Traveling for Sport - Dive Into It
Steve and I underwater in Little Cayman
When I first met my husband we found out that one of the things we had in common was scuba diving. That's where the similarity ended. Steve had almost 100 dives under his belt. I had the minimum number needed to complete my PADI certification. He'd obtained his certification in the icy lakes of Minnesota and followed up with multiple dive trips in Mexico. I'd obtained my Open Water certification at a resort in Kota Kinabalu Malaysia and hadn't gone diving since. Similarly when it came to international travel, we were at different levels - to put it in dive terms I was at "dive-master" level while my husband had just gotten his "open water" certification.
So when it came time to plan one of our first international trips together, we decided to take a trip that challenged us both by incorporating our shared sport with a winter warm weather get-away. We headed to Little Cayman for a dive trip. I hadn't been diving in 15 years. Steve hadn't traveled internationally much previously. We both were a bit nervous... for different reasons. But the shared sport was the basis for a memorable vacation that itself created shared adventure and memories
I highly recommend incorporating hobbies and/or sports into vacation travel - especially international travel. It can make the unfamiliar feel a bit more familiar and it can create opportunities to meet new people who share those interests.
Attending or participating in a sporting event is also a great excuse for a trip. My husband and I are avid sailors and our sailing has primarily focused around racing. I sailed/cruised extensively throughout the Caribbean attending various "race weeks" while Steve has traversed the Great Lakes both north and south and east and west for regattas. We have sailed as guests (drink in hand), crewed on race boats (sheet in hand) and watched sailing from the shore (camera in hand) as spectators at major sailing events such as the America's Cup in San Francisco . It gave our trips an initial reason for being, from which other shared experiences grew.
So whether you're planning a trip in which sport is a part of the trip (i.e. day hiking in the Swiss Alps) or the focus of the trip (i.e. trekking trip in Bhutan), you may find incorporating sports a nice alternative way to approaching your vacation travel.