Looking for an Unparalleled Adventure?
Adventure travel has become one of the hottest holiday trends in recent years. While trips tend to get more expensive than a typical tour package, some have gone into luxury territory — only accessible to the very rich.
These travel experiences are often all-inclusive and trade roughing it for posh hotels, private guides and business class airfare. Ranging from the tens of thousands to the millions, luxury adventure travel packages offer exclusive opportunities with unrivaled experiences, without sacrificing comfort for thrills.
Start saving up now and perhaps someday you can cross one of these lavish trips off your bucket list.
National Geographic Expedition to Antarctica
There are very few corners left in the world that have remained relatively unexplored, but Antarctica still has that new frontier spirit. Its frigid, frozen environment — full of glaciers and unpredictable weather — has made travel there sparse and dangerous.
But if the opportunity to visit the southernmost continent sits atop your bucket list, you won’t want to miss National Geographic’s Journey to Antarctica.
While there are dozens of tour companies offering trips to Antarctica, few can beat this one. A luxury adventure travel tour, you’ll sail on board an exploration ship alongside a team of scientists and experts who will be available to answer all your burning questions about Antarctica’s unique environment.
For 13 days, you’ll get to whale-watch, cruise around in Zodiac boats, kayak through icebergs and beside glaciers, hike to icy summits, and admire Gentoo penguin colonies. Through it all, there’s even a National Geographic photographer on board who will instruct you on how to photograph the wildlife like a pro.
It’s a trip of a lifetime for adventure travel enthusiasts who are willing to drop between $14,000 and $30,0000 on the experience.
Trek the Himalaya Trail
If you’ve ever wanted to experience the Himalayas by trekking through their entire 1,700 km distance, you’re in luck. World Expeditions offers a 152-day tour of the Great Himalaya Trail, which spans five countries and offers views of Mt. Everest, Makalu and Annapurna.
While not a luxury vacation in the sense that you’ll be waited on hand and foot — or be sleeping on the world’s most comfortable mattress — the price tag for the five month trip is nothing to sneeze at. For $25,000, you’ll trek through the icy mountains for about six hours a day, making your way across one of the most breathtaking mountain ranges in the world.
All of your meals, internal transfers and equipment are included provided you have an intermediate grasp of mountaineering. This adventure travel trip is not for the faint of heart or the out of shape.
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Diamond Safari
Sure you could go on a luxury African safari adventure. Botswana safaris are some of the most expensive and memorable safaris at the south end of the continent, with some permanent camps costing around $12,000 a night.
You could track the Big 5 and venture onto the big game preserves, but you can’t take any of the animals home with you. So how about adding on a safari where you can take home the prize?
Through Ellerman House, a five-star boutique hotel in South Africa, you can actually mine your own diamonds off the coast of the Cape. The exclusive day trip allows participants to scuba dive and pan the precious gems for sorting.
Offered only in late summer or early fall, for up to six guests staying at the hotel, you get to experience the life of a diamond from its discovery to its cutting and polishing. All you need is $17,000 and a PADI Open Water I certification, although the cost of the hotel and actual diamonds aren’t included in the price.
Private Heli-Ski Adventure
An average ski holiday can easily cost a few hundred or a few thousand dollars, depending on how long you go for. But for some of the ultra rich, regular skiing isn’t glamorous enough anymore.
Enter heli-skiing, where you’re dropped off by helicopter onto some of the most beautifully remote areas that are full of powder snow and free of the crowds. Alaska has some of the best and most exclusive private heli-ski adventures, which have attracted Hollywood elites and millionaires from around the world.
For $95,000, all meals, accommodations, equipment and transportation are included via Majestic Heli Ski, just outside of Anchorage. You’ll have access to your own private helicopter for seven days where you’ll get flown to exclusive areas only reserved for this specific package.
It’s the ultimate luxury ski experience for the seasoned skier who wants a bit of pampering with their adventure.
Every World Heritage Site
How would you like to visit every UNESCO World Heritage Site (except those in dangerous locales) over the course of two years? Well, since 2013 you can — for only a cool $1.2 million.
One of the most expensive luxury adventure travel packages in existence, the tour covers 962 sites across the world in 150 countries. You’ll fly business class to each destination, but can spend your time hiking, biking and exploring famous destinations like Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, The Great Pyramids of Egypt and Machu Picchu in Peru before being whisked off to the next sites.
You’ll stay in some of the most luxurious hotels in the world, with itineraries tailor-made to your exact specifications.
Sold online at Veryfirstto.com, even the tour’s creators weren’t sure anyone would be crazy enough to commit to a trip for that long and that amount of money. However, within the first year, two men had already pre-purchased the trip and the company received another 15 inquiries.
It’s one of the most ambitious holidays in existence but sadly one that’s only accessible to millionaires.
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Fly to Space
If you ever dreamed of being an astronaut as a child, your chance to go to space is just around the corner. Two separate companies, SpaceX and Virgin Galactic, are working on putting private citizens into space.
A once in a lifetime experience, Virgin Galactic is currently selling seats on its first space flights for around $250,000 a pop. As part of their Future Astronaut program, you’ll receive lengthy training for your journey in order to prepare your body for the experience.
Flights will take passengers to the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere, offering a breathtaking view of our planet from above, along with the experience of complete weightlessness.
SpaceX, on the other hand, intends to actually launch people around the moon. Because their trips are a bit longer, lasting around a week, and involve actually venturing into space, a spot on one of their tiny flights will set you back $58 million.