By Everett Potter

I’ve just returned from the Adventure World Travel Summit (ATWS) in Lugano, in the sunny canton of Ticino in Switzerland. One of the best things about attending the ATWS, which is a yearly event organized by the Adventure Travel Trade Association, is meeting new, emerging and lesser-known adventure travel companies. Many are quite small and specialize in one corner of the world or offer a unique style of travel that larger, more mainstream operators don’t. These small tour operators share their knowledge and passion for their destination and manage the logistics and details for each trip, offering competitive prices. Here are five companies worth checking out.

Upplevelsebolaget

Upplevelsebolaget may be a challenge to pronounce but simply put, the company offers outdoor adventures in West Sweden and beyond, from sea kayaking and hiking to mountain biking, climbing and ski touring, among other activities. “Sea kayaking among the thousands of islands in West Sweden is ideal because there are no currents and no tides in the Baltic, it has a gentle coastline and the waters warm in summer,” says Joakim Hermansson, who founded the company in 1994 … continue reading