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When the December holidays are over, the well-known question arises: Have you made any resolutions for the New Year? Plans to do more exercise or live a healthier life are quickly made - and forgotten even more quickly. How about going off the usual path of New Year's resolutions and planning a unique trip instead?
Instead of limiting yourself to classic activities like beach vacations or skiing, you could go for a truly unforgettable adventure in the coming year. For this purpose, Skylum, the manufacturer of AI-based image editing software such as Luminar Neo and organizer of Luminar Adventures, has put together a list of unconventional travel destinations with adventurous activities.
Madeira: Race to the Guinness Book of Fireworks on the basket sleigh
If you want to get started before New Year's Eve, organize a flight ticket to Madeira now. The Portuguese island with its striking mountain coast is not only fascinating because of the levada hikes along irrigation canals through caves and wild forests. Located at the height of the African continent, it offers mild average temperatures of around 19 degrees in winter. The magnificent, eight-minute New Year's Eve fireworks display in the port city of Funchal is impressive and received an entry in the Guinness Book. It is accompanied by up to 15 cruise ships and their horns. During the day you can take the cable car in glass gondolas and float 800 meters up to the mountain village of Monte, complete with panoramic views over the Atlantic. From the mountain station you can walk directly to the levadas. Or race back up the steep slopes to Funchal in just ten minutes on a traditional basket sleigh ride.
Panama: Get marooned on a deserted Pacific island
Want to feel like Robinson Crusoe? From Panama you can be dropped off on a remote Pacific island as part of an adventure vacation. Lonely beaches, lush palm forests and no infrastructure whatsoever. A helicopter will fly you with like-minded people to the island; on land you have to swim yourself after jumping into the sea. Survival experts welcome you on the beach and show you how to open coconuts, which insects you should avoid and how to build a fire to cook the tiny supply of food from the starter pack. After a short acclimatization, your group will be left alone for ten days and can practice building a hut out of palm leaves, catching sea creatures, or whatever else is needed to survive in the wild.
Peru: Mountain wall beds above the sacred valley of the Incas
If normal hotel vacations are too boring for you, you will find what you are looking for near the city of Cusco in the Peruvian Andes. The “Skylodge” has bedrooms that are not for the faint of heart: The extraordinary accommodation consists of transparent space capsules, made from a combination of polycarbonate and space-grade aluminum, which are secured only by wire ropes at a height of 400 meters on the steep walls of a rock Urubamba Valley. You have to be fit to check into the seemingly weightless hotel: you climb the rock face to the lodge capsules via a via ferrata and suspension bridges. If that's too strenuous for you, there's also the option to arrive and depart via zipline, which is no less spectacular.
Nicaragua: Surfing an active volcano
You read that right! For “volcano boarding” you climb Cerro Negro, Nicaragua’s youngest and most active volcano and part of the Cordillera de los Maribios volcanic chain. After a 45-minute climb over the 41-degree steep, ashy outer wall, you will have reached the summit at a height of 728 meters - and will be rewarded with an impressive view over the volcanic chain. When the weather is good, you can even see as far as the Pacific. Equipped with a protective suit and a sturdy wooden board as a board, the rapid descent over ash slopes begins, where you can reach speeds of up to 80 kilometers per hour.
New Zealand: Swinging 200 meters above a canyon
An absolute must for adrenaline junkies! Queenstown has made a name for itself as the adventure capital of the island state of New Zealand. The city lies at the foot of the so-called Southern Alps (also called Tiritiri-o-te-moana) and on the shores of Lake Wakatipu. The fast jet boat rides on the “Shotover River” (Kimiakau) and “Dart River” (Te Awa Whakatipu) are the gentler options. Rather, it's all about climbing, bungee jumping and hang gliding in all imaginable variations. A special highlight is a canyon swing at a height of 200 meters - everyone who wants to experience the thrill at dizzy heights surrounded by breathtaking landscapes and nature will get their money's worth here.
Costa Rica: With the longest zipline in Latin America through the rainforest
While Costa Rica is celebrated among active vacationers for its fantastic beaches and surf spots, tours into the rainforest are at least as must-do. At Monteverde in the cloud forest, the longest zipline in Central America awaits you between challenging high ropes courses and bridges. When ziplining (also: canopying), you glide with a carabiner over a taut rope through wild gorges - 1.590 meters at a height of almost 70 meters on the longest zipline route. Would you like more adrenaline or would you like to cool down? With canyoning, also known as “water rappelling,” you get to do both at the same time: you rappel down waterfalls or, even easier: you jump.
Japan: High up on Mount Fuji-san
This country is still considered an insider tip - even though Japan is one of the travel destinations with the greatest diversity and most impressive contrasts between tradition and modernity. From sunny surfing coasts to magnificent mangrove forests that you can traverse by kayak, to mountain giants and the Fuji-san volcano. The months of July to September are best suited for a hike on Japan's landmark. The Yoshida hiking trail is particularly popular. Tip: Visit during the week, otherwise you'll have to take queues into account. As a less busy alternative, the Fuji Five Lakes region with its five lakes offers some water sports and trekking opportunities - with a view of Mount Fuji. If you want more adrenaline, visit the nearby Fuji-Q-Highland amusement park, whose roller coasters continue to break Guinness Book records for their heights and speeds.
