Planning a holiday is one of my favourite things to do – you can even say it’s an addiction! Each year I look forward to all the holidays I have lined up and start counting them down way too far in advance. Sometimes you’re just craving a different type of holiday, something a little more adventurous and that will put you a little outside your comfort zone. I personally love going on adventurous holidays because it brings out other people’s personalities more, you can bond over the challenging thing you did and you often learn or improve new skills. If you’re considering an adventure based holiday, here are my top 5 suggestions that I’m sure you will love!
1. Go on a Sailing Holiday in Greece
There’s something very special about being out on the water. The peaceful sound of the waves crashing around you and the freedom of knowing you can go in any direction you please. Yacht charter holidays in Greece are a wonderful way to explore all the smaller islands, seeing the Greek way of living up close. If you’re not an experienced sailor, I suggest going with a chartered option that will allow you to focus on time with your family and enjoying the natural beauty. The Greek islands are known for having many outstanding things: sunsets, incredible food, some of the world’s best beaches and excellent hospitality. This combination makes for the perfect holiday mix. If you’re a fan of watersports such as diving, snorkelling and paddle boarding, a sailing holiday can be a great way to have ample time to do all of these fun activities. Just be sure to bring along a GoPro or good underwater camera so you can record all the fun you’re having!
2. Head to New Zealand
New Zealand is best known for it’s beautiful scenery, made famous by the Lord of the Rings films. While very deserving of the admiration, there’s more to New Zealand than just beautiful scenery. In the tourist hotspots, such as Rotorua in the North Island and Queenstown in the South Island, you’re spoiled for choice when it comes to extreme sports! Whether you want to go white water rafting and have your heart pumping with adrenaline, or if you would prefer to do some Zorbing – you can find almost anything in New Zealand. The bungy jump was actually invented here, and since then more options for extreme sports have been popping up all over the country. Because of the gorgeous natural backdrops that New Zealand provides, it is also one of the most interesting places in the world to Sky Dive. There’s also skiing and snowboarding during the winter which you can make even more extreme by taking a helicopter up to some remote runs. During the warmer months, or all year around if you’re brave enough, there’s also great surfing and paddle boarding all over the country. Fancy a bit of mountain biking or rock climbing? You’ll find plenty of that in New Zealand too. If you’re an adrenaline junkie, this is the place for you!
3. Go Trekking in Vietnam
There are so many places around the world where trekking is absolutely stunning and the scenery is breathtaking. My suggestion for a great place to go trekking is in the Sapa mountains in Northern Vietnam. The rolling rice fields are world famous and offer incredible vistas. Vietnam offers exceptional value for money, is safe, and there’s a large window of dry season where you’ll be comfortable, warm and get to enjoy beautiful sunsets. It’s also very eye opening to see how the local people live off the land in the Sapa mountains. I really enjoy trekking because while it is more adventurous than going on a tour bus, it’s still an easy enough pace that most people can enjoy and participate in. It’s also an opportunity to see more remote places that are simply not open to car or bus travel. There’s also another amazing attraction near to Sapa called Ha Long Bay – you can easily do both in the same trip!
4. Explore Some Ruins in Jordan
If you’re planning a trip to Jordan, I suggest renting a car and budgeting at least a week. There’s so much to do in this friendly, relaxed country that you need a bit of time to fit it all in. While I’ve visited many ruins around the world, such as Tikal in Guatemala, Borbordur in Indonesia, and Angkor Wat in Cambodia, there was something very special about visiting Petra. I think it has to do with the way you’re welcomed into the ruins as you walk through a smaller corridor and all of a sudden the Treasury reveals itself to you. You may think that the Treasury is all that Petra has to offer, but it’s actually a giant assortment of ruins and buildings nestled into the red rocks. It takes days to explore Petra properly – I would suggest at least two days, but three if you have the spare time. This is the perfect place to go if you want to be constantly amazed by the sheer size and grandeur of the ruins. There’s also some more ruins spread across Jordan, I would really suggest visiting Jeresh if you can make it there. It’s a lot less crowded than Petra and shows how important Jordan was throughout history.
