In the News

10 Tourist-Free Adventure Destinations

Sick of overcrowded streets, congested bus rides and suffocating travel groups? You’re not alone. One of the top trends in travel this decade is the quest for the untouched – those pristine, less-traveled destinations you can explore without bumping into selfie-takers at every turn.

Luckily for us, the folks at the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) know a thing or two about traveling off the beaten path. To bring you the tourist-free experience you crave, we asked experts at the recent AdventureElevate conference in Colorado to share some of their favorite secret spots. Read on to get the skinny on these exotic locales before the crowds show up.

Cuba Tour Isn't the Same Old Same Old

"Travel to Cuba is the latest craze, and loosening of restrictions on travel there by U.S. citizens means many tour companies are jumping into the fray. A somewhat different approach is offered by ROW Adventures, a company that specializes in adventure travel around the world. Cuba Unbound: Adventure Tour is an eight-day itinerary that naturally looks at much of the island nation's culture but also adds in kayaking and hiking."

ROW Adventures Kayak Trip Ranked Among Best in the World

"If you're considering a great exotic guided sea-kayaking and hiking adventure, take a tip from National Geographic Traveler, which gave high ratings to an Inland Northwest company that thinks globally. Compelling Corsica, a unique sea kayaking and mountain hiking adventure vacation from ROW Sea Kayak Adventures based in Coeur d'Alene, was named one of National Geographic Traveler magazine's 2015 Tours of the Lifetime."

"Compelling Corsica" Awarded National Geographic Traveler "2015 Tours of a Lifetime"

Our new "Compelling Corsica" trip was selected as a National Geographic Traveler’s “2015 Tours of a Lifetime!” Now in it's 10th year, the 2015 list features 50 of the world's best guided trips chosen by the editors of National Geographic Traveler. Norie Quintos, acting editor in chief of National Geographic Travel magazine said that "the 50 best guided tours selected this year offer authentic travel experiences that are sure to leave participants engaged and ensconced in culture," and that "the types of immersive and experiential trips... are going farther and deeper than ever before."

Whale Meet Again...

Julietta Dexter only hoped to catch a glimpse of an orca whale in Canada - but ended up surrounded by them for days.

Sea Kayakers Connect with Dying Whale

Coeur d’Alene-based sea kayaking guides connected in a personal if not spiritual way to a baby whale destined to die on a Mexico beach.

“I’ll never forget the look in that eye,” said Michelle Darnell, back in the ROW Adventures office last week.

She was working in January with kayaking guides Chris Garcia and Sam Morrison during a ROW Sea Kayak Adventures three-day trip to absorb the natural history in the famous gray whale mating and birthing waters of Magdalena Bay.

Kayaking Mexico's Sea of Cortez

"Now officially luxury castaways, we sleep in white tents pitched by our guides along the shore and spend two more days paddling in the protected waters surrounding the islands. Dolphins announce themselves in a watery shimmer, and then playfully swim away. A pilot whale breaks the surface, and we spot a pod of dolphins nearby it like a marine entourage. They're glimpses of the swirling world below the surface."

Adventure 101: Sea Kayaking Baja

They are scenes from our daydreams: paddling across an indigo lagoon surrounded by porpoises; coming eye to eye with a breaching whale; drifting to sleep on a beach under a dazzle of stars, well fed and soothed by top-shelf tequila...

It's Almost Shark Week! 5 Cool Places to See 'Em Up Close

"Whale sharks, the biggest fish species on the planet, head into the bay of La Paz on Mexico's Baja Peninsula every October through February. You can book a trip to go snorkeling with scientists who are collecting data on the big guys and witness the sharks and their habitat firsthand."

Kayaking on the Sea of Cortez in Mexico is Near Heaven

"For a landlocked Albertan, a day on the water followed by a seafood feast grilled over a fire on the beach is about as close to heaven as you can get. And the entire Mexican peninsula offers opportunities for anyone adventurous enough to seek them."