• A 33-hour journey to Tanzania was the longest and farthest I’ve traveled.
• Whereas the lengthy journey day was value it, I did make some errors that made the journey tougher.
• I forgot to pack my foot hammock and a change of garments for the journey.

After embarking on among the longest flights in the world, sitting in a aircraft cabin for hours on finish is starting to really feel regular.

I’ve spent 13 hours touring between Los Angeles and Auckland, New Zealand. I’ve additionally made my strategy to Tokyo via a 12-hour flight.

Nonetheless, attending to Tanzania from Denver was a wholly new feat. It took a whopping 4 flights and 33 hours.

I arrived on the airport two hours early and kicked off the journey on a three-and-a-half-hour flight to Washington, DC. After a five-and-a-half-hour layover, I launched into a 13-hour flight to Ethiopia. Subsequent was one other two-and-a-half-hour layover adopted by a three-hour flight to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

For the final stretch, I had another two-and-a-half-hour layover and an hourlong flight to Tanzania’s island of Zanzibar.

Altogether, I spent greater than 33 hours on planes and in airports. Unsurprisingly, the journey was filled with mistakes.

Launching off a mountain is probably not prime of your trip plans, however when you’ve ever had even a passing daydream about hovering by way of the air and touchdown on a ski slope, the world of utmost sports activities could offer you a brand new motive to journey.

I’ve tried a few of these sports activities, like winter paragliding within the French Alps. It was within the ski area Alpe d’Huez the place I discovered myself strapped to Didier, an expert tandem paraglider. “I’ll pull up the kite after which” – dramatic pause ⁠– “we are going to ski off the mountain” he informed me. Excusez-moi? Earlier than I knew it, we had been strapped collectively and hovering at 2115m (6940ft), touchdown lastly on the ski slopes like rock star extras in a James Bond movie: stirred, and somewhat shaken. I (now) know the French Alps are a heavenwards freeway for paragliding fanatics chasing swirling thermals, giving vacationers a brand new motive to go to. Chasing these sorts of thrills could also be the easiest way to seek out your subsequent journey vacation spot too. 

From ski mountaineering to cliff diving, kite foiling and wreck diving, right here’s a success checklist of unmissable excessive sports activities which are assured to provide you a rush of adrenaline.

1. Kite foiling

Kitesurfing is among the most beginner-friendly sports activities on the market, with colleges from Bali to Bermuda filled with like-minded sea lovers. However for these looking for their subsequent massive thrill, kite foiling has joined the fray. On this variation, you step into foot straps on a board that sits on a hydrofoil. Suspended above the water line, riders can go a lot quicker ⁠– assume 45 knots (51mph, or 82km/h) – and in lighter winds.

The place to attempt kite foiling: Head to Eastney Seashore close to Portsmouth, England, the place the 2024 Summer time Olympic kite foiling qualifiers had been held, and take a category on the Andrew Simpson Centre. Amp up the joy at stylish El Gouna on Egypt’s Red Sea (only a 30-minute drive from Hurghada Worldwide Airport) or Jericoacoara in Brazil, which each obtain cross-shore winds.

2. Wreck diving

Heading underwater is extra intense when the vacation spot is the shadowy stays of a ship, aircraft or different construction sunk beneath the floor. Sri Lanka’s HMS Hermes tops many a wreck diver’s must-see checklist. The primary purpose-built plane service, it sank in 1942 to its present resting place at a depth of about 55m (180ft). As wreck diving grows in recognition, some locations are scuttling retired ships to make synthetic reefs, comparable to those around Recife in Brazil and the Witconcrete in Belize.

The place to go wreck diving: Denmark’s Baltic Sea coast is a treasure chest for wreck diving, due to the low salt ranges which have helped protect WWI-era picket cruiser and steamship wrecks. In Langeland and Bornholm, novices can be part of excursions with native dive colleges.

3. SailGP

Welcome to the equal of Formula 1 on water. On this collection of high-speed races strung throughout 14 iconic locations from Auckland to Rio de Janeiro, elite athletes on 12 nationwide groups race similar multimillion-dollar F50 catamarans, making the high-speed contests a real check of talent.

The place to look at SailGP: Sydney Harbor in Australia is among the OG occasions, attracting 1000’s of worldwide followers for a full weekend of up shut spectating on a midharbor island full with a bar, luxe meals vans and DJ beats.

4. Cliff diving

At Polignano al Mare in Italy’s Puglia, divers launch themselves from a platform 9 tales above the Adriatic as crowds watching from the close by rocks collectively maintain their breath. It is only one cease on the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, however it’s arguably probably the most awe-inspiring, with swimsuit-clad rivals passing by eating places and thru personal homes to entry the location. Alongside the beautiful environment, the athletes’ aerial consciousness and the bodily energy essential to hit the water at near 10 occasions the pressure of gravity are certain to impress. 

The place to attempt cliff diving: Exterior the aggressive excessive, you’ll be able to take a cliff diving tour with the W Algarve. Or head to the Greek Cyclades and go to Milos and Koufonisi (Koufonisia), the place rock formations plummeting into deep indigo waters lure newbie and professional rock hoppers alike.

5. Ski mountaineering

With apologies to heli-skiing and mountaineering, ski mountaineering is arguably the last word winter sport, and it’s heading into the highlight as a brand new addition to the 2026 Winter Olympics slate. Skiers flip the script and begin by racing up a mountain, then ski again down. Relying on the course, ice axes, harnesses, ropes and crampons could come into play to dial up the problem.

However there’s no must go straight for the gold. As a result of each snowboarding and mountaineering know-how are required, you’ll be able to progress by way of the abilities at your personal tempo and ultimately end up at literal mountain highs. 

The place to attempt ski mountaineering: There’s no fast YouTube tutorial to ski mountaineering, however an abundance of ski areas provide skill-building lessons, together with the women-only Ski Goddess courses in France’s Châtel and Arc’teryx Academy’s mountaineering clinics held in world-class mountain cities comparable to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Chamonix, France. Private lessons can be found with massive mountain icon Chris Davenport in Aspen, Colorado. 

6. Ice plunging

You don’t must be a star athlete to take an ice plunge – you simply want willpower. In Finland’s Levi, Norway’s Bodø, and even Denmark’s seaside Copenhagen, youngsters as much as octogenarians take icy dips on the common. Devotees in chilly areas around the globe have lengthy been immersing themselves in freezing water to cut back irritation, construct resistance, steadiness the nervous system and enhance cognitive operate and temper. Wind up the expertise in a close-by sauna for an endorphin-zinging thermal shock that’s accessible to many. 

The place to take an ice plunge: Bounce in at any of the top destinations for cold plunges around the globe, however the floating Arctic Bath in Swedish Lappland is unmatched. The midriver round constructing resembles a chook’s nest and maintains an open-air ice pool. Or e book a spot at the Scandi House Levi, the place you’ll be able to drop right into a frozen river by way of a custom-cut gap.

7. Through ferrata 

In case your journey insurance coverage doesn’t cowl jaw-dropping base leaping in Mürren, Switzerland, then clip into the by way of ferrata carved throughout craggy Bernese peaks 4000m (13,123ft ) above the Lauterbrunnen Valley. Italian for “iron approach,” the by way of ferrata follows a mountain path consisting of rungs, rails and cables notched into the rock face. It was developed throughout WWI to help with troop mobilization by way of the Alps, however now it’s a heart-thumping route by way of areas in any other case reserved for mountaineers.

The place to hike a by way of ferrata: The Italian Dolomites are the religious residence of the by way of ferrata. Keep at La Perla Hotel in Alta Badia’s Corvara and take the mountain-loving household’s recommendation on among the extra benign paths across the valley.

8. Excessive snorkeling 

You don’t want an air tank to get excessive; simply head to Iceland. This mystical land of lava and supercharged splendor, the place geysers gush and glaciers ruthlessly rip the panorama, affords endless activities to stoke any adventurous soul. Not least amongst them is dry-suit snorkeling within the Silfra Fissure. The rift between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates is breathtaking. Think about floating in an enormous diamond, over an underwater panorama thousands and thousands of years within the making, the place algae wafts like chiffon, and it’s clear why this expertise is like no different.

The place to attempt excessive snorkeling: If chilly water isn’t your factor – Silfra clocks in at 4°C (49°F) – however spectacular snorkeling is, cruise over to Million Dollar Point in Vanuatu, the place a former US navy base was bulldozed into the ocean, making a haunting, liquid graveyard of eternally parked 4WDs and equipment.

9. Downhill mountain biking

It’s biking, how laborious may it’s? When it includes barreling down single-track traces that includes picket ramps plus pure obstacles like midpath rocks, let’s simply say this pastime just isn’t for the fainthearted. Did we point out the pace? For skilled downhill mountain bikers, brakes aren’t actually a factor.

The game affords a completely new lexicon to be taught (“grippy” dust), gear to purchase (full-face helmets to maintain that dust out of your eyes) and far-flung tracks throughout the map (Tasmania’s Derby). Begin slowly, however you could quickly succumb to the dependancy of downhill. 

The place to attempt downhill biking: Sea-level Miami unexpectedly has trails galore, just like the little-known 11.6km (7.25-mile) observe for novices at Amelia Earhart Park in Virginia Keys as much as the drops at Hollywood North Seashore Park. Consultants flock to the mom lodes in Utah’s Moab and Colorado’s Snowmass, the place chairlifts ferry bikers as an alternative of skiers in the summertime months.

10. Lengthy-distance mountaineering

Step it up a notch! Sort out Corsica’s Grand Randonnée 20 (GR20), which is to hikers what the North Shore in Hawaii is to big-wave surfers, minus the after-parties. Because the coaching floor for the French Overseas Legion, the 12-day path is known for making or breaking hikers. Earn your stripes throughout almost two weeks of heaving ascents and descents throughout the scorched, mountainous inside of the island the French name le terre sauvage (the wild land). 

The place to go long-distance mountaineering: The simplest place to achieve long-distance mountaineering chops is on the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain, an online of well-supported trails that result in the town of Santiago de Compostela. It may be traversed in bite-size chunks, like the ultimate seven-day part, all the way in which as much as a 30-day trek from St-Jean Pied de Port. Saunter into the dawn solo or enroll with an operator like World Expeditions or Intrepid Travel.

In 2023, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the crown prince of Dubai (and “Fazza” to his associates), left the 100-degree warmth of the United Arab Emirates and headed for the minus-10 chill of the French Alps.

A put up on the sheikh’s Instagram feed confirmed his 16.8 million followers idyllic photos of whiteout blizzards, blue-sky peaks, immaculately groomed pistes, and sleigh rides.