Travel has become less about the journey and more about the destination. We are all a victim of this paradigm shift! I think "bucket listing" is more and more predominate in our ever expanding and ever accelerating world. Rarely do people bucket list travel routes beyond Route 66 and even that is a disappearing icon in the United States. The world moves so quickly now that we take little time to experience the movement from one place to another. For me road trips out west were a summer highlight. However, the journey was what I loved most; car bingo, truck stop gift shops, CB radio chatter, animal counting contests. Of course being in the West and in the mountains was amazing and eye-opening for this Midwestern girl. But it was the experience of the trip, the movement through different sights, sounds, cultures and geography that made me fall in love with travel. Boy on El Chepe The Chihuahua-Pacific train, better known as El Chepe, travels from the coastal state of Sinaloa to the mountainous state of Chihuahua. It starts in the coastal lowlands, up into the Sierra Madre, then over and through several canyons which skirt Copper Canyon. We move through the desert landscapes progressively getting higher and higher in elevation, moving into a dry pine forest. There are quaint towns and hotels to stay in, but the train ride is the destination. Each stop along the way gives the passengers another glimpse in to real life in Mexico. Windblown and loving it! The train itself is an older style train popular with tourists and locals alike, with first and second class accommodations. The dining car is comfortable and the food is excellent, it is completed with smartly dressed and welcoming waiters. The first class seats are spacious and comfortable, but I spent the entire ride hanging out of the door between the cars. This gives amazing access to the sights, sounds, and smells of the changing terrain and train. The 87 tunnels and 37 bridges (one tunnel is 5,965 ft long and the highest bridge is 335 ft high) incite excitement in my fellow train thrill seekers with hoots and hollers! This is truly a wonderful way to travel Mexico. El Chepe allows you to experience some of the cultural and geographical diversity that Mexico has to offer each tunnel and bridge at a time. Click here to read more about Laura's luxury Mexico tour.
Excellent travel advice and service
This is my second experience working with Adventure Life. I’m sold. Jess Heuermann is an experienced traveler and provides a lot of useful information when planning a trip. These are the questions I like to ask at the outset - What’s it like to go here, there, what would you suggest, what do people report, can we add any additional side trips? Jess took the time to answer my questions and seek additional information to share with me. Petchie Colina is outstanding in helping with travel logistics and final preparations. Adventure Life has excellent guides and offers private guides and small group adventures. We enjoyed the opportunity to talk with the guides and drivers to learn more about their countries, cultures and histories. A highlight was having the guides pick local restaurants where we could share meals together. Highly recommend.
Claire Cordon
5 days ago
Our six-day tour in Iceland went smoothly with one exception. We had asked for two rooms each night. Somehow we were booked with one room with three beds. It could not be fixed at the first hotel in Reykjavik because the hotel was fully booked. Once informed of the problem, however, Adventure Life rebooked for two rooms for the remainder of the trip. As an 85-year-old traveler, I appreciated that one could participate at different physical levels at many of the stops. Iceland is a great place to visit but on the expensive side.
Mary Warren
6 days ago
Jess was very easy going and answered all our questions. It’s not easy dealing with 6 people at once but she did an outstanding job!
Diane Foster
1 week ago
Kassandra and the Adventure Life team have been incredible! Kassandra was very knowledgeable and attentive to our asks while making sure we kept within our budget. This was our first experience with a travel agent and we were blown away by the booking/initial exploration service. We will use Adventure Life again.