Have you ever felt the pull of the open road, or in this case, the open trail? Last year, we had an incredible conversation with our friends Mo and Erica at Route Finder about their journey on the Camino de Santiago, walking from Portugal to Spain. Hearing their stories of slow travel, discovery, and the power of walking from one village to the next really stayed with us. We had left that interview inspired and dreaming of a pilgrimage of our own someday. And in this episode, we're excited to share our conversation with Lauren McFadden from Max Adventure. We'll talk about the heart behind their travel philosophy, what makes self -guided walking adventures so special, and what we can expect on our journey through Umbria this May. So lace up your walking shoes or just sit back and relax, and let's discover a new way to adventure.
We're Scott and Melissa, the Sunshine Travelers. We're all about exploring the world and sharing the journey with you.
all about exploring the world and sharing the journey with you. Whether you're a seasoned traveler, dreaming of your next adventure, or just here for the stories.
No matter where you are on your travel journey, we've got firsthand experiences, tips, and plenty of inspiration from some of the most amazing places on earth. So buckle up and get ready to travel with us.
buckle up and get ready to travel with us.
Well, before we dive in today's episode, we wanted to share kind of the backstory of how we even started talking about a walking tour. Last year, when we talked to Mo and Erica from Route Finder in episode 32, they told us about their journey on the Camino de Santiago. And this is the trip that goes from Porto, Portugal, to Santiago, Spain. And they call it a pilgrimage. And so a lot of people from all over the world come and walk these trails. And there's multiples of them that go to Santiago, Spain. And so they did the one from Porto. And their story, it wasn't just inspiring. It really lit a spark inside of us. The way that they described slow travel, walking through the towns, connecting with people at places at a deeper level. it kind of struck a chord with us. And so it reminded us why we fell in love with travel in the first place.
Yeah, that conversation really has stayed with us. And we've talked about that several times as well, just as we've thought about planning travel and when do we think we can do something like this? And so as we continue talking about that and reading stories of other pilgrimages, because this is not the only one, right? There's lots of different kind of hiking and through walking that you can do all over the world and really dreaming about when we might be able to do something similar. the beaten path. places at times, or at least seek those out when we visit other places. This felt like a bit of a stretch when it comes to doing a self -guiding walking tour in the way that we currently travel, right? Because there's a lot of planning and, you know, where are you going to stay and what happens with your bags? Are you going to carry all your stuff with you? But that openness to consider a pilgrimage like this is really what connected us with Max Adventure when they reached out to us about helping them promote their newly created podcast. the Self -Guided Travel Podcast. And that podcast follows the adventures of a traveler on a Max Adventure. Today, we're going to have a conversation with Lauren McFadden from Max Adventure North America to tell us a little bit more about what they do and how to do pilgrimages like this or even shorter type hikes. So we're going to jump right into the interview.
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Hi, thank you for having me.
Yeah, glad to have you here. So for our listeners that are unfamiliar with Max Adventure, can you kind of give us a quick overview of what it is that you do and what self -guided travel is?
Great question. Absolutely. So Max Adventure, we really exist to create Max Moments. It's a little hashtag that we came up with a couple years ago, and we're really out here to lead. advocate and enable self -guided travel as a positive force for people and planet. Now self -guided travel, you might wonder like what exactly is that? It's active travel led by you. So we're going to plan out your entire adventure, but then you'll take the lead. So we handle all of your logistics, like handpicked accommodations, luggage transfers, some taxi transfers if necessary, and of course provide you with our amazing award -winning app to use as your guidebook along the way. So you're there, you go with who you want, when you want. and just make it this incredible experience on your own.
Lauren, explain a little bit for people who are like, okay, wait a minute. What exactly does that mean? Explain a little bit. Maybe take a trip for an example. What makes Max Adventure different than just planning your own trip? What is it that you're doing that's different?
Absolutely. We book the entire package for you once you get to a destination. We handle all of your accommodations each night. We make all the bookings for you. pride ourselves in working with some amazing local accommodation. So small inns, bed and breakfast, the little hotels, and that really highlight a region. And the luggage transfers is honestly one of the best things that we do when you're doing like a through hike, hiking town to town, because you're just, you just have your day pack on your back and you hike that day and we'll move your big bag for you. Having the app really is, it's just, it tracks you along as you go. You can download it offline on your phone so you don't have to use your cell phone data. And it's basically, You know, just it's your guide in your hand. So we do have 24 -7 support while you're traveling. So you can always call us if you need anything. Majority of our trips do have cell phone service, but we're always there to help you. And you do have a specialist plan out everything for you, help you make sure you have all your questions answered before you get going. So then you're not sitting there shuffling through paperwork and maps and going app to app on your phone to try to sort out what you're doing that day. You can just focus on your max trip and, you know, get by on your own two feet.
So what makes the max trip, I guess, like physically what you are doing, what makes that different from pretty much anything else that we see in the travel market?
Absolutely. Most trips and tours that you think of are going to be guided or they're going to be in like a small group that's traveling together on a bus and getting on and off together. We're fully independent. So you don't have a guide. You don't have a group that you're set going to dinner with every night. And so it's just fully independent. travel. Most of it is going to be on your own two feet, so hiking town to town or cycling town to town. We do have some discovery tours and such that you go by rail or bus, but for the most part, it is active travel and just getting by on your own.
And we love what you said about it being like small bed and breakfast, small ends. We've got to do a little bit of that in Ireland and in Scotland. And it just makes a huge difference, you know, for your trip. And then you're supporting somebody local, right? I mean, I think that these big hotels, like they have their time and their place, but you're supporting often it is a local family, you know, in a very small local business. So I love that.
I mean,
I think
Me too. Yeah, it makes you feel good at the end of the day, like who you're supporting and who you are there to make successful.
So Lauren, what really inspired this model? I would have never really thought of looking for someone to give me a guide other than maybe Rick Steves or something, right? Of traveling from town to town. So what really inspired this model?
Great question. So our founder and CEO, Neil Lapping, started the company back in 2003. He had moved from South Africa to Scotland, where he met his wife and fell in love with it and hiking the West Highland Way, which is our first trip that we ever sold. So he was hiking that and would take small groups and kind of guide them along the way. But at one of the stops, there's this big tour bus and it came by and it stopped and all these people got off the bus, took some pictures. got back on the bus, and the bus continued on. And he just sat there and thought, this is not the way to travel. This is not the way to experience a region, and it's actually negatively impacting the community. So how can we do this the right way? So he started this brilliant idea, and it just took off from there, from back in 2003 in his small apartment in Glasgow.
Well, that's great because we actually said that recently we were in Iceland. And, you know, one of the ways to see parts of Iceland is through a guided tour. And you get on the bus and they take you to see the most common sites in Iceland. And for a lot of people, that's, you know, how they're comfortable in traveling. But we said to ourselves, wow, they missed some of the greatest parts of these places because they didn't have time. They had 10, 15 minutes. They could get their picture, they could get back on the bus and they had to go to the next place where, you know, we hiked up along the canyons and climbed the stairs that went up to the top of these waterfalls. And we just had such a different experience.
Absolutely. It's so nice to not be restricted by anything, you know, and not be restricted with like, oh, I need to get to dinner at this certain time to. to eat dinner with the group or my guide's hiking really fast and I'm actually tired and I want to take a snack break or a water break, but I feel embarrassed to speak up and say something. So going at your own pace and having that not as big of an impact on the environment, the local areas is, is key to being able to travel this way for the future too.
So we noticed this mostly in the UK, I would think. where people do get out and they go for these long hikes across the countryside. I think that's just kind of sparked an interest in us. It's something that we've never done before. We've been talking about doing the Camino de Santiago because some friends of ours did the portion that goes from Portugal to Santiago, and they just raved about it and how much they enjoyed it. So that sparked our initial interest in doing some of these hikes. But we're not big hikers. And so I think that's one of the questions that I would have is, do you really need to be an experienced hiker or cyclist? Because you guys do cycle tours as well to do a max adventure trip.
Not at all. So we do have a range of tours that have a different activity level. So our range is from one to six, six being the hardest. And we only have one of those. It's very strenuous. But a lot of them are moderate, easy to moderate, and you can pick exactly what you need out of the trip. So our classic tours are end -to -end style hiking where you're hiking town to town and you don't really get much rest. But then we have some really amazing multi -center tours where you're staying in a place for a couple of nights and maybe you'll do a short hike to the next town or a short bike ride. Or maybe you'll even take a train to the next town. You don't have to hike at all. Recently been adding some discovery tours and really post pandemics because people still want to get out there and explore, you know, these regions that are not normally explored and get there in an easy way. So utilizing public transportation and not just getting, you know, in this big bus again and getting around that way, but, you know, really doing it in the most sustainable way. So we have several options.
And where all, just to kind of, because we've mentioned a few places, you've mentioned Scotland, Scott's mentioned Spain. Give us some examples of where all you offer these types of tours.
Absolutely. All in Europe. So the majority will be in the UK, also Ireland, Spain, Portugal, France, Switzerland, Italy is huge, Greece, Germany. We actually have an office in Germany. We also have a handful in Japan and New Zealand. So very... wide variety of options.
And the other thing that we love, and you alluded to a minute ago, Scott, is that these take you a little bit more off the beaten path. Or you might see some of these popular places, right? But you get to spend a little bit more time or do it at your own pace. But then also, I love what you said, you impact the community in a positive way, right? You're not just going to a major city and staying in the big hotel, but you're there to support. a small local inn, a restaurant and stuff like that. I love that. Yes. Very important. Can you walk us through like maybe what a typical Max adventure? I don't know if you just want to choose one and kind of, yeah. Maybe that Highlands Way,
Maybe that Highlands Way, right? Because that's your most popular, you said.
It is. Yes. And that's the one I did back in 2019. So a few years back, but it was our first trip and absolutely incredible. The first day on that trip, you're going to arrive in a town called Milguy in Scotland and you start hiking. Honestly, that first day. So you do drop your bags off. We can book a pre -night if you'd like on that one. But you start hiking that first day and you basically get to that first town. You check in, your bags are waiting for you in your room. Most of the time, sometimes they're at the front desk. But once you do that, you shower up,
go have dinner. go to bed, get started the next day. So really it's every single day you're waking up, you have a really great breakfast, homemade, you know, by these amazing B &B hoes, the small ends. And you kind of look at your app and figure out the trail that day and say, okay, well, I got 15 miles today. Like let's get started before 9am or whatever time you want to get going. And then you go. You get started. You start your app. It starts tracking how far you've gone that day, how much farther you have to go. It lets you know if you get off the trail, which is super nice. But that's what your day looks like. You can stop and have lunch. You can bring a packed lunch. You have options on that hike, which is really nice. Some of the days are pretty remote, so you'll want to bring a sandwich with you. But otherwise, you can stop and have a nice lunch at a local pub or little deli or something.
And that's something that's worked out in advance with the place that you are staying? Or how does that work as far as the packed lunch? For the lunch,
the lunch, yeah, just let them know when you check in the evening before if you want a lunch the next day. We ended up doing that just that it was easy not to have to plan out where to stop for lunch. I mean, we would see a place and stop for a pint of beer, but then we continue on and have our sandwich later. But it just allowed for more flexibility that day.
So let me stop you for just one second and ask. So somebody might have just heard you say 10 miles, 15 miles and think no way. But all of your trips are not that long.
all of your
You have a lot of them where.
Yes, varying distances. I mean, some of our trips can go as low as five to six miles a day, but they're always avoidable for the most part unless you're doing a very strenuous alpine trip where you're in the middle of nowhere. But the majority of our trips, there's like public transportation or even taxis and such that you can take to the next town if you're not feeling it or you wanted to sleep in and not have any activity that day. There are options to get yourself to the next stop.
Yeah, that's awesome. That's what I love is the flexibility. You know, and a lot of times if you're walking that at home or something similar to that at home, right? It's like, okay, that's a little bit more doable. It's not like I've got to get into a, you know, a training program if I'm going to choose one of the ones that's, you know, four or five or something miles a day. And then also typical ranges for the trip. So how long do people have to have two weeks to do something like this?
then also
The majority of our trips are eight days and seven nights. Now, what's nice, I mean, going back to the West Highland Way is we can do that. We can do it in sections. So if you only have five days, fine. We just do a section of it. If you want to do the full walk, we can do anywhere from seven to 11 days. So even if you see something like the West Highland Way, but, oh, that looks strenuous, well, do the longest option that we have. And that'll give you the shortest hiking days and just, you know, allow you to, again, take your time and wake up early and just, you know, set the pace that way.
One of the things that I saw, because you're offering tours all over the world, right? But one of the things I saw is if you know of a city or somewhere that you want to stay and spend an extra day, you can actually add that into the trip as well and just take a rest day and maybe just do some local activities.
Exactly. Again, the beauty of traveling independently. So pre, post nights, nights during the trip, it's very easy for us to add those in. And also recommended on some of our trips because some of the towns you go through, if you've just hiked, you know. 10 to 12 miles all day and then you have another day of hiking, you don't, you know, you might only have a couple of hours to explore. So, you know, adding in that rest day and in the Highlands of Scotland, it's easy to take a train over to one of the famous distilleries or, you know, any of these other famous castles to explore before continuing your hike the next day. It's super easy to do.
And you've got a lot of them in Italy that are the five days, four nights, right? So that could be added on to, you know, you want to go to Rome and see all the sites or somewhere like that. But then you want to get out and explore on your own and just have a laid back. So you could easily pair one of those shorter adventures with a longer trip.
Exactly right. And we have so many people that'll do that. They'll call us and they're already, they've booked a cruise already or they've booked. just a couple of nights in London or something. And they just, you know, let's do some activity, but not too much. What do you have for four to five days? And we have a list of options everywhere with that duration.
Let me ask you, you talked about this Highlands trip. What are some of your other most popular routes or destinations that people do?
Yeah, so the Camino, you touched on that a bit earlier. So the Camino, of all the different Caminos, that basically they're pilgrim routes that... go into Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Those are the main ones. And there's the Camino de Santiago, which starts in France on basically right over the Pyrenees in Saint -Jean -Pied -de -Port. It's a 40 -day walk into Santiago, but we do all the different stages of that. So you can break it all up. You can do the full thing. You can hike up from Portugal. You can hike northern Spain and start in the foodie town of San Sebastian. There's so many different routes that we offer for the Camino. Very, very popular. And also the TMB. So the Tour de Mont Blanc is probably our... It's just an amazing trip, but it's either a one or two seller right now. It's amazing. The full trip is 12 days and you're hiking for 10 of those days. We do again in sections and short breaks and an easier going, just like multi -center where you're staying in just two towns where you still explore the region, but have an easier going pace or do the heck of a hike and make it the full 10 days. Those are definitely our top three.
And then what about some maybe lesser known that people might not think about? Places people might not think about going and doing something like this or ones that you maybe feel like are new or hidden gems? That is a great question.
is a great question. There's so many. And that's one thing really fun about Max is our product team that creates all these trips, they know what they're doing and they've curated these amazing itineraries. The Julian Alps is a big... region in Slovenia. We have a couple of amazing tours there. It's not very well known and Slovenia is starting to get pretty popular with people from North America. Also the Catalonia region of Spain. I did that trip a couple of years ago. The Bavarian Alps in Germany. It wasn't very busy there. The hiking trails were basically dead when I was there last year. Really off the beaten path. It's really, really incredible. Some really unique walks in Japan that People think of Japan, they want to go to Tokyo and do the big cities or maybe go skiing or snowboarding, but really incredible hiking and amazing local accommodations where you're staying on the very traditional mats and having the onsen experience and the hot springs and just really unique, amazing.
I think that would be a great pairing with a Japan trip, right? So that you can go see the cities, but then that would get you really the best of both worlds. I think that would be amazing.
think that would be
You know, I heard just recently that the best day of the year to book a trip for Japan is April 22nd. Pay attention to that because we're trying to find a trip to Asia this fall and we're taking our own advice. Usually we kind of have a destination in mind and then we start looking for travel just because we're trying to create content. But this time we're taking our own advice and we're going to let the travel deal decide where we're going. Nice.
So you've mentioned a couple that you have done, but do you have a personal favorite that like you've heard people talk about or is it one that you have done? And then would you, so that's question one. And then question two is where would you recommend would be a good one for somebody who's like, oh, maybe when I want to try this, but I'm not quite sure. Where would you point them?
Good question. So my, gosh, my absolute favorite one was in Catalonia in Spain. So walking the Catalan coast. It was just incredible for so many different reasons. The food was amazing. The people were just the most kind people. There were language barriers, which made it even more fun at some of the local restaurants. And it was just really unspeakable how amazing it was, that experience. The hiking, it wasn't... very long. So I think our longest day was 10 miles. Just breathtaking. The scenery, like we were, you'd hike on some small sections of beach and take your boots off and walk in the water and wade in and would bring our swimsuits one of the days and just take a dip before continuing on since the hiking wasn't very long. The little towns were so cute. It was really something special. So that was definitely my favorite. We absolutely love fame.
was definitely my favorite. We absolutely love fame. Yeah. We absolutely love it. Want to explore more. And like what you're talking about, right? You know, we've done some of the cities, but to see some of the smaller places and the scenery, but the food is the best. So special. Yeah.
Yeah. And on that trip, there's a really neat stay at a local winery and you stay in their guest house and there's only six rooms and you do a winery tour and they're making you dinner. And I remember at breakfast on the first day, the the chef came out and was talking to us and like, I hope you had a great sleep last night. And what, what do you like for dinner? And we're like, what, what do you mean? Like, do you just have a menu? And he was like, no, I'm going to go down to the market. Like, do you want fish? Do you, what, what kind of food would you like? We're like, well, just surprise us. See whatever's fresh. And he's like, are you sure?
you sure?
Yes, of course. And it was the most incredible dinner. They made this like whole fish for us and just, it was.
fish for
Like where else do you get an experience like that? Yeah,
that's amazing. That sounds amazing. So I want to hone in just for a minute on the travel or on the hikes,
that's amazing. That sounds amazing. So I want to hone in just for a minute on the travel or on the hikes, for example. So some people may be thinking 10 miles in a day of hiking. Okay, one day, fine, but you're going to do this over multiple days. But it's really not like if you think I'm just going to get up and I'm going to walk 10 miles. You're actually, this is your day. You're spending the whole day doing this. You're taking breaks in between. You're stopping in different places. Does 10 miles really feel like 10 miles when you're doing this trip?
It does not. To be completely honest, I think it's the fact that you can go at your own pace. And it's just walking. Sometimes people say, oh, it's this big hike and this and that. And you're just walking on your own two feet. And you can take a break when you want to, take pictures, stop for water. one of the most incredible travelers that's been with us for like over a dozen trips, Christine, there's this amazing quote of hers and I have it right here. She says, you think you can't do it, but it's just walking at your own pace. You can do it and do it because it's transformative and you'll be a better person. Yeah. I just love that.
I just
So powerful. That is awesome.
So for someone thinking about booking a trip, but maybe they're not sure if they're ready, you know, maybe like Christine, said, right? You're not sure you could do it. What would you say to convince them to just go ahead and take the leap and book this trip?
Well, one thing is we definitely don't want to send somebody on a trip that they are not comfortable on. That's one of the biggest things with our team is they want to make sure that you are physically capable of doing this. Of course, having a challenge here and there is great and all, but we don't want to send you on like the Tour de Mont Blanc if you are only comfortable hiking a few miles. you'll get vetted for the right trip and ensured with our team that you'll be on the right itinerary for yourself and the right difficulty. Again, with having different length itineraries in certain regions, making sure that you're doing the right one. Now, that being said, the booking process, the busiest time to book travel is really at the beginning of the year. And that's when our trips really start to sell out. So if you're thinking of doing something and... right now, and you're thinking, should I travel this year? Well, travel this year, maybe do something easier going, maybe one of our lower mileage trips to really build yourself up. Do that this year. And then next year, do something even more challenging. Because it is a different way of travel. It's an amazing way of travel. But if you go in and you're just really not ready for it, it's not going to be the best experience. Now, again, that's the best thing about Max is having the... the variety of trips that we have. And so you can do something much easier going and then just kind of build yourself up because we'll have some people do like one of the stages of the Camino and maybe they'll combine two and then they'll combine three the next year and they will slowly do it until they finish the full 40 days.
Oh, that's such a great idea. Yeah, that's an awesome idea too. Yeah.
that's such a great idea.
And so when people go, because you mentioned the six different levels and you mentioned the shorter and longer trips. So if somebody's going and they say, okay, I want to dip my toes in this, what are they looking for when they go to maxadventure .com to maybe find some of those, okay, dip my toes in and get started? Good question. So I would honestly go with the type of trip.
go with the type of trip. So if you are new to hiking, I would go in and look at the discovery tours or look at our rail and hike options and then focus on a destination from there. So we have a really amazing search feature. You can go and you can select the activity level. You can select the duration of the trip, the comfort level. So if you want really nice accommodations, you can say that you want that. And then you can say like when you want to go that year and it'll populate the trips. They'll also show them on a map. wanting to go to a specific region, then you can, you know, focus on that. But otherwise, like you can filter it down to exactly what you need and the level that you need as well to make the right decision.
One of the other things that I noticed is that it also tells you here's the best time of the year to go, right? Because depending on weather and it's not going to be. you know, not accessible, but like it might be too hot or it might be too cold or it might just not be a good time for rain or whatever. And so it will tell you that on the trip, which is a great feature as well.
So Lauren, what's next for Max Adventure? Any exciting new destinations or developments that you guys have on the horizon?
That is a great question. So we recently just got our B Corp certification, which is a really big deal. Again, you know, the whole people and planet aspect of our business and sustainable travel. That's one of our big focuses right now. We have an amazing product team that just launched a handful of new trips in Italy. They just did a handful in England and they just are kind of... ticking countries off the list to make improvements, to develop new tours, and to develop different types of product for us. So again, I was kind of touching on the discovery type tours before, but they're looking at different ways to do that. Again, is it train? Do we have them rent a car in certain regions? What's the best way? But those experts on our product team are... absolutely incredible with what they do. And they go to the destination, they hike the trails, they take the trains, they go to the accommodations and make sure that it all lines up perfectly, you know, before we get people out and adventuring. So that's that whole team's purpose is to find the next best thing. And also, you know, get people off of the, I hate to say the tried and true routes, but get them off of not the tried and true, but get them off of the, like the classic routes. So we've all heard of these, you know, these really famous routes, but what else in Spain could people do? So we talked about the Camino, but there's this amazing part of Spain in the Picosta Europa. And we were actually featured in an amazing article for that trip. And somebody just went and there's like nobody there. Nobody knows about this part of Spain. And this was the coolest trip I've ever done. And it's now on my short list. But that's just one of the little things that we're really trying to educate people on like, where else can you go to have this absolutely incredible life alternate experience?
Yeah, I love that. Because I think right now, as more and more people travel, it was like you were saying about going to Iceland. And it's just even in the wintertime, it was so crowded, right? And I think a lot of us who have traveled for a long time, we want to see if we can seek out some of these places, right? Where it still feels not just so crowded. So I love that. So we're putting that on our, ours is actually a long list, but yeah.
Every time we talk to someone, our bucket list grows, it seems like. So while we were in Iceland, we listened to your self -guided travel podcast. So can you tell us a little bit more about that? And there are going to be more to it or?
we were
Great question. Yeah. So that is an amazing, I love listening to that. It was obviously my first trip. I've kind of talked to you about doing the West Highland Way, but I just love the story that Arlette tells that while she's hiking the West Highland Way. So it's an amazing opportunity for listeners to see what it would be like. She talks you through her whole day. She talks about searching for Rob Roy's cave, who's this outlaw in Scotland. She just talks about this amazing experience. Of course, there's rain in Scotland, but she makes the best of it and just has this incredible journey. That podcast is out. It's one of our recent marketing ventures, and it really is a good lesson.
Yeah, it really is. We really enjoyed that. We loved how it blended. You know, some of the logistics that we've talked about here, especially your app, right? She alluded to the fact that other people were hiking the trail and trying to figure out maps and different things like that. And she was able to help them and say, no, I think we're supposed to go this way. But then also her interactions with people along the way, right? Some of the little experiences that she did and then just her honest opinion about, you know. you know, how she was feeling and what she was doing. So it was a really an amazing listen. And I would encourage anybody who has, you know, listened to this and it's like, oh, this is piquing my interest, right? I have the interest in maybe exploring one of these to go listen to that. It's what seven little short. Exactly. It's not very long. Yeah, it's not very long.
It's not very long. Yeah, it's not very long. It's a great listen. And yeah, go check it out. I'm hoping that we can make more so that, you know, kind of depends on. on the success of the first season.
Yeah, that's awesome. I think that would be, I think that'd be great to like, you know, hear it from different places and stuff like that. But it is a great lesson, you know, either if you're wanting to do the West Island way, but then also just wanting to do one of your, one of your adventures too. We haven't talked much about the cycling. So we've talked a lot about the walking. Let's just hit on that real quick. If somebody is interested in it, because you do traditional and you'd also do the e -bikes that are becoming so popular, correct?
becoming so popular, correct? Yes. Yes. E -bikes are so popular. And so the majority of our trips can do an e -bike. Basically, we do work with a local bike shop on all of our bike trips just to get the rentals and have all the logistics sorted that way. Most of them do have e -bikes nowadays because they are so popular. They're really fun. You can, you know, charge your bike at your accommodation at night and everything. But basically, you can cover some more ground on a bike. Of course, you could do like triple the distance that you were compared to walking. It's really a fun way to go because... There's these famous cycle paths. You're not on roads on some of our trips, which is really nice. Cycling down these river paths or just bike paths in general in these amazing little destinations and just covering more ground. Some of the days are not super long, so then you can get to town by lunchtime and have the whole rest of your afternoon to explore. Some people get worried. what if I don't know how to change a flat tire? What if I don't know how to do this? We do have that 24 seven support. You can always call us. We can walk you through it. We have some amazing, amazing bike specialists on our team, but also there's some really great classes like local REIs and local bike shops that you can go and learn how to change out the tube of a tire or, you know, redo the chain. Bikes are pretty simple machines. So if you have an interest in it, it's definitely a unique way to travel. I have yet to do one and it's again on my shortlist. I like how you're like, my list is very long. I do have a very long list, but I have a pretty short list of what I want to do in the next couple of years. So that's one of them.
What are the most popular bike trips that you have?
Yes. So the Lore Valley in France, that is a very, very popular trip. We have some cycling in like the UK and like the Cotswolds are a really nice place to cycle. And also in Puglia in Italy, like the boot, the heel of the boot in Italy, some really great cycling there as well.
That's actually been kind of on our list for a while. I think that's been on our long list, but I think we definitely want to move that up, like you're saying, to the short list and prioritize something like that, because that just sounds like a lot of fun.
Yeah, we had originally thought that touring through the Tuscany area and going to the wineries and all would be really fun and exciting, or maybe through France. But then I got to thinking, I was like, well, I don't know. I mean, you go to these wineries and now you got to get back on a bike and go. So maybe we need to pick somewhere that's not in a wine region or something like that. But I think there would be some... Or you could bike to the winery and stay at the winery.
be some... Or you could bike to the winery and stay at the winery.
That's why we all need Max Adventure.
That sounds like a good one. So Lauren, where can listeners go and learn more about these tours? And then how would you go about starting to just have the conversation with you to see if one works out? Absolutely. Our website is the best resource.
the best resource. When you go on there, there's a live chat. function where you can easily chat with our team. Of course, during like kind of normal business hours, getting our team that way. Call us or, you know, all the ways to contact us are on the website. We have an amazing Facebook community as well. It's a little private group called the Max Adventure Community. And it's a really fun place. People go on there and they're asking for advice. They're asking or just sharing photos. Really, really fun thing. I try to go in there every single day just to have like a little brain break and see what people are doing and see the pictures they're taking and the Max moments that they're having. That's really fun. And then lastly, just watching YouTube videos. Like we have an amazing YouTube page and you can go on there and there's just some really beautiful videos that our team's been able to put out the last couple of years that really show what it's like to go on a max adventure and show what our app is like. And there's videos of our team explaining like how we work and what we're doing day in and day out to make people have the best experience out there.
And it's so that people know it's Max, M -A -C -S, and then Adventure, singular. So Max, Adventure. Yeah. And so then just look for you, like that's your website and YouTube and all that. Exactly. Exactly.
then Adventure,
Well, Lauren, we have three questions that we ask all the guests that come on our show. They're easy, so don't worry. But the first one is, is what is your favorite place in the world that you've ever visited? Now it can be a max adventure or you can choose somewhere else.
That is such a tough question. I've been really, really lucky to go on so many trips and that's tough. I would say the Greek islands. There's this island called Milos.
I went there on my honeymoon and it was so,
went there on my honeymoon and it was so, so special. Just so local. Like we were the only Americans there. Like nobody was really speaking English and it was just beautiful. The water was just, it was, it was life changing. It was so amazing. So amazing to like, I don't know, just truly experienced authentic Greek Island and see that it was, it was amazing.
Yeah, sometimes I think we need to stop talking about Milos because it is so special. Like it's popular.
it's popular.
But we did Milos, Sifnos, and Paros on a trip, and it was wonderful.
Yeah, I love that you said that. It's your favorite. We talked to so many people who have traveled all over the world that have yet to visit Greece. And so I agree. It really is a special place, especially when you get a little bit more off the beaten path. Absolutely.
So the next question is what's the top place or places that are still on your travel bucket list? So places you haven't been yet.
the next
Japan. That would be a huge one. I'd love to go skiing in Japan. That's just been on my list for so long. Belize. I feel like I've kind of like missed the,
like I've
kind of like missed the, I feel like a lot of people were going about like 10 years ago or so. I just, I still want to go. I haven't made it. And then lastly would be Slovenia. It just looks really, really incredible. And it's not really touched by tourism just yet. Just starting to build that infrastructure. So I want to get in before it gets too popular. And you said you guys have a hike there. We have two different hikes, an easier going one and a more difficult one. Okay.
two different
Good to know. Check that out.
Yep.
And so then finally, where are you going next?
Yeah, so less than 30 days from now, I'll be going on another Max trip to Portugal. I'm hiking the Road to Vicentina, the Fisherman's Trail, which is just south of Lisbon on the coast. It looks absolutely amazing. It's one of our best sellers in Portugal. And it's one of the perks of working at Max is you get to go on one of our trips. So I'm going with one of my friends from college and I cannot wait. I'm already like making restaurant reservations at some of these top places to eat and getting my hiking shoes ready. But it looks like a phenomenal. Well, you will fall in love.
fall in love.
Have you been to Portugal before? I have not. No. Make sure you give yourself about a month.
Make sure you give yourself about a month.
Okay. Wish. Oh my gosh.
gosh. Yeah. Cause you're not going to want to come back.
So just curious. How long is that? How long is that? That trip is a seven day, six night trip. Yeah. Awesome. And the food is so good in Portugal.
food is
I can't like their own thing. So have a great trip.
Yeah. Lauren, thanks for coming on the show. I think we'd love to have you back after you do that hike in Portugal to come tell us all about it.
I can do that.
Wonderful. Thank you very much.
Thank you, guys.
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So when the opportunity came up to partner with Max Adventure for a self -guided walking tour through Umbria, Italy, we didn't really hesitate. Max Adventure offers exactly the kind of experience we're looking for, for a chance to explore beautiful landscapes on foot, travel at our own pace, and still have the comfort of knowing the logistics, the accommodations, all the luggage transfers, maps, etc. They're all taken care of. And it's a freedom with support, I think. It's how you would kind of explain that.
So this May, we're going to head to Italy to experience one of their walking adventures for ourselves. We're going to start in the charming hilltop town of Montefalco and then walk to Bavagna, Spello, and finally end our journey. Sorry if I mispronounce any of those. Probably so. Hopefully I will learn while we are there. And finally, we'll end our journey in the historic... city of Assisi. So it's one of Max Adventure's shorter itineraries. We wanted something that we could fit into, you know, some other travel that we already had, which is a great way like to look at some of these as well. If you don't want to do like your whole... trip your whole vacation to be a tour. And so for us, it's the perfect way for us to dip our toes into this world of self guided adventure travel, and a chance for us to slow down and wander through the vineyards and the olive groves and just enjoy the rhythm of walking from one place to the next. It's five days and four nights is what we'll be doing. So over the next few weeks, we're going to be sharing more information about this trip. And then in May, we'll have updates from the trail, including photos and stories and reflections from the road. So make sure that you are following us on social media and be sure to subscribe so that you don't miss these episodes. Also go and subscribe to our newsletter as well. We have that on our website, so Sunshine Travelers, and you get our free packing guide. So we'll tell some stories there that we do that every week anyway that we don't always tell on the podcast. So we would love to have you right there with us step by step. And so we also encourage you in the meantime to go listen to that self guided travel podcast so that you can hear her walk through the journey in Scotland on the West Highland way and kind of get a sense for what something like this would be like. So we're super excited to not only go on this journey, but then be able to share it with you. And so we really hope to. inspire you to do something like this. And then one of our big ultimate goals is to go back and do that El Camino de Santiago, or at least part of it.
We hope you enjoyed that conversation as much as we did. Hearing more about the heart behind Mac's adventure has only added to our excitement for the journey ahead. Have you ever done a self -guided walking adventure or a pilgrimage like the Camino? If so, we'd love to hear about it. Email me, scott at sunshinetravelers .com and tell me where you've been and what else we should be considering. The world is full of sunshine and surprises. Make 2025 the year that you explore beyond the familiar. That's a wrap on this episode. We hope it gave you some inspiration for your next adventure.
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