Eight of the world's most extreme holidays for adrenaline junkies
Bored of beaches? Yawning on your yacht? Think surfing is for sissies? Behold, eight adventures to consider for those in search of a decent challenge.
1. Skydive over Antarctica
You’ll need a skydiving license, a stable relationship with heights, and some very warm clothing, but should you wish to leap out of a plane over one of the most impressive land expanses known to man - now you can.
The 13,000-ft dive, in temperatures as low as -35C, is the highlight of this seven-day expedition courtesy of Swoop Antarctica, which also includes activities such as ice climbing, cross-country and downhill skiing, snowboarding and fat tyre biking across the snow-covered wilderness.
How to book: Based on departures in December 2018, prices for the seven-night Skydive Antarctica package start from ￡22,095 per person.
2. Strand yourself on a desert island
If you've watched (and been intrigued) by a bearded Tom Hanks bonding with a football in Castaway, or read (and enjoyed) the tales of Robinson Crusoe, this one might pique your interest.
Travel operator Docastaway will strand you on a small, deserted island in Indonesia or the Philippines for as many days as you want, sans-guide, where you'll have to build your own shelter and fish for your own sustenance (an emergency contact will be ready to step from a neighbouring island if required). There are several packages and different islands on offer, ranging in intensity from "low", with the option of having a rustic cottage to stay in, basic food, and a guide to accompany you; to the "extreme" and "survival" experiences. All of them are surprisingly cheap.
How to book: Docastaway offers trips to isolated islands from ￡70 per person, per day, including local flights and sea transfers, supplies, and the use of a canoe.
3. Bounce into an active volcano
Bungee jumping is scary, by any measure. Bungee jumping into an active volcano? Presumably petrifying.
Described by adventure company Bungee as "defying death and jumping into the caldera of an active volcano over a bubbling lava lake", you will be dropped from a helicopter in Pucón, Chilé, bringing you within "700ft of the actual pool of molten lava". This particular six-day tour also includes - in case you find yourself bored at any stage - skydiving and whitewater rafting.
How to book: Bungee is running the next six-day tour in Chile in October 2018, starting at ￡12,500 per person.
4. Surf down an active volcano
Don't fancy jumping into giant chasm of lava? Don't blame you. You can also surf (sort of) down the sides.
Cerro Negro is Central America's youngest volcano, having appeared in April 1850. It has also been one of the most active volcanoes in Nicaragua, last erupting in 1999 - the 20th time in its history. And it's attracted avid "volcano boarders", who hike up to the top of it (which takes about an hour) then hurtle down it (which takes a matter of minutes) on what is essentially a snowboard.
How to book: Volcano Board arranges trips for groups of between three and five for ￡23pp, with discounts for larger teams.
5. Swim with orcas
Orcas, AKA killer whales, are - and this is a little-known fact - higher up the food chain than great white sharks. Though not known to be dangerous to humans unless in captivity, swimming amid these six-ton creatures is unlikely to be a banal experience.
Former Blue Planet cameraman Patrick Dykstra, who we interviewed earlier this year, runs expeditions in the Norwegian ocean which enable you to do just that, and be filmed doing so.
How to book: Natural World Safaris is offering eight-day whale safaris with Patrick Dykstra between November 2018 and January 2019, starting at ￡3,250 per person.
6. Dive with sharks
Orcas are all very well, but coming face-to-face with a great shark is to meet with man's most feared ocean predator. You’ll be in a cage, roped to the side of a boat, but those bars won’t do much to ease your heart rate as you’re being circled by these imposing creatures. What might surprise you, however, is how serene and elegant they are beneath the surface.
The 50 greatest adventures on Earth
While there’s an industry for it in Mexico and Australia, the best site is probably Gansbaai in South Africa, a few hours’ drive from Cape Town. The ethics of shark cage diving is shaky, and there are plenty of operators to avoid on the basis that they use the wrong tactics to attract the sharks. But in Gansbaai you’ll find Marine Dynamics - widely regarded as being one of the best adventure companies in the world for viewing great whites - studying their behaviour, and genuinely contributing towards their conservation.
How to book: Marine Dynamics charges ￡114 per person for a two-hour diving session, including use of all equipment.
7. Sleep on the edge of a cliff
You don't even have to leave the UK if you'd be partial to the idea of sleeping on the wall of a cliff, dangling precariously over the crashing ocean beneath.
Gaia Adventures will assist you in abseiling down a rock face off the coast of Anglesey, North Wales, and set you up for the night on a "portaledge" - essentially a fabric-covered platform suspended horizontally on a vertical cliff, for the sort of open-air camping experience that barely qualifies as camping.
How to book: Rates start at ￡500 for a night with two people during the spring and summer months.
8. ...or in the the most radioactive place on the planet
There are several operators which now offer accommodation and tours of Chernobyl, about as close an experience as you can get to roaming a post-apocalyptic world.
Chris Leadbeater took one such tour of the abandoned nuclear power plant site for Telegraph Travel in 2016, 20 years after the catastrophe unfolded, describing it as “not just a time capsule but a remnant of the Cold War era beyond the scope of anything that can be created in a museum”.
“Visitors are screened before they enter the Exclusion Zone – the restricted space, 19 miles in radius, which surrounds the blast area,” he wrote of his experience, which he gave the overall thumbs up. “They are told not to sit down, or touch items within this cordon – and are checked for radioactive particles when they leave again.”
Chernobyl puff
How to book: Welcome To Chernobyl specialises in two-day trips with an overnight stay (from ￡249pp), leaving from Kiev.
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