Adventure travel isn’t your average holiday. It’s high-commitment and high-emotion for both the traveller and the brand. These are journeys people dream about for months, even years so when they’re ready to book, your website needs to inspire trust, excitement, and action, fast!
At Unfold, we’ve worked with travel brands that live and breathe adventure—like The Natural Adventure, whose site we helped transform through strategic UX and design. Here’s how great digital design can turn browsing into booking in one of the most competitive and emotionally driven travel sectors.
Build trust in the first 5 seconds
Adventure travellers aren’t impulse buyers. They’re investing time, money, and physical energy. Your website has to feel credible and confident from the moment it loads. High-quality visuals, clean layout, and a clear value proposition are essential. Your homepage should answer: What do you offer? Why should I trust you? How do I take the next step?
Trust signals like real customer reviews and safety credentials should be above the fold, especially on mobile.
Show don’t tell
Adventure travel sells through storytelling and clarity. Users want to know exactly what they’re getting into – that means:
- Detailed, scannable itineraries
- Stunning imagery and video
- Real reviews from real adventurers
Let the user imagine themselves on holiday. A strong narrative with supporting visuals builds confidence and emotional buy-in.
Design tools that help users find “their” adventure
Adventure travellers often know the ‘vibe’ they want, but not the exact trip. Help them navigate your offerings with the following:
- Interactive filters (by region, activity, duration)
- Clickable maps for geographic context
- Tags and categories based on themes (e.g. off-grid, family-friendly)
These tools turn your site from a static catalogue into an engaging, discoverable platform.
Mobile-first, always
Most users are browsing on the go – on the train or during a lunch break. If your mobile experience is slow or clunky, you’ve lost them.
Fast load times, touch-friendly filters and clear CTAs on smaller screens are key. Optimising for mobile isn’t optional, it’s where your bookings are coming from.
Make practical info easy to find
It’s amazing how many adventure travel sites bury the details people care most about, for example:
- FAQs
- Packing or kit lists
- Safety procedures
- Group sizes and guide experience
Organise this info with expandable sections, sticky tabs, or a dedicated “What to know” area. The more friction you remove, the closer users are to booking.
Personalised CTA’s perform better
Generic calls-to-action like “Book Now” don’t work as well in this space. Users are still evaluating, and a pushy CTA can feel like too much too soon. Instead, try:
- “Find your perfect adventure”
- “Explore treks for beginners”
- “Get a custom itinerary”
These CTAs feel helpful, not salesy – and convert better as a result.
Let stories sell the experience
Don’t just pitch a destination, tell the story behind it. Use a mix of expert guide interviews, customer testimonials, local insights and cultural context.
These deepen emotional engagement and answer questions about what the experience really feels like. A good story builds excitement and trust.
Make seasonality work for you
What’s the best time to summit Kilimanjaro? When is Patagonia in full bloom? Display trips based on seasonal peaks, and let users browse by month or season.
- Dynamic content blocks like “Top Winter treks” or “Best trips for Spring”
- Calendar-based browsing
- Urgency cues like “Last spots for October!”
This approach meets users where they are in the planning cycle.
Adventure travel needs a UX team that gets it!
Booking an adventure trip is a big decision, much bigger than booking a hotel or a flight. The UX needs to guide users through emotion, logistics, and trust-building. It’s a long funnel, and every part of the site should support discovery, clarity, and confidence. That’s where we come in….
Ready to design a better booking experience?
At Unfold, we help travel & tourism brands build experiences that feel as good as the trips they offer. If you’re in the adventure travel space we’d love to hear from you!
Get in touchIf you’d like to read more about proven strategies to improve you travel and tourism site, we’ve gathered insights from across the industry and pulled them together into an easy to digest report.
Ready to discover how to take your site to the next level? Download the report today!