Discover the Most Extreme Luxury Travel Destinations on Earth
Have you ever stood on the edge of a bridge or canopy of an airplane? That adrenaline rush in the moment when you're mustering up the courage to jump is a humbling experience and a feeling you'll never forget.
We've rounded up some of the most adrenaline inducing, extreme activities that you can do in some phenomenal locations around the world. These extraordinary experiences are far beyond the typical vacation getaway and are just begging adventure travelers like you to come and experience it yourself. Are you ready to push your limits and test your comfort zone?
Skydiving at fox glacier, New Zealand
If you’ve ever entertained the idea of skydiving, then Fox Glacier just near Franz Josef is the place to do it. With Mount Cook, Mount Tasman, and Fox Glacier below you, it’s hard to imagine a more scenic place to fall from the sky. (This jump is said to be the 2nd most beautiful in the world next to Everest which costs a small fortune and features a six year wait list.). The skydive at Fox Glacier is accessible and based on the reactions of everyone who did it, a blast!
The Luxury Side: Stay at Otahuna Lodge
Set in pastoral surroundings against the fluted cone of an ancient volcano, Otahuna Lodge is a beguiling Victorian mansion that offers its guests a unique sense of wonder and discovery. New Zealand's largest private historic residence has been revitalised with luxury accommodation, glorious gardens and sophisticated cuisine. In its patrician sense of calm, the grace and charm of its grounds and its refined yet personable service, Otahuna combines the romance of the past with the cosmopolitan pleasures of the present - the very best of both worlds.
Helicopter safari in Africa
Helicopter flightseeing in East Africa is an adrenaline-rush that you can’t quite get any other way, whether buzzing fantastical flocks of flaming pink flamingos at Kenya’s Lake Bogoria, delving into South Africa’s Blyde River Canyon, or doing a fly-by of Mt. Everest.
The Luxury Side: Stay at Fairmont Mara Safari Club
Surrounded on three sides by the breathtaking Mara River, and on the edge of the world’s Seventh “New” Wonder of the World – the Masai Mara - Fairmont Mara Safari Club is the epitome of tented luxury. A Top 20 Luxury Resort by Travel & Leisure Magazine The Fairmont is a host to a number of fine dining, safari and outdoor activities. The main Masai Mara lodge at the center of camp hosts an indoor restaurant, bar and library with Internet access to keep the relatives up to date with safari adventures. A spacious outside deck overhangs the river and leads to a swimming pool, complete with bar and private massage tents.
Hot air ballooning in Botswana
See the wildlife-rich waterways of the Okavango Delta from the air and witness the action on Botswana’s storied floodplains has long been possible by helicopter, but hot-air ballooning is a relatively new way to safari these parts and the serenity and quiet of a balloon gondola lends itself perfectly to the calm of the Delta.
If you’ve ever taken a ride in a hot-air balloon, you know. And if you haven’t, you are in for an indelibly jolly experience.
Wafting over the Mara in the piercingly fresh and golden morning, floating over elephants and hippos, feeling a mild and worthy intoxication-by-grandeur, is one of those things that, having done, we wonder how on earth we ever contemplated not doing.
The Luxury Side: Stay on the Zambezi Queen
The Zambezi Queen is a luxury 42 meter boat that operates on the Chobe River, situated between Namibia and Botswana. The boat is based along the banks of the Caprivi Strip and is only a few kilometers from the place where uniquely, four countries meet, namely Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia.The Zambezi Queen cruises along the banks of the magnificent Chobe National Park with its teeming wildlife and approximately 120 000 elephants and over 400 species of birds.
Camping in Antarctica
So you’ve traveled all the way to the seventh continent, the white wonder, Antarctica. How can you be more adventurous than that? Well, there is a way — spend a night on the continent. For those who have a bucket list as long as their arm, G Adventures offers the chance to set up camp right on the icy shores of Antarctica.
From October to mid-February, you’ll sleep under the glow of a midnight sun. If you’re visiting in the later ends of the season, into the end of February and March, you’ll be rewarded with the best stars you’ve ever seen. The lack of light pollution allows you to see the night sky with great clarity, and one of your Expedition team will be there point out the constellations for you.
The Luxury Side: Antarctic Cruising
On an Antarctic cruise with Ponant, expect to see spectacular mountain scenery, the world’s biggest icebergs and an extraordinary array of wildlife: fur seals, penguins, albatrosses, sea elephants, orcas and whales in large numbers live side by side in this grandiose landscape.
Who has not dreamed of savouring that white stillness, an extraordinary spell-binding atmosphere of total serenity unequalled anywhere else on Earth. On the horizon, blocks of ice collapse into the sea forming vast icebergs of all shapes and sizes, eroded by the wind and the waves.
Golfing the Extreme 19th Hole, South Africa
Legends Golf Resort is located just north of Johannesburg. Here you'll fly by helicopter to the top of Hanglip Mountain where you'll be angling to shoot a hole in one from nearly 1,200 feet above the green. This is the most gonzo of all gonzo experiences for golf aficianados and has undeniable bragging rights attached to it, even if you don’t make the shot (which you likely won’t).
The Luxury Side: Stay at One&Only Cape Town
One&Only Cape Town is a destination unto itself – an urban chic waterfront resort providing an unprecedented level of luxury in South Africa.
In the heart of the picturesque Victoria & Alfred Waterfront with captivating views of Table Mountain, this contemporary resort features the largest accommodation in all of Cape Town, with a stylish island design and African flair accentuating the 131 spacious guest rooms and suites. Within the lobby of the seven-storey Marina Rise, guests can experience the continent’s only restaurant by legendary chef Nobuyuki “Nobu” Matsuhisa, where the upper level Nobu bar features a selection of Sakes including plum wines, Japanese beer and a selection of Sake and Shochu based cocktails.
