7 Travel Destinations That Boost Your Intelligence

Sip wine or learn to drive a race car on vacations that double as classwork. Imagine sipping wine in Tuscany with a winemaker, photographing animals in Africa with a professional photographer, or digging for folsom points with archeologists in the Southwest United States. They’re all perfect excuses for vacations. Call them EdVentures if you will—these educational vacations combine your favorite activities, allowing you to experience different cultures and learn new skills while feeding your endless curiosity about the world around you. Here are some great options that can help you do just that.

Learn Spanish in Ibiza

Learn Spanish in Ibiza; try your hand at sailing in Queensland, Australia; or create jewelry as a silversmith in the South of France—these are just a few of the trips GoLearnTo offers. The educational tour company themes all of its trips around locally significant skills, languages, or adventure sports. From learning to cook to honing your yoga skills, you’ll find options in the GoLearnTo catalog that will entice you to embark on a learning experience.

Study Literature Locales Around the Globe

You’ll have to do your homework for Classical Pursuits tours—literally. The Toronto-based tour company provides a recommended reading list to its members before each of its trips, which extensively explore famous literary destinations. For instance, the company can take avid travelers and readers along the road less traveled through Portugal or to Philadelphia to discover the birth of a nation. The itineraries on offer change regularly, but each is an intriguing look into culture, art, and literature that is simply unlike any other trip you’ll ever take.

Dig for Ruins in Colorado

At the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, you can work alongside professional archaeologists studying the Ancestral Puebloans and how they lived in cliff-side dwellings in southwestern Colorado. There are programs designed for novices, as well as alumni of previous programs and families too. The Archaeological Center even organizes trips to other parts of the U.S. and abroad. For example, they regularly send travelers to Oaxaca, Mexico to explore history and culture.

Spy on Bengal Tigers in India

Ecotourism pioneers International Expeditions have been offering sustainably minded trips for nearly four decades. Choose from a wide variety of themed vacations, including a tour of Tanzania with Animal Planet’s Jeff Corwin, a wildlife-focused trip to India, or a 600-mile cruise down the Amazon River. The company also provides trips to Cuba, allowing travelers to explore this intriguing country by small ship.

Learn the necessary skills of an adventurer

Want to become an independent and experienced adventurer? The Matt Prior Adventure Academy can help. Prior is an experienced traveler who created a program to help others learn skills necessary for survival on the road. Attendees will learn how to plan an expedition, finance excursions, and navigate via various transportation methods, equipping you to jumpstart your next big adventure.

Go on an Expedition with a Nat Geo Photographer

Travel and photography go together like peanut butter and jelly. There are few things as inspiring as visiting remote places, but capturing those stunning images takes time and skill. You can gain insights from top photographers with Lindblad Expeditions, who offer photography tours to breathtaking locales like Alaska and the Galapagos. Join these tours to learn more about your camera and the art of capturing the perfect shot.

Drive Race Cars in Arizona

Fulfill your Speed Racer dreams at the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving. You’ll learn advanced street-driving skills and techniques honed from years of racetrack experience. Choose from a variety of experience levels and cars, including the Corvette Grand Sport and Z06. They also offer open-wheel racing courses and special sessions for teens to learn safe driving.

Educational Travel Adventures

Educational Travel Adventures is a company focused on blending great travel experiences with opportunities for learning. They offer trips to Washington, D.C., Boston, Hawaii, and even international destinations such as Canada, Australia, China, and South Africa. Each journey prioritizes culture and history, presenting an almost endless list of possibilities for exploration.

These are just a few of the educational opportunities available to travelers looking to combine adventure with learning. Travel helps open our minds and teaches us new things, and these options are expressly dedicated to achieving that goal.