23 of the worlds best adventures for thrill-seekers

After a busy day of hiking, cycling, kayaking or snowshoeing, you can embrace and soak up the tranquillity of nature from a geothermal spa while watching the Northern Lights dance in the night sky if you’re lucky. And backpacking Patagonia is only one region of Argentina you need to explore. It’s a big damn country with a lot of cool places to see (the Ibera Wetlands come to mind). Ever since whaling was banned in Baja, there’s been this strange, unspoken truce between whales and humans here. The grey whales haven’t just stuck around; they’ve started actively seeking out humans.

Adventure Travel Bucket List: 7 Must-Do Trips

While New Zealand can be a long way for some, there are direct flights from Australia, the USA, major Asian hubs and the Pacific Islands. Once you are here, the easiest way to get around is to grab a campervan or rental car and road trip your way around. Sitting on the Mediterranean, on Israel’s beaches, you can engage with all types of water sports like surfing, paddleboarding, and windsurfing. When staying in Greenland, there is no place I recommend more than the Hotel Arctic in Ilulissat. Between May and September, their metal igloos overlooking Disko Bay are open for reservations.

#7 Baja California, Mexico: Adventures, Ocean Expeditions and Roadtrips

Light a campfire (legally) and watch the stars and the lights in the northern sky which no man owns no matter how much they wish they did. Seriously though, Mongolia is a country of beautiful yet unforgiving terrain and the Mongolian people have unlocked its secrets, able to live nomadically and tend livestock amongst its deserts, plains, and hills. It’s also smack-bang between Russia and China so wherever you go, you’ll be off the beaten track. With nearly 2,000 miles of coastline, most of it completely uninhabited, this is one of the last truly wild frontiers in North America. Public transport is scarce, cell signal is spotty, and the places worth seeing often don’t show up on Google Maps.

Van life is preferred by many scroungy vagabonds – because a van makes perfect sense for an adventure vacation on a budget. It’s one of the wildest, most underrated wildlife experiences on the planet and an absolute must‑do for wildlife lovers. Our friends over at Elsewheria lead an epic Mobula Ray Expedition, where you can experience all of the above and so much more. If you’re looking for a stripped-back, unpolished side of backpacking Mexico, then this is it.

On land, you’ll have various chances to go hiking, biking, or mountaineering. If the thought of Alpine adventures gets your pulse racing, you’ll want Switzerland on your list of destinations. Sure, this crossroads country in central Europe is known for delicious chocolate and luxurious spas. It’s also the place to take in unbeatable views of the Alps—whether you’re hiking, skiing, or hurtling high above the mountains (no surprise, Switzerland is a top skydiving destination).

You’ll board a boat from Nuuk and head out to a remote camp in the wilderness. Immersed in the Greenlandic landscape, you’ll hike up bird cliffs and glaciers, paddle among local produce catering Hampshire icebergs and wild camp under the midnight sun. This has been a classic trek in Nepal ever since Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay tackled the world’s tallest mountain in 1953. The 15-day route combines trekking past yak pastures and fluttering prayer flags with those cloud-tickling giants in the background.

Forming the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe one the famous Zambezi River, Victoria Falls is a true destination for adventure.
For more biking or hiking adventures, Viñales National Park is a must-visit, with its striking landscape of boulder-like hills exuding decidedly prehistoric vibes.
They have lower overall death-related statistics and your mum isn’t going to complain as much when you tell her what you’ve been up to.
At the southern end of the line are skyscrapers and rush-hour commuters; at the northern terminus are polar bears, beluga whales and the wisps of the Northern Lights.

A sprawling expanse characterized by imposing mountains, rolling hills, lush meadows and glistening lakes, it’s also famous for its charming villages, quaint tearooms and cozy country pubs. North from Banff Quora (and not too far by Canadian standards) is Jasper National Park with more wilderness and hikes. If it’s solitude that you’re seeking in your adventure travels, then travelling the Canadian wilderness has what you need.

You’ll journey through cloudforest, mountain villages and virgin rainforest teeming with wildlife before heading up and over the Continental Divide. Resting up at beautiful eco-lodges on the banks of the pristine Pacuare River and cooling down with swims and dips at secret swimming spots in the rainforest. Trek and wild camp through the otherworldly canyons, plains, forests and peaks of the Isalo and Andringitra National Parks. Hike and scramble to the summit of Madagascar’s second-highest mountain, the imposing Pic Boby (2658m). Eyes peeled for lemurs, the island’s most famous residents – from ring-tailed and red-fronted browns, to tiny mouse lemurs. DIY-adventurers can’t go wrong by renting a car and road tripping along the Ring Road.

The home of bungy jumping, and superhuman adventurers like Sir Edmund Hillary, you know you are going to have an action-packed holiday here. The most sacred river in India, the Ganges tumbles from the Himalayas before making a 2,500 kilometre journey across the length of India. Rishikesh is not only the Yoga capital of the world, it’s also the gateway to adventure. Many adventure outfitters offer white water rafting in and around Rishikesh. Finally, the fast-flowing mountain rivers of Nepal provides some of the best whitewater rafting in the world.

Langjökull is the second-largest chunk of ice in a country that was named after the stuff. To see this 368sq mile glacier up close, join a guided day-long snowmobile tour departing from the hamlet of Skjól. You’ll board a super-jeep whose humongous tires allow it to traverse the icy rivers and brittle volcanic terrain, then suit up in specialist gear at snowmobile base camp. A speck of land in the Bristol Channel, Lundy Island has had a swashbuckling history — the sometime retreat of Barbary pirates, slavers and a man who, as late as the 1920s, proclaimed himself king of Lundy. Set out on a day tour on a RIB boat from Ilfracombe to circumnavigate the island.