StartinSanDiego

I'd like to know how many of you make an effort to pursue your hobbies and interests while traveling. The thread here in Travel Buzz on Motor Sports piqued my interest for that reason. I know a couple who follow the tennis circuit world wide. Many people travel to surf or scuba dive. For myself, some of my hobbies and interests are a natural fit, such as photography and dining. Other interests have been enhanced by travel, such as bird watching and hiking. I enjoy (beginner level) white water rafting and now try to add that in to my travel whenever possible, although it was never a hobby or even an interest before I started traveling. It turns out that I really like being on a river and seeing the view from below. The waterways were nearly always a magnet to civilization, so there's a good view of an area's history from the river.

One of my main hobbies, horseback riding, has been added to my travel itineraries when feasible. I've now ridden horses along the beach in Mexico, through the rice fields of Cambodia, in the Peruvian Andes, on the stud farm in Lipica (home of the Lippizaner), etc. I've considered adding horseback riding vacations to my travel, but eliminated them because there's usually so much else I'd like to see when I'm there, and riding is, well, pretty slow if you have a lot of ground to cover. I also balance that with the fact that I ride nearly daily at home, so it's part of my life and daily routine. I love to cook, but I'm finding the logistics of adding cooking classes to my travel plans to be difficult, because it's expensive and takes up a big chunk of vacation time. I have, however, added Food Tours as a way to sample new things on the menu.

How do your hobbies enhance or shape your travels?

buckybadger

I'm a horseback rider as well, but find it difficult to mix that hobby into my travel. however, I am planning on doing a riding-specific vacation either riding the Irish Draughts in Ireland or going to Iceland and doing an Icelandic pony tour.

However, I do often base my travel around tennis! Next year I have a big trip planned to go to Eastbourne and Wimbledon. (Went to Eastbourne year before last and loved it!). Have traveled to Charleston and NYC for tournaments. France is on the bucket list, as is Australia. I like going to smaller tournaments to avoid crowds but still see great players. Whenever I travel with my husband for vacation somewhere warm (Jamaica, Hawaii, Myrtle Beach, etc.) I try to make sure we go somewhere with access to tennis courts so that we can play. It's a great way to focus and inspire my travel.

Fairee

I am a horseback rider as well and would love to ride horses in NZ one day Besides riding I like hiking and watching sports

stut

My hobbies are cycling and photography, so it's *really* easy.

When I say "cycling", it's not the don-lycra-and-go-fast type of cycling, it's more the grab-a-bike-and-see-where-you-end-up type of cycling. So the spread of public cycle hire schemes has been a wonderful innovation for me. If I can find one before I leave, I'll sign up, and I've even had some great recommendations for routes on this very site ^ Stick a camera on my back, and I'm away. You can usually find something less formal even if not.

Now I have a (very small) son, it's less straightforward, but I managed to take his (handlebar-mounted) bike seat on holiday with us this summer (I do love the Netherlands) where we had loaned bikes available to us. He loved it!

My other hobby, of course, is travel itself. I'm lucky to have always been able to work travel into my travel. That's less facetious than it sounds. I've always been able to set time aside during work trips to explore where I go to. The kind of work I do is not the kind where schmoozing or working on my laptop into the evening is required (or at least, if it is, not doing so has never held me back). So, I'm the one who'll be awkward and insist on a city centre hotel, who will eschew the pre-booked taxis and cars, and generally do my own thing. Not always on my own, I do get others to join me, too. Always makes the trips more entertaining. And I've always got more out of an evening with a client, colleague or supplier where it's been on our own terms, rather than some run-of-the-mill dinner or drinks (I don't drink, either, meaning I do find drinking sessions - and I live in a heavy drinking country - not the most entertaining after the first few, and I'm sure the feeling's mutual!)

travelmad478

All the time. Running and birding are my most common activities that I continue to do while traveling. I dance (zydeco and swing) and try to look for opportunities to do that when I travel. I have planned trips around singing (e.g. music camps or singing-focused group trips), cooking (cooking schools or individual classes), language learning (immersion programs), etc. as well as the more typical vacation activities that I are in limited supply where I live, like diving or hiking.

StartinSanDiego

I was just invited by a native Kiwi to join her in NZ in a couple of months, and we'll be riding her friend's horses while there! That should be a blast!

Fairee

How cool is that Hope you will enjoy riding along those scenic landscapes !

txflyer77

I go swing dancing once or twice a week at home and there's a surprisingly vibrant international swing dance community. When I travel I like to seek out the local swing dance scene, usually I can get an introduction from someone in my home scene as one of our instructors teaches balboa dancing worldwide.

Most recently I met up with dance friends in Wellington, who I met at a big swing dance convention in Los Angeles earlier this year. Shanghai, Seoul and Tokyo all have very active scenes as well—some of the best swing dancers in the world these days are South Korean.

Nimrod1965

My hobbies revolve around flying; mostly sailplanes or touring motor-gliders, although I have a licence for single engine aircraft as well.

I haven’t pursued my hobby away from home (UK) recently but have flown sailplanes in the French Alps in the past. My retirement plans involve a lot of sailplane flying in places like Norway, Nevada and New Zealand.

darthbimmer

Two of my hobbies are hiking and photography. Often the main purpose of my trip is to experience a beautiful place by hiking in it.

pseudoswede

I have done a few hobbies while traveling for work...

* Golf - packed my golf clubs, took a Sunday morning flight to San Diego, and played a round of golf in the afternoon. I was hoping to get onto Torrey Pines as a walk-on, but the pro shop said no way. Instead, I played at Coronado Golf Course, and that was fantastic. I've only done this once, as I'd much rather spend my Sundays with my family before leaving for a work trip.
* Beer - this one is easy; I scout Yelp to find restaurants that have a large beer selection, and I'll enjoy local brews
* Pokemon Go - the game has encouraged me to skip the hotel fitness room and go outside for a jog; my work trips have sent me to Florida, so I was able to snag the two region-locked Pokemon
* Trivia - I try to find a local restaurant offering weekly live trivia; I try to drag as many co-workers along as possible
* Poker - if there is a casino nearby, I might go check it out; the problem with playing on weeknights is that it tends to be filled with super tight elderly locals who are there just to qualify for freeroll promotions

Badenoch

Sure. My main hobby is target shooting and I've visited gun shops, ranges and clubs around the world.

jacobguo

My hobbies are flying, driving, and staying at different hotels. So I guess it fits together really well.

mandolino

I pick up music sessions in various places. Made a lot of friends that way.

GadgetFreak

Not always, but sometimes. I guess my hobbies are traveling (that’s sort of a no-brainer in this context), history and photography. I have done vacations or mileage runs for photography excursions and to visit historical sites. Examples of the latter have been numerous mileage runs to London when I’ve visited historical sites, doing a mileage run to ABQ to visit the Trinity Site on one of the two days a year it’s open to the public and my wife and I going on our “Thousand Years of Warfare”TM vacation in 2014.

I don’t take a lot of photo gear with me usually now, often only a phone. For some trips I either take a decent point and shoot or a digital SLR with a good selection of Canon L lenses. I used to take a large-format camera set up with me which required a tripod, a sheet over my head, a magnifying glass to focus on a ground glass plate and a hand held light meter. I shot on 4x5 inch film. The film was one shot at a time and had to be loaded in the film cartridges in a dark bag. Think Ansel Adams without the talent. Someone once said large-format photography was good for taking pictures of relatively slow moving subjects, like mountains.