Adventure Travel: The Ultimate Global Bucket List
Are you into adventure travel? I’m an adventure-seeking foodie who likes adrenaline to a certain extent. If you share even some of my interests, then this is the post for you! This is my ultimate global bucket list, geared for adventure travel.
How to get into Adventure Travel? Use This Ultimate Travel Bucket List.
I’ve curated this list over a number of years, and I’ve personally done each experience.
What is Adventure Travel?
I define adventure travel as anything that pushes you out of your comfort zone and embraces some form of adrenaline-facing activity. I believe it can range from unique cultural experiences to purely exhilarating ones. Let’s get into some unique adventure travel experiences you can try!
Cappadocia is great, but personally, I believe Teotihuacan gives you a richer experience overall. It’s an hour outside of Mexico city, and the company I booked with took care of you the ENTIRE experience.
It was a truly adventurous travel experience because you’re in that little basket with no other railings or anything; be sure not to drop anything outside of it!
You’re in the sky for what feels like forever but also no time at all. You get absolutely gorgeous views of the ruins, the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon with the other balloons and sunset in the background.
This has been one of my favorite travel experiences to date, and I booked it here.
At first, I was afraid to go ATVing because I thought I’d topple it. We went with North Shore stables. It ended up being a TON of fun! Our guides taught us fun tricks, educated us on the land and culture, and told us their stories about how they got there.
Truly a unique adventure travel experience because of the balance between exhilaration and the tranquility of appreciating nature.
Piece of advice: be prepared to get muddy. Regardless of how you drive, you’re definitely going to get muddy when you’re on the land. We went and it started sprinkling which made it even muddier.
It’s also a little far out, so be sure to rent a car to get there. There aren’t many ride shares that you’ll find and we ran into some limited service in areas too.
Overall, it was a great balance of adventurous and moments of peace as you get to have fun then go slow and reflect. It was awesome!
This one was a steal of a deal compared to other private lessons, and it was on the main beach! Because of that there’s some pros and cons.
Pros: Our instructor couldn’t have been better! His name was Rick, and he took the time to make sure we were comfortable, paddled us out, and honestly was so chill. All in all, Rick made the experience a true adventure.
We were staying at the Hyatt Place, and it was a convenient short walk from the Moku surf shop. The surf shop was close to the beach too, so proximity was perfect.
Cons: While the location was amazing, it wasn’t the nature-forward Hawaii experience you would imagine. The beach was crowded and busy, and there were a ton of people in the water. We almost ran into a few but most got out of our way. Even though they cheered, be ready for a small audience!
Overall, for a first timer this was the perfect adventure travel experience because of how great our instructor was as well as the convenience of the location. If I were to go back, I’d rather go to the north shore or a less popular area to get the more serene and picturesque experience I’d imagine though.
However, before you go, check where waves are craziest to make sure you don’t go during a bad time.
I know that this is probably THE most adrenaline-based activity I’ll recommend here, but I absolutely loved it. It’s definitely controversial, and I was terrified going into it, but it was one of the craziest and most amazing things I’ve ever done.
I went up with Skydive Santa Cruz. You get there, they check you in, and you might have to wait until the clouds clear out. They’ll give you a warning ahead of time in case it’s too cloudy to jump that day. From there, you go up and see the most stunning views of the water, the farmland, and the most beautiful parts of California.
And then you jump! It’s exhilarating; my stomach dropped to begin with, but when they pull the chute it’s absolutely peaceful. The adrenaline rush was insane and honestly… I’d do it again.
I celebrated my birthday in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico a little while ago, and one of the most fun things we did there was actually go on a party boat! It wasn’t private, but it was bottomless drinks. It started out calm and beautiful with the sunset, barring the choppy waves, and then things got exciting at night.
Right when it turned dark, everyone got up to drink and dance! There was even a bachelorette party where the workers gave the bride-to-be a fun dance, and a proposal onboard as well. If you’re looking to have a fun time this is the place to do it. Plus, it wasn’t even that expensive for what it was.
Even though it was a party, it felt like a unique adventure travel experience to get the best of both worlds from the view as well as the dancing!
I know there’s a ton of Hudson River experiences in New York City, but this was one that made me feel special. My boyfriend and I took this cruise a few years ago, and it was incredible. They served a 3 course plated brunch with bottomless drinks.
It was less of a party and more classy, and the views were incredible! You sail past Lady Liberty, under the Brooklyn Bridge, and get spectacular views of the entire city. For what it was, it actually wasn’t crazy expensive. If you’re trying to go more for a party vibe, you can also book this one where they bump good music throughout. I’ve done both and they were both fun, just different vibes so book whichever one fits what you’re looking for.
While this may sound confusing because you usually attend church rather than climbing it, this is actually what it seems. The Church of our Savior in Copenhagen, Denmark, has a spire on the outside of it that gives 360 views of the entire city!
It’s 400 steps total with the last 150 being the external spire. The inside is rich with history, explaining the origins of the church. One thing to note: the bells ring every so often and are incredibly loud, so if you’re partial to loud sounds bring some earplugs!
The climb isn’t for the faint of heart either, at some points the stairs are so steep it feels like you’re climbing a ladder. Once you get to the top, the external portion feels like an adrenaline rush. You’re out in the open, so far up, with one guardrail between you and the edge. I highly recommend!
St. Patrick’s day in Chicago is absolutely wild! There are a ton of people on the streets ready to watch the river get dyed to get that aventure travel experience.
Honestly, if you don’t line up ahead of time along the water, you’ll never see it. I recommend potentially getting on the water itself. I didn’t take a boat directly on the river but here’s a good one I can recommend based on other boat rides I’ve taken.
Regardless, I would try to get to the bars early if you want to go out because lines get super long. It was so much fun, so try going with a big group of friends!
Conclusion
I’m going to make this a living list and update it as I do and find more experiences, so don’t be shy to send new ones my way if you have any at hello@jumpwithmali.com! I’m always looking for new and exciting experiences. Have fun trying these out, I hope you have as much fun as I did trying all of these new, exhilarating activities. To see other things to do in different cities, check out my itineraries here!
