Skillcations: 8 Adventures That Teach You Something New
There’s a reason “skillcations” are having a moment.
Travellers are seeking more than scenery – they want substance, connection and something new to master along the way.
On our trips, you trade passive sightseeing for hands-on learning, guided by chefs, artists, winegrowers and mountain experts who live their craft daily.
From balancing flavours in a Vietnamese kitchen to tracing gold through Kyoto ceramics or finding your footing on Icelandic ice, each experience builds confidence. And somewhere between the first attempt and the final flourish, a destination shifts from somewhere you visit to something far more meaningful.
1. Tile-Painting Workshop in Alentejo, Portugal
Azulejos tell Portugal’s stories in cobalt, saffron and green. On Day 6 of our Signature Portugal Among Whitewashed Hills journey, you sit down with a local artist in Alentejo to learn how those stories are built – from the initial sketch to the final brushstroke.
You’re introduced to traditional patterns and regional motifs, then shown how to transfer your design onto the tile using time-honoured techniques.
There’s a steadiness required: loading the brush correctly, controlling the glaze, working within the symmetry of repeating geometric forms. You learn how colour behaves once fired, why certain pigments deepen once fired, and how fine lines hold their shape. When you take home your finished tile, a piece of Alentejo comes with you.
Experience it on:
Signature Portugal | Among the Whitewashed Hills
2. Paddleboarding in Lake Bohinj, Slovenia
There are plenty of ways to experience Lake Bohinj – you can hike its forested shores, cycle through alpine meadows or swim in its clear, glacial waters – but few feel as immersive as standing at water level on a paddleboard.
On Day 2 of our Slovenia Adventure, you head into the water, beneath the limestone peaks of Triglav National Park, and begin with the basics: feet on either side of the board’s centre, paddle angled correctly, power coming from your core.
Kneeling first, then rising to stand, you practise smooth forward strokes and wide sweep turns. From the middle of the lake, the Julian Alps reflect perfectly around you. It’s balanced, absorbing and wonderfully quiet – Slovenia at its most elemental.
Experience it on:
Slovenia Adventure
Bike, hike, and paddleboard to discover the dramatic beauty of Slovenia with a tour leader who knows all its best angles
3. Cooking Masterclass in Tra Que Vietnam
On Day 7 of our Vietnam Highlights, you travel to the agricultural village of Tra Que, just outside Hoi An, where your cooking masterclass begins in the gardens. Your group walks the neat vegetable plots, learning how farmers use seaweed from nearby lagoons as natural fertiliser before gathering handfuls of fresh mint, coriander and Vietnamese basil for your meal.
Back in the kitchen, a local chef guides you through preparing classic dishes such as bánh xèo pancakes and fresh spring rolls.
You learn how to balance sweet, sour and savoury flavours, how to roll herbs tightly into rice paper and how to pour and crisp a perfect pancake. Then you sit down together with your hosts to taste the results – fresh Vietnamese flavours linger a little longer when you understand how they’re made.
Experience it on:
Vietnam Highlights
The best of Vietnam, cherry-picked to showcase the heart and soul of the nation in just over a week
4. Kintsugi Workshop in Kyoto, Japan
Rooted in 15th-century tea culture, kintsugi emerged when broken ceramics were repaired not to conceal their cracks, but to illuminate them. On Day 4 of our Signature Japan Through Temples & Time journey, you learn this philosophy first-hand in Kyoto during a workshop led by an expert artisan.
Working carefully with lacquer, you align and bond fractured ceramic pieces, learning the patience and precision the craft demands.
Once set, you apply the traditional maki-e decoration technique, sprinkling fine gold powder onto wet lacquer to trace each seam. You discover how sparingly the lacquer must be handled, how the gold settles and how restraint shapes the finish.
The result is more than repair; it’s restoration made radiant.
Experience it on:
Signature Japan | Through Temples & Time
5. Glacier Walk on Falljokull in Iceland
On Day 3 of our Iceland Northern Lights adventure, you venture out to Falljokull, a dramatic yet accessible glacier flowing from Vatnajökull, Europe’s second-largest ice cap, for a glacier walk.
After fitting crampons, you’re ready to step onto the ice. On this excursion, your expert guide shows you how to walk flat-footed so each spike grips the ice, how to carry and use an ice axe for balance, and how to move in a steady rhythm across shifting frozen terrain.
As you move across the expanse, you learn to read the glacier’s surface: the difference between stable ice and fragile snow bridges, the subtle blue of compressed centuries-old layers. It’s technical without being intimidating – and suddenly, walking on ice feels surprisingly natural.
Experience it on:
Iceland Northern Lights
Visit Iceland in search of the aurora borealis, tumbling waterfalls and glittering glaciers
6. Traditional Weaving in Sacred Valley, Peru
High in Peru’s Sacred Valley, weaving is more than artistry; it’s history and folklore carried through colour and thread.
On our Signature Peru, Threads of the Andes, you get the rare opportunity to sit alongside Quechua artisans in the community of Misminay on Day 3 to learn this craft. During the session, you’re introduced to traditional backstrap weaving techniques passed between generations for centuries.
The process starts with the dyes themselves. Eucalyptus leaves produce muted greens, cochineal insects create vivid crimson reds, and native plants yield rich yellows and ochres. Then comes the weaving: maintaining tension, guiding geometric patterns into place and slowly understanding how each motif reflects stories tied to Andean landscapes and beliefs.
By the end, you don’t just appreciate the craftsmanship – you understand the rhythm behind it.
Experience it on:
Signature Peru | Threads of the Andes
7. Bear Tracking in the Carpathian Mountains, Romania
In the forests of the Carpathian Mountains, tracking can begin long before you see any wildlife.
On our Carpathian Walking & Bears, you hike between dense pine forests, rolling meadows and farmsteads in Magura on Day 3, before spending a rare evening with a local forester in a bear hide.
Walking beside an expert forester, you learn how to read clues hidden in the landscape: claw marks carved into bark, disturbed earth beside a trail, fresh prints pressed quietly into mud.
Gradually, the forest sharpens into detail. You begin recognising feeding sites, listening for warning calls overhead and understanding how trackers interpret direction, behaviour and territory from signs most walkers would miss entirely.
Whether or not a bear appears almost becomes secondary. The real skill lies in learning to move through the wilderness more attentively – slower, quieter and far more aware of the life unfolding around you.
Experience it on:
Carpathian Walking & Bears
Explore majestic mountains and villages looking for brown bears
8. Wine Tasting in San Gimignano, Italy
At the family-run Cesani estate in Tuscany, wine tasting becomes less about swirling theatrically and more about learning how flavour tells a story. On Day 2 of our Tuscany Walks & Chianti Wines trip, you visit this estate, and guided by an expert host, you’re introduced to the region’s celebrated Vernaccia whites and Sangiovese reds, discovering how climate, soil and ageing shape every glass.
You begin noticing details you might once have missed entirely: almond notes hidden beneath citrus, the structure that gives a wine length, the way flavour softens and opens after a moment in the glass.
Alongside estate-produced olive oil, bruschetta and Tuscan cheeses, each pairing shifts the experience again. Opinions form quickly, favourites become fiercely defended, and suddenly everyone at the table has become an amateur sommelier.
Experience it on:
Tuscany Walks & Chianti Wines
Experience the magic of Italy in Tuscany
Every Exodus adventure offers the chance to discover something new – about a destination, a craft or yourself.
