Here at Be Humanitarian, we take great pride in both providing memorable experiences for those who join us and helping those in need. Enjoying your vacation on an incredible adventure tour can easily be combined with giving back to the communities you visit. And effectively combining those two is exactly what we strive for. But why do we do what we do? Let’s have a look at the differences between adventure tours and service vacations, then dig into the logic behind combining them.
How Adventure Tours Are Good for You
Adventure tours come in all shapes and sizes. And as we all know, there is simply something special about embarking on an amazing adventure into the unknown. Adventure tours to Guatemala and other countries allow you to go outside of your comfort zone and experience the world in new and exciting ways. Traveling and getting to know other cultures is like food for the soul.
Quite frankly, whether it is a trek into the mountains, a bike ride down rural back roads, or an expedition into the countryside, an adventure tour can liberate your mindset and benefit your physical, mental, and emotional states. There is a reason why there is a smile on everyone’s face when they come back from an epic adventure. You are happier for it and there are good reasons why.
When you are off experiencing new things around the world, the stresses of your life melt away. Research has proven that spending time outdoors and getting to know new people reduces stress. And anyone living in a modern, westernized culture will tell you, there’s a lot of stress in everyday life. Getting out into nature and pushing yourself on an adventure helps to alleviate that stress.
Adventure tours also provide great motivation. In fact, research completed by the University of Essex shows that exercise feels easier when you are viewing the color green. Isn’t that interesting? One of the activities you partake in when you go on a Guatemalan Humanitarian Tour includes trekking up the side of a volcano. Beautiful, verdant landscapes surround you. Isn’t it nice to know that viewing the greens in nature helps motivate you to continue?
How Service Vacations Are Good for You
One of the best-known parts about going on a service vacation is partaking in volunteerism and other community service. The impact you have on the community you serve makes a real difference in people’s lives. Dedicating your time as a volunteer on a service vacation also helps you make new friends, expand your network, and boost your social skills.
Here at Be Humanitarian, when we head down to Guatemala with a group, we are partaking in an epic team-building activity. We visit schools and orphanages playing with kids and learning about the community. The personal value you get from these interactions simply can’t be measured.
Going on a service vacation and helping those who need it also helps you build self-confidence, self-esteem, and overall life satisfaction. When you do good for others in the community, you get a natural sense of accomplishment, pride, and identity. Reducing the risk of depression is a tangible benefit travel and volunteerism provide.
There is no doubt that helping others creates internal happiness within ourselves. Research proves that helping others may hold the key to your own happiness. So, why not combine giving back and providing a service to a community in need while you go on vacation. It really doesn’t get much better than that!
A Combination that Works
While there will always be a place for the simple vacation, the market for sustainable tourism, eco-tourism, and volunteerism continues to grow. People want to travel to exotic places, and they want to leave more than their money and their footprint.
We put the focus on having fun and giving back. Our organization organizes fundraisers, sends children backpacks, provides nutrition and education assistance, and so much more. And when people go with us to Guatemala and meet these families, they are touched forever.
But we get that people also want to have fun. In addition to treks up the side of a volcano, other activities include boat rides across a beautiful lake, zip-lining, and shopping in cultural hotspots like Antigua and Chimaltenango. We know how to mix leisure with volunteerism, and the families we support in our work are so grateful to those who donate and join us on our adventures.
Are you interested in a journey that combines the best elements of fun and service? Learn more about the work we do and the trips we take. And we hope to see you on one of our adventures in the future!
