How Gen Z Is Turning Wellness Into an Adventure 

By Toni Ambler, Chief Customer Officer, Contiki 

For Gen Z, wellness is no longer something squeezed into the day out of obligation; increasingly, it’s becoming a hobby, a social outlet and a way to find community. Run clubs and group walks are taking the place of some traditional nights out, friendships are forming through fitness classes and yoga studios, and a Saturday morning hike can serve the same purpose a bar crawl once did – bringing people together around a shared experience. 

And that shift is starting to influence how young people travel. 

In Contiki’s 2025 Voice of a Generation survey, more than half of respondents said maintaining a wellness routine or taking part in wellness activities on vacation was important to them. The activities they mentioned weren’t elaborate: walking, hiking, practicing yoga, running and finding time to exercise – all things that can easily become part of experiencing a new place. 

That broader definition of wellness is also changing what adventure travel looks like. It no longer has to mean a highly technical expedition or a trip built entirely around pushing yourself to the limit. For some travelers, adventure might be a challenging multi-day trek; for others, rafting for the first time or cycling through a destination. 

What connects those experiences is the opportunity to move, try something new and share the experience with other people.  

More than 80% of survey respondents said they would consider some type of active trip, and we’ve seen that interest reflected in how young travelers talk to us about where they want to go and what they want to do when they get there. It’s one of the reasons we’re introducing OUTDOORS, one of Contiki’s new Travel Styles, for travelers who want to experience a destination by getting out into it. 

Costa Rica is a great example of why this way of traveling resonates. You can move from ziplining through Monteverde’s cloud forest to surfing in Jacó and spotting wildlife in Manuel Antonio National Park. The activity isn’t separate from the destination; it becomes one of the ways you understand it. 

The same idea takes very different forms around the world. 

In Patagonia, that might mean hiking alongside glaciers and blue lagoons, with opportunities to explore by kayak or horseback. Active New Zealand combines hiking, biking and time on the water, while in Europe, Active Alps brings together mountain trails and whitewater rafting across Austria and Switzerland, and Ski Austria centers the experience around time on the slopes.  

The intensity varies, and that’s important. There shouldn’t be one definition of what being “active” on vacation looks like. 

Some travelers are also looking for the satisfaction of completing an iconic trek from beginning to end. Two new Contiki hiking trips launching for 2027 reflect that. In the Italian Dolomites, groups of up to 12 will follow the Alta Via 1, spending their days on high-altitude trails and their nights in remote mountain rifugios. On the Camino de Santiago, travelers will walk from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela through Galician towns and forest paths, collecting stamps in their Pilgrim Passports along the way. 

There’s something powerful about reaching a destination under your own steam. But just as important is what happens between the starting point and finish line: the encouragement from the person walking beside you, the conversations you have along the trail and the shared sense of achievement you share at the end of the day. 

Adventure travel has always been about engaging more deeply with a destination, but Gen Z’s rising interest in wellness is helping shape its next chapter. Rather than treating movement as something to fit around a vacation, young travelers are increasingly making it part of how they experience one. 

And perhaps that is where wellness and adventure now meet: not in chasing perfection or performance, but in getting outside, challenging yourself, trying something unfamiliar and finding other people to experience it with. 

For a generation that values both wellbeing and connection, that feels like a very natural next chapter for travel. 

About the Author

Toni Ambler is Chief Customer Officer of Contiki, the youth travel company for 18- to 35-year-olds. She leads Contiki’s global customer strategy across brand, marketing and experience, using insight from young travelers to shape how the business evolves and stays relevant to the next generation. 

About Contiki 

Contiki has been bringing 18- to 35-year-olds together to experience the world since 1962. We take care of the details – from stays and transport to the logistics in between – so travelers can focus on the places, people and moments that make the trip. Expect big experiences, local discoveries and a group of people your own age to share it all with. However you want to travel, we make it easier to get out there, try something new and go wander. 

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