Extreme Vacations Explained

Extreme sports and adventure travel are two of the fastest-growing segments of the tourism industry. They’re also among the most innovative, allowing thrill-seekers to push their bodies and minds to new limits in the world’s most spectacular settings. Some of these activities are dangerous and require training. Others are virtually risk-free but still demand nerves of steel. All will make your vacation as memorable—and terrifying—as you want it to be.

As whitewater rafting, snowboarding and even skydiving have gone mainstream, they’ve lost their “extreme” status to newer, more challenging variations, like blackwater rafting and trekking to Everest Base Camp. Likewise, while adventurous travelers were once content to admire lions from the safety of a Land Rover or dangle beneath the clouds in hot air balloons, they now swim within arms-length of 20-foot sharks and break the sound barrier in Russian MiGs. Despite the apparent risks, however, no death wish is required: Many tour operators boast perfect safety records. Ready to get your heart hammering, but still live to show off the photos?

Next: Before You Go

Before You Go

Taking precautions may run counter to the notion of adventure, but it’s smart to plan ahead. You’ll be much more comfortable in the hands of highly trained professionals who know how to administer an adrenaline fix safely. Go with well-established companies whose instructors and guides are licensed and certified by the appropriate governing bodies. Be sure to ask about their safety records.

You’ll also need travel insurance (some tour operators’ insurance only covers liability), especially for international travel. Comprehensive health insurance will usually cover overseas hospital stays, but it may not cover medevac by helicopter or jet, which is critical (and expensive) if you are injured in a remote area of a foreign country. Travel insurance can also reimburse you for lost baggage, trip delays and trip cancellation caused by you or the tour operator.

Before you contact an insurance provider like Travel Guard, a division of giant American Insurance Group, look in your wallet. American Express Platinum and Centurion cardholders are already covered by trip insurance that will take care of lost baggage, and the credit card giant also offers medical evacuation to travelers when they are more than 100 miles from home.

Next: What to Pack

What to Pack

The adventure junkie will not only want travel insurance but also medical supplies, in case self-triage is necessary. Such supplies can come in handy while surfing or kayaking the pororoca, a tidal bore that reaches heights of 12 feet and lasts for up to half an hour on the piranha- and alligator-infested Amazon River.

Bring a first-aid kit containing everything listed on Consumer Reports’ What to pack in a first-aid kit list, augmented by penicillin and strong painkillers (available over-the-counter in many foreign countries). If you are headed to an area known for airborne or waterborne diseases, talk to your doctor about ciprofloxacin, a broad-spectrum antibiotic.

Next: How to Get Ready

How to Get Ready

Many extreme sports require high levels of experience, skill and physical fitness. Valdez Heli-Camp in the Chugach mountain range of Alaska—the ultimate heli-skiing destination—only accepts skiers who are advanced-intermediate or above. The trip guides also strongly suggest you train by running three miles a day, starting several months before your trip. That said, less-experienced snow-sport enthusiasts might opt for snowkiting, a combination of kite-surfing, skiing and snowboarding, which requires some fitness but is suitable for beginners.

Even those adventures that require no pre-trip conditioning or experience—parachuting onto the slopes of Everest or flying (as a passenger) in the aforementioned MiG jets—may still involve some preparation. It can take a couple of weeks to process a Russian visa, for example, and anyone over 40 years old must get an electrocardiogram test to board the fighter jets.

Next: Behind the Numbers

Behind the Numbers

The price of extreme adventure

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Next: The Big Players

The Big Players

Industry leader Incredible Adventures specializes in innovative adventure trips.

KE Adventure Travel offers more traditional adventure travel options and is one of the more reputable operators.

Adventure Travel is a great resource, with links to hundreds of extreme sports and adventure trips.

Insure My Trip compares the rates and policies of the best travel insurers.

Travel Sense has lots of helpful information on preparing for your trip, including how to find the right travel agent.