I’m a big fan of adventure travel and try to find exciting and unique experiences wherever I go. Lately I had some free time so I thought about what experiences I would love to try, but haven’t yet had the opportunity. Here are my top seven – what are yours?
1. Bungy in New Zealand – Yes it’s true I spent a little time in New Zealand and yes it’s also true I participated in a variety of adventure experiences while in the land of the kiwi, just not bungy. It seems impossible to me too as I look back at it, but the experience fell victim to timidity and planning snafus. I was to have gone bungy jumping in Queenstown, arguably the home of the bungy jump. I was nervous though, I don’t love heights and so it was with no small amount of trepidation that I walked up to the counter at the AJ Hackett ledge jump in Queenstown. Something had gone wrong though, my reservation was lost and I used that opportunity to bow out. Could I probably have made it work? Yes, probably, but I used the first excuse given to chicken out. I still haven’t gone bungy jumping but I want to and I hope I can enjoy my first bungy experience in New Zealand, like I was supposed to.
2. Paragliding anywhere – Again, this was an adventure activity that I was scheduled to try, but fate stepped in the way. It was my last day in Cape Town, South Africa and an early morning paragliding trip off of Lion’s Head mountain was on the agenda. To make it even more over the top, the plan was to land on the beach for an ocean side breakfast. I know! It sounds like something out of a reality show and I was excited for the adventure. But it was also winter in Cape Town and the fabulous weather I enjoyed all week suddenly disappeared and in its place was wind and rain, making it impossible to experience Cape Town from above. That’s also when paragliding made it onto my adventure travel bucket list and while I’d love another chance to try it in Cape Town, I’m willing to try it just about anywhere. The breakfast on the beach would be nice too.
3. Snorkeling in Iceland – It sounds ridiculous at first, but snorkeling and even diving are popular activities in this country better known for its slightly gloomy weather. The watery adventure takes place in Silfra, a narrow canyon in the lava field located between the continents of America and Europe near Thingvellir National Park. The waters are supposed to be crystal clear with some of the best visibility in the world. Plus you have to admit, it would be pretty cool to say that you swam between two continents. I love Iceland and don’t need a lot of encouragement to return, but this is a great reason for another trip.
4. 4×4 tour anywhere in a Middle Eastern desert – Ever since my first trip to the Middle East a couple of years ago I’ve been in love with the region. It often gets a bad reputation, but I have only had great experiences there. One of the most beautiful aspects to a Middle Eastern trip is spending time in the desert. Whether it’s the Judean or Negev deserts in Israel, or Wadi Rum in Jordan, the stark and serene beauty is hard to resist. I recently read about 4×4 adventure tours through the deserts, making it a fun and different way to experience nature. Off-roading made it to this list not only because it sounds like an amazing adventure, but because I think it would be great to see the deserts from a different point of view.
5. Sky dive over Bora Bora – Ok, I have to admit that this idea was stolen from an episode of The Amazing Race, but it looks so amazing I just had to include it. The South Pacific is one of the areas of the world I want to visit the most, and it’s been on my bucket list for a very long time. While sitting on a peaceful beach in paradise sounds nice, what better way to see the island and the surrounding turquoise blue waters than from the air. I’ve never gone skydiving and while it would mean confronting my fear of heights, it’s something I want to try very much.
6. Swim with the Whale Sharks in Western Australia – This too is a new entrant on my list, thanks to recent inspiration from Western Australia Tourism. They ran a bucket list promotion highlighting some of the extraordinary experiences in this Australian state and while they all sound amazing, swimming with whale sharks caught my attention almost immediately. Unlike my experience diving with great white sharks in South Africa, this promises to be a much more peaceful experience. Ningaloo Reef is one of the few places on the planet where you can get up close and personal with these massive animals, the largest fish in the world. Although whale sharks can grow up to 52 feet in length, they thankfully only eat plankton and krill making this experience safe as well as thrilling.
7. Great Migration safari in Tanzania – I love animals and routinely try to include wildlife adventures in my travels. I had the opportunity to go on safari last year in Africa and ever since I’ve been longing to return and see even more animals in the wild. One of the most famous wildlife events in the world is the Great Migration in Tanzania, and I want to go. Ever summer millions of wildebeests and other grazing animals migrate across the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem in what can only be called one of the great marvels of the world. Safari trips usually include trips to the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater, two of the most famous and beautiful places in the world to observe wildlife. While it may not be technically an adventure activity, for me personally it would be the experience of a lifetime.
These are some of the adventure activities I want to try the most – what are some of yours?
Looks like an awesome list! I have climb Kili (on the list forever), swim with whale sharks in Bay Islands, scuba trip in Indonesia and any kind of hike anywhere that I haven’t been. Would love to go to Mongolia and Tibet for hiking….so many places so little time!
Bungied in Queenstown last year. The Nevis is pretty intimidating, but so worth it. Paragliding in Interlaken was a highlight for me as well.
I spent months in the Negev region last year and didn’t manage to do anything in the desert. 4×4 out there would have been a great experience. Or perhaps camel trekking. Next time I go, I have to make this happen!!
Looks like I’m not quite that adventurous (not surprising to me)! Adventures for me would be Bareboating in BVI or Tahiti, a week long hiking trip with a company like the Wayfarers, kayaking on the Dordogne or taking a vespa tour in Italy :) Good luck on your adventures!
Thank you! I think bareboating and the vespa sound pretty darn adventurous!
All of these look like so much fun! I enjoy adventure travel but regrettably do not do enough of it. However, after finding your site I’m new inspired to travel now. I will definitely be continuing to follow your travels. Thank you!
Thanks Mike, I really appreciate that! Please let me know if you ever have any questions.
I’ve been snorkelling in Silfra and it is amazing! There’s no fish live in the canyons but the scenery is amazing. It was my first time snorkelling and unusual in that it was in a cold environment but it’s got me completely hooked on the sport now. Definitely do it!!
Some of my favorite adventure activities I’vedone include sea kayaking along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, horseback riding through the rainforest to the beach on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica and watching the sun rise atop the Mayan ruins at Tikal. My bucket list includes many of the same adventures as yours, i hope to cross paragliding off my list when i visit the Austrian Alps!
Nice list, they’d all be on mine too.
#3 should happen for me in July. I’ll be going to Iceland for 24 days and I am going to get my diving certification in order to go dive in Silfra! And yeah, I can’t wait to tell everyone that I swam in between continents :)
Nice! Be sure to let us know all about it.
I chose diving instead of snorkeling in Silfra, and I have to say there is little if any difference at all, except for the price! The dive is short and you spend most of the time very close to the surface anyway. I had serious troubles sinking! The second dive is a repeat of the first one… better to go snorkeling plus golden circle instead of two dives in the same site. It is an amazing experience, though. Do not miss it!
Great list! One of my favorite experiences was camel riding in the Moroccan Sahara- totally agree that the desert is one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. Thanks for sharing!
If you’re interested in paragliding, I highly recommend kicking up a notch and going parahawking in Nepal. Not only do you get to coast over a beautiful lake while you marvel at the Himalayas, but a vulture will actually show you where the thermals are. Then you get to feed him midair as a reward! It was a highlight of my time in Nepal, and I can’t recommend it enough!
Snorkelling in Iceland… was not something that I would think of either, but snorkelling (or better, diving) between two continents would be really awesome!
Just got added to my travel to-do list!
I snorkeled Silfra last year. It is an amazing site and getting in and out of the dry suit is an experience in itself. I highly recommend it. I too want to swim with whale sharks but in the Mexican Caribbean. And I have my eyes set on a traverse of the continental ice cap in Patagonia.
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Great list! Totally going to steal some of these ideas for my own… Iceland is high up on my Bucket List of places to visit & I love snorkelling/scuba diving but never would have guessed it’s somewhere worth doing any!