Adventure Unbound has been sharing its love of adventure without borders since 1979. Since the beginning, it has been a family affair, with family and connection being at the root of its values and continuing to drive its mission.
For 44 years, it has researched, experienced, and curated one-of-a-kind human-powered itineraries that support the local communities of destinations it visits across the globe. After creating the first sea kayaking and camping tour of the Galapagos Islands, it turned to explore more of Latin America, with vibrant Cuba catching its eye. Few countries are as compelling and flavorful as Cuba. This Caribbean gem is as complex as it is colorful between classic cars, tobacco fields, rum, and untouched wetlands, reefs, and forests. Cities and communities scattered throughout Cuba are a vivacious blend of past and present, rich with Spanish colonial architecture, music, dance, and cultural celebration.
Only Adventure Unbound offers a truly immersive Cuban experience, where you can connect with the locals, explore the hidden pockets of cities and forests, and view wildlife from the seat of a kayak atop warm Caribbean waters, all in support of the Cuban people.
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SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL
WHAT DOES SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL MEAN TO ADVENTURE UNBOUND?
Adventure Unbound believes that sustainable travel demands constant dedication and innovation. Its responsible travel practices follow the highest criterion of environmental and cultural stewardship in the locations it operates.
Sustainable travel puts into action practices which respect and protect the natural environments visited as well as the sociocultural environment. It also raises awareness of the impact travelers can have on the environment they visit and inspires others to become active advocates for further conservation efforts.
Adventure Unbound aims to connect people in a sincere and personally meaningful way to each of the locations it visits.
MINIMIZING FOOTPRINT
Adventure Unbound's travel practices are founded on the core ethics of protecting and respecting the Earth in all of its unique beauty, following Leave No Trace (LNT) principles. In practice, this means they try to minimize their footprint through discriminating energy use and the principles of reduce, reuse, repurpose, and recycle. They tailor these ethics into all of their practices, from their field operations to their office operations.
Here are some of the ways Adventure Unbound minimizes their impact on the environment:
Many of their trips are largely human powered—exploring countries by foot, kayak, raft, or bike. When they travel by motor, they partner with local operators who use the most fuel-efficient vehicles available.
All of their camping trips practice Leave No Trace procedures and have since they began in 1979.
They respect wildlife and their habitats on all of their trips, making sure they don’t disrupt them or make them uncomfortable as they witness them in their habitats.
Adventure Unbound is committed to sustainable travel and is always looking for ways to reduce their environmental impact. They believe that everyone has a role to play in protecting the planet, and they hope to inspire others to do the same.
CONNECTING PEOPLE TO PLACE
Sustainable travel necessitates learning about and understanding the wildlife, ecosystem, and culture of the places we visit. We believe that having guides who can share the region’s natural and cultural history with our guests in a meaningful, relevant way enriches the travel experience and encourages further stewardship.
The guides are dedicated to illuminating the natural history of the animals and plants we observe as a way to forge intellectual and emotional connections between people and the places we visit.
FAQs
Small Group Scheduled Tours & Custom Travel
Whether you’re looking for a custom tour for just 2-4 people or want to join one of our scheduled tours that are generally limited to 12-14 guests, we offer you a wide variety of choices that include the better-known destinations within Cuba as well as those well off the beaten path.
Custom Tours
In addition to our carefully-crafted itineraries, about half of our business is designing custom tours to Cuba. These can be a mix of culture and nature, or whatever you may wish. Past guests have included people that were born in Cuba and hadn’t been back since their parents brought them to the US in the early 1960’s. We’ve had veterans involved in the Bay of Pigs operation who wanted to go see what Cuba is about. We’ve designed custom Cuba tours for bird watching, scuba diving and even for reptile enthusiasts. We have women-only Cuba tours, gay travel tours in Cuba and more. We’ve arranged trips for cigar and rum aficionados, dance and music lovers, and those wanting to discover the Cuban culinary scene. For hikers, they have several amazing tours, including National Parks walking tour and options in eastern Cuba.
Corporate Social Responsibility
GIVING BACK TO LOCAL COMMUNITIES
Travel is one of the best ways to spread wealth from more developed to less developed countries. Adventure Unbound's tours support many local communities by dining with locally-owned establishments, hiring local guides and support staff, visiting and supporting local non-profits, buying local supplies, and forging friendships that offer support and learning for all.
Adventure Unbound is genuinely invested in the people and culture of the places they travel. They believe that travel is a powerful tool for understanding and appreciating different cultures, and they are committed to supporting the communities they visit.
HIRING LOCAL
Hiring local guides plays a significant role in the authenticity of Adventure Unbound's international and national adventures. Local guides provide guests with an inside-perspective of the country and location visited, enriching their travel experience. Adventure Unbound carefully selects each of their guides to ensure that they are knowledgeable, experienced, and passionate about sharing their culture with others.
In addition to providing a more authentic experience for guests, hiring local guides also serves as an excellent opportunity to support the local economy and give back to the community. When travelers spend money with local businesses, it helps to create jobs and stimulate the economy. It also helps to preserve local culture and traditions.
Adventure Unbound is committed to supporting the communities they visit, and they believe that hiring local guides is one of the best ways to do that.
Beyond expectations! Then again we weren't sure what to expect. Lovely stay at the lodge, met other like-minded travelers (many had their trips planned by Adventure Life) and the owner was a gracious hostess. It felt like you were one happy family, visiting with a favorite aunt.
Nancy Sin
TrustScore 4.8 | 176 reviews
TrustScore 4.8 of 5
Based on 176 reviews on
9 hours ago
Adventure Life is always an excellent choice when planning complicated, extreme, or exotic vacations or expeditions. They provide friendly professional services and advice and are enthusiastic and encouraging in helping us to prepare and thoroughly enjoy our trip. They handle all the details which greatly reduces the stress of planning a difficult trip. I'm very impressed with Adventure Life and definitely recommend them to friends and family.
Scott Trochim
2 days ago
The response from Adventure Life to my first inquiry was prompt and promising. I worked with Jamie Broeckel, Trip Planner, via text, email, and phone calls- always extremely responsive and thorough with information and explaining the process to arrange a private tour for me to Malaysia Borneo. Within about week, the booking was complete and I made decisions because of Jamie's great customer service , friendly manner, and overall competence on behalf of the company's travel expertise. Now I have an itinerary, additional Trip Planner Assistants, several links for vital information for traveling to Maylasia, etc. Still many details for Sept. trip, but now the heavy lifting is done and I can enjoy the rest of the anticipation and research!! Thanks Jamie- you are amazing!!!!
Susan Campo
4 days ago
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
5 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.
