8 Extreme Sports To Try On Your Next Vacation

Are you looking to push your boundaries on your next vacation? Your trip, your rules, right? The last thing you want to do is squander your precious free time and come back home wishing you had done all the things and experienced more of your destination.

If you like a bit of adventure with your travel and the thought of sipping cocktails around a pool is not for you, then you need to make sure you are looking at everything your destination offers and booking something you can get stuck into. Of course, what you can do is limited by what is available where you choose to go, that is, unless you choose your destination based on what adventures you can have.

But if you’re looking to push yourself and learn more about the world around you and exactly what your limits are, this post looks at some thrilling adventures you can get up to really let loose and get that adrenaline pumping.

Scuba Diving

A tame way to start for some people but perfect for those with little experience or adventure or who want to dip their toes in slowly.

Scuba diving is a relatively easy water sport that most people can partake in. Did you know Scuba is an acronym for Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus? And is essentially the act of going underwater while using breathing equipment to hope you breathe while swimming below the surface. Some of the best locations for scuba diving in the world include Thailand, Hawaii, the Philippines, Australia, and Okinawa scuba diving experiences.

You can explore lakes, coral reefs, rivers, quarries, and more, and what you can experience under the water depends on your chosen location.

Bobsleigh Riding

If you really want to get the blood pumping and feel the wild abandon of speed racing through your veins, then hitting a bobsleigh track can be the ultimate experience. A bobsled is a mechanically operated sled that is typically manned by two or four crews and involves hurtling down an ice tube at exhilarating speeds.

If you have been inspired by the Winter Olympics, then you can try this extreme sport in various countries around the world, including the UK, US, and Austria.

Heli-Skiing

Heli-skiing is exactly as it sounds, a combination of skiing and helicopters. While you don’t need to be experienced, it is recommended that you are at least an intermediate skier. Basically, you step out of a helicopter at the top of a mountain and ski your way down. It takes downhill skiing to a whole new level.

If the thought of throwing yourself out of a plane with a pair of skis or a board attached to your feet is enticing to you, then you can experience this extreme sport in Canada, Alaska, Austria, France, and Iceland, to name a few jaw-dropping locations.

Skydiving

Skydiving is an oldie but a popular extreme sport for a reason. The exhilaration you feel as you fall through the air can be breathtaking and give you the experience of a lifetime. You can choose to take a skydiving course to enable you to jump alone or do a tandem jump with an experienced skydiving instructor. 

But whatever option you choose, there are literally hundreds of stunning locations around the world where you can descend from a plane with a parachute attached to your back. So if you’ve ever wanted to recreate a scene from a movie or experience weightlessness for yourself, then book in for a skydive for the ultimate rush.

Fighter Jet Flying

If you fancy yourself as Maverick and want to recreate the magic of Top Gun yourself, then you need to book a ride in another jet. Push through the skies at over 1,000 mph; then, you must take to the skies in a different style plane than a commercial aircraft.

Fighter jet flights are available in many countries around the world. They can cost from a few hundred dollars to take a seat with a top fighter jet pilot for just under an hour in the sky to thousands of dollars to train at Cape Canaveral and learn to fly a fighter jet yourself (you need to be a qualified pilot for this experience).

Zero Gravity Flight

If a trip in a fighter plane isn’t enough for you, and you want to feel what it is like in space, then a zero-gravity flight is the epitome of an adventure experience. Zero gravity flights allow you to feel what it is like to experience life with no gravity without leaving the earth’s orbit. Each flight can set you back thousands of dollars, taking place from multiple locations across the US.

Cage of Death

Despite its terrifying name, the cage of death allows you to get up close and personal with sharks and other sea life without being in mortal danger. For those wanting to push their limits truly, this 15-minute expense can allow divers to head under the sea and come face to face with some of the world’s biggest predators.

Australia has a cage-of-death trip for crocodiles, while countries such as Costa Rica, Bahamas, and Cocos Islands run shark cage trips for those who want to see a shark in its natural environment without the risk of slinging a limb or their life.

Extreme Hiking

Thanks to social media, the world has become more aware of some of the more extreme hiking adventures around the world. If you enjoy hiking and want to push the boundaries of what your hike involves, then seek out some of the most dangerous and thrilling hikes.

Mount Huashan, or plank walk as its more commonly known in China, is the world’s scariest hiking trail, while some of the other top trails to visit include The West Coast Trail, Vancouver Island, Aoaach Eagach in Scotland, and The Haiku Stairs in Hawaii also feature in the top most extreme hikes you can undertake.

Conclusion

There is no end to the type of extra experiences you can undertake on your next vacation or to book a vacation around. If you really want to add some risk to your life and experience mind-blowing activities, then the ones in this post are great places to start.