spectacle for five years and doing it in a way that gives back to the surrounding human and animal communities. "We use local guides and transportation and family-run hotels so that our Peruvian hosts can share the benefits of tourism," says the company's founder, Brian Morgan.

Expect high altitude (13,000 feet) in the cloudforest portion of the reserve. Accommodations at Manu are comfortable and simple -- you'll have your own bed and bath, but the electricity is on for only eight hours a day.

The Washington Post Logo

The Washington Post

Lending a Hand In Playa Las Tortugas

Published: March 5, 2006
By: Cindy Loose

Hundreds of white coolers line floor-to-ceiling shelves inside a hot, dimly lighted shed. The silence is broken only by what sounds like dozens of fingernails scraping against Styrofoam.

Veterinarian Miguel Flores Peregrina listens carefully to discern which coolers are emitting the scraping sounds, identifies three and open the lids.

Inside, dozens of squirming newborn turtles, each smaller than the palm of my hand, are clawing their way to the top of the sand-filled coolers and trying to bash through the sides of the Styrofoam to freedom. Like all sea turtles, these are born with a natural burst of energy and an ancient instinct telling them to rush headlong into the sea...

...Volunteers at Mexico's Playa Las Tortugas can hold baby turles, help measure females after they've come ashore at night to lay eggs, and see new hatchings scramble in the corrals...

...Adventure Life has trips to Costa Rica's Pacuare Nature Reserve or Tortuguero National Park in spring and summer. From San Jose, Costa Rica, eight-day trips begin at $1,345 and include working with turtles, white-water rafting and visiting a rainforest...

Outside Magazine Logo

Outside Magazine

Best Trips of 2006 - The Wanderlist

Published: February 28, 2006

Every year Outside Magazine lists the top trips from around the world. This year we are happy to announce our Northwest Argentina Trek made the honored list.

Amid the deep red gorges of Argentina's rugged northwest, aboriginal adobe huts stand as reminders that this country's rich history far predates the tango. This nine-day trip covers both past and present, fromt the pre-Spanish Calchaquis relics in Quilmes to the up-and-coming wineries of Cafayate. After a stay at ta comfortable bodega lodge, you'll embark on a three-day trek through the Cachi Mountains, where you and your packhorses will hoof it 29 miles up the Belgrando River Gorge to the multicolored sandstone formations of the Pukamayu Vally.

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