travel reading comprehension

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ESL Travel Reading

ESL travel reading comprehension passages and exercises are good ways to learn travel vocabulary. Doing them will help you remember the words and how to use them.

This page has an ESL travel reading comprehension passage that you should read and understand. Then after it there are some questions about the passage that that you should answer. Once you have finished the questions click on the get answers button to show your score and the correct answers.

If you cannot understand any of the vocabulary used you can go to the ESL travel vocabulary page that has an extensive travel vocabulary list for you to consult.

ESL Travel Reading Comprehension Passage

Travel is something which people do every day. It is very difficult to avoid the need to travel. It may be a trip to school, university or to work. Travelling can often take a long time, especially when great distances need to be covered. People often enjoy travelling abroad for holidays. But for some people travelling is not fun at all. Some people suffer from travel sickness. This means that they will become very unwell each time they travel. 

Travelling can be either affordable or costly. It often depends on how far you want to travel and the choice of transport. Using a bicycle will not cost anything as you power it by using your legs. However, the use of a bicycle can be hard work and can take a lot of time to travel long distances. Cars and motorcycles are faster modes of transport, but are more expensive to use as gasoline is needed for them to work. It can usually be assumed that the longer you wish to travel, the more expensive and time consuming it will be.

The use of a plane is necessary for people wanting to travel very long distances. A pilot will fly a plane from an airport for many thousands of miles to take people to places far away. Although traffic is rarely a problem for airplanes, it can take a lot of preparation to travel by plane. People often need to arrive at the airport three hours prior to departure. 

A train is another mode of transport which is ideal for travelling long distances within the same country, or between countries which are connected by land. A train driver will stop at train stations on route to allow passengers wishing to proceed to the scheduled destination to board the train.

A number of destinations can be travelled to by using the sea. People often depart from a harbour in a ferry which is driven by a captain. If the journey is a long distance, people may choose to sleep on the ferry while they wait to arrive at their destination. Some people choose to go on a cruise for their holiday, which would involve stopping at many different city ports for a short amount of time. People who need to travel short distances may choose not to use any transport at all. People often rely on their legs to take them to places nearby. This is often encouraged as certain modes of transport have been said to produce harmful emissions and damage the environment. 

ESL Travel Reading Comprehension

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ESL Travel Conversations ESL Travel Listening ESL Travel Vocabulary ESL Travel Writing

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Round-the-world travellers

This lesson offers a variety of activities based on British round-the-world travellers; a cyclist, a running granny and a teenage sailor.

Students will firstly review country names, and then there is an activity to pre-teach vocabulary for a jigsaw reading task, where students will explain their texts to each other. There follows a role play in which students play the part of a traveller or a journalist, and this is followed by a task where students compare ideas on advice to world travellers. Finally there is a more open discussion task about young people, travel and world records.

Aims: • To learn vocabulary related to travel and adventure • To develop reading skills • To practise speaking skills Age group: 12- adult

Level: B1 / B2

Time: 60 minutes

Materials: Around-the-world travellers student worksheet, jigsaw reading texts, and lesson plan

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Travel, Reading Comprehension Exercise English Exam Preparation

Prepare for reading comprehension exams by practicing with this activity. The reading passage is based on the topic of travel. Develop relevant vocabulary in the process. You have an hour to complete the exercise.

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The best travel and tourism reading list

Disclaimer: Some posts on Tourism Teacher may contain affiliate links. If you appreciate this content, you can show your support by making a purchase through these links or by buying me a coffee . Thank you for your support!

Having a travel and tourism reading list is important, whether you are a teacher, a student, or a tourist.

The key to success is knowledge. And where better to look than books? Having a travel and tourism reading list is a great idea whether you are a student, an entrepreneur or a travel enthusiast.

In this article I have outlined a number of essential and recommended texts covering a range of travel and tourism-related topics. These are the perfect additions to any travel and tourism reading list.

The first list is intended for travel and tourism students and teachers. The second list is useful for people working in the tourism industry, especially those who run their own business or who are managers. The third list offers practical guidance for travellers. The final list provides my recommendations for leisurely reading that will inspire your wanderlust!

Tourism: Principles and Practice

The business of tourism, tourism: a modern synthesis, worldwide destinations: the geography of travel and tourism, the geography of tourism and recreation: environment, place and space, the escape industry: how iconic and innovative brands built the travel business.

• Travel Agent Training: How to become a Home Based Travel Agent” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Travel Agent Training: How to become a Home Based Travel Agent
• Optimize YOUR Bnb: The Definitive Guide to Ranking #1 in Airbnb Search

How to Start and Run a B&B

The small business start-up workbook: a step-by-step guide to starting the business you’ve dreamed, the idea in you: how to find it, build it, and change your life, travel the world on $50 a day, the responsible tourist, the family travel handbook, the camper van bible, your money or your life, bush craft 101, travel anywhere (and avoid being a tourist): travel trends and destination inspiration for the modern adventurer, eat, pray, love, down under: travels in a sunburned country, how to be a family, sand in my bra, without you there is no us, first they killed my father, sihpromatum – i grew my boobs in china, the alchemist, travel and tourism reading list: your recommendations, my travel and tourism reading list.

Below you will find a list of the best books in the business. Not got a huge budget? Not to worry! Abe Books is a great website selling discounted second-hand books- just use the search option to see if they have what you’re after. Otherwise, I have no doubt you will find your books on Amazon.

Academic-based tourism texts

The reading material needed for each travel and tourism course will differ slightly. However, there are some key tests that are largely relevant for the majority of programmes. Below, I have outlined some of the key texts

This is the ultimate beginner’s guide for any travel and tourism student and is on almost every university travel and tourism reading list.

This book covers all of the core travel and tourism management subjects and the explanations are clear and easy to understand.

There are multiple editions, so if you’r budget is tight, opt for an older copy to save a few pennies!

This book is an essential text for students of tourism management or travel and tourism.

It provides background theory and research that is easy to understand. It also has lots of relevant and current case studies.

The world is changing and evolving quickly and the tourism industry must keep up.

This book looks at the modern-day issues that are effecting the travel and tourism industry. It examines new and emerging markets and disruptive technologies such as the sharing economy , low cost airlines and e-travel. It also includes current debates on sustainable tourism , future jobs in travel and tourism and generational marketing.

Every travel and tourism reading list should have a geography-based element, because geography is such an important part of travel!

This book is great because it explores the concepts of tourism demand and supply for a comprehensive range of destinations and every country worldwide.

This book is essential reading for any travel and tourism student!

Another geography-based text, this book combines management theory with a range of geographical case-studies around the world.

Practical tourism management guides

There are some really handy tourism management guides on the market at the moment. These are perfect for those who are considering a career in travel and tourism or for people who are looking to climb the career ladder.

If you are thinking about starting up your own business in the tourism industry then these books are must-haves! The tips and advice given in these texts are invaluable- they will help to save you time and make you money!

Here are my recommendations-

The travel and tourism industry is fun and dynamic. And there are endless opportunities to businesses: travel is a hugely competitive, multi-million pound industry and marketers of all sectors can learn important lessons from it.

From mass tourism to business tourism to specialist tourism, there are some fundamental principles to setting up and running a business in the tourism industry.

This book presents an expert view of travel marketing and branding (and loads of helpful advice), focusing particularly on how travel has been transformed for both consumers and providers since the beginning of the 21st century.

Traditional travel agents are fast becoming a thing of the past. High street stores are exchanged for home-based working. Many of the big travel agencies (Thomas Cook, Lunn Poly, Monarch to name a few) no longer exist. There have never been so many opportunities to work online and to be your own boss as there are right now. The evolution of the internet and the reduction in competition means that the marketplace is wide open. But being an online travel agent isn’t something you can do without any training! This book teaches you the fundamentals of setting up your businesses and how to be successful. Optimize YOUR Bnb: The Definitive Guide to Ranking #1 in Airbnb Search

Want to get rich quick? Airbnb could be the way to go!

There are plenty of people who are making decent sums of money each year from Airbnb. But it is a competitive market and if you want to succeed, you need to know how!

This book is written by Danny, who claims to be the best in the world at Airbnb. His book teaches you how to optimise your listing, leverage tools to automate your workload, undertake interior design without paying premium rates, navigate the slow season and identify and solve guest issues.

Owning a B&B is the dream of many…but where do you start?

This book teaches you all the basics in order to run a successful bed and breakfast business. It looks at types of customers, financial tools, preparing your home, marketing your property and managing profit.

Whatever business you are considering running/starting, the small business start up workbook will help you to be successful.

This practical and comprehensive workbook is packed with real-life case studies and practical exercises, checklists and worksheets, it provides a step-by-step guide to researching and formulating your business ideas, planning the right marketing strategies, and managing a team that will drive your vision forward with you.

Whilst not specific to tourism management, this book is a great addition to any travel and tourism reading list.

Do you have an idea in you? A hobby, a project, a product … something that could change your life? The Idea in You will help you to formulate a business plan and turn your idea into a reality.

Travel tips and advice

If you love travelling then you will love these books, which offer heaps of helpful travel tips and advice. I’ve read lots of these types of books and consolidated a list of my favourites below.

Not everyone travels on a budget, but most of us can’t resist saving money and getting a great bargain!

Matt Kepnes is one of my favourite travel bloggers. Specialising in budget travel, he has put together this brilliant guide on how to travel the world without breaking the bank. He offers some really helpful tips and advice from how to find the best bargains to using air miles to avoiding paying bank fees abroad.

Travel takes us to see wonderful places around the world, but sadly, it also helps to destroy those places.

This book is a fantastic guide which teaches you how you can offset the damage caused by travelling and help the local communities, economies and environments that you visit.

By being a sustainable tourist , you will feel better about your travels and help to preserve the places that you are visiting for future generations.

Travelling as a family has created my most special and favourite memories. My kids get so much out of travelling- after all, travel is the best education, so they say!

But travelling with small kids isn’t always easy. You need to adapt your travel habits and revise plans to suit the children. Your luggage will double in size. You will experience issues and dramas that had never crossed your mind pre-kids.

This book is great because it gives plenty of tips and advice about how best to travel with kids. A must-read for any avid travellers who are planning to start a family soon and for families who are yet to embrace life on the road.

Ever dreamed of travelling in a camper van? What an amazing experience, huh! But, there is a lot to learn if you’re going to do it properly…

Martin Dorey, acknowledged camper van expert and presenter of BBC2’s ‘One Man and His Campervan’, delves headfirst into the nitty gritty of camping and camper vans in this book, which makes a perfect addition to any camper glovebox.

In this book he covers four main areas of-

-Owning and living day to day with a camper van (LIVE)  – Cooking and eating in your camper (EAT)  – Sleeping in your camper (SLEEP)  – Keeping you and your van going (REPEAT)

Whilst this book is not directly about travelling, it does provide invaluable tips about how to manage your money. And more money=more travel, right?

This book is 5star rated on Amazon. It covers getting out of debt, developing savings, reordering material priorities, living well for less, resolving inner conflicts between values and lifestyle, saving the planet while saving money and much more.

If getting out and about amongst nature is your thing then you will love Bushcraft 101. Whether you’re the next Bear Grylls or trying your hand at glamping, there are many helpful tips and tricks in this guide.

Written by survivalist expert Dave Canterbury, this guide is based on the 5Cs of Survivability-cutting tools, covering, combustion devices, containers, and cordages. This guide teaches you the most important survival skills to use in a range of outdoor contexts.

Whilst I fundamentally disagree with the title (if you are travelling for leisure then you ARE a tourist , no matter what you do- and there is nothing wrong with that!), this book does offer some pretty handy tips.

This book presents a range of stories and anecdotes to help teach you how to make the most out of your travel experiences, get off the beaten paths and have a deep and meaningful experience.

Books to inspire wanderlust

Whether you are looking for a good holiday book or some night time reading, there is nothing better (in my opinion) than a book which inspires your inner wanderlust!

I personally love to snuggle up in bed on a cold winter’s evening when my next trip away is a distant dream and immerse myself in the adventures of others. Here are some of my favourites that I have read over the years. Some of these pop up on most ‘must read’ travel lists and others are lesser-known books that I have come across on my travels.

Alex Garland’s, The Beach, has a lot to answer for!

This is is one of the most popular travel books of all time and one of my all-time favourites. It is also the reason for the occurrence of overtourism in Maya Bay, Thailand and its subsequent temporary closure.

The Beach, later made into a film starring Leonardo Dicaprio, is based on the [once] pristine beach in Maya Bay, Thailand . When people started reading about this perfect, unspoilt beach , they bagan to flock there in their hundreds and thousands. Fast forward a decade or two and the area was filled with litter and flora and fauna dying. The beach has been closed to tourists to allow for rejuvenation in 2018 indefinitely.

Despite the current state of ‘The Beach’, the book itself is a fantastic read. It details the search for unspoilt lands and the life that these backpackers live when they find them. It is an absolute must-read for anyone who has caught ‘the travel bug’!

Another one of my favourites is Eat, Pray, Love. This book has also been made into a film , starring Julia Roberts. I am a massive fan, so much so that I think there was a time in my life when I watched this film at least twice a week!

Eat, Pray, Love documents a woman’s journey through Italy , India and Bali. On a journey of self-discovery (as many of us are during our travels at some point or another), this book takes you with her on an emotional and philosophical level.

Whilst this book may resonate more with women than men (my husband certainly isn’t a fan!), it is well worth a watch and will definitely spark some inner wanderlust!

Bryson’s Down Under is one of the best travel books I have ever read. I have vivid memories of starting to read it whilst laying in bed in my hostel in Sydney and finishing it shortly after I left Australia whilst in the Gili Islands .

This book is funny and informative- two criteria to make an excellent read! I learnt so much about Australia in this book, from the history of colonialism in the area to what life is like in the outback. This book really complimented my travels and helped to me to understand and appreciate what I was seeing and experiencing so much more.

If there is one book that you MUST read when travelling down under, it’s this one!

If, like many parents, you are nervous about travelling with your kids then read this!

How to be a Family is a funny memoir of a family round the world trip. It shows that travelling with kids doesn’t have to be stressful or cost the earth.

This one’s for the girls! Sand in my Bra is a hilarious collection of tales from females who have travelled all over the world from Alaska to Zanzibar. It’s a light-hearted read that will be sure to make you laugh. And I definitely have a few stories of my own that could be added to the collection…

This book gives you a sneak peak into a place that you will likely never travel to- North Korea . OK, so there are a few tours to the country but these are completely inauthentic , heavily censored and somewhat dangerous (one step wrong and you’re in a North Korean prison for the rest of your life…).

This book is a real page turner. It tells the story of Suki Kim, who travels to North Korea as an English teacher to learn about her heritage and culture . This book provides insights into the world’s most secretive country, many of which will shock you.

I definitely recommend this book if you plan to visit South Korea. No trip to Korea is complete without a trip to the DMZ and this book gives you some excellent background knowledge before you go.

I was sold this book by a street seller as I got off a bus upon my arrival in Cambodia. Prior to reading this book I knew little about the Khmer Rouge regime and about the country that I had just arrived in.

Whilst this book has many moments which are sad and scary, it really enabled me to develop a thorough understanding of the horrors that were suffered just three decades earlier. Yes, you can read guidebooks and information plaques, but hearing it through the words of a child who has lived through this time is something pretty special.

This is a book that I am currently reading at the moment and I am loving it so far! I grew my boobs in China is the story of a family’s four year backpacking adventure, as told by teenager Savannah Grace. Initially unimpressed to be dragged away from her school and her friends, Savannah ended up having what literally became the adventure of a lifetime.

Wild is another example of a popular travel book that has subsequently been made into a movie .

Whilst this isn’t my personal favourite book or movie, it is hugely popular around the world, which is why I included it in this list.

Wild is the story of Cheryl Strayed who set off on a journey to walk 1100 miles along the west coast of America alone. Bearing the grief of her mother’s sudden death and her crumbled marriage, she embarks on a spiritual journey fro lost to found.

The last book on my travel and tourism reading list is the Alchemist.

The reason it’s last is because I haven’t actually managed to finish it. Personally, I found this book a little slow going and I just haven’t managed to find the motivation to finish it yet…. having said that, many others have! In fact, I think I may be the only person in the world who doesn’t absolutely love this book!

The Alchemist is included on almost every list of recommended travel books I have ever read… which is why I have included it here. It might not be to my taste, but it could be to yours!

To finish off this article, I would love to ask for your suggestions of essential travel and tourism reading. Whether it’s a textbook, a how-to guide, fiction or non-fiction, please let me know what is missing from my travel and tourism reading list! You can use the comments box below.

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Reading Comprehension Travelling

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Reading comprehension activity about transportation

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An airport notice

Read a notice at the airport and answer the questions to practise reading important information.

Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and do the exercises.

Preparation

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What can I take on the plane as hand luggage?

Please note that passengers can only take ONE suitcase onto the plane. It must be no bigger than 55cm x 22cm x 35cm and weigh no more than 10kg.

You can also take one small laptop bag or handbag that can fit under the seat in front of you. If you have two bags, their total weight cannot be more than 10kg. If your bag is too big or too heavy, you will not be allowed to take it onto the plane. Staff will put it in the hold for you and you will have to pay extra.

Please make sure mobile phones and other devices are fully charged so that security staff can check them.

Liquids in bottles bigger than 100ml are allowed on board if you buy them in the airport shops after you've passed security. 

We hope you enjoy your flight!

MultipleChoice_MjMyMTA=.xml

GapFillDragAndDrop_MjMyMTE=.xml

Do you like to fly with only hand luggage?

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Do you like to fly with only hand luggage? 

I have not traveled by plane but it would be nice to travel with only hand luggage because it would be lighter and more comfortable during the whole trip.

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I have never traveled by plane and have no plans to do so soon, however I think it is better to travel only with hand luggage as it costs you less money and you feel more comfortable, you waste less time and you avoid problems that may arise.

Where is the Worksheet? I want to download it, thanks.

Hello CoderDream,

I'm sorry about this. I've added the worksheet.

Best wishes, Kirk LearnEnglish team

Yes, surely. One luggage is too enough to put in your laptop, headphones, some clothes. The more your bags getting light, the more your flight would be comfortable. 

When I traveling solo, I prefer flying with just carry-on luggage because I appreciate simplicity. However, when I traveling with my family, which include two kids, we require additional luggage to accomodate all the the necessary items, making checked baggage a necessity

I have never been abroad but I have tried plane   The duration of the flight was 40 minutes so I did not have much time to see anything 

Yes, I like it. This makes it possible to be mobile not only at airports but throughout the entire trip.

Yes, I like to fly with only hand luggage because I often travel light.

Yes, I do. I like to hold my handbag and my laptop.

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Inside the Literary Travel Boom

Book butlers! Curated libraries! Custom cruises! Literary-themed vacations are the hot new trend in tourism.

In January, when packing my bags for a “reading retreat” in the Dominican Republic, I agonized about which books to bring. A few days later, bellied up to the beachside bar at the all-inclusive Dreams Macao Beach Punta Cana resort (where, in place of barstools, swings are suspended from the thatched ceiling), I sipped a mojito, cracked open James Salter’s Light Years, a novel I reread annually, and knew that I’d chosen well.

But if I’d had any regrets, summoning a new paperback would’ve been as easy as ringing for a book butler. I was down in the DR to experience Pages in Paradise, a collaboration between the publisher Penguin Random House, Belletrist Book Club (the brainchild of actress Emma Roberts), and Apple Vacations (no relation to the iPhone maker). For readers who like to beach, the retreat left no page unturned. The programming kicked off even before check-in: Ahead of arrival, guests could log in to the resort’s app to reserve beach reads from an on-site library curated by Belletrist. Housed in the airy hotel lobby, the collection included buzzy contemporary fiction by the likes of Zadie Smith and Curtis Sittenfeld. Guests could also order books via room service (or personal butler) anytime or select one from the chic library carts located at the adults-only pool. The property’s various bars featured the “Pages Pour,” a specialty cocktail themed to the program’s inaugural book-of-the-month selection, Jenny Xie’s debut novel, Holding Pattern . They called the drink a gin-fashioned—a fruit-forward riff on the old-fashioned, zippy with pineapple-cinnamon syrup.

Exotic as this tropical gathering of book lovers might have been, it’s just one example of a fast-growing business trend: literary-themed travel. We have the pandemic to thank. Reading surged in the early days of Covid, and the habit stuck as lockdowns eased: The biggest two years on record for print book sales in the U.S. were 2021 and 2022. Hotels and tourism companies, eager to lure back travelers, seized on the surge and began featuring books in their marketing. What began as a travel perk has become a full-blown movement to cater to readers with an explosion of new programming, from big-ticket experiences promising author access to solitary retreats. I know, I know—planning a trip around your reading list may never replace your annual golf weekend, but when else will you get the time to actually enjoy that stack on your nightstand? And if it all sounds like giving yourself homework, don’t worry—there definitely won’t be a quiz, and did I mention the drinks?

As a professional book recommender, the question I’m asked most often is “What book should I bring on my vacation?” ​But now there’s a new question to consider: What kind of literary vacation should I plan?

Not every reader is content to lie by the pool and read for days on end. Some are looking for a more kinetic experience—one that lets them interact with fellow readers, and even their favorite writers. Enter the “ Gone Girl cruise.” In fall 2022, author Gillian Flynn set sail down the Danube with some of her biggest (and most well-heeled) fans as part of Avalon Waterways’ Storyteller Series, cruises that offer literary travelers a chance to voyage in close quarters with authors and other storytellers. When Flynn tweeted about the cruise, it quickly became a viral sensation. On-board accounts detailed a true-crime extravaganza, with guests returning to their rooms each night to discover blood-spattered notes, themed to Flynn’s novels, on their pillows. Sure, it’s a little dorky—but we’re all fans of something, and if crime novels are your thing, what could be better?

For readers who can’t splash out for getaways abroad, there are literary destinations closer to home, too. In the artsy hamlet of New Hope, Pennsylvania, the historic luxury hotel River House at Odette’s offers Riverside Reading (in partnership with Bedside Reading), a program that pairs complimentary access to a curated library (via digital app or hard copies throughout the hotel) with intimate author experiences. With bookshelves stationed on each floor and authors rolling through seasonally, guests can dip in and out of the programming as they please.

When I visited River House deep in the grips of a harsh Pennsylvania winter, I discovered a reader’s paradise: My room boasted a fireplace, a private balcony, and serene views of the rushing Delaware River. After turndown service, I found a keepsake leather bookmark on my pillow. That evening, a few dozen guests gathered for a talkback with the novelist Jean Hanff Korelitz. In a ballroom festooned with red carnations (a nod to the cover of her latest book, The Latecomers ), Korelitz fielded rapid-fire questions about her inspiration, her writing process, and her hit novel The Plot . After the formal conversation concluded, starstruck guests crowded around her at the bar. “When people come up to you and say, ‘I loved your book,’ that really means something to writers,” Korelitz told me. As the owner of BookTheWriter, a service connecting authors and readers through pop-up book clubs hosted in New York City apartments, Korelitz knows a thing or two about making connections. In the recent boom of literary travel experiences, she sees a broader post-pandemic trend of readers craving the chance to get up close and personal with their favorite writers. “The ways of access to authors have multiplied exponentially,” she said. “I find it to be very inspiring.”

For an early-career author like Xie, who was at Pages in Paradise, seeing her novel highlighted was both exciting and transformative. That’s the thing about literary travel—it allows us to transcend our ordinary lives in more ways than one. “There’s a certain sense that we don’t have the space to read unless we’re traveling or living outside of our day-to-day,” said Xie. “A book takes you outside of your physical environment and your lived experience. Travel does that, too, so they join together in this really beautiful way to truly transport you.” That’s a journey worth taking.

HOW TO PLAN YOUR OWN LITERARY VACATION

Ready to take off on a bookish getaway? Literary travel isn’t “one size fits all,” so whatever type of reader you are, we’ve got a prescription for it. Choose your own adventure below.

For the fan

The Gone Girl cruise is over, but Avalon Waterways isn’t slowing down anytime soon: Its upcoming slate of Storyteller Cruises includes actor Graham McTavish (sailing down the Rhine River) and Outlander phenom Diana Gabaldon (voyaging down the Danube).

For the R&R chaser

Looking for a more relaxed experience? At the Reeds at Shelter Haven, an upscale resort on the Jersey shore, guests can participate in Reeds’ Reads, a seasonal book club featuring guided discussions, with authors sometimes joining via Zoom for Q&A sessions.

For the aspiring writer

Chances are, your favorite author is side-hustling by leading retreats in pastoral Europe. To get in on the action, pay close attention to their social-media feeds, or search for guided trips through an experiential-tourism outlet like TrovaTrip.

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• B2 graded reading

Amazing adventurers (B2)

From walking along the entire Amazon River to skiing to the South Pole, check out some of the 21st century's most amazing adventurers.

Instructions

Do the preparation exercise first and then read the article. If you find it too difficult, try one of the lower levels. After reading, do the exercises to check your understanding.

Preparation

Amazing adventurers.

Have you ever dreamt of climbing Mount Everest or walking to the South Pole? If so, you’re not alone. Every year, thousands of people try to climb the world’s highest mountains or walk across continents. Unlike the explorers of the past who used maps and compasses, today’s adventurers travel with modern technology like GPS and satellite phones. Many adventurers are nature lovers who use their travels to help raise awareness about a range of environmental issues, while others are keen to help people in need and raise money for charities. Let’s take a look at some of the 21st century’s greatest adventurers.

Amazon adventurer

Ed Stafford from the UK is the first person to walk the length of the Amazon River. He started by a small stream in the Andes mountains of Peru and arrived at the river’s mouth in Brazil, two years and four months later, having walked 6,000 kilometres.

The Amazon rainforest is home to poisonous snakes, crocodiles and jaguars, so Ed was in constant danger. Luckily, he survived with nothing worse than a few thousand mosquito and ant bites. On his trip, Ed had to find food to eat every day. A lot of the time, the fruit, nuts and fish he ate were hard to find and he often felt weak and exhausted.

Ed’s walk would have been impossible without technology. He used a radio to ask the people of the rainforest for food and permission to cross their land. Many of them came to meet him and helped guide him through the most difficult terrain. As he walked Ed wrote a blog, recording his day-to-day experiences. He used the media interest in his trip to protest about the destruction of the rainforest and raise money for environmental and children’s charities in Brazil and Peru.

A mountain climber

Over 4,000 climbers, aged from thirteen to eighty have been to the top of Everest. Though climbing high mountains in freezing conditions and violent storms is still extremely dangerous, the world’s best climbers now look for new challenges.

Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner from Austria fell in love with mountain climbing as a teenager. When she left school, she worked as a nurse, but kept climbing in her free time. Having climbed Everest, she decided to climb all fourteen of the world’s 8,000 metre peaks. To increase the challenge, Gerlinde climbs without using oxygen tanks. This is risky as low oxygen levels at the top of high mountains can affect brain and body functioning. Gerlinde uses her fame as a climber to support a charity for poor children and orphans in Nepal.

Hungry for adventure

Not content with one amazing trip, some of today’s adventurers go from challenge to challenge. Meagan McGrath from Canada has climbed the highest mountain on each continent, ridden a bike across Canada and run a long-distance race in the Sahara Desert in 45ºC heat. But perhaps her most remarkable journey was a skiing trip to the South Pole. On the first day, she fell into a glacier and had to be rescued. Many of us would have given up at that point, but Meagan decided to carry on. She reached the South Pole forty days later, having pulled a sledge with a tent and all her food behind her through freezing conditions and ice storms.

Erik Weihenmayer from the United States is another multi-adventurer. He’s ridden a bike through the deserts of Morocco, kayaked through the Grand Canyon and climbed Everest. Amazingly, Erik has been blind since the age of 13. Apart from his travels, he tries to encourage people with disabilities to live active lives and takes groups of young blind people on climbing expeditions.

Where next?

Despite new technologies, crossing continents and climbing mountains still has many risks. Preparation and fitness training are absolutely essential, but if you have a sense of adventure, there are endless possibilities and still hundreds of unclimbed peaks in the Andes and Himalayas.

Check your understanding: multiple choice

Check your understanding: gap fill, worksheets and downloads.

Which of these amazing adventurers do you think is the most impressive?

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